Chapter 49: A Family Affair

"You're not heading to Central tonight?" Green Arrow asked Supergirl curiously as they walked into the Foundry after a late-night patrol. Supergirl shook her head, frowning.

"Barry still needs to be seen around the city, and since he's now in with Snart he can't let him get too suspicious when the Flash isn't seen on the nights he's planning the heist out. After the meeting's done, he's planning on donning the Flash suit and doing some patrolling of his own."

As they walked down the steps, Green Arrow let down his hood, and Oliver sighed. "I still don't like this. Barry should've said no to this, it's all too risky."

"He was getting bored, Oliver." Kara pointed out as she pulled down her own hood. "You know how he gets when he's bored. Need I remind you of the Monkey Incident?"

"I thought we swore to never speak of that again."

"You and Barry swore. I did no such thing."

Oliver groaned. "How we never managed to connect it to him, I'll never know. Even Ra's knew, but since there was no evidence, we couldn't punish him for it."

Kara smirked. "Yeah, but then Ra's took over his personal training sessions for the next month. I think that was punishment enough."

Oliver shrugged. "True." He then blinked at a particular spot of the base. "Slade? What are you doing here? We thought you were over in Calgary looking in on another lead on Joe."

Slade Wilson emerged from the shadows, and blinked with his remaining, intrigued. "How'd you know I was here?"

Both of his present children gave him deadpan looks. "We were trained by the League of Assassins, Slade. They practically invented that trick." Kara answered drily.

Slade let out a breath at the reminder. "But of course." He then turned serious. "I'm here because I finally found out where Joe is - he's in a prison in Kasnia."

Both Oliver and Kara raised eyebrows at that. "Kasnia? Why would he be there? We've been to Kasnia, and we know first-hand that place isn't exactly what you'd call a dream vacation spot."

Slade sighed. "He followed in my footsteps, became an ASIS agent. According to my contact, he was there conducting an investigation on an ongoing arms deal in the country. Got arrested at some point and imprisoned, and ASIS washed their hands of him rather than risk a potential bargaining chip. I need your help to get him out."

Oliver held up his hands in apology. "I'd love to come, but I can't - I'm too conspicuous with all the charity and PR I've been doing around the city. Heads will roll if someone spots me in Kasnia."

Slade nodded slowly, accepting the answer, and turned to Kara. "And what of you, Kara?"

Kara shrugged. "I'm game. The city can last a few days without me, and Kal could use a vacation outside of Starling."

Slade blinked. "You're seriously considering bringing Kal-El with us, Kara? He's a child!"

"A child who's invulnerable and can take care of himself, Slade. Besides, he wants to see you. You've been spending a lot of time searching for Joe and Grant lately, and couldn't even make it to his birthday party as a result."

Slade cringed at the reminder and sighed. "Fine, fine. But if things go pear-shaped," off to the side, Oliver snorted; the other two blatantly ignored him, "he stays out of the line of fire, alright."

"Of course."

Waiting outside in a private airfield, Oliver handed over the last bag to Slade and clasped his hand on Kara's shoulder. "I'll keep watch over J'onn over the next few days, if you're alright with that."

Kara nodded. "Great - make sure he eats a balanced diet and doesn't binge on oreos for meals."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "What counts as a balanced meal for a Martian?"

Kara playfully slapped him on the chest. "Figure it out yourself, Ollie."

"So, how are we getting Joe out?" Kal asked once they were in the air and settled in. Slade took out a sheaf of papers from his bag and handed them to Kara. The child leaned over to read it alongside his cousin, frowning.

Kara whistled. "Wow, this is quite the card you've got, there. How badly did Amanda ring you out for this?"

"More than enough. That's why I've been gone so often for the last couple of months." Slade said wearily. He then smiled. "But it will all be worth it in the end. I can't wait to introduce you to Joe - you'll love him."

"We already do, Slade." Kara replied warmly, leaning over to pat her adoptive father on the leg. "You've told us all so much about him, I feel as if we already know him as well as you do."

Suddenly, her face grew pensive. "I do have one concern, though. Amanda."

Hearing that, Slade sat up, his back straightening. "She won't be a problem."

Sighing, Kara leaned back into her seat and placed a hand to her forehead, rubbing circles. "Slade-"

"Amanda knows the dangers of pushing us, Kara. She's a ruthless, cutthroat bitch, but she's not a fool. What she has over us can only last for so long; she wouldn't dare go after Joe if she thinks that it will finally push us over the edge."

"I'm not talking about what Amanda will do, Slade."

Slade blinked. "What?"

It was Kal, young but insightful, who cleared things up for him. "Joe."

As realization dawned on Slade, Kara elaborated on her cousin's statement. "Amanda essentially stole you from Joe and forced him and the rest of your family into hiding, Slade. Do you think he's going to be happy to hear that you're still working for her?"

"We're working on a plan to get rid of her." He pointed out. It sounded weak even to his ears.

"And how long will that take? It will be years before we can kill her and sufficiently weather the consequences. You, of all people, should know that - it took you three years to escape her control the first time, and she had you back under her thumb soon enough." Kara shot back. "Do you think Joe will be willing to wait that long, to deal with having her constantly over all our heads, manipulating us like puppets on a string?"

Slade shook his head slowly, now downcast.

Kara sighed. "I'm not saying this to be cruel, Slade. I just need you to see the reality of our situation. The only reason we were willing to put up with Amanda is because she had more dirt on us besides you and, as much as I hate to say it, she's useful for what we do. Our goals align on some level. The same cannot be said for Joe."

Oliver hummed as he waited in his seat. Finally, John Jones arrived, bearing gifts. Oliver licked his lips at the sight of his chili and enchilada - until he caught sight of what John had brought with him.

"Choco-covered triple fudge cake with caramel frosting." The archer groaned. "I get fatter just by looking at it."

"You know of this dish?" John asked, handing over Oliver's food.

"It's a family favorite." Oliver deadpanned. "Both families."

John quirked an eyebrow. "Kara?"

"And Kal. The joys of fast metabolism and a limitless back account." Oliver snarked.

"Dead? What do you mean, he's dead?" Slade hissed, disturbingly quiet.

The Kasnian warden, who was right now severely regretting his choice in profession, answered. "There was a problem… a fight between two of the other prisoners. Your son, he tried to break it up… and was stabbed."

Kara listened to the man explain, using her supersenses to listen to the warden's heartbeat. She frowned. To the untrained mind, it could easily be explained away by Slade's threats getting into the man's head. But to her…

"Where's the body?" Slade demanded. "I want to see my son!"

The warden stuttered, unable to get the words out.

"There is no body." The two men looked towards Kara. "He's lying, Slade."

"So why did you call me here, John?" Oliver asked as he polished off the last of his food. "You said it was important."

John nodded. "At Kal's party last week, I picked up some disturbing surface thoughts from one of your guests."

Oliver frowned. "Which one?"

"Isabel Rochev." John narrowed his eyes when he saw Oliver's frown deepen. "You know her?"

"You didn't dig any deeper?"

"No. I wanted to run it by you or Kara first. I go any deeper, a person risks sensing my presence, especially if I do it more than once. I know neither of you - or Barry - would want me to risk it."

"And you would be correct." Oliver agreed. "...what kind of thoughts did you hear from her?"

"Extremely negative thoughts." John answered. "Thoughts of vengeance, violent and social retribution. And all of it was directed at your parents, Oliver."

Oliver scowled. "Isabel is Tommy's new business partner. She initially invested into Merlyn Global back when Malcolm was in charge, and flew over to help Tommy stabilize the company after the Undertaking. All three of us were suspicious when we heard. I'll message Barry and he'll run a deeper background check on her. I'll also run it by Amanda - I'm sure she's already done her own share of looking."

"And Tommy?"

"What about him?"

"I could take a look-" John started, only for Oliver to immediately cut him off.

"No. There's no evidence to suggest that Tommy is even remotely aware of what Isabel is planning. For now, we leave him alone."

John gave him a look. "Oliver, I know we've only known each other for a short time but I've been around you enough to know you're worried about him. I could easily assuage those fears for you."

"Yes, you could." Oliver conceded. "But Tommy's my best friend. I'm not going to betray his trust like that. I've already done that with my parents - I'm not going to do that to him too."

"So, your contact… where is he?" Kara asked as Slade paced around. They had been waiting in the meeting spot for ten minutes already.

"I don't know. Nylander's never on time." Slade paused. "He's also a bit of a jackass, so watch yourself."

"He's not that bad." An unknown voice countered.

Slade and Kara looked to their right to see a tall, reedy man walk towards them with a swagger in his step. As Slade went to greet his old friend, Kara crossed her arms. Her instincts were screaming at her not to trust this man, and they were rarely wrong.

"Where were you?" Slade asked after he and Nylander ended their embrace.

"I was with a girl." Nylander replied, then looked behind Slade to eye Kara up and down, blatantly checking her out. "And so were you, I see."

Slade frowned, suddenly very teed off at his old associate. "She's my daughter, Nylander."

Nylander looked at him disbelievingly.

"Adoptive." Slade amended.

Kara smiled beatifically at them both.

Nylander gulped a bit, slightly nervous. "Right. So, Joe. You need his location?"

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Kara asked as Slade finished putting on the rest of his gear. Off on the other bed, Kal-El was reading one of the books he had brought on the trip - The Hunger Games.

"I'll be fine, Kara." Slade reiterated, unsheathing one of his swords to take a good look at the blade. "Even without the Mirakuru, the Jackals will hardly be an issue. You will be overkill, especially since the last thing we need is people asking why Supergirl is in Kasnia when there isn't a world-ending crisis going on here. Especially when Starling's newest socialite has made an impromptu trip here without telling anyone why."

"I have a bad feeling about this Slade." Kara sighed. "Something about this entire set-up feels off. I don't like it."

"Well, if you're that worried, you can shadow me while I rescue Joe. If things get… spotty, then you can step in."

"Can I come too?" Kal asked, piping up from his book.

His two guardians exchanged a look. "No." They bluntly stated in unison.

The child pouted.

"Alright, we're here." Kara whispered in Slade's ear as they landed several yards away from the Jackals' hideout, an abandoned military warehouse. The two quietly hid themselves behind one of the large, surrounding crates and eyed the entrance, where two men were standing guard in front of the gates.

After about ten minutes of memorizing the guards' scouting route, Slade turned away from the sight. "Once I head in, wait five minutes before following me. Do not break your cover unless you are certain Joe or I are in trouble, alright?"

"Don't worry, Slade. This is hardly the first time I've done something like this." Kara said, loosening her shoulders. "You sound just like Ollie, you know? Always a worrywart."

"Comes with being the eldest. Your brother may recognize you as a warrior, but he'll always see you as his sister first." Slade muttered fondly, turning his gaze back to the gates. "I'm not any different, Kara. The world may only see Supergirl, but as for me, the only person I see is my daughter."

Kara had nothing to say to that. Instead, she silently took Slade's hand and squeezed it firmly.

About two minutes later, the guards turned away from the gates to start the next round. Not waiting any longer, Slade used his Mirakuru-enhanced speed to sprint towards the gate, busting and bending the metal with his super strength. Kara watched him, using her supersenses to keep track of the situation. The screams and shouts of pain were as loud to her ears as they would be if she were there in the thick of the action herself.

After five minutes passed, she quickly followed Slade to the compound, careful to keep her speed within human limits in case someone managed to survive Slade's onslaught and she didn't notice them. She followed the trail of carnage her adoptive father left behind, making sure that each of the enemy combatants were either unconscious or dead. Finally, she made it to the main storage room, hiding among the shadows of the crates. There, she could see Slade holding Nylander at sword point. Surrounding them were several mercenaries, all aiming their guns at Slade.

I knew we couldn't trust him. Kara thought as she focused her superhearing on the confrontation.

"I'm curious, Slade. What was your plan? Kill us all and save your boy? Kind of reductive, no?" Nylander smirked. "Then again, with the Mirakuru in your veins, it certainly had a strong chance of working, yes?"

"Yes. Now if you know what's good for you, let my son go!" Slade shouted, the tip of his blade inching ever so closer to Nylander's throat.

"Ahh, my brother - it's not so simple, unfortunately."

"And why is that?" Slade asked, growling.

"Because we need your boy, Slade." Nylander responded casually. "After all, he's our boss."

The world stopped.

Slade's grip on his sword slackened, the blade lowering unconsciously. From behind Nylander, a young man with black hair and the chiseled features of his father walked forward. Nylander stepped aside to allow him a direct line to their base's assailant.

"Hello, father." Joe Wilson said, a cold undertone that Slade had never heard in his son, now emanating from his boy's voice. "It's been a long time."

From her hidden vantage point, Kara fisted her hands and resisted the urge to sigh.

Why does stuff like this never go smoothly?

Hey, I'm back again! Sorry about the late update - school has been hectic. However, once Christmas Break starts I'll have at least three weeks to do nothing but write, and I finally feel inspired to continue the story again.

As for this chapter, it was started during NaNoWriMo when I hit a rather bad case of writer's block for my chosen story. After watching Flash's 100th Episode, I felt the urge to finish it. And here it is. For next chapter, we'll tie up the Deathstroke two-parter, including Joe finally meeting one of his father's Lian Yu kids. After that, I have some more planning to do for the arc, but rest assured, what I have planned will keep you all interested. The fun has only just begun.

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