I do not own Young Justice or any of the characters.
Beginning of the End
Cassius watched as Tim and Cassandra talked quietly by the door. He was willing to bet Tim was asking her to choose. He sighed silently and walked to his room. It was late and he was tired. He sighed as he shifted his clothes into pajamas and lay down. He stared at the door in silence for several seconds before turning his head back to the ceiling. He didn't want to spend another night alone. It was miserable, and he was tired. However, he wasn't sure if anything had changed. He wasn't even sure that he actually wanted things to change. At least, from the way they were before. Recently, yes, but he wasn't sure about anything beyond going back to how they used to be.
He sighed heavily. He shouldn't be assuming anything had changed at all. He was just setting himself up to fall. He looked over at the door again just as it opened and Rose and Cassandra walked in, both smiling. Cassius sat up, eyes widening before softening.
"I thought you were going to go on a date with Tim, Cassandra," Cassius said.
Cassandra shook her head and signed, "He said he wanted me to be happy, and that he couldn't give me that, so he broke it off."
Cassius's eyes widened before he smiled. "I see."
Both girls walked over and sat on either side of him, hugging him, Cassius hugging them back.
"I missed you," Cassius said.
"Sorry," Cassandra sniffed.
"We didn't mean to hurt you," Rose said.
"I'm sorry I shut you out," Cassius said. "I never meant to hurt you."
Both held him tighter.
"Love you, Cassius," Cassandra said. "Love you."
"So do I," Rose said. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Cassius said. "Both of you."
Both curled into him tighter, but his chest constricted.
"I..."
"We know," Rose said. "We'd have been in earlier, but we needed to talk first. We'll wait as long as you need. However old you need us to be before you can allow yourself to be with us, we'll wait."
"Thank you," Cassius said. "But...are you sure...I mean...Are you sure you don't mind...sharing me?"
"We've always shared you," Rose smiled. "If it's just us, we don't mind. It's always been the three of us. We never even considered only one of us having you."
"Really?" Cassius asked, Cassandra nodding. Cassius smiled. "I won't make you wait too long. I promise."
Both nodded and smiled up at him. After a moment, Cassandra reached up hesitantly, only for Cassius to lean in, capturing her lips with his. Cassandra sighed into the kiss, leaning into him. He lay back, bringing her with him just as a second goo upper body formed out of his side, holding his arms out to Rose. She smiled and lay against him, kissing him as he held her. After another few seconds, Cassius pulled back from both kisses, retracting the middle arms and fusing his two upper bodies so that he was holding both of the girls against him. After a minute, Cassandra sniffed, Cassius looking down at her worriedly.
"Sorry," Cassandra cried. "Sorry...kiss Tim."
"Cassandra, it's okay," Cassius said, growing a third arm under her chin to make her look up at him. "I'm not mad."
Cassandra frowned. "But kiss Tim."
"It's alright," Cassius said. "You care about him, and you're attracted to him, so I'm not mad that you kissed him."
"But..." Cassandra trailed off, so Rose sighed, reaching over and turning her head so she could kiss her. Cassandra's eyes went wide instantly.
"It's alright that you kissed Tim, Cassandra, because you chose Cassius," Rose said. "That's the part Cassius cares about. That you're happy, and that you chose him."
Cassandra watched her for a moment before looking to Cassius, who nodded, smiling. Cassandra smiled as well and nodded, kissing Rose, then Cassius, both kisses lasting several seconds. "Thank you. Love you."
Cassius held both girls tighter and smiled, closing his eyes, all three drifting off quickly. The next morning, Cassandra woke him up with a kiss before Rose stole one too. Cassius kissed them both back before heading to take a shower, deciding to skip his run for the morning. After he'd showered and formed clothes for the day, he headed back to his room, only to find Rose and Cassandra just finishing drying their hair from their own showers, not having gotten dressed yet but having dropped their towels.
"Welcome back," Rose smiled, walking over and looping her arms around him as she kissed him, pushing the door closed.
He pulled back and opened his mouth to speak, only for Cassandra to interrupt him with a kiss. He sighed, allowing it for a few seconds before pulling away. "Get dressed, you two. We're going to set ground rules before anything else."
Both girls nodded and got dressed as Cassius sat on the bed.
"Alright," Cassius sighed. "So, first off, no more kissing. I let you get away with it last night and this morning, but I really was serious about waiting."
Both girls nodded, smiling.
"It's going to be a few years, at minimum," Cassius said.
"We'll wait," Rose said. "We were expecting to not be allowed to kiss you anymore. That's why we both did it one last time."
Cassius sighed. "Figures."
"We'll go back to acting like we did before the Reach got you," Cassandra signed. "At least until you're ready."
"Thank you," Cassius said. "Now, want to go beat up Dick?"
Both girls grinned widely and nodded turned to leave, only for Cassius to whistle. They turned and both caught their liquid metal swords' hilts, looking at him in confusion.
"Try them out," Cassius said. "I had Jaime see if his scarab could do anything with them."
Both girls extended the blades, their eyes widening as Cassandra's sword extended a Japanese-style blade about the length of her wakizashi, and Rose's extended double-edged blades about the same size as her blunt swords. Both girls squealed excitedly and retracted the blades before throwing their arms around him, kissing him. He rolled his eyes.
"What'd we just say?" Cassius asked, smiling.
Both girls laughed and raced out of the room. Cassius sighed, shaking his head and followed them to the Batcave, finding Dick just finishing putting his armor on.
"Something come up?" Cassius asked.
"Nah," Nightwing said. "Just going to check on the team."
Cassius nodded. "We'll meet you there."
"Looking for something to do?" Nightwing asked.
"Not really," Rose said. "We just have nothing else to do."
"What about laying around making out all day?" Nightwing asked.
"We're not dating," Rose said. "Well, not yet. We'll wear him down eventually, but for now, we're not together."
"Right," Nightwing said. "Sure you're not. Anyway, if you're going, I'll see you later."
He left and Cassandra and Rose both put their armor on as well, the three of them all heading to the portal and taking it to Taos. As they reached the room they'd been meeting in, however, they found Nightwing staring at a map with a tracer signal in the middle of the ocean.
"What's that?" Cassius asked.
"It's an island," Nightwing said. "One where a certain friend of ours says he can arrange a meeting between Rose and her father."
"Why would I want that?" Rose asked, frowning. "The last two times I met him, he was trying to kill all three of us."
"Because, there's going to be a summit between the Reach and the Light in two days," Nightwing said.
"And as Deathstroke, I'd be able to infiltrate it," Cassius said.
"Actually, I was planning on having Megan infiltrate as Deathstroke," Nightwing said.
"Dick, I'm a trained assassin, who was trained by Deathstroke for years," Cassius said. "I know all his mannerisms, I know how he fights, and I know how he treats people. I'm replacing him."
"But..." Rose trailed off and he turned, to her, lifting her chin.
"I'm not going to kill him," Cassius promised. "And I'm not going to die. The Team will be joining the Summit too, once we ruin it, so you'll be there before I need you."
"You'll need to find out what the Light has planned and what they'll have waiting for the Reach, or us," Nightwing said.
"Oh, please," Cassius snorted. "Deathstroke's the Light's top enforcer right now. He'll know everything. And I know where to find it."
"Alright," Nightwing nodded. "Who are you taking to the family reunion?"
"Cassandra and Rose, obviously, and Megan," Cassius said. "If you can, let Kaldur know to bring Tigress. I want to set up a contingency plan that I need to have them there for."
"She'll be there," Nightwing nodded.
"Good," Cassius said, just as Megan walked in. "We'll go now, then. I'll fill her in on the way."
Nightwing nodded and the the three of them left the building with Megan. Cassius explained what they were going to do on the way and Megan agreed with his reasoning for why he should be the one going under cover.
"You seem much happier now," Megan said as she flew the Bio-Ship toward the island. "Are congratulations in order?"
"We're not together," Cassius replied. "Not yet."
"I'm so happy for you!" Megan smiled.
"Thank you," Cassius smiled.
Cassandra and Rose checked and doublechecked their gear as they flew, their anxiousness beginning to make Cassius anxious. Finally, he caught their hands to stop them and gave them both a knowing look as he took a deep breath.
"Cassandra, Rose, I promise you, everything is going to be okay," Cassius said. "Between the three of us, he's not going to be able to win."
"Four," Megan corrected.
"You're just going to take all of the firebombs and ammunition he's got away from him, then let us handle him," Cassius said.
"Are you sure?" Megan asked.
"I'm sure," Cassius said.
She nodded and Cassius turned back to his girls.
"Do you trust me?" Cassius asked, both girls nodding instantly. "I promise you, none of us three are going to die here."
They nodded and both took a deep breath, calming themselves.
"We're here," Megan said.
"Good," Cassius said, standing with the other four as a hole opens in the floor.
He squatted down, looking out through the hole and saw the island was about a half mile ahead and they were still at high altitude.
"Any sign of them?" Cassius asked.
"None," Megan said. "That won't last."
"Right," Cassius nodded. "Let's go. Keep the Bio-Ship up high."
Megan nodded and the four of them left the ship, Cassius flying himself, Cassandra, and Rose, and Megan flying herself, keeping herself invisible. After a few seconds, they landed on the beach and a massive water serpent rose behind them as Deathstroke walked out of the trees, his broadsword across his shoulders and two extra ammo belts across his chest in an X. One of them was filled with dozens of magazines for his pistol, and the other with dozens of firebombs.
"Well well, look at this," Deathstroke said. "I caught the whole happy family."
"Deathstroke," Cassius said. "Pleasure to see you again."
"He is not alone," Kaldur said as he and Artemis walked out of the water, Artemis spitting out her rebreather.
"Hello again Kaldur, Tigress," Cassius said. "Megan, do your thing, then keep those two busy."
Megan nodded and raised her hand, ripping Deathstroke's gun and ammo belts away, hurling them out to sea. He made a snatch for them, but missed as he staggered backward under a hail of rubber bullets from Rose. Once she'd emptied one pistol, she cast it aside, then drew her other and fired that. As she did, Megan began to hurl Artemis and Kaldur around while avoiding attacks from both.
Cassius charged just as Rose's second non-lethal pistol ran dry. Deathstroke slashed long before he arrived, sending his sword's scabbard slamming into Cassius's chest. Cassius staggered back a step and Deathstroke shot forward, only to spin and deflect one of Rose's sword. Rose spun, slashing with her other sword and he twisted his, deflecting it as well before kicking her away and pivoting, deflecting Cassandra's wakizashi. Then, Cassius drilled a fist into the side of his head, sending him staggering away. He spun, slashing at Cassius and Cassius formed a goo wakizashi and deflected the blade before slashing back at Deathstroke, only for him to kick Cassius's forearm, knocking it away. Cassius's foot snapped up in a roundhouse kick and Deathstroke ducked under it, just in time for Cassandra to drop, placing her hands on the ground and smash her foot into his face, sending him staggering backward. Cassius lunged, slamming a punch into his face and he staggered away, dropping his sword. Rose shot forward instantly, slamming her blades into Deathstroke rapidly, forcing him back rapidly before he spun, stripping them from her and moving to stab her, only for Cassandra to slash the blade down, then pivot, slashing back the other way. The blade crashed into his mask and sent it spinning into the air as Deathstroke staggered backward.
"Well done," Deathstroke smirked. "You three got good. Less impressed by your improvement than theirs, Cassius."
"Well, that's unfortunate," Cassius said. "I'll just have to try harder I guess."
"Indeed," Deathstroke said, pulling his staff off his back and extending its blade. "If you don't want one of them to lose an eye trying to protect you again, at least."
Cassius narrowed his eyes, focusing more goo into his muscles before streaking forward, his goo wakizashi flashing around and around at Deathstroke, who began to backpedal rapidly as he struggled to fend him off. Finally, Cassius lunged, moving slashing from both sides, only for Deathstroke to flip over Cassius. However, as he did, a second upper body sprouted from Cassius's back, catching the staff and smashing Deathstroke down on the ground before the primary body shifted into a lower body for the new upper half, already going in the opposite direction. He slammed a foot into Deathstroke's face, hurling him backward. Deathstroke flipped, driving his staff's blade into the ground to skid to a stop beside Kaldur instantly as Artemis and Megan were trading blows.
"I might actually need a hand with this," Deathstroke said. "You got a minute?"
"For you?" Kaldur asked. "Always."
Then, he grabbed Deathstroke by the back of the head, electricity screaming over Deathstroke's body as his staff dropped to the ground. Kaldur kicked it away as Deathstroke collapsed and Cassius restrained him with goo instantly. He lifted him onto his knees as the others all joined him.
"Megan, take us in," Cassius said.
"His mind is shielded from my telepathy," Megan said.
"I know," Cassius said. "He taught me it. That's why we're bringing Rose."
Rose nodded instantly and Megan's eyes glowed green for a moment before they were all standing in Deathstroke's home, after the explosion that destroyed it at the end of their fight when Cassius took Rose from him.
"You've gotten strong, Cassius," Deathstroke said from off to the side, holding a picture and smiling, sadness actually shining from his eye. "I never expected you to beat me so quickly, even after I challenged you to make you try. And I didn't expect Manta's boy to be a deep cover operative. You win this round. Fair and square."
"Thank you," Cassius said. "For what it's worth, sorry I blew up your house all those years ago."
Deathstroke shook his head. "You were doing what you thought was right. Can't fault a man for that. And I'm glad you did. I can see how happy you make her. A father could never ask for more than to have his children safe and happy, even a father as awful as me." He set the picture on what little remained of a shelf and Cassius saw it was of him and a brunette woman holding three children together, Deathstroke holding a brunette infant and the woman holding both a brunette and one with snow-white hair. "Here. This is what you need."
He tossed a manila envelope, the same Cassius's mission intel used to come in, to Cassius. Cassius caught it and gripped the flap only to look up at Deathstroke as Deathstroke moved. He walked to the kitchen, grabbing four upside down wine glasses and a bottle of the God awful whiskey Deathstroke loved to drink. He poured each of them a glass and passed them out before lifting his to his lips and drinking some, smiling contentedly.
"I still don't see how you can smile drinking this shit," Cassius said, also taking a drink.
"Dad has no taste buds," Rose said, drinking some of her own as Megan gagged down a mouthful of her own.
Deathstroke chuckled. "You don't need to drink it if you don't want to, little lady. It won't get you drunk anyway, which ruins the fun."
"I don't see how you call that fun," Megan said, setting the glass down.
Deathstroke chuckled. "It's not something someone with your personality type would understand." He turned back to Cassius. "The Light's going to be ready."
"They've underestimated us every step of the way," Cassius said. "Now that I have this, we'll be able to beat them again."
Deathstroke nodded. "I'd have to agree with that. The Light was never going to allow the Reach to stay, but regardless of our plans, the partnership's going to end as soon as you attack the summit. Will you be ready for the repercussions?"
"Yes," Cassius said. "We'll destroy the Reach if they attack."
Deathstroke nodded, finishing his alcohol and Megan's, Cassius and Rose doing the same. "One last thing before you go. Take care of my daughter, Cassius. Take care of my last living child."
"You have my word," Cassius said. "I won't let any harm come to her."
"Then you have my blessing," Deathstroke said. "Whenever that time comes, you have it."
Cassius's eyes widened before he shook his head, smirking. "Dial it back, Slade. We're not even together."
Deathstroke chuckled. "You won't have to worry about Nemesis for a little while. He's not going to be at the summit."
"Good," Cassius nodded. "Megan, take us out."
"Don't you need to check the folder?" Megan asked.
"No," Cassius said. "As long as I'm holding it when we leave, I'll keep the information. It's something he taught me."
Megan nodded and the world around them faded to darkness before leaving them standing on the beach again. Deathstroke sighed as Cassius closed his eyes, sifting through the knew information, nodding to himself. The Light prepared well, but it would be an easy job to ruin it for them. He opened his eyes again, seeing Rose hugging Deathstroke, who was smiling.
"You be good, Rose," Deathstroke said. "And be careful. The rest of the Light and the Shadows don't care whose child you are."
"I know," Rose said, stepping back. "You taught me to take care of myself. I'll be okay, Dad. I love you."
Deathstroke's eyes began to gloss and he smiled. "Look at you. I let you be taken for a couple years and you go all soft." He chuckled. "Being taken away from me was the best thing to ever happen to you. I love you too, darling."
Rose smiled and turned to the others. Cassius walked over to Kaldur and Artemis, setting a hand on their shoulders and spreading goo over their torsos, which then transformed into their armor, compressing to barely more than a millimeter thick. He formed a gun from his goo, the goo transforming into a life-like replica. He held his hand up, demonstrating that it wouldn't hurt them by trying to shoot his hand, then swung the gun around, shooting at both of them. Both glanced at each other before looking down, seeing the goo had a bullet hole through them and blood spreading from it. Both of their eyes widened before they realized it was just an illusion.
"Useful," Artemis nodded.
Cassius nodded in agreement, retracting the goo forming his fake gun and the goo covering them reformed into their armor, undamaged and free of fake blood.
"Okay," Cassius said. "You two's contingency is set. See you guys soon."
Both nodded and Cassius turned to Megan. She nodded and entered his mind, finding him in the Cave before it was destroyed, sipping at a cup of hot chocolate in the kitchen as he added several pictures and pages of what looked like typed paragraphs to the same envelope Deathstroke had given him.
"I added a plan for who to go where when they infiltrate and when to come out of hiding," Cassius said. "As soon as you're in range, link us all."
Megan nodded and accepted the envelope before leaving. "Oh! You were right! That's a really good idea! Not a bad plan either."
Cassius nodded and turned to Deathstroke, transforming into him, complete with his pistol and ammo belts, though he used a strand of goo to retrieve Deathstroke's actual sword, scabbard, and staff, sheathing the sword and putting both weapons on his back. "How do I look?"
"I think even I wouldn't be able to tell the difference with a few drinks," Deathstroke said.
"Thank you very much," Cassius said. "Now, Megan, kindly take Cassandra and Rose home. I'll be going with these two. Oh, and drop him off somewhere secure and with no outside world contact. At least for now."
Megan nodded and lifted all three with her telekinesis before flying up to the Bio-Ship with them. Cassius retrieved Deathstroke's mask with a strand of goo and pulled it on, then followed Kaldur and Artemis out into the water.
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