Summary: The Team has their first run-in with Deathstroke the Terminator. Takes place about 5 months after Auld Acquaintance
Disclaimer: I don't own DC
"Your mission today is to protect Senator Lieber of the U.N. at their press conference today. We have received intel that Ra's Al Ghul wants him off the board for his plans to outsource to countries such as Ralaisia and Qurac." Dick stepped up.
"Why would the League want to stop outsourcing to those third world countries?" I know Ra's is all about ending the blight of humanity or whatever, but this seems kinda...petty for him.
"Given the intel your team has continuously provided the League about our enemies' collaboration, it stands to reason that Luthor, Queen Bee, Klarion, and the others have formed a sort of...anti-Justice League, headed by Vandal Savage, if the events on New Years are any indication. Ra's is no doubt a large part of that group, and as such would want to stop any outsourcing that may impede Queen Bee's plans for her country." Dick nodded and Bruce once again addressed the whole team. "Be on guard. Senator Lieber is a very influential member of the U.N. His passing could very well be the end of the efforts to assist these specific third-world countries." Kaldur nodded before addressing the others.
"Suit up. We leave in 5." The team went their separate ways and prepped for the mission. The flight there was mostly calm, as Dick was lost in thought. We've messed up the League's plans a dozen times over, they don't exactly have the best track record. Then again...Dick touched the part of his torso where Talia had run him through with her sword all those years ago, and he shuddered a bit. Yeah, this could go one of two ways. Buuuuuut my money's on us. Ra's and his goons ain't exactly what they used to be. Not anymore. He's kinda become...obsolete. The ship landed and Zatanna noticed that Dick was still lost in thought. She walked over to him while the others were double checking their equipment.
"You okay?" Dick was snapped out of his thoughts and turned to face his girlfriend.
"Huh? Y-yeah. Yeah, I'm good." Zee smiled before giving him a peck on the cheek and moving to face Kal. Dick grinned and followed her.
"Alright. As Batman explained, this is an extremely important mission. We must cover all our bases. Artemis, Rocket, patrol the outer borders of the conference. Kid, Superboy, Zatanna, watch the entrance to the conference in case our assailant tries anything. Miss Martian, stay in camouflage and keep close to the Senator. Robin, you and I will stay on rooftop patrol." The team split up after Megan connected them all, and Dick followed Kal on a rooftop run.
"Huh, no sign. Maybe they turned tail and ran."
"Possibly, but do not drop your guard. We must be certain they are not here or else-" Kal was cut off by a kick to the face as his assailant landed right next to Dick. His eyes widened behind his mask as he saw who it was. Oh, this isn't good...Deathstroke eyed Robin over before huffing.
"It's about time I met the Bat Brat. Your pops' a good fighter. Let's see if you can do him proud." Deathstroke leapt at Dick, who barely managed to defend himself from the onslaught of attacks. He flipped away and pulled out his staff, his heart rate increasing exponentially. Bat-computer says this guy can go toe-to-toe with Bats, even beat him a few times, so how the hell am I supposed to do this?! The assassin pulled out his sword and Dick barely managed to keep out of his reach, though it was clear Slade was toying with him. Kaldur got up and reached in to the mind-link.
-We have found the assailant. It appears to be Deathstroke the Terminator-
-The world-class assassin?! Oh, that's not good...-
-You're tellin' me! Ollie said Slade almost beat him and Bats both at once this one time, they barely got away!-
-Regardless, we require backup. M'gann, stay with the Senator just in case there is a second assassin. Superboy, join Rocket in securing the perimeter. Everyone else, converge on my location and help us-Robin!- Kaldur saw Slade slash at Dick's arm, spilling blood everywhere. Dick yelped in pain as he flipped away, but Deathstroke was clearly done playing, and lunged at him, delivering multiple punches to the face before sweeping Dick out from under him, pressing his foot down on a weakened Robin.
"Under normal circumstances, I'd kill you in an instant, kid. But I've got a job to do, and you're not on my contract." Slade prepared to knock Dick out, but Kaldur blasted him away with electricity before pulling out his water-bearers. Zatanna, who had heard Kaldur scream for Dick through the mind-link, was panicking and rushing to their location faster than even Wally could. She arrived to see Kal holding back Slade, and her eyes widened as she saw Dick groaning on the floor, his arm bleeding quite severely. She furiously yelled out a spell, sending Slade flying through a wall. Kaldur rushed after him, not wanting to take any chances, and Artemis followed him. Wally ran up to Dick, but he weakly motioned that he was okay, and so KF reluctantly ran to help the others. Zatanna was not leaving his side, though, and so he did his best to stand up before falling back down. Damn, everything hurts...He saw Zatanna prep a healing spell, and he tugged on her arm to stop her.
"D-don't. Help me later. S-save your strength for him." Zee shook her head furiously, but Dick smiled at her and grasped her hand. "T-trust me. I'm f-fine. Go." Zatanna reluctantly ran after the others as Dick struggled to stand.
Slade was surrounded by the four heroes, and under his mask, he slightly smirked. "Normally, this would be a challenge, but you all are nothing close to the League. This'll be a good warm-up." Deathstroke flung a tear gas grenade to silence Zatanna. There, biggest threat neutralized. I'll deal with you in a minute. He deflected arrows from Arty with his sword before flinging a shuriken to destroy her bow and coming in for a roundhouse to the head. Hmph, Queen needs to train her more. The other Arrow Jr. was more competent. Wally growled before rushing at Slade, only for him to bend down and let KF fly over his back. He grabbed Wally by the leg and slammed him down. Pathetic. Flash never would have fallen for that one. He eyed Kaldur, who was preparing to engage, and chuckled. "Little known fact-" He lunged at Aqualad, dodging his attacks before hitting specific, unguarded weak points Kal had exposed. "-Atlanteans have the same weak spots as humans." Kaldur fell to his knees before Slade kicked him in the jaw, knocking him out. He then looked to Zatanna, who seemed to have almost recovered from the tear gas. She tried to chant a spell, but her voice was still messed up. Slade lunged at her, and she tried to defend herself with moves Dick had taught her, but of course she stood no chance against the Terminator in hand-to-hand. Slade grasped her by the neck, holding her up and preparing his fist. Dick, who had finally recovered his strength, saw this and furiously flung a birdarang at Slade, who caught and snapped it with his free hand before turning to him. He threw Zatanna to the side, and Dick ran up to see if she was okay. Thank god, just unconscious. He's so gonna get it now. Slade watched as Dick furiously got up and started flinging birdarangs. He dodged them all effortlessly as he thought to himself. Personal connections-Robin and the magician, as well as the speedster and Arrow girl. Good to know. Dick leapt at him, engaging in hand-to-hand, and Slade took it easy as he blocked his attacks. I'm impressed. Not everyone has this...determination. Note to self-keep an eye on this one. Deathstroke grabbed Dick's arm and threw him to the floor. "I'm surprised, Robin. Most people at this point would have caved in. You certainly have your old man's tenacity, if not his fighting prowess. But in any case, I'm on a clock, and your time's just run out." Dick flipped towards him to try and kick him, but Slade caught the kick and slammed him into a wall hard, knocking him out.
Slade aimed his gun at the Senator, preparing to take the shot before Rocket blasted him with a force bubble. Damn. More of them. Superboy landed, and Slade tensed up the slightest bit. No way of taking on a Kryptonian right now. Gotta make this quick. Megan floated up from the rooftop, and Slade was once again surrounded. He dropped an incendiary grenade, and Rocket shielded M'gann as Connor leapt at him. He dropped a lead-laced smoke bomb to conceal himself before leaping over Superboy and using Raquel as a means to vault into the air, aiming his gun once more. Before he could take the shot, M'gann blasted him away, and he landed on his feet, ready to take them on again. M'gann tried to mind-blast him, but his psychic defenses were too strong. At this point, the others had gotten up and readied themselves, so Slade decided to leave. "Congratulations, kids. You win. I'm not paid enough for this job, but be warned: you've got my attention. 'Specially you, Boy Wonder." Slade dropped a smoke bomb before disappearing. Once they ensured he was gone, the couples all reunited to check on each other's wounds. Zatanna sprinted over to engulf Dick in a hug, which he gratefully returned before wincing in pain.
"Damn, he really did a number on my ribs." Zee ran her hand over the several bruises on his face as well as the cut on his arm. He could tell she was worried out of her mind, and so he wrapped an arm around her side and pulled her in, smacking his lips onto hers. She returned the kiss, and they quickly escalated to a full blown make-out session before Wally cleared his throat. They broke off and Dick glared at him as he smirked. Zatanna laughed a bit before giving Dick another peck on the lips, and Artemis dragged her boyfriend away to have their own little moment.
"Okay, don't even try to talk me out of the healing spells now."
The team made it back to the cave before getting debriefed by Batman. He eyed Dick in particular as Kal explained their mission to him. "Understood. It's troubling to know that Ra's Al Ghul is enlisting the help of Deathstroke, but in any case, good work. Holding off the Terminator is no small task, as I have learned the hard way. I'm impressed. Hit the showers, check in to the med-bay, and head home for the night. Good work today." Bruce notioned for Dick, and he gave his girlfriend one final peck on the lips before departing. "Took some pretty big hits, from the looks of it. Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good. Uh, is it okay if I stay the night with Zee?"
"Not today. I want Alfred to look you over. Slade is not your run-of-the-mill bad guy. You likely have injuries you don't even know about after fighting him." Dick's eyes widened in realization.
"W-wait, what's stopping him from just, y'know, going after Lieber when we're not around?!"
"Slade lives by a code. He doesn't kill anyone or do anything illegal for free, and after your team foiled his initial plans, he will likely ask for a larger payout or walk. Even if Ra's is willing to pay him more for a second shot, I have set up substantial security around the Senator. Even Superman couldn't get in if he tried. Trust me, I know Slade. He won't come back for a second attempt." Dick nodded and walked with him to the Zeta tubes.
"He seems to know you. I-I know you guys fought a lot before, and I've just met him and all, but there's something more." Bruce sighed as they Zeta'd home.
"He knows my ID, yours too, most likely. He actually knows most heroes' secret identities." Dick looked in shock before Bruce continued. "He doesn't act on them because even he is willing to admit that there are some lines one does not cross. Family and personal ties are too far, even for Slade. Trust me, he won't go after us like this. But that does not mean you can take him less seriously. He is by far one of the biggest threats you will likely ever face. In some ways, he's more dangerous than the Joker." Dick nodded before walking to the medical table and awaiting Alfred's checkup. Why do I get the feeling this is gonna come back to bite me in the ass later...
I was originally gonna write a Dick/Connor bonding chapter, but halfway through it I realized it would fit better a little further down the road, so I actually had to delete it and restart. There's some semi-big stuff coming up about 4 chapters from now, and they actually have big changes to the status quo in this book, so I decided to delay Dick/Connor stuff till after all that. Feel free to leave comments or suggestions. Next chapter up soon.