Long Live the King – Deathstroke's Forced Descent into Villainy
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Chapter Four: A Good Ruler Cannot Live Frivolusly
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Intel, he needed intel and badly. Even the new stuttering boy, Squirrel was still inexperienced for this kind of job he was asking….
He needed –
A ring sounded at his bedside. Well, it was a private number. What a roll of the die, was in his favor….
He picked it up, cradling the item by his chin. "Hello."
~ Hello, Deathstroke. ~
That voice, clear as a bell and her accent was Hispanic. Yet, soft.
"How did you find this number, are you…" Slade searched the walls, looking by the window as he carried the cordless around.
~ There won't be much time, so I want to trust what your dream may be. And, I want to help you to achieve it. To be your own, king. ~
Slade snorted. ~ Pretty words. She's making this up, has to be. ~ Was his first thought.
"Mirage, right? What are you doing with them; do you even carry any abilities, and why would you want to help a killer –
~ I'm not so innocent, dear Death. ~ As she says it, Slade suddenly longs to be with anyone in his loneliest hour. As if she is that space in-between, as if he should take her here. Slade shuts out these carnal urges to call out to her. So very unlike his persona to kiss and tell. Slade leaned into his bedspread, thinking of how he'd nearly left Addie a quaking mess…
"Have you taken a dozen lives yet, my dear?" The male fears that asking will be a bit forward, but what the heck. She's now at his end of the line and they were chatting this long. "What do you want to add to my company, would you truly word alongside a messy detective like myself?" Slade's easily smirking but she, must not seem to care.
~ The group T.R.U.S.T is no better than Blackgate's Suicide Squad to be honest, Deathstroke. ~ She's right. And yet, he can't help but listen further.
"Are they, now?" He acted interested, but can she tell…
~ Though, you could do much better with Ra's, or on your own. I know of a way…yet if you find yourself trapped, I cannot undo what has already come to pass. ~
"Tell me." Slade sat up, expecting her to leave him without a full answer. Great deduction.
~ I may, but that may not work on your private line. Let us meet…I can tell you much more if we are together. ~
A, date. No. Just strictly business. She sounds like a real spy by that logic. Slade knows he'll have to place a tracer on her before…
Damn, what a time to get turned on by a stray thought.
"Send me the coordinates, I'll be there. Ten, sharp."
~ Make it nine. I want to keep away from crowds in our line of work. I hope that's a decent request. ~
Too modest of her. She's playing you, Wilson.
"You have yourself a place, jot that down. I won't be a minute over."
Hanging up, Slade soon realizes that his self control has a need for the toilet, so he listens to his body for once. Did the serum effect my libido even as an after-effect years later? Wasn't an issue out of the clinic, but sometimes aging backwards has its downsides too…Even with a half erect member chasing away the ones who might matter to your pipe – dreams. Damn, it…
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Now, knowing Will he'd just gone on his side of the issue and clammed up. I told him I'd patch him through to keep an eye out for any new data, but it is basically not the year two – thousand, so I need to just pretend I can do this without sweating the small stuff. Anyway, her idea is a coffee house on the next corner in Metropolis where we are stationed. As far as I'm concerned, I'm wearing a fake eye and am not going to walk in with a semi since I made sure to say "down boy" before putting on my jeans today. Yes. Even super soldier mercenaries can wear denim, so don't listen to everything you hear on T.V.
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She's dressed down and delicate as her hands slip across the table to grasp at the files in front of them. She's made sure to cover her tracks. The two are finally in sync. No distractions.
"I'll order you something to compensate, if that's ok." Slade Wilson is still a man, not a monster as she smiled back quietly from across the small table at him. "You are very kind, Mr. Wilson. Yes. I will have a small Cappuccino. In your country, the coffee here is weighted, but I enjoy a bit of flavor now and again." She was acting as if she does not need to hide it. He awkwardly smiled back her way.
Cute.
But she's still a top elite, and his eyes are on the way she moves her hands. Cat woman would be envious by how flexible they both are…Yet Slade could not get distracted.
Mirage, but why?
"So, are you not here to stay in Metropolis for a time, Slade?" She pulled out more files and handed him one stamped with a document similar to the one he had shown to Lex. Slade's brows knitted back a bit.
"How did you come across…"
"My work, you see….is to gather information for my employer who is almost like you. Though lacking when it comes to powers. I actually do have an ability, but I prefer to keep it to myself." She went a moment to gather her cup and whiffed at its sweet aroma with a childlike giddiness, that made Slade's heart ache for her closeness…Maybe he could join her, see what she –
"Your power…" Wilson suddenly had it. "Not just, that…"
"Deduced it, already?" She chuckled at him, leaving Slade to gulp with a nod. "You don't need to tell me, but I do want to know what you plan to to gather - regarding my resources down through the groups listed on this paper." He pulled up a carefully compiled list of those who could see things his way.
"One; Hype or the junior division of the Hive. A second would be… in Ra's Al Ghul's League of Assassins. Shadows, as he calls them. I should know; I turned down his offer to train me, as did Bruce Wayne not long ago."
Slade muttered the rest softly to them.
"Hive still owes me for old debts paid." Rubbing his chin, He was just as curious to expect a new leader of the Hive's newest division, in place of their senior elite… Patrolling the world after his son, Slade had made it super clear that none of the group's operatives were to step foot on his family's turf. His old life wasn't for sale.
"So, if I let them in on this, venture…will they even consider if I say it?" Slade wanted to stay, hypothetical. But, she shook her head, confused. "You are not doing much; you want to start a business, a competition. T.R.U.S.T is too risky, but Hype may be promising if you one day wish to take on an heir to –
"A legacy is second to this, but yes." Nodded the male. She's too right. He did want to have that, even after his family was willing to forget his face forever…The soldier in Wilson, wouldn't give up, however.
"Then I will direct you to them, as…" She nervously brushed a strand of hair behind her tanned ear. Slade swallowed, waiting.
"Ah, for the drink. It was very generous, and I will be sure not to be caught."
"You are illusive, knowing you." He bothered to flatter her again, and she picked up the hint instantly.
"We can return to our lives – unless…You'd rather talk some more?"
She was as flattered as he was - by those eyes, and the man could always gather information in the meantime.
Plenty to build the empire of his dreams.
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As for that month, we've gotten pretty far.
As far as Hive's new headmaster and Mirage?
I've learned to live with her. Close enough.
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Waking to the scent of freshly ground coffee in her pent is amazing, but I didn't expect to spend the night. I found she used to work for the CIA and the reason she can manipulate me, is due to an ability that can lead a grown male to drink from her palm.
Amazing, but still as deadly as a viper.
We go over the plans, I send things her way and she to my inbox. It's all very touching, but it has to end sometime soon.
She slips over to me in her robe and sits beside me in her now disheveled bed. A fresh cup in her hand as she hands it right to me. I'm truly impressed by how calm she was last night. Not a hiccup.
"In my ranks, we don't usually share a bed with a stranger for more than a few days. I'm shocked you didn't see right through my plans…" I yawn and roll over to view her gentle eyes staring back. We reach out to kiss, and it's mutual enough that she almost has my coffee spilled in the process. I take it back. It burns but I still don't care.
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Going over the last call, she hands me a card and waves me out as I take the rooftop route. How tall up it is, nothing that far out of reach can startle me. She even got the nerve to leave a kiss, but my worry isn't about her but her petty gang of criminal minds from before. She knows to play it safe, yet with me…
None of my targets ever get their dues.
Sad to say, she already knows too much. The last coffee she'll want is in that cup.
And the last time I'll have what I need from her, will be at dawn. Daybreak in her eyes was very enjoyable, but a threat is a threat. A class - A scoundrel, as a spark; then a massive KABOOM litters the rooms to her home. She's not going to survive it. Her coffee was what has her sleeping about now, I made sure of it. I watch as four truck's sirens wail off to stop the blaze, yet they are too late.
It was fun while it lasted, but she'd just be more dead weight for old Deathstroke. I head away to my safe house to set my sights on something else on my list of to- dos.
A home of my own away from this city, and a new start begins.
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Regret doesn't hit him, so he flew to the only place that can push his luck up a notch. Swiping by a few newspaper stands, Slade realized that Metropolis had far too much competition, however….
It was of one few many cities that caught his eye.
Steel.
Dakota.
And lastly, an up-and-coming metropolis by the bay.
Jump city, right outside of sunny San Francisco.
Sunny, but well worth a look. He packed some things, grabbed a sweet jet and made sure to find a hotel in the area. It was to scout out a few places, warehouses. Safe…
And to start with that? No. He would be off of doing dirty work for crooked liars. He was ready for thee big time.
Slade stayed in his civilian wear here in broad daylight. Seeking out a kingdom to rule would take months of planning, but by then he'd be cemented down to this…
So, he then first took a trip to Steel city. Near Gotham, Chicago, and the NYC.
Cold, industrialized, but not a lot here. No Flint Michigan, and not Bludhaven either. He opted to build a second place out of this titanium route. "If I fall back to this heap of tin, it would be the easiest place for a getaway." As Slade thought this, his alarm on his belt beeped. He frowned, though eager for a distraction. "Time to work."
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A few thousands of green later, he got cozy at an inn on the way to Dakota city. He even got to see a few spots that screamed inner city urban living. Tempting, but no. It was safe house material. Not enough resources and far too guarded like Central city.
And no Gotham to that list. It was already inhabited by a nightmare. A big, frightening bat.
And the plane or bird or whatever was in the city he'd already doused in ashes. Lex's lecture was in the past.
So, the days waned and within that week, up he came to Jump City. A wharf overlooking a great, crystal clear, blue bay caught his eye. A single pier housing many unnamed warehouse facilities and even a power plant or two…tech centers and a Wayne Enterprises sister location…A perfect place to swipe his fortune up, effortlesssly.
There was one thing that made it nearly perfect.
No patron heroes. Nada, zilch.
It was time, and here it was calling out to him, this city as he sought out its endless horizons.
Own me.
Have me.
Exploit me.
Revel in me…
Slade smiled and remembered that his family had lived in California up by the Rockies when he was born. He took in a big gulp of precious sea air and sighed. Finally.
"I think, that I AM going to like it here…"
He decided. This, was the sacred ground he'd walk and leave his footprints in the sand on.
Immortalized, right before he ground it all under his boot to dust in the wind.
The fate of most civilizations, the bigger they were…the harder they'd come crashing down around him.
And now; where to set up camp?
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Slade is nuts so don't take his word for this. He's getting cocky, we'll have to read on and Mirage might be dead... I won't tell!
