Long Live the King – Deathstroke's Forced Descent into Villainy
/
Chapter 6: "Go" and the Beginning of the First Trial
/
A rumbling above the streets of Jump jolted Slade from his time at his desk. "What the!"
He turned on the news to a frequency that wasn't dead, and to his shock the city was under attack!
/
Slade decided to stay out of the crossfire unless his new lair was left defenseless, then he'd watch from afar. Sending a cloaked bot to scout and a drone to pick up the footage that the city's excited camera crew could not, Slade surveyed the situation and came to the conclusion that these alien foes were looking for someone. To his delight and horror, yes. The Gordanians were a society of warriors and navigators throughout the cosmos, and they had an agreement made with "The Citadel" if he wasn't mistaken, to spread word and to seek out trafficked sites for the warlord of the planet's secret "games." On War World, Superman's foes were the same, gladiator types…. humm…
"Who's running, is my question and as to why they'd go to such lengths…" Slade rubbed his chin and saw that his answer was coming up soon.
A blast, and a woman fell from the air to hit the square hub center of Jump's nightlife scene.
A few people scattered, and the planet was left with a shadow looming over it. A giant crater made the citizens crowd around with flashing cameras and gawking faces; didn't they know not to go towards the fire? Stupid kids, was more -
" Hrrsmareg Rutha! Raaa!!!" A girl revealed herself, he saw that SHE wasn't alone either. He looked over and nearly spit out his coffee.
Bright colored tunic. Utility belt. Scowling face, younger and no more than fifteen by his built….and still as attentive to the situation as Slade took from the boy's narrowing stare. A leader…
And all by himself; save for two more who had joined the cape crusader's partner…Why wasn't he with the bat in Gotham? That was it; did he just up and walk away in recent months?
Slade kept watching to see how this would pan out for his fair city.
His city. Heck, yes! The one he'd staked a claim on for a few years now. What were these, young heroic side kicks doing on his turf?
And another! Wow… She looked like a recluse, and yet…Slade was drawn to her negativity as if he understood.
An abused teenager.
Then. A tween Doom Patrol cadet vying for attention showed, a half cyborg sixteen- or seventeen-year-old male with a sour attitude. And, the one they were trying to bring to justice…she was brutal enforcer herself. Ah, a red headed teenaged girl with powerful blasts and fighting abilities that were right now matching the Bat - boy wonder's well enough in close combat as Slade sat at his desk...
Hm…Was she –
Then, it happened quickly, which made Slade grimace.
~He was helping her….?~
/
Starfire checked her wrists, but not before getting a taste of this new life she'd be living.
With a grasp at the front of the boy's collar, then shoulder, she tugged him in and they locked lips, not eyes. He was rudely soon tossed aside onto the concrete as her own glowing two emerald orbs stared him down, afraid to forget why she'd been left to her fate in the first place. Why she should never be followed by anyone until the cost was "mostly" cleared.
"If you wish not to be –
/
As Slade viewed the teen's next powerful move, she took off; leaving the other teens to stare back at each other and consider their options, not until the Gordanian ships had other plans for the city.
Slade wondered if he could do anything, but he decided to keep below. Find out more about these so called side - kicks and their new enemy.
Or, was she really not who they believed at first?
/
Slade returned to his work for maybe forty seconds, until the next alert came up to blare at him with its obnoxious droning. Damn. So, this was it…they'd just made his day. Slade sighed wearily and stood up to head to his computer chair in the main room. He'd been working on a few plans in the meantime, but the boy wonder's glare was…. endearing. Not due to the alien, but he wasn't kicking them for not being able to work as a team.
Well, define team. They were a haphazard bunch of misfits that fit together in a stereotypical manner. As if you could pin them to any science fiction television series written by "Clash of the Planets" fanatics; the goth girl, the half robot teen, the green morphing teen, the one-man army brat and tactician, and….was there any doubt that they were facing the Gordanian army as not four, but five?? A typical not - so - dreamy - team.
And yet...
That was a big problem, since the girl from outer space was…a bit, much to beat. Yet, she was showing herself to be soft. Too soft. And far too trusting compared to her darker side he'd just witnessed.
Robin for example, was reckless and impulsive with his fighting style, but its same fluidity was still nearly perfect if not unpolished as fine silver.
It was just like the Batman to put off his training, wasn't it? Heh, what a guy.
And what about that, Cyborg boy? He was a bruiser and a wiz with knowing his way around a piece of tech. However, a bit inflated and sometimes distracted, Slade didn't recognize him from some old client's list or a photo...but he knew a S.T.A.R labs M.O when he saw one. He'd not been alone, but perhaps had connections to the Justice League, then…
Ah…the kid Beast…. the green one? Slade didn't count this youngest out just there and then. He saw that this timid jokester had his wild side by how he fought. Dinosaur, elephant, werewolves? Left you to wonder...
Still, the ex – Doom Patrol member was far too young to know the business, though it had been his calling for years with the Doom Patrol's Mento…He'd even bothered to announce it and for some reason…needed a mask? That was useless; seeing as the boy had green skin, hair and pointed ears with fangs. As the, hem…hard headed goth had pointed out earlier.
Now…The goth looked to hide more than her fair share of demons; locked away, no doubt. Slade had fought warriors who dabbled in magic. Not to dismiss Ra's love of the supernatural on occasion. Or a John C…. whatever that male was with his spell book was up to these days.
Her magic was strange, as if she had control but at the same time lacked it. As if she wasn't who she appeared to be, either.
Their newest companion flew down and to this they'd made a spectacular show for the Jump city populace. Fireworks, as the ship landed on a small isle in the center of Jump's crystalline bay.
Jump…His, City…. Slade gritted his jaw and saw how the red headed alien's cheery face beamed back at the bat's partner's.
For some reason, it really ticked Slade Wilson off.
WEAK. And that meant all the easier to see if his conclusion was the right one. "I think it's about time I did some scouting off in your city, Boy Wonder…. I can't have your mentor coming to my domain this time." Slade hated it when Batman (A.K.A billionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne) took his toys or jobs away. Each time he fled to avoid a roundhouse kick to the head. And every other time that they'd fought, not a bird or bat underling had been present.
Slade had seen the kid on T.V later, but he expected it to be no trouble deducing how. Slade looked into the duo for a client once, finding that Dick Grayson lay behind that mask. Well, he was a hunter first but a tactician for himself, foremost. In this case…He had to take out the competition.
What better way than to go after this city's new hope.
And its new demise would soon be likely to follow.
/
FYI, THS IS SHORT BUT SLADE DOES NOT LIKE TO SHARE. HE ALSO RESPECTS BRUCE AND HIS ALTER EGO. MORE TO COME! READ ON.