Test of Morals
Deep below his underground lair Slade Wilson watched from his many screens the coming and goings of the citizens of Jump City. His eyes wondered from screen to screen as it was filled with disgust and irritation. The filthy insects walk around going about their day to day lives with smiles. Blissfully unaware or just simply uncaring about the horrors that are happening all around the world, or they try to find some way to steal from each other or to profit off of others misfortune, and the so-called Justice League sit up there in their space station and let it all happen.
But that is okay, soon he'll have the perfect tools to create a perfect world. The first step in his master plan would be to get rid of the Teen Titans and capture Jump City in order to set up a staging ground for the next phase of his plan.
And thanks to his children everything was going smoothly. They had just returned from a raid on LexCorp. to steal its supply of Kryptonite. He'll need it to take care of Superman later. Currently, it was being stored and guarded deep within the base.
It was amusing to him though. Even with all of the supervillain activity in the area all the big corporations still store their most valuable items. Granted Lex Luthor always seems to have a stockpile of the radioactive material, and Slade was curious on where the bald genius gets it. Perhaps he makes it? Is it even possible synthesize kryptonite? Excellent questions to ask Luthor the next time they meet.
'But back to the present now,' Slade thought to himself as he flipped the channels on one of his monitors so that it showed his agents sparring. Currently, his sons Grant and Sean were on the sparring mat practicing with broadswords. As he watched he began to analyze his son's fighting style.
Grant was focused and his strikes precise. He made sure that every move wasted no more energy than needed. His dodges were tight and allowed no opening to be exploited.
Sean, on the other hand, was wild and unpredictable. His blows were powerful and held nothing back and it was proven when the ex-heroes blade began to cut the mat when he missed Grant. Slade could tell that he wasn't holding anything back. In fact, he was going for the kill. Slade needed to stop the fight before he lost his son.
As if provided by the heavens themselves one of Slade's screens flashed a warning before it expanded its image to the nearby screens. With a hum Slade press the intercom, "Everyone suit up we have a situation."
On the screen was the Teen Titan Cyborg was running around the marketplace eating everything in sight. Slade sat down and made some adjustments so that he could not only see but hear what was going on.
In the sparring room, the boys backed away from each other before turning towards their respective weapons rack. "You need to work on your technique," Grant said as he placed his training sword on the rack, "and keep in mind this is training, not a real fight."
Just then a sword blew past his head and embedded itself into the wall.
"Don't lecture me," Sean said on the other side of the room.
Grant looked at the sword. If he had been just an inch more over that would have been his head. "I get it, we all get it," he said pulling the sword out of the wall and placing it on his rack. "You don't want to be here and you don't like us."
"That's an understatement," Sean said with arms cross motioning towards the newly formed crack in the wall.
"If you only gave father a-"
"He is not my father!" Sean roared as lightning danced around him just before he clutched his head in pain.
Grant just watched as the chip did its work. It's just crazy the amount of things one small chip can do. The chip was a fine piece of technology to be sure. Not only can it implement a training regimen to train both mind and body, but it can also track, control, and suppress.
It can even suppress spirits.
Yes, even Nine-tail fox spirits that inhabit the bodies of others. Depending on the settings it can allow some influence which is what setting Sam's was on. If the host tried to exert more power than was allowed the chip gave a shock directly to the brain. Not enough to kill or permanently harm the host but enough to break the connection. You see the Kitsunes give their powers to the host in exchange to live inside, and as long as there is a connection the host will be able to tap into those powers. But if that connection is cut completely then all you have is a normal person.
Grant plans on one day transferring some of that power to him. But the twins still had a purpose for now and they will be needed for the success of his father's plans.
Letting a sigh Grant began to walk towards Sean as he recovered from the chip's shock. As he walked past he spoke up, "When you finished suit up and get to the main room." Having nothing else to say the merc walks out of the room and when he turned away from the door he heard a loud growl before another crack echoed from the room. Grant just shook his head as he walked down the hallway. Half way down he came across an elderly gentleman dress in a white and black two-piece suit. In one hand he had a broom and duster while the other rubbed his bald head. "Master Sean throwing another fit then," the butler said with a posh English accent to which Grant nodded.
"You would be correct Wintergreen," he confirmed.
"Then I'll get cement ready then," Wintergreen said as he turned around and walked away.
Slade stood in front of his agents with his arms cross in front of him. The children of Slade were dressed up in the armor with their mask resting on their belts, except for Sean who had his on his face. "I have a new mission for you," Slade said as he clicked a button on his wrist. The screen behind him came to life to show the schematics of a very familiar scanner. "A while back I had ordered Fox to retrieve a mineral scanner," Slade's one eye narrowed at the Titan, "he failed to do so."
Blitz, or rather Agent Fox now, shrugged his shoulders in indifference but behind his mask, a smirk was hidden. "Star Labs is sending another one to the Gotham City branch," Slade continued, "The truck holding it will leave San Francisco in six hours," behind him the monitor showed a gray heavily armored truck with the Star Labs logo on the side being loaded up. "You three," Slade motioned to Ravager, Rose, and Zero, "will intercept and secured the package." He then motioned his hand in dismissal which the agents turned around and walked out of the room.
Fox cocked his head to the side, "Then what about me?"
Slade went to a metal closet and opened up, "Jump City's communication satellite is about to be infected with the End Zone Virus," he pulled a very large sniper rifle and one cartridge of ammunition. "I want you to go there and protect it," he said loading the gun and handing it to his newest agent.
Sean looked at the gun with some trepidation, "I'm not a killer," he said backing away.
Slade let out a mock sigh, "Well then every computer and electronic device around the world will become a bomb and millions of people will die," he said before holding up the gun again, "that is unless you do what needs to be done."
The ex-Titan slowly held out his hand the entire time his mind at war with himself. On one hand, he knew that taking a life was wrong, and even though he was no longer a Titan he still held the morals that a hero should. But if he didn't act then who knows how many lives would be lost or ruined and that he cannot allow.
Could he still be called a hero after everything he has done?
"Time is running out," Slade snapped, "what is it going to be."
Sean realized that his hand was hovering over the sniper rifle. With a reluctant resignation, he grabbed the gun and holstered it across his back.
Behind his mask, Slade smiled. He knew that playing with Sean's morals he could push him in the right direction. Unlike a few members of his old team, Sean didn't have a mentor to guide him into a hero with an iron will. That made him a little easier to mold to Slade's liken. A little push here and there to have him going in the right direction. Like a blank canvas just waiting to be painted on.
Even his fighting prowess wasn't even his either. Without the chip in Sean's head, he wouldn't last five seconds in a fight with only hand to hand. He only saving grace was his connection with his ancestors. But it takes more than powers to be a good fighter.
"Go to these coordinates and set up," Slade said as a map of the city came into view on the screen. On one of the buildings across from the communication hub had a small red dot, "once the target gets in range take the shot."
"Who's the target," Sean said with an obvious lack of energy in his words.
Slade just chuckled, "you will know when you see it."
With a raised eyebrow of confusion behind his mask, Sean turned around and left the room. Once he was gone Slade moved to his chair and took a seat, "And now we will see."
In a matter of minutes, Blitz had traversed the city's rooftops and made it to his destination. Once there he began to set up his position. Laying down the ex-Titan propped up the sniper rifle and waited.
There was a buzz of static in his comlink, "I see you are in position," his so called father communicated, "and it only took six minutes to do so, good."
Fighting down a growl and retort Sean responded, "You still haven't told me who is attacking." Through the scope, he looked around the parameter of the communication hub. "It would make this a whole lot-wait a minute," Sean froze in mid-sentence after spotting a familiar figure. The half son of Slade let out a sigh of longing at the sight of Cyborg has he headed towards. "The Titans are here," he said, "there's no need for me to be here."
"On the contrary," Slade said just Cyborg punched the front gate out of his way; the steel doors crumbling before the might of the cybernetic hero. "Cyborg is the one that is attacking." As he said this the rest of the Teen Titans ran after their corrupted teammate and began to subdue him.
"What…" Sean said breathlessly as he watched his old team fail to keep Cyborg in place.
"I'm sorry to say that Cyborg has been infected with the End Zone Virus," Slade said and Sean sucked in some air, "I'm afraid that the only way to protect thousands of innocent lives is to…take him out."
Sean aligned the scope so that it was aimed directly at the back of Cyborg's head, "N-No my-the Titans will succeed!"
"Such confidence in your old team," Slade mocked which made Sean grind his teeth together, "are you that confident they will succeed?"
With a deep breath, Sean controlled his anger, "They will never give up on one of their own."
"They gave up on you did they not?" was the quick response that knocked the fight out of the teen, "They haven't even looked for you, sounds to me that they have forgotten all about you."
"That's not true," Sean shot back weakly. Back at the base Slade smiled at the crumbling will.
"Whether you wish to continue to delude yourself is up to you but the fact remains that right now countless lives are in danger. If you want to save them then take the shot."
Blitz watched as Cyborg effortlessly knocks out Raven and Terra. Seeing the love of his life go down sent his already disturbed mind into overdrive. The Titan's communicators will also be affected by the virus, but could he kill a friend to save another? "Well?" Slade's impatiently through the comm. With a shaky breath, the teen realigned the shot just as Cyborg began to crawl across the antenna of the dish.
Once he was focused on the cybernetic hero Blitz's finger began to shake as it moved to the trigger. Slowly the finger began to squeeze. Just a little more and it will all be over. The story of Blitzkrieg will come to a close with just one shot.
One bullet will bring down an entire team of heroes.
…Beast Boy…
The finger stopped just like Sean's mind before the cogs of logic kicked in.
'That's right I've seen everyone except Beast Boy,' he thought has he pulled away from the trigger. 'So that means that there is a plan.'
"What are you waiting for? Take. The. Shot."
"No," Sean said just as Cyborg moved to take a bit out of the tip of the antenna. Just before Cyborg was about to bite he the lights on his body turned signalling that he had shut down before he began to fall. "The threat has been neutralized by the Teen Titans."
Through the scope, Sean watched as the rest of the Titans gather around Cyborg just as his systems reboot back up. The cybernetic sat up and wiped his nose covering it with green snot. After a moment or two, the mucus morphed into Beast Boy. A low growl came from the communicator, "Return to the base."
After his orders were given Slade cut the line and Sean stood up his body slouching. Letting loose a huge sigh the ex-Titan watched as the Titans left the area.
The boy's hands began to shake his breathing became quick and heavy just as the gravity of the situation settled in his mind. 'I almost killed Cyborg,' he thought, 'and I was okay with it.' Sean's mind began to race at the thought of killing anyone let alone his old teammate.
Slade was succeeding in turning him into a tool for the mercenary.
"NO!" the teen yelled as he looked at the gun in his hand. "I won't become a tool!" with a mighty swing Sean took the gun and slammed it into the ground shattering it into pieces. He would be punished for this along with his failure to carry out the mission but he didn't care he would fight to survive. With renewed resolved the ex-hero turned around and headed back to Slade's hideout.
Little did he know he was being watched from another rooftop by someone familiar to him…
Okay so I got some news both good and bad. Bad news is that I'll be without internet for two months as I travel across Orissa (a state in India) and write a book about my travels. Good news is that I'll have time to work on this story and decide whether or not I should continue my other ones. So hopefully I should have some updates around February or March depending on how things go after my trip.
