Long Live the King – Deathstroke's Forced Descent into Villainy
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Chapter 16: Changes in the Kingdom of Tomorrow Never Come on Swift Wings
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So, this will be the piece BEFORE Slade went and partly helped to ruin Tara's home in Markovia in the 2003 comics for Teen Titans cartoon. I wanted to play with that, so let's hop to it!
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The blonde girl was a bit of a recluse compared to her red headed brother. The brunette male turned out to be the current ruler; only a retainer to the eldest son, Gregor who was not present during their introduction. Brion was the second son and he simply eyed most guards with a piercing glare, and Tara was the illegitimate last child of the Markovian nation's last king who looked up to her brother.
Her father had been the dead King Viktor. He had passed early on with only his son and Frederick DeLamb, their deceased mother's only surviving brother- while she had also since passed, having helped the last heir of the Markov's line to protect and rebuild the nation from the ground up. Gregor was a light in the dark for these young rulers, only to know nothing of the adults pulling their strings rather taught.
The children's' uncle however, had been a bit secretive and a project was currently underway that Tara and her brother Brion had taken part in and had continued to for a few years... In order to be "like Wonder woman." He had told a younger Tara that it was for the good of the people, that even Brion took part, but never Gregor. Apparently, Slade believed that Frederick was a part of a meta – trafficking ring and his idea was to sell off the children of Markovian blood, only to keep Gregor as a figurehead that he could control. The brunette then was too willing to believe himself a king yet but then…Why was Gregor not present?
The mission was a sick one, but Slade had killed enough to know when to close a deal and when to keep wandering on ahead. He was forced to continue and watched the procedure daily with a Professor Chang and General Immortus, who were enthralled by the project. That they could change these kids into…
Soldiers, killers. Still, Slade wondered if he could help the country break free in time to get what he came for.
Slade waited for Tara to show, since Brion wasn't the naïve type like she, so he decided to try for conversation and even managed to become her bodyguard.
It wasn't until the day came and she snuck out into the world to find her family that the world didn't seem so safe anymore.
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She was attacked by those who were angry at the royal family. She cried and didn't know how to run away, couldn't, until her body felt as stone. They threw rocks and glass at her, wooden sticks and so much screaming….
That, was when Slade stepped in, and made them all look far off into the distance.
As it began to rain, he reached out an outstretched palm to the crying child, who almost felt her own naiive heart beating loudly. He'd…just saved her?
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Slowly, she tried to avert her eyes to the dead ones surrounding her on the ground. She screamed and let go of that hope that he was any better. That he wasn't a monster too.
She ran, while he ran after until her breath was lost to the cool wind upon that forest clearing.
"Let me go! No! I'm never going back there!! Get away from me…. please!!" Her eyes started to glow yellow, and Slade realized the same look as Joey…. His son, who'd ended up with a tremendous curse…
She was evolving. And within the rainy forest, a rockslide began to form. He dragged her out of the way as houses, buildings and bodies were buried below mud and dampened silt by the rain. Slade groaned and was soon kicked by her foot, her now flailing body wrestled out of his grip as her powers erupted to slice the ground below Slade's feet. He jumped, keeping an eye on Tara's location as the rain covered nothing. The girl's fresh muddy shoe - prints made her easy enough to track. Wilson took to his hunter's intuition and wandered deeper into the forest, just as a warning siren back in the palace of Markovia had rung out to alert of another danger. A rather rocky quake had rattled the floor, and now it was off to decimate the runaway princess's home. Her family was still trapped inside, and it was all her fault for losing that much control for the very first time. Slade knew it. She'd fake her death; he'd find a way to earn her trust.
"Now, where could you be hiding, little missing princess…"
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Slade's run in was a terrible mistake. He phoned his staff; Wintergreen answered and Slade told him everything. "This country is headed for war. The ruler is a puppet, the nation is lied to daily, and the real heirs are being used to become super weapons for war against other neighboring nations."
~ Dear lord, Slade! What have we gotten ourselves into! ~ Will almost dropped his tea mug all at once by the news. ~ Those children you were supposed to watch?? And what are you going to do now that you know the country's leader's dirty secret? Will he find out about your treason, while on a contract?? ~
"I won't let them, Will. I have a plan, but to work it into motion, we have to be patient…" He picked up a clump of earth in his gloved grip and crumpled it softly. Ah, she was close. He could tell by the development.
"She's running away, I scared her…. She saw what I could do, and I'm the only one wo knows about her power over Earth." Slade whispered below his masked guise. "Tara Markov will be branded a traitor like me; we may end up with diplomatic immunity but the state I've gotten us into…she…will be a challenge."
~ Wasn't the Batman's ward a challenge? Even when I warned you about making him your apprentice, you still persisted. ~ Will was right. Slade had done the impossible more times than poor William Wintergreen could count.
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Right, and the kicker was that Slade's OTHER associates, the Hive, still wanted his time. He had decided to work in secret, to represent the new Headmaster that would be addressing his ex – apprentice and company.
For now, Slade had another runaway meta to subdue to meet his ends.
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Tara popped her head through the doorway of a coffee house in town and didn't feel the same. She'd swapped clothing and had run about to find cover, but not after the slide of muddy wreckage had left Slade in her dust.
She simply hid out for as long as she needed, stole bread and drank from a stray fountain or well, trying to get the water to not stick to her hair as she rationed what she could. She switched her up – due to a down one, and sat in silence just as the sun was coming up. She had some coins and dollars from her room stashed, and she'd gone to take the rest when the panic had died down, not letting Slade say she was "it."
This wasn't your usual game of tag. This man, Deathstroke, was dangerous. She didn't have to have X ray vision to guess that he could see right through her cruddy disguise. She got onto the first train she could hightail it to and stayed quiet. As if this deathtrap was Slade's excuse to come collect the princes from a soon to be meaningless wreck. She made her way sneakily to first class and took a glass of sparkling water to her lips. She was a thief now, and not a princess of some dictator's paradise.
She must have been psychic; her senses reeled as the craft jutted loudly, gears and wheels screaming with a loud hiss at the sudden presence of an enemy outside. Glass shattered as her sparkling life – water was tossed about with a shatter to the carpet. She ducked her head and waited for the blasts to recede. It was a hold up, and she was stuck on this moving monster. The cause of this debacle and the one who was about to have these helpless people slaughtered by true dictator.
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Ten, all with robot arms and limbs. And guards to back up the crooked liar of a leader.
Tara crawled onto her belly as the rest of the passengers huddled or cowered, string up at the glowering masks above them. Armored men as monsters, guns and weapons in hand.
She pretended to be unconscious as Slade's boots came into view. Shattered bits of her glass's remains were added to the rubble. Each sharpened shard was kicked uselessly from his path as the six-foot male walked towards the crowd with the biggest poker face of all.
"We are here to secure an escaped experiment, property of the Duke of Makovia. The product of our search must be returned, or this country will inevitably fall at the mark of enemy hands. Do this you're your late king's last son. Gregor. For the great Markovian empire!"
~Liar! What was he doing?? ~ She gritted her fists and looked for a way to the back of the train even further than her dingy cargo hold. Aha. A hatch? She just had to find…
A bit of stone. She made sure to keep her head down. Less practice on the run, but Tara was not an object. Not to this crook and not to her uncle who'd ruined her family. Used them…Brion…
Her powers started to slow as the invisible force lifted a bit of rocky debris to fling at a guard in the back. "Huh?" The male raised his gun, dumbly gaining Deathstroke's attention. Tara acted.
She let another pebble hit, jacks (Jax) in her bag of tricks. She didn't stop and shuffled slowly until the snaking, swirling rocks were bees on the rise by her tainted powers around the soldiers' wailing heads. Slade's eye caught sight of the door to the next car, and he took the role he'd been handed. He made sure to crush her any way back, any direction to the conductor was now accordingly, by his law. He swiftly apprehended the panting princess. Ah, a fox on the run was too much. She had to be a scrambling little squirrel to be so hard at work trying to avoid being detected as the prize he'd aimed to make of her.
"You can't hide what you did, child." Slade smoothly looked over the tarp covered luggage and a few compartments had been knocked over by the little illegitimate heiress.
She turned around but her foot was already to the air, grabbing a wobbly boulder to shift her location for good, while he took out a tracker and let her think it was…Slade stopped. She was aware, or was she?
Until the rock turned to dust below her shoes. He balanced on the rail to go and swipe her for himself, but her eyes popped open. Her ungloved fingers coated in that same tawny luminescence as her blue eyes.
She cried out and did get another rock going into the air, knowing she had to run. He couldn't fly away – couldn't get airborne as she breathed deeply and trusted in her powers to take her to the next way out of this country. Away from her new enemy. Slade narrowed his eye at the desperate move and turned to pull out his unit.
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He'd keep her close, but for now….
He had to put the rumors of his failure to rest.
"We want the princess back in custody, Deathstroke!" Chang stood beside Frederick as Slade returned empty handed to the throne room. The General Immortus was also very cross, knowing his money was on another world war to govern. Forget Vandal Savage. He was surely ready for the old folks' home, yet Slade still dropped his head low to show how story he was, for now.
"We are on the verge of harnessing her powers and Brion is showing progress already of having the same control over earth and rock." Chang perked up, but didn't stay as chipper when it came time to bash his boss's deadweight assassin for hire.
"His abilities and hers combined would be a perfect excuse to go to war with Biyalia!" General Imortus was either a monger or had a fetish for marching bands. Slade remembered to keep an eye on the brunette who stroked his goatee evilly. Slade had since turned his beard to round it out, not to act like a gentleman thief as he had as his old persona. He was nobody's cartoon caricature.
"She will be found, and her powers will be better understood; I intend to collect that information by taking her under my wing." He took to his knee and waited for Chang to spit more garbled words his way.
"She cannot have the control she seeks!" He persisted with his shrill voice in warning. "Her abilities are far too unstable. If she acts on her own, landslides will seem insignificant to what she may unleash IF the girl is not properly monitored."
Which was where Slade came in. Heck, no one wanted to cross a meta – human without filing their graves before their inevitable doom descended upon the unlikely brotherhood.
"I have an idea as to where I can look, and don't you fret. The child will be ready to erase Biyalia from the map in due time."
"Time, is not an issue, unless you'd rather we stake you for your insubordination, Wilson..." Frederick recalled for sure how good a leader this man could be, and how bad a teacher he wasn't. What Slade expected was her obedience, yet so did her uncle.
And Slade could turn milk into butter with a single glance the cow's way. He was afraid to know what other sins the man had committed that the duke was not aware of already.
"Fine. You have within the year to find the girl and bring her to –
" Two. Not one. You want a war, General? I'll give you a better gun than you bargained for…IF you meet my demands, that is." The General beside Frederick and Chang all looked taken aback by the demand. Chang squinted and was ready to throw a fit on the floor. "If so, much as a single cell is damaged in the process, we will terminate you and take the child back for further study. Dead or alive…" He said in a low hiss.
Slade nodded. "I won't fail you, and Markovia will only fall to rise again in your name. I never forsake a promise, not even to a dictator like yourself, future ruler…Frederick?" Beneath the cloth mask, he grinned. For Slade knew what stops the girl was hoping to make. What the tracker was now that it was latched onto her skin until it disintegrated in a few weeks time.
It was back to the races, and back to the United States for a rather ecstatic Slade Wilson.
And by after today, he'd have enough to bring back Deathstroke Inc from the ashes. As long as his new apprentice was more appreciative than the last.
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Slade has a plan B? Can you say, Betrayal with a capital B? Stay curious and read on for the season two unveiling.