Chapter 17: The Terminator

"Slade? Slade…"

He turned his head. Shado.

"You promised to protect them Slade. You promised."

"What did you promise her?"

He wearily watched them from his remaining eye. "To protect you. All of you. To make sure you all made it home…no matter what the cost."

Gasps.

"I DID! I DID!"

"Get the chains! Restrain him!"

CRASH!

"HOLD HIM DOWN!"

"WE CAN'T! HE'S TOO STRONG!"

Click!

"That should do the trick."

Shado…

And darkness.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Kara sobbed into his chest. Slade comfortingly rubbed her back.

"It wasn't your fault. It was never your fault." He murmured. At first, it seemed like she hadn't heard him, but soon her tears subsided, and she slowly removed herself from his embrace.

Not long afterwards, she was replaced by Barry, who hugged him as close as physically possible. Slade patted him softly on the back. After Barry was Oliver, who was remarkably more measured in his affections, but no less sincere.

"We missed you." He spoke, voice barely above a whisper.

"I missed you too. I missed you all so very, very much."

He couldn't break the shackles.

Then they appeared, and in their hands, empty syringes. The pricks were annoying at worst, as was the frequency. And it continued like this for months, weeks, days, hours, minutes.

And then, one day, they arrived with one full of a glowing white liquid.

They injected it in him, and nothing could stop the screams.

It was silent as a grave.

Kal-El and Slade stared at each other.

Then, tentatively, Kal-El reached forward, grasping both of Slade's hands. That seemed to be all the permission Slade needed, as he pulled, and suddenly the child was in his arms, head leaned against the bigger male's torso.

"I know you barely remember me." Slade breathed into his ear. "I know I was in your life for but a fraction. But I want you to know, Kal-El, that seeing you here and now, healthy and grown-up, fills me with more joy than anything else."

Kal felt water well up in his eyes, and he fisted the fabric of Slade's shirt. "Papa…"

"What did you do to me?"

Shado. Shado was gone.

But the strength still remained.

"Made you better. Stronger." He turned.

And she appeared.

"Where have you been all these years?" Oliver asked, once the atmosphere had become significantly less…emotional.

Slade grimaced. "I assume I washed back up on the island, and was taken while I was unconscious."

Barry blinked, and frowned. "Taken? Taken by who?"

Slade looked them all in the eye, and even with their training, they were shaken by his haunted gaze.

"The Devil herself."

"Hello, Mr. Wilson." she smiled, and Slade felt his stomach crawl. Whoever this woman was, something told him she was someone not to be trifled with.

"Who are you?" he demanded, careful to mask his apprehension. "What do you want with me?"

For a moment, he could've sworn her teeth sharpened.

"My name is Amanda Waller." she answered him. "And you? You are everything."

"She doesn't like me." Slade murmured to Maseo. Tatsu glared at him briefly, before turning her attentions back to Akio.

"I cannot say I blame her." Maseo responded, his eyes focused on washing the dishes. "You are rough around the edges, my friend."

Slade watched him briefly, before opening his mouth. "Maseo. What did Waller do to me?"

The A.R.G.U.S. agent froze briefly, then turned the faucet off, allowing the stream of water to gradually disappear into a momentary drip. "She perfected the Mirakuru in your body."

Slade blinked. "…what?"

Maseo sighed. "When we drew out the samples of your blood, our original goal was to replicate the serum and inject them into our own agents. But it was soon discovered that the serum was 'imperfect,' so to speak – in exchange for the strength and regenerative abilities, our initial test subjects would suffer hallucinations, inducing rage and eventually resulting in psychotic breaks, and that was just those who survived the initial injection. After having to put down three test subjects and losing scores of others, Waller made a new mandate. Our scientists were to derive an entirely new serum from your blood, one that would minimize the side effects while still maintaining the benefits."

"It wasn't possible, was it?" Slade correctly guessed during Maseo's brief pause.

Maseo shook his head. "No. The best they could come up with was something to remove the detrimental side effects of the Mirakuru from someone who already had the serum in their veins. Considering how only one in twenty survived receiving it, the project was discontinued. Waller was initially planning on killing you once the serum was perfected, but in light of all this, she decided she would cure you of your own symptoms and make use of you instead."

"And thus, here I am." Slade finished the story bitterly for him. "Leashed like a dog, or my son gets a bullet in his skull."

"I am sorry, Slade. I truly am." Maseo spoke sincerely, understanding his situation perfectly.

After all, they were both in the same boat.

"What's your interest in the Queens?"

Slade sighed. "Their son was one of the castaways I took under my protection on the island. I owe it to Oliver to at least check on them."

Maseo furrowed his eyebrows. "Is that why you killed the drug dealer of that Merlyn kid?"

The former ASIS operative nodded. "He was Oliver's best friend growing up." He exhaled. "I don't think Oliver would be happy to see his closest friend like this."

"WAS IT YOU?" He roared.

Amanda Waller, hurt but still standing, scowled and shook her head. "Shrieve."

"Shrieve?"

She nodded. "He's planning on unleashing the Alpha-Omega virus on Hong Kong. He sees them as a threat to American dominance of the global economic market."

"And so, he's willing to kill millions of people to prevent that from happening." Slade concluded, anger taking a new direction. He was broken from his thoughts, however, when Amanda handed him something – a syringe, containing a familiar green liquid.

"Just in case." Amanda said. "Now go! And I promise, we will meet each other again."

"We need to go to Shrieve now. He has to have a cure."

"Maseo –"

"I know it's a long shot but he's my son Slade and I can't –"

"MASEO!"

Maseo and Tatsu both looked at him, Tatsu sorrowfully holding the fading Akio close to her chest. Briefly, Slade was reminded of a memory, of two boys and a girl and a baby, all huddled together, as if that would be enough to protect each other from all the evils of the world. The recollection only steeled his resolve.

"There's another way." He opened the front of his coat and took out the syringe, lifting it up for the couple to see.

Maseo, realizing what it was, shook his head rapidly. "No."

"It's the only way, Maseo." Slade stated resolutely, if sadly.

"It will kill him." Maseo protested, tears starting to well up in his eyes.

"He's dead either way."

Maseo buried his face into his hands, more conflicted than he had been in any other moment in his life.

"Do it."

Both men looked at the sole female member of their trio. Tatsu was gazing up at both of them, also tearful, but no less determined.

"Tatsu." Maseo begged.

"We cannot lose our son, Maseo. We can't." Tatsu beseeched back.

Maseo took in a deep breath and nodded, finally conceding.

Slade kneeled down, gently taking Akio by the hand, rolling up his shirt to reveal the bare flesh beneath.

The child's eyes slightly opened. "Slade…?"

"I'm sorry, Akio. This is going to hurt."

And, just like Oliver had done to him so long ago, he jabbed the syringe right into Akio's chest.

Silence descended.

And then Akio screamed, as blood riveted down his face.

"Well, Mr. Yamashiro, it looks like your service won't be terminated after all." Amanda smirked.

Maseo, standing in front of his wife and son, bunched together, merely narrowed his eyes. "Just give my son the cure, and I will continue to work for A.R.G.U.S. as long as you deem me useful."

"Very well then. It just so happens that there's a particular organization that's cottoning up to be a thorn in my side. I'll need you to infiltrate them."

"Wait." Slade called out. "Send me." Everyone looked at him, and Maseo, both downtrodden and slightly grateful, went to protest. Slade cut him off before he could.

"It's because me that Akio has the Mirakuru in him now, Maseo. It's only fair I pay for the cure as well." He turned to Amanda. "What organization, and where?"

"I think you might've heard it – they're called Shadowspire. And as for where…" Amanda smiled mirthlessly. "It's somewhere very familiar to you."

"I have a Japanese super-soldier serum running in my veins, and even that can't compare to what I'm seeing right now." Slade idly commented to the panicking Taiana, as Baron Reiter's eyes glowed.

"Take us to Russia." Slade demanded his handler, as Taiana clustered closer to him. "She's got business there, and that means so do I."

Amanda shrugged. "Dare I ask what sort of business?"

"The sort of business that you will disavow me for if it all goes south."

"Ah. The usual kind."

"You were on the Amazo." Slade stated, staring hard at the Bratva Captain.

"Yes, yes. The ship you and those three children tore in half." Anatoly Knyazev said, swirling his glass and watching the liquid in it spin.

He smiled. "And that means, I owe you a debt. Welcome to the Bratva, Slade Wilson."

"TAIANA!"

Taiana smiled sadly at him. "Thank you for everything, Slade." She plugged the dagger right into Konstantine Kovar's heart, before collapsing from bullet wound in her chest.

"Joe?"

"Hello, father."

"NO! No. Don't. Please." Slade begged. A needle stuck out of his leg, filled with a venom that attacked the Mirakuru, as seen by his bleeding eye socket. While it wouldn't kill him, it would immobilize him, long enough for Amanda Waller to shoot his son in the head.

"Then you come back. And you work for me." She challenged him, her voice holding an almost sadistic tint to it.

"Or, not only does this one die." she kicked Joe's prone body, causing him to groan in pain. "But so does your other son."

Slade blinked, in complete shock. "What…"

"Oh, did your eldest not tell you? Congratulations, Slade." Amanda said sarcastically. "It's a boy. Grant's his name, right, Joe?" Joe growled, and got another kick for his troubles, this time in the face.

"And now I've got an exploding chip on the back of my head." Slade sighed. "What a life we live, huh, Maseo?"

Maseo clicked his teeth. "I'd prefer that to having my family being held hostage."

"Well, I've got both, so I'm really not in a position to judge." Slade sighed once more. "She's gathering a group of others, just like me. All with chips in their skulls too. She's calling us 'Task Force X'."

Maseo snorted. "The politically correct term for a suicide squad." He grimaced. "Let me guess – I'm your handler."

"Got it in one."

"Hey, hey. What are you doing?" The sniper backed away, only to let out a roar of pain as his wrist was broken.

Slade smiled hollowly. "Welcome to the team, Lawton."

"Well, well, well. Chien na Wei. It's been a while." Slade spoke calmly, though one could hear the underlying tone of distaste in his voice.

"Slade Wilson." China White tsked. "I was hoping to God I'd never have to see you again."

Slade shrugged. "Tough luck. Though, I'm surprised she put you on the team, considering that ten years ago she tried to blow up a plane just to kill you."

China White smirked. "What can I say? Very few are as good as I am." she then frowned. "Look. I don't like you. I will never like you. So, don't talk to me, or chip or not, I'll shove one of my knives in your remaining eye." With a flip of her snow hair, she walked away.

Slade watched her leave, smirking. "Real charmer, that one." Then, mindful of the security cameras, he fingered the long, thin piece of metal hidden in sleeve.

Don't worry about that, dear. You won't be seeing me for much longer.

"It's gone?"

"Yes."

Slade rubbed the back of his neck, feeling free for the time in years. "Thank you, Maseo. For telling me about Joe and Grant's escape. For this…for everything."

"Think nothing of it, my friend. You saved the life of my son. For that, you shall always have my eternal gratitude."

Slade looked at him with concern. "Are you sure Waller won't punish you?"

Maseo waved him off. "She let me in too deep. My security clearance is too high – getting rid of me or my family will only cause her problems." He returned the look of concern. "What of you? Where will you go?"

Slade closed his eyes, and let the memories overflow him.

"Searching. I made a promise. It's time to see if I fulfilled it."

"…And I ended up back here. With all of you again." Slade finished his tale, his audience raptured.

Oliver frowned. "Slade…"

"You all thought I was dead, Oliver. I don't blame you for not trying to find me. My only regret is that I didn't try to find you all sooner."

He leaned forward. "Now tell me: where have you all been for the last eight and a half years?"

The four exchanged looks. They turned to Slade, somber.

Slade sighed. "I'm not going to like the answer, am I?"

They all shook their heads.

This was shorter than I thought it was going to be. I'm still happy with this chapter, I just expected it to have more words to it. Eh, just means it gets an early release.

Anyway, yeah – Slade went through Oliver's journey in canon, except he didn't go home right afterwards. Waller saw him as too valuable, and press-ganged him into Task Force X. Akio having the Mirakuru in him won't be coming into play for a long, long time, though it will be important eventually. Joe and Grant – I'm thinking of putting them in either Arc III or Arc IV.

Slade will be sticking around for the rest of the arc, and will play a part in all three of the climatic confrontations, along with having his own this arc. As you can most likely guess, his villain with will be the Bitch herself, Amanda Waller.