Chapter 43 Cats Birds and Hunters

Epilogue

The night had grown old. Any and all who had entered Woods' bar had since gone home. Jinx had already wished her adoptive father goodnight and had headed upstairs to bed. Woods was alone to pack away the rest of the bar before he too called it a night.

To his surprise, there was a shadow figure stood by the door. Weird... He thought he locked that. How this man had manged to walk inside without making a sound complexed the veteran further. "We're closed pal. Come back tomorrow." He stated simply not giving it much thought.

"I noticed" The shadowy figure replied with a voice as cold as the night's breeze.

Woods stared an emotionless stare toward the figure. He stood up straight keeping his gaze fixed on the man and walked over to the end of the bar. The figure too walked toward him, pulling out a stool from under the bar top and sat down in front of the bar keep.

Slade stared his old brother in arms in the face for the first time in decades. Both men's faces were completely blank of emotion. They had both seen and done so much that nothing shocked them anymore.

You could cut the tension with a knife. It was inevitable that something was going to start something off. Woods' blank face turned furious and the older man cracked his fellow soldier across the jaw with a hard punch. The impact knocking Slade's face to face back toward the door. Despite being punched across the jaw. His emotionless stare never broke. The man had no emotion left in him to show pain.

"I have so many things to hit you for I don't know what to dedicate that punch too first." Woods spoke through gritted teeth.

Slade slowly turned his head back toward his former leader and stared back at him again.

Woods huffed and grabbed a bottle of whiskey off the shelf along with a small glass. He poured his guest a small amount and placed it before him. Slade took the glass and looked down in front of where Woods stood. "You're not going to join me?" Slade asked noticing Woods hadn't poured himself a glass.

"I'm giving it up. Trying to be a better man for my daughter. Something you don't know anything about Slade."

Slade didn't react at all. He simply 'Hummed' in agreement, before taking a sip of whiskey. "Congratulations by the way."

"Don't change the subject. What did you do to Rose? What about Grant and Joey while you're at it." Woods demanded.

Slade took a breath. Silently reflecting on what he put his own children through when they were young. What kind of a childhood he provided for them. "I was preparing them for the word that is. Not the one we wished it would be."

"What. Did. You. Do? You son of a bitch."

"What I will regret for the rest of my life."

Woods stared Slade down. He had a stare that would make a man crack under pressure but he knew he couldn't crack Slade into telling him what he wanted to know.

"I mourned you. I almost drank myself to death over leaving you. And this whole time. Not only were you alive. You were in the same god damn town... I- I can't believe you didn't let me know that you were alive."

Slade looked up at his former leader. He had seen this man brutally murder men and take bullets to the chest in the name of his country and not bat an eyelid. But this was by far the most hurt he had ever seen him.

"And instead of telling me you were alive. You run around in that helmet, hiding yourself from the world while you try and ruin more kid's lives who are trying to do the world a little bit of good. I heard about some of the shit you did to the Titans. You got a little girl killed. Left to die in a volcano. An innocent fucking kid. Slade."

"What happened to Terra. Was a tragedy. A miscalculation that haunts me still. Never had my intention been to end anyone's life."

"Bullshit!"

"I have no reason to lie!"

"Then what did you torment them for?!"

"I was training them to be better! To prepare them for the word that is and not the one we wished it was!" The two yelled back at another.

Woods stared at Slade dumbfounded. He shook his head slowly starting to understand how Slade's mind worked.

"You better not be- So what? You "Miscalculated" with your own children so you're seeing the Titans as a second chance? Something like that?"

Slade sat in silence again.

"You made an error with your kids so you tried again. With kids that are stronger, that could take whatever physiological or physical torture you put your kids through so that they could "be ready" for the real world?"

"We live in a world where gangs, thieves and villains are around every street corner. Where at any moment someone like that freak the Joker could put a knife through your daughter's neck for no reason at all! Say what you want but none of my kids will ever wind-up dead in an alley because of some punk with a gun. Because I made the hard choice and broke them down to build them into people who are capable of surviving anything thrown at them."

"You failed your kids so you sought redemption through the Titans admit it!"

"Fine! I'd be lying if I said that wasn't at least part of why I kept returning to test them"

"Test them?"

"I never intended to killed them, Woods. I only ever intended on pushing them. To surpass their limits. To achieve the impossible. And my efforts were a resounding success. I turned five lazy, over confident individuals who couldn't work together to solve a jigsaw puzzle into the most complete superhero team since the Justice League. Because of my choices. The world is ultimately a better place. I made myself their obsession. The ultimate goal. I was what drove them to be as great as they are. I never stopped tormenting them because with every fight we had they came out stronger. ME!"

Woods stood there listening to what Slade was saying. He didn't like what he was hearing. But he was understanding it. "So, what's next for you? Go into hiding while you conjure up a new scheme?"

"No."

"No?"

"I've done all that I can for them. They no longer need someone to drive them. Anyone of them could walk into the Justice League now. My mission is over."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"I never asked myself that question. I thought once this happened. I could retire. Whether that be in a prison cell or on an island beach. But I don't feel satisfied. I still feel there is more to be done."

"That's because you have your own children to help, Slade. You've been avoiding your biggest challenge the moment you started it. Look I get it. There's a reason I never had kids myself. But you can't escape the fact that you let your kids down. You will never rest easy until you fix your mistakes."

Slade listened to what Woods was saying. Maybe he was right. But he had pushed his children past the point of no return. There was no redeeming himself through them.

"There's no coming back from what I did to them."

"Then God damn it, go out and do some good for someone else! I don't know what happened to you but I watched you fucking die! The other night. Whatever happened to you could be useful to someone else."

"These aren't gifts Woods. What the Russians did to me I don't wish on anyone."

"What did the Russian's do to you Slade? How come you can't die? How are you so athletic at your age?"

Slade's mind flashed back to all the torture he suffered at the hands of the Russian's experiments. "I never found out all the details. But they were trying to create super soldiers. To make an army powerful enough to take over any country or achieve any goal they set their sights on. If you think I'm dangerous. Imagine a whole army of men like me. And I was only their first, and thankfully last, test subject. I don't know much about it, but I was used as part of what they called 'Operation Mirakuru'. The Mirakuru. It grants enhanced strength and cell regeneration. I'm stronger, faster and smarter in every way. But my mind and body never stop for anything. My mind is ten times as active as a regular person, sleep for the longest time was almost impossible before I learned how to control it. And I can feel my muscles constantly pulsating, pestering me to use them constantly. There's no helping that however. My cells are always healing my muscles. They're always fresh, ready to go again."

"Do you even have limits? Theoretically, you could live forever then, no?"

"No. I have my limits. I've died twice since being injected with the Mirakuru."

"What could even kill you?"

"My body isn't indestructible. It relies on its cells regenerating faster than they're being destroyed. Destroy enough cells and my body can't cope. My first death came after I was poisoned."

"Doesn't sound so bad?" Woods cut in.

"Before being cut open by scalpels and died to blood loss." Slade finished.

"Oh."

"My body was fighting the effects of the poison. It couldn't handle the strain it was put under."

"And the second?"

"Fell into an active volcano."

"...huh..."

"Wasn't a pleasant way to die."

"No kidding... But how did you come back to life? That's some gospel shit man."

"To say I went through hell and fought my share of demons to make it back, would be putting it lightly." Slade explained as he finished off his drink. "I need to go. I have a plane leaving in an hour." Slade said, getting out of his seat and tucking it back under with the rest.

"Slade. I know you're not the most empathetic guy. But you owe it to your kids. To try and mend your relationship with them. Not as some Terminator or unstoppable force. I don't know where the hell you should start, but you need to start somewhere."

Slade said nothing. But he acknowledged the comment with a mild nod and grunt. From beneath his coat Slade pulled out an envelope and slid it over to Woods. "Apologies, were something I was never good at. I don't think I could say anything to redeem myself to you. But hopefully that helps. Live a good life, Frank." Slade said as he walked away from Woods and exited the bar.

Woods sighed and watched him leave. His eyes looked down at the paper on his counter top. He wanted to throw it away without thinking about it. Nothing Slade could give him interested him. "Fine. I'll humour you." He said to himself and opened the envelope.

Woods pulled out a slip of paper from the envelope. Seeing it was a check for five million dollars Woods scoffed and shook his head. 'You can't buy me Slade'. Woods thought to himself. He was about to throw it away when he saw another piece of paper inside the envelope. A letter was inside the envelope. Pulling it out he unfolded the piece of paper. Something at the bottom of the letter caught his eye before he had read anything.

He didn't know how Slade had gotten it, but Slade had attached the old photo of their Black Ops squad. Woods gazed at the photo of the four of them. Mason, Bowman, Slade and himself. All so young and happy. He thought he had lost this picture to the bar fire. He remembered saving it from the blaze but didn't know Slade had taken it. This photo meant more to him that any check.

The Titans don't know I'm free. Tell them or keep it a secret,

it doesn't matter. I'm Out.

Slade

The old man sighed looking at the photo again. He wasn't the same man he once knew. And that pained him oh so much. "Take care of yourself kid." Woods said to no one. Slipping the letter and photo back into the envelope he stored it in his pocket. With nothing left to do, he shut the lights off and left the bar.

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Stepping inside a car parked around the block Slade sat down next to the only friend he had left. Billy Wintergreen was sat in the driver's seat waiting for Slade's return. "It's done?" He asked.

Slade nodded with a light hum as he stared out of the window. "So that's it then old friend. This is the last time we meet?"

"I'm afraid so Billy. I'm no longer required here, nor anywhere."

"Then where will you go? What will you do?"

Slade stared out of the passenger window pondering those questions. His gaze was lost out afar. Blankly staring at nothing. He saw nothing that took his interest. After a short moment his vision shortened to his faint reflection in the glass.

"There's a place out there for me. I just have to find it."

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And with this chapter. I can finally say I'm done with it. I'm no longer going to be updating it.

I had planned this scene out years ago but when it finally came time to finish the fic it didn't really have a place, I felt that it fit. I had wanted to end it how I did the chapter 42 focused on the Titans. But I think it's too good to leave out so consider this a deleted scene.

Now that Cats, Birds and Hunters is finally complete after 4 something years... IT'S ONTO THE NEXT STORY!

Yep I know. You'd think after 4 years I'd have had enough of this. But oh no. I've been throwing idea's around for my next fic for years. If you think I went big with the characters in this fic, I'm going to blow your mind with my following fic.

I'm not going to give anything away but I'll say this. It directly follows events of Batman: Under The Red Hood. Arguably one of the best pieces of cinema DC has. We're going to be exploring what happened to Jason after he disappeared at the end and how it will be connecting to the story I have planned for these characters.

It's going to be a big job but I'm going to do that story justice with the direction I'm taking it in. Jason Tood is a character I care about a lot. I didn't get a tattoo of him on my arm for nothing. So expect this next fic to mainly revolve around Jason and Dick. But everyone else will be present also.

I say it every chapter but I'm so sorry this took another 5 months to release. I took a month off to visit the UK and also had a pretty bad time since returning. Just sad depressing stuff I don't wanna get into here. I'm fine now. But that took a while to get over. If it helps I have actually finished the first chapter of the next fic so that will actually be up in a day or 2.

I again want to give a huge thankyou to everyone that not only reads this but has made it the whole way through. I know there's not many of you but you do all matter to me.

Unfortunately, Rose couldn't edit this chapter and possibly not the next one either. She's starting a new job and studying so she's very busy at the moment but she's a massive reason this fic got an ending and sequel so we'll let her off. She's earnt the break.

If you could leave a review it would make my day. Even if it was just saying what your favourite chapter / moment was it's awesome to hear from you guys.

With that. I'll see you in the following fic so keep an eye on your inbox for my next fic 'RED OF THE ROSE'

Dansacharm