Long Live the King – Deathstroke's Forced Descent into Villainy

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Chapter 18: When You Find Your Happy Place, Stick to It Like Glue

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They'd been thwarted before, he told himself.

They were never going to catch up. He'd be in the clear for as long as it took.

Slade slammed a fist into his seat's right arm and growled in a low, deadly voice. "The Titans, will not find her…" Getting up to survey the drone's video footage once more, Slade Wilson saw a frightened runaway teen that needed something, somewhere to go. To belong. After his failed apprenticeship with Robin of the Teen Titans, Terra's run in with the heroes a few months later had him wondering if she'd flock to anyone who offered her a way to control her impressive power. Of rock and earth, the girl had that. But Slade, wanted more. He wanted her loyalty to his work, not her own growth. That would come in time but…

He'd been so close!

Slade had kept her to himself down in the Jump City mines; he'd tried to sway her, yet she'd flinched. Broken free. Gotten loose.

Slade turned his head to a device on his desk.

~ Guess it was time to leave the haunt. ~

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Slade walked a - ways outside of the city limits; he soon did find where he'd been searching for. A quaint little diner set up to seem like the only place left on earth, this was the stop he had to make as Slade took to his civilian wear and walked inside of the small restaurant.

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A dimly addressed space with a billiards table, an old-fashioned juke box sticking out of the wall, and a bar off towards the back. Nestled the center were a few booths for those who had the time to enjoy a hot meal straight off the griddle. Slade could taste cheap beer and hot oil on his tongue. He'd expected this of an older Californian dining experience, yet he'd not expected one establishment to still have any business in the desert. Slade's father was from Kentucky, but Wilson felt no attachment there, not as he did with the sunny bay of Jump City. The girl in her washed duds sat over on a bar stool with a glass of water, pushing around a straw while sighing to herself. All alone. Slade's eye peered ahead, only before a waitress with some western drawl came to stop him in a blur.

"Hello. Stayin' or taking out, sir?"

Slade cleared his throat and replied carefully. "To stay." He spoke. The blonde teen was still there, so he pointed out that he wanted to pick a seat by the bar, which kept the waitress even toned that entire evening. The teen had apparently been waiting on a plate of fries and a burger. She also had a dessert menu right next to her. She looked to be in control, but Slade didn't buy her act once. No. She wasn't better off stuffing down her troubles, and he would make sure to get in a good word or two.

The bartender made eye contact as Slade asked for something non alcoholic, a sweeter drink he thought he'd best see if Terra had a preference.

She was about to bite down into her burger, when Slade shuffled over a few seats closer. One extra as he waited for the girl to raise her chin. "Miss?" Slade's voice was softer, a bit more compressed and with less diabolical undertones. Maybe the false eye was a bit extra, yet he didn't want to cause a scene.

"I noticed you before…. A Titan?"

The man; light hair and two dull colored blue eyes was staring back, as Terra looked up from her first bite of cheese burger. " Nng I, urlbb…..ur?" She stared at the tall man with her mouth now full of her burger and some of its crumbling brioche bun at her chin. Slade stayed calm. She was a meta and he was only capable of taking her on elsewhere, away from any witnesses. She was also a child, and the staff here were actually good and wholesome enough to call in the authorities as the bartender looked over their shoulder at the male beside the blonde runaway.

"You are out pretty far from the Titans, right? I don't think you were properly –

Terra grunted and choked down the rest of her meal like a turtle. Chugging her water down hard, she finally raised her two bold blue eyes towards the older man standing in her light. "I never was, just…was passing through." She dragged a few paper bills from her pockets and plucked out a tip –

Slade decided to keep her talking. "No, no. I'll pay for it. Don't worry about that. I'm only curious to know why you're not with them right now."

"Because I didn't wanna stick around, ok??" Terra snapped at the male, her fire returning. No, no. She wasn't going to run off into the sunset. She felt her arm as he reached for it, letting his breadth tickle her ear. He wasn't going to go home empty handed. "What if I told you…" Slade stared into Terra's frightened features, "That I know how to free your brother…Brion."

As he said this all in a hushed voice, she stilled. Her two eyes; not knowing how to be, what she should say or expect to happen. Slade would be the one with all of that control. "What do you want from me?" She rasped a bit, finding that he'd put a spell over what was left of her confidence. He let her go; as if he'd acted a bit too soon. She was all over the place. Time to keep this little vagabond away from the railways.

"I want to make you an offer, and in return I'll save your brother. You have my word." Slade's vow as Deathstroke was just, yet his vow to the king of Markovia was an even better deal. Terra would be the one to turn things onto their axis.

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They sat a bit longer at a booth this time and Terra was given the choice to order her piece of the best "pie" in the history of pies. She had crossed into Jump before, but today something had led her right to the heroes, who she'd…almost gotten to like.

"They said you couldn't control your…abilities…But all I see my dear, is a rough edge or two; and an extraordinary child in need of a proper mentor. You could be great. Better than the Titans, even." He said to her proudly from across the table. He decided to order something as well and got down to her level. All to make her trust him a bit more. The pie slices came and Slade almost grimace by the amount of fat in front of his face…

Immediately, he cleared his ruse of a snobbish adult and tried to show his more, appreciative side. She was watching, between him and the plates of pie. Slade became his own type of actor. A hand t rub the back of his neck, he acted almost sorry for what he had done earlier to set her off in the mines…

"I'm very sorry if you were frightened by my –

"You went after my…. they didn't know about…" She bit her lip as the fork in her hand shook a bit in the blonde's grip. "You came all this way, just to bring me back…. You're just like all the rest…those who want to use me to do terrible –

"I don't think you do understand, my dear." Slade picked up a bite of….whatever dump cake he'd ordered and dug in while chewing and trying to be more like her. He was having a hard tiem acting less like a stuck-up Wayne. He blinked as he chewed and tried to reciprocate with pleasant conversation. "Hmm…. Not a bad dish."

"The best pie out of town." Smirked the girl, brightening wittily while leaning back to gloat, as Slade's eye almost softened while he continued with addressing his conditions. And at the pie. At least his abilities would keep his arse the right shape.

"I don't want you to go back to them, child. I want to help you to help yourself; you have the potential to be more than you want to be and I can get you there. If…" He stabbed a bite of apple and brought it up to his teeth. His goatee would stay caramel free, hopefully. "If, you'll take on my proposition to train you to use your powers correctly –

"Look, I don't need any –

"YET look what you caused, Tara." He stopped her and accused. Slade put down his fork with a clatter, knowing she was aware of his concern. "You can't just do what you want. The Justice League already knows about what YOU have done. I've seen enough to know that you can't keep running from what you are, not forever. I want to close that gap between us, and in return I will help you to save your brother from that corrupted capital you once called your home."

It was true. After Tara had left, the kingdom had become a full shadow of its former self. She rested her hands to her sides, still clutching the sugar-coated fork and bit the inside of her cheek. "I…don't know if I can trust you…" She admitted, and her gut was probably dead right about what the man was capable of taking from her…but Brion was still inside a cage. Trapped, like she had been. If she ever did find him, they could run away and never look back. Be happy, and she'd not have to worry about mudslides and earthquakes ever again thanks to….

Use him, get out. That was her thought. She'd never come to trust adults again. They'd done this to her, made her into a monster. And now, she could finally show them what she could do to remedy all of the pain they'd caused her in her youth... She and Brion, would be unstoppable.

And Slade, if he was worthy of being her teacher even for a year, she had to think this through carefully. He would come after her, she was his target and he'd not let go until….

She gulped. Deathstroke never broke a contract unless it suited him. He was number one, first and foremost, while she just…. acted as the trophy.

And damn…. would she have a difficult time telling him off if she said no and right now walked away.

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Blackmail. That was the word that buzzed in her brain. He'd tell her captors, or worse. The JLA would find her and then…. she'd see him again. A loser, and he was right. Beast boy hadn't lied to her. Robin, was too good a detective…she'd hurt them…

She needed help, and that specific kind of help wasn't easy to ask for without first having given up something in return. Her loyalty was what this man wanted. He wanted to have her, to teach her a lesson in control. And…she craved that as well as had feared failure most of her life, up to now.

"If I work with you, you can't just treat me like a goon, ok?" She crossed her arms as a new personality let itself be freed - as a jinn from its magic lamp. "I can go out, and you can't say anything unless –

"It would be somewhat restrictive." He picked up a glass of coke and swirled it as the goateed man went over some minor terms. "You'd be training for combat and to control your emotions which your powers are activated by most indefinitely. Your schedule in the beginning will leave little time for any recreational activities outside of the compound… yet I can assure you, Tara, that you will not want to turn away from what you must do in order to keep to our bargain."

"Are you threatening me?" She felt harassed, pressured, and was aware that he wouldn't let her out of his sight; she'd be trapped. And…Tara still wanted that control, but her freedom came at a cost if she couldn't beat Deathstroke at his own game later…

"I'm merely saying that if you lose control, that will all fall on me, your teacher to clean up another mess as I have been doing along your journey. Finding you was also my responsibility, yet your uncle won't have you back. I made sure to make it seem as if you'd disappeared for a long, long while…."

"So…you are positive they aren't out there trying to nab anyone who knows about us?" Tara raised a brow. "My uncle is a real jerk, but I don't want him going after you if you get involved with me –

"I do so out of the goodness of, my teachings. I have no intention of stealing away that freedom you crave. In time, you'll learn to know your friends for what they really are. Afraid, like you. And as such, they cannot teach you like I can, my dear."

"How?" Terra wondered. "You don't have any powers –

"I'm a bit, enhanced. My body can withstand a great deal; a past you needn't worry over, so we can certainly count on a few bruises in the beginning, yes. Nothing I can't handle. I see teaching your all I know as a challenge, and an honor." He reassured that he could withstand a tidal wave, which left Tara with even more questions. She was afraid to step forward as he bit into another apple, leaving the sloppy pie discarded to the side. Fruit over the grain. He certainly was full of himself if he believed he knew more about Terra than she did about herself. She was human, but was he lying? Trying to use a way to mentally blindside her?

She wasn't sure…it all sounded too good to be true, that Brion could be rescued. That she'd be the one to stop her uncle one day.

"All I have to do is show up for practice, right? Then I don't have to move in with you or –

"Like a good soldier, you should let me know where you are at all times. I won't be giving you a lot of days off at the start. That will come with trust, in time…. Yet you are free to roam the compound as long as you can keep your powers hidden."

She flinched. Did that mean, he didn't trust her?

"We won't be there for as long as you believe. I'm going to be reestablishing my haunt in Jump City. It's been a few weeks, so it may still require a few more days to be up and running again."

"Haunt, as in a lair? Are you from Jump or something?" Tara crossed her arms. He looked more military, spoke so firm and robotically. As f his heart was of stone, yet he ate the pie…but wasn't a fan of the crust.

"More so, my manor will be where you can restart your training, I have all of the accommodations in place for your arrival once we get there."

Ok, weird. That sounded like he WAS stalking her. Tara's heart beat loudly in her chest, and not because of the sugar overload.

"Do…you think I'm still worth training with my track record?" She didn't know where that had come from, but Tara waited for him to speak. He was so sure he could help, but she just couldn't stomach what that possibly meant.

That she'd be working with the enemy of the Teen Titans.

He smiled; a light of a crinkle to his cheeks. A wry look of the older male her way, as she was unable to do much more than gawk and push a sttrand of blonde hair from her ear. He was always on step ahead, always right there...

"I think that you and I share a history, Terra, and that I'd be honored to call you my new apprentice." His words were of praise, for now. she did let it dig a bit deep. She had to stay afloat since he had the power to bring her down. "That is, if you'll have me as your unofficial teacher, my dear? What do you say? Are you ready to face yourself without running away, again?"

Thee question however was, would she be ready to endure all he was willing to teach her, even if that meant eventually killing off a Teen Titan.

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Manipulative jerk alert! She does give in to his reasoning, and it's a give and get relationship, so maybe in a way Tara's trauma makes her lose sight of her promise. In the comic, Brion finds out Terra is now without powers or memories of who she was before, so it seems fitting that as Terra, she remembers who Brion was and why Slade isn't just a soul longing to know her from a distance. As he said, they share a history and they both are going to milk this moment out for as long as it lasts to get what they want.

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And the part about the pie is based around the love hate relationship she has for her double lives at this point.