For those of you who have read so far, I thank you, and hope you enjoyed the first chapter. It was short, but trust me, more is coming. To anon, thank you for your review. I am well aware of Deathstroke's history in the comic books, but we must remember that Slade is a much different kind of character. As such, his story and that of his daughter will not be completely the same as in the comics. Read on and, and reviews are always appreciated!

Chapter 2

"Well, we got the message, what do you want?" Mammoth's deep voice rumbled. He and the rest of his Hive Five companions stood in the dark below Slade's chair. He looked down at them as a king looks down upon his subjects.
"I have a job for you." Slade said in that flat, monotone voice. "A simple task, really. And I'm willing to pay handsomely."
"Just how much is 'handsomely?'" Gizmo sneered. He remembered his last dealings with Slade all too well, and wanted to make sure that it would truly be worth the while. In response Slade held up a small, handheld device with a monitor, similar to a cellphone. A number flashed on the screen in front of them.
"I dunno…" See-More said, kicking his foot across the floor and folding his hands behind his head. "Since we lost Jinx, things have been a little tougher. We might have to take some risks. Could be real dangerous…" Slade narrowed his single eye and then tapped a few keys on the device. The number changed. "But I think we can handle it!" See-More grinned and flashed a thumbs up.
"So what's the job?" Billy Numerous asked, sounding rather bored with the whole thing.
Slade did not answer verbally, but instead pressed a button on the arm of his chair. All five of the villains jumped when the monitors behind him blinked to life, revealing the image of teenage girl from several different angles.
"A kid? What do you want a kid for?" Mammoth grunted, scratching the top of his head.
"None of your concern." Slade said, dismissively. "Just bring her here to me and then you'll get paid."
"She's cute." Gizmo snickered.
"Yeah, maybe when you're done I should ask her on a…" See-More started, but trailed off when he heard the faint cracking sound. All eyes focused on Slade's hand, still holding the small monitor-device; his fingers had tightened around it, his arm trembling with tension.
"If one hair on her head is out of place…" he said, a hint of menace seeping into his voice. His grip tightened again, and the small monitor cracked as the device crumbled in his grip.
"Okay, we get the point!" See-More scrambled to say, holding his hands up as if afraid Slade would launch himself from his chair at any second.
"Just bring her to me. Now go!" Slade said, narrowing his eye at them. The five grumbled to each other and then turned to leave. Slade watched them go, and then spun his chair around to face the monitors. He pressed the button on the chair-arm again, and replayed the footage of Rose Wilson dispatching Red X.

Robin walked on his own through the mall, searching for something to occupy his attention. Cyborg and Beast Boy had both raced to the video-game store to get in line for the latest titles, Raven had of course headed straight for the book-store, and Starfire had befriended a troupe of little-girls who had lassoed her into singing karaoke with them. This left him without much to do. He contemplated visiting the sporting-goods store to see if there was any new sparring equipment, or perhaps the electronics-store would have some new software…
He was knocked from his musing when he felt the body collide against him, and a forehead bump against his with a tooth-aching smack.
"Hey creep, what where you're! Oh, it's you…" a vaguely familiar voice said. Robin looked up and found the girl they had met the previous day standing in front of him.
"Rose Wilson, right?" he said while he rubbed the bump on his forehead.
"Yeah." She muttered, turning her eyes away from his, gazing off into the distance.
"So…what brings you here?" Robin asked, trying to start a conversation.
"None of your business!" she snapped. Her aggression actually took Robin by surprised and, and he took a step back, a startled look on his face. Rose looked into his confused eyes and then bit her lip. She looked down briefly, ran a hand through her silvery hair, and then met his gaze again, looking regretful.
"You didn't deserve that, sorry." She said.
"It's okay. Something bothering you? If its Red X, he's in jail, you won't be seeing him again."
"No, it's not that. I'm just feeling kind of…alone today. Some people were talking about adopting me, but they chose another girl." She crossed her arms, running her hands up and down her own arms as if trying to warm herself against a cold world.
"You're an orphan?" Robin said, genuinely surprised. He suddenly felt a sincere sympathy for her, understanding how alone she must have felt.
"Yeah…my mom died when I was really young, and I never knew my father. I think he walked out on her."
"Wow…that's horrible." Robin said. The sympathy in his voice must have registered, because she looked at him curiously. "My parents died when I was little too." Robin said, and then placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know what you're going through." She actually smiled a little, perhaps taking some comfort from this.
"Thanks." She said. "Sorry if I bothered you with my problems…"
"Oh no, not at all" Robin said, "I've got nothing going on today. If you want someone to talk to…"
"This some kind of a date?" Rose said, smiling with amusement. Robin did a double-take and threw his hands up defensively, the image of what Starfire would say if she was present sending a jolt down his spine.
"No!" he said, a little louder than he meant to, and then shrank a bit from the bewildered looks he drew from some of the people around them. "I just know what it's like to feel abandoned and alone. Sometimes talking to someone helps."
"Well…why not?" she said and shrugged. With that they started walking, wandering with no particular direction. There was a brief silence, with neither of them sure what to say.
"Those were some amazing moves you used on Red X yesterday," Robin finally said, breaking the silence. "Where'd you learn them?"
"I told you, I take self-defense classes" Rose said, and then raised her chin with that haughty expression on her face again "I'm already a ninth degree black belt."
"Not bad" Robin said with a smirk, "keep training and maybe you can make twelfth degree like me."
"Twelfth? No way! How did you get that far?" she said, sounding genuinely impressed.
"I had a great teacher" Robin said smartly, and deliberately ignored the confused look she gave him. "That science project was incredible too. How did you learn to build it?"
"Just studied hard I guess" Rose said with a shrug. "I guess fighting and being smart just run in the family. I really wish I'd met my father, he was probably really smart too."
"What about your mom?" Rose reached into her pocket and produced a photograph that she handed to Robin. It revealed a smiling but sickly looking woman holding a baby wrapped in a blanket in her arms. The woman seemed happy, but her eyes seemed to have sadness in them, as if the picture were taken after a long struggle.
"That's the only picture I have of her…" Rose said sadly. "She died in a car crash when I was still a baby."
"A car crash?" Robin asked as he handed the picture back.
"Yeah, off a cliff. She was really sick when she gave birth to me; they said maybe she fell asleep behind the wheel." Rose held the picture of her heart for a moment, her eyes closed, and then slipped it back into her pocket.
"I'm real sorry." Robin said, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Thanks" Rose said, and then forced herself to flash a smile. "Hey, why all this concern for me? Are you this way with all the girls?"
"No!" Robin said, again panicking at the insinuation. "I just understand how you feel. It's hard not having a family. I was lucky: I got taken in by someone who really cared about me, protected me, and taught me. I think it great you've come so far on your own."
"Really?" Rose said, her eyes brightening a little.
"Yeah. I'm sure you're going to make your mom really proud one day."
"Thanks!" she said, her spirits seeming to rise. "Hey, want to try out that new virtual reality game?" she suggested.
"Maybe when we're done playing with ya first!" a rumbling voice interrupted as a dark shadow fell over them. Robin pushed Rose out of the way just in time for Mammoth's first to smash into the floor right where they had been standing.
Robin jumped up, his fists raised, ready for a fight. He glanced around and saw the other members of the HIVE Five gathered around.
"What do you want?" he said as he dropped into position.
"You're date" Gizmo snickered. "A cutie like her needs to run with a high class crowd like us!"
"She's not my date!" Robin shouted, causing even the HIVE Five to throw him a perplexed look. His shoulders sagged for a moment as a sweat-drop of embarrassment tricked down his neck. "Rose, get out of here!" he said as he readied for battle again.
"You kidding?" Rose said, raising her own fists. "This way more fun than a video game?"
"Fun?" Robin asked, amazed at her casual attitude to the situation.
"If it's a good time you want, we're glad to help out!" Gizmo retorted. A pair of strange devices, shaped like bows, popped on his shoulders and launched a pair of boomerang shaped contraptions into the air. They proceeded to circle around, firing small laser beams at the pair. Robin and Rose both leapt away in separate directions.
The jet-powered boomerangs circled back around, making another pass. Robin expertly dodged the lasers and then leapt into the air, performing a perfect spinning kick, his foot colliding with one of the tiny machines which then crashed smashed, the parts scattering everywhere.
"Hey! I worked for hours on those things!" Gizmo shouted as he directed the other one back around.
"Next time, make them with better parts!" Robin smirked as he got ready for the next one. He reached down to his utility belt and then whipped his arm around, sending a birdarang darting through the air to shatter the other boomerang. He smiled in self-satisfaction, but his face was covered by the powerful and foul-smelling flesh of Mammoth's arms.
"That's right birdie" Mammoth grunted as he felt Robin struggle against him, "just wear yourself all out of breath…"
Nearby Rose got back to her feet, seemingly unaware of Kid Wykkyd appearing out of the floor behind her. He floated up, slowly raising his arms, and was about to pounce when Rose spun around and leveled a powerful kick straight into his chest, sending him sprawling.
"Keep your hands to yourself!" she spat when someone grabbed her wrists and locked them behind her.
"Don't mind if we do!" Billy Numerous chuckled into her ear as one of his clones approached from the front. Rose struggled for a moment against the one holding her from behind, but then kicked her legs up, locking her ankles around the neck of the one coming at her, and then used her legs to yank him forward. She quickly moved her head to the side at the last moment, causing the two Billy's heads to collide, sending them both to the floor in a comical pile.
"Don't crowd me!" she said with a smirk and then turned to see what was coming next, only to find herself staring into a mesmerizing, spinning pinwheel. "Woa…" she started to say before she suddenly felt sleep overtake her.
"That's it lady, just snooze it off" See-More chucked as he switched his regular eye back. He reached down to collect Rose from where she fell on the floor.
"Hey six-eyes!" Beast Boy called, and See-More turned just in time to get rammed by green ram, knocking him away from the unconscious girl.
Mammoth was grinning to himself as he felt Robin's struggles starting to fade when a pair of cold-metal hands clapped onto his shoulders.
"Hey tough guy, why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Cyborg quipped as he yanked Mammoth away from Robin and tossed him away. Robin collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. "You okay?" Cyborg asked as he helped his friend to his feet.
"I am now" Robin said as the red started to fade from his face. "Five on five is better odds." They exchanged brotherly smiles before leaping back into action.
Gizmo grumbled as he readied another pair of the boomerang-weapons for launch when a pair of green energy-bolts blasted the two launchers from his shoulders.
"On my planet, we have a name for someone who plays with such dangerous toys. You are a…" Starfire started to say, but was cut off when a slice of tape slapped over her mouth. She grunted in surprised and tried to yank it off, then glared daggers at Gizmo, who chuckled as he lowered his arm and tried to ready the wrist mounted launcher for another shot.
Raven and Kid Wykkyd both narrowed their eyes at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Raven finally broke the tension by launching forward, preparing to release a series of kicks at Kid Wykkyd's head when the silence villain vanished into the wall. Raven glanced around searching for him and then sprawled when a pair of hands pushed into her back. She glared over her shoulder at him, and then vanished through the floor herself. Wykkyd started and then scratched his head when Raven barreled into him from the side, knocking him away. They regained their footing and glared at each other again.
"Great, we could be at this all day…" Raven muttered to herself.
"Not if I help out first!" Beast Boy declared triumphantly as she jumped into place alongside her. They exchanged smiles and then turned their gaze onto Kid Wykkyd, who suddenly looked far less confident. He slowly backed away only to bump into Mammoth, who was also looking less than certain of himself as he faced off against Robin and Cyborg both. They were soon joined by See-More and Billy Numerous, who also looked as if they had had a change of heart about the situation.
"You know boys, I'm thinking maybe our pay-day can wait a while…" See-More said to his companions.
"I'm thinking that's a good idea!" Mammoth grunted.
"Aw man, I was just getting to the best part!" Gizmo whined, only to have See-More clap a hand over his mouth.
"Save it! Get us out of here man, now!" he barked at Kid Wykkyd, who nodded his head in agreement. He threw his cloak up, and instantly all five were gone.
The Titans all eased up, dropping out of combat-mode as they glanced around.
"Well, at least they didn't cause too much damage." Raven muttered as she glanced around. There were only a few chairs overturned, a few cracks in the tiles on the floor.
"Everyone okay?" Robin asked as he looked around at his teammates. They all nodded their heads. "How about you Rose?" He said, snapping his head around to where he had last seen her…only to find nothing there. "Rose?" he said, panic starting to rise. "Rose? Where are you?" he shouted.
"Please Robin, who are you looking for?" Starfire said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Rose Wilson, the girl from the science fair! I was just talking to her when they attacked us!"
"Then where is she now?" Cyborg asked. He glanced around, but no one had an answer.

"Hmm" Rose sighed as she slowly opened her eyes. She sat up and stretched her arms out and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Man, what a nightmare." She mumbled as she turned to roll out of bed…only to find she wasn't in bed at all. She was seated in a large chair. She started and then looked around, realizing that this wasn't the orphanage.
The room was dark, so much so she could barely make out anything in it. She heard the sound of machinery somewhere, perhaps she was in a factory of some kind? She slowly got out of the chair and tried to feel her way around. She jumped when a single light snapped on, a circle of light in the darkness appearing a few feet away.
"Hello? Who's there?" she asked, her sense of dread rising with each second. She glanced around, but saw no one. "Is anyone there? Where am I?"
"Don't be afraid" a deep and monotone voice said from the darkness. Rose jumped and then backed away, glancing around for an exit.
"Who are you?" she asked, squinting her eyes as she tried to find the whoever she was speaking to.
"Someone who's wanted to meet you for a long time. There's no need to be afraid-you belong here. More than anywhere else."
"Show yourself!" she shouted into the blackness. After a moment her captor responded by stepping into that single light on the floor, slowly revealing the broad shoulders, the black plates of armor, and the single eye watching her from inside the black and orange mask. Rose gasped and stumbled backward, trying not to fall. "You! Y-y-you're…" she said, pointing a trembling finger at him. She knew who he was, of course-she had seen his picture on television and in the newspapers.
"There's no reason to be afraid of me, Rose" Slade said, "you of all people have nothing to fear from me." His calling her by name took Rose off guard, and she stopped backing away a moment to gather herself.
"How do you know my name?" she asked him.
"Oh, I know much more than that." Slade replied. "I know everything about you."
"How?" she asked, this time not drawing away as he came closer.
"Why wouldn't I?" he said as he came to a halt, standing directly in front of her now. He gazed down at her, his single eye meeting hers. "After all…a father knows these things."
Rose's eyes widened as she took in a single, sharp gasp, her stomach feeling as if it had been pumped with ice as she suddenly seemed to feel that darkness move in around her.

That's it for this chapter folks! If I am not giving a lot of attention to your personal favorite character, please forgive me-it is actually hard to write a story that is so crammed with so many characters. I would like to warn you, dear readers, that the next chapters are going to be dark, as we are going to be delving into Rose and Slade's past. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, see you all next time!