The four hero's stood facing Deathstroke, Green Arrow, Roy and Connor all standing alert with arrows nocked and aimed at Slade.
Deathstrokelaughed, "Come on Harper, you and Green Arrow both know I can dodge those."
Roy stepped forward, but stopped when Nightwing reached out to grip his arm to stop him advancing and further.
"Always the hot head Harper. You weren't ever one for thinking before acting...all balls and no brains." Slade taunted.
Roy felt himself trembling slightly with anger. "WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO IT SLADE?" he yelled.
"Why?..Why?...Because I could that's why." Slade said, lightly
"What...You saying you do pro bono work now Wilson?" Green Arrow asked angrily.
"Hell no..." Slade laughed "I was paid handsomely to ace Cheshire...Bringing Harper into it was just for fun."
"WHO PAID YOU TO KILL CHESH...AND WHY IN GODS NAME DID YOU BRING MY KID INTO IT." Roy screamed.
"You know I don't divulge details about my employers Harper...Like I said I pulled you into it because I could...Because quite frankly your a right pain in the ass...Seeing as Cheshire was in town..so to speak...I thought it might be fun to look you up and make it a little family reunion...So I took your kid and organized for Cheshire to meet me at the warehouse...Nice kid by the way Harper...a real doll...unfortunate that she was the easiest way to get to both of you." Deathstroke said calmly.
"Your an asshole Wilson...You've gotta be really fucked in the head to take a kid and have her watch her mother being killed." Green Arrow growled.
"What do you think I am Queen?...She never saw her Mother die..." Slade snapped.
"WELL WHAT THE FUCK DID SHE SEE?" Roy bellowed.
Deathstroke chuckled, "Ah, that's right Harper you don't remember any of it do you...Or at least you shouldn't...That little drug I slipped you is a new type of seditive works a treat...Still experimental though and unfortunately for you one of the side effects it is loss of memory...So how much did you lose Harper?..six months?..twelve months?..Some lose even more...Neat trick isn't it?"
"You darted him didn't you? The other dart they found was yours?...So you want me to guess the rest of the story...How you took Lian called Roy and arranged for both he and Cheshire to come to the warehouse...I imagine you had Cheshire arrive first...maybe left Lian with her just before Roy arrived..." Nightwing said.
"Well I guess the cats out of the bag." Slade laughed. "The dart was sloppy, I shoulda known better but Queen turned up before I had a chance to clean up...Any way I knew you'd figure it out eventually...Thought the kid might tell you earlier actually...Well your right I did leave the kid with Cheshire, and I made myself scarce when Harper arrived...hid in the back room...He never knew I was there untill the end...Like I said he's a hot head he took one look at Cheshire and they both got straight into it...anyway the end result was Harper shot the bitch with a dart when she ran into the room where I was...He followed her in...Guess he wanted to make sure she was out of it...He didn't really appreciate finding me there...We went a couple of rounds till I got sick of it, and I could hear the kid outside bawling so I cut it short and shot him with the dart...Like I said the drug works a treat puts 'em off the game straight away...But I gotta give it to the kid, he didn't stay down...Had to knock him down...I finished off Cheshire and went out to see to the girl...Harper surprised me when he followed me out...He yelled something at me then staggered outside, I don't know where he went after that...but figured he must have called these two." Slade nodded to indicate Green Arrow and Connor. "Cause they showed up about twenty minutes later...And I took off... That's when the fun was over." Slade finished.
Roy stood staring, trying to process what had been said. Trying but failing to match memories with Deathstrokes words.
Nightwing spoke up."Why'd you let Roy go...Why didn't you kill him too?"
"I had no intention of killing him like I said he's a pain in the ass and it was payback of sorts...And one day he'll get in my way once too often and that's when he'll get it...Not this way..Not when I brought him into it...Like I said it was a game...I figured I only had a small chance of pulling it off completely...Thought his kid would spill the beans...And I knew once Robby Shortpants here was bought into it he'd figure it out but I figured it could go two ways either way I win, you lose...I got to do my job and ace Cheshire and if you hadn't figured it out Harper would end up behind bars..And big green Daddy here would get to go around thinking about how bad he musta stuffed up to raise a killer...Or if you did figure it out...like you have...I still aced Cheshire and I got to fuck with Harpers head...because it's pretty fucked up at the moment isn't it Speedy my boy." Deathstroke laughed.
"YOUR A COMPLETE ASSHOLE WILSON." Roy bellowed releasing the arrow he had nocked.
Deathstroke dived into a nearby doorway, easily avoiding the arrow, and disappeared into the room.
Roy ran towards the doorway, blinded by anger..he almost ran straight into the room without checking where Deathstroke was, until Nightwing managed to leap in front of him to stop him. "ROY." he yelled to get the Archers attention, "Stop and think you run in there and your as good as dead...Slow down before you get us all killed."
The tone in Nightwings voice was enough to make Roy stop, "Your right..I'm sorry..lets do this properly." he said.
After entering the room cautiously, they soon realised Deathstroke wasn't in it, however there were two other doors leading off the one they were in.
Green Arrow indicated silently that he and Connor would take the first door, leaving the second one to Nightwing and Roy.
Green Arrow and Connor cautiously entered the first door, as Nightwing leaned his back against the wall and sidled up to the second doorway, Roy doing likewise. Nightwing silently counted to three before nodding to Roy and both men sprang into the doorway, Nightwing crouching low whilst Roy stayed high, his bow drawn ready to fire...Nothing...They both cautiously moved inside noticing a smaller store room to one side of the larger room they were in. They moved towards it slowly...Suddenly a small explosion echoed behind them, they whirled around racing to the doorway. They could see the other room which Green Arrow and Connor had entered, now had the door closed, a wisp of gas or smoke floating out from underneath it.
"OLLIE." Roy yelled starting towards the door.
"Had to even things up a bit boy's." Deathstroke said as the two men stepped out of the door into the larger room.
"BASTARD." Roy bellowed.
"Don't worry about it kid, its just gas, they'll sleep it off...Wanna tango?." Slade joked.
Roy let the arrow he had nocked fly, Deathstroke darted out of the way, only barely avoiding the arrow.
"Close but no cigar." Slade quipped, jumping and rolling out of the way to avoid a flying kick Nightwing had launched at him.
Roy released another arrow, this time Deathstroke was forced to dive to the ground to avoid it as the arrow thudded into the wall behind him.. Deathstrokemoved fast, simultaneously springing back to his feet while sweeping Nightwing of balance by striking both legs with his power staff. Nightwing flipped back to his feet instantly, but not before Deathstroke had slammed a boot solidly into Roy's stomach, before the Archer could fire another arrow. The bow flew from Roy's grasp and was quickly scooped up by Deathstroke who spun around and used the bow to block the kick Nightwing had aimed at him, the bow snapped in half and Deathstroke tossed it aside.
Nightwing launched another attack, this time managing to land a number of blows and drive Deathstroke backwards into the small room they had been in before. Roy managed to recover quickly and join in the attack. For a moment it seemed as though the two hero's were beginning to gain ground...Only for a moment though, as Deathstroke fired a blast from his staff, causing the two young hero's to scatter and roll out of the way in different directions. Another blast forced them further back and allowed Deathstroke the time he needed to get to the other side of the room, at the same time he blasted a small bared window open.
"It's been fun Boy's." Deathstroke said as he prepared to dive out the window.
"What..Leaving so soon? The party's only just starting." Roy quipped as he grabbed the broken bow, throwing it towards Deathstroke. The two broken pieces of the bow, still joined together by the bow string flicked around Deathstrokes legs, causing the Mercenary to stumble momentarily.
Nightwing and Roy instantly pounced, knocking Deathstroke sideways, Slade rolled out of the way and sprung back to his feet as Roy dived headlong towards him. Deathstroke slammed the steel powerstaff into the young Archers head, knocking him unconscious to the ground, before dodging Nightwing's tackle.
Firing repeatedlyat Nightwing, Deathstroke kept him flipping and rolling as he edged towards the window, before making his escape through the small opening.
Nightwing run towards the window, then stopped and turned towards his unconscious friend, he knew there was no use following the Mercenary, and it wasn't wise to even contemplate sticking his head out the window, there would be another time...Today they had achieved their main goal, Deathstroke would have to wait.
Half and hour later Nightwing sat leaning against a wall as the three Archers rubbed their aching heads. He couldn't help but give a chuckle.
Roy glared, "Something funny Grayson...Wish to hell you'd share the joke with me." He grumbled rubbing the rather large, swollen lump on his head.
Nightwing laughed."I just couldn't help thinking that you three look like Robin hoods merry men...recovering from a night of too much merriment."
"Ha fricken Ha." Green Arrow said sarcastically.
"I don't see the joke here...Slades gone, he made us look like amateurs and without him we don't really have anyway of proving I didn't kill Chesh..It's gonna come down to our word on what he said and what courts gonna take that?" Roy snapped.
"Hmmmm...well its just as well I came prepared then." said Nightwing.
Roy stared at Nightwing, "Spill man." he said.
"Well...It's just as well I had a camera and transmitter on me, in my mask and Oracle was able to record the whole conversation." Nightwing said.
A slow smile crept across Roy's face. "Dude your a fricken genius." he said feeling relief flow through his body, for the first time in weeks he could see light at the end of the deep dark tunnel he had found himself in. At last an end to this madness was in sight.
Almost twelve months later, Roy stood with his young daughter beside Jade's unmarked grave, they weren't able to put a headstone on it. Roy knew the life Jade had lived meant such a monument would have only been a target for vandalism. It had taken a long time to regain Lian's trust, he was able to eventually tell her about the death of her mother, but the little girl still was not aware that Cheshire had died at the warehouse that night, Roy had simply told her that Jade had been killed by someone bad. He would tell her the whole story when she was old enough to understand.
He crouched down beside her as she placed a small bunch of flowers and a drawing she had done on the ground nearby.
"Will Mommy see them?" she asked her father.
"I'm sure she will sweetheart...I'm sure she knows we're here right now." he said.
"I loved Mommy even though she was bad." Lian said.
"And Mommy loved you baby...even though she did bad things...she still kept you in a good place in her heart."
Lian turned towards her father. "I love you Daddy...more than the whole wide world." she said childishly.
"Ditto, Baby Doll." Roy said scooping her up and carrying her towards the car. Cuddling her close he added. "You are my whole world Princess."
end