"Anybody got sights on Deathstroke?" Nightwing asked through the link.
"No, we lost him about the time the Shadows came to crash the party," Mal responded back quickly. "Uh, correction, he's right here."
Nightwing jumped like he'd been shocked, "Football field?"
"Yeah, you better get over here, like, now."
The Team's leader shot one last fevered look at Avery, forcing her to know that breaking from this plan would be horrible, before shooting off to the field like a bullet.
"This better work," Avery murmured to herself, taking off in the other direction to loop around the field.
.:Back to Life:.
Deathstroke stood near the top of the bleachers. They'd replaced the wood seats with metal over the years due to wear. It made his heavy steps sound out across the area. He wanted to be heard, and for a reason. In a choke-hold with one arm was a teenage boy, the business end of Deathstroke's gun was burrowed into the boy's brown hair. None of the heroes present knew who he was, but a civilian was a civilian and it was their job to save him.
"Drop the gun," M'gann said in an oddly persuasive voice as her eyes started to take on a green glow.
"Nice try, Martian, but I think you know better than to even try." Deathstroke pushed the gun against the boy's skull just a little harder to stop his squirming.
Nightwing came sprinting onto the field at that moment. It only took him a second to absorb the situation and mentally brief the others about the split-decision plan he had just given Avery, along with a few adjustments he had to make as he saw the hostage. "Stop right there, Slade!" He called as he approached slowly until he was in the middle of the field, straight in line with the mercenary's line of vision.
"Sorry, I'm not in the mood for a reunion. Now you know why I'm here, you really should hurry up." Everyone could hear the click of the hammer being pulled back on the gun.
"In position yet Avery?" Nightwing asked as he glared up at the man that tried to ruin his life.
"Almost, just keep stalling."
Nightwing gritted his teeth, he wanted to yell at her that there wasn't a second to spare, but that wouldn't help anything.
"She isn't here. We got her out the second you showed up," Nightwing shouted up.
"I suggest you call her," Deathstroke quickly lowered the gun and shot the brown haired boy in the calf of his right leg before continuing, "or this is going to get a lot messier."
The boy's screams resounded across campus. It was a surprise that no one came to investigate at the sound of a gunshot alone, let alone the pained wails coming from the brunette's mouth.
"You don't need to involve civilians! Just let him go and I'll call her," Nightwing tried to reason. He hoped there was still some spark of fondness that Deathstroke once held for him, or at least his skill set. Well, it wasn't exactly fondness now that he thought about it. It was more like "come be my apprentice or I'll kill all your friends".
Maybe it was just to tease them, but Deathstroke's grip loosened for half a second, if that. It was all Avery needed from her position. In Nightwing's peripheral vision he could see Avery on top of the ticket booth a little bit to the left and behind the bleachers where Deathstroke was standing. Avery whistled one sharp note to get the mercenary's attention while she checked her aim down the shaft of her arrow in a swift movement that Nightwing would have to mention to Artemis later. The arrow went shooting off the string and hit Deathstroke straight in the metal of his mask, fazing him slightly.
Superboy, being perfectly in place according to plan, locked his hands together as Nightwing started sprinting. With a movement that was practiced many times, the acrobat was shot into the air by the clone and landed effortlessly after a few twists and flips. The thud from feet connecting with metal was hollow and enough to make Deathstroke refocus, pointing the gun at the vigilante instead of the boy.
"You could've been great," Deathstroke whispered lowly, only loud enough for Nightwing to barely pick up.
"He already is," M'gann said from behind the mercenary. Her eyes glowed green as she jerked the gun away from Deathstroke's grip as he got one shot off in Nightwing's direction.
Nightwing deftly dodged the bullet and threw a rapid succession of hits to the nerve clusters on Slade's body. The mercenary did his best to defend, but he knew keeping one arm around the hostage was the only thing that would save him. With a second to spare between the flurry of hits, Deathstroke hit a button on his belt.
Seconds later, more Shadows showed up. As his teammates settled in to fight the new wave, Deathstroke shifted his grip on the brunette boy and pushed him towards Nightwing. The boy was already tumbling towards him by the time Nightwing realized it was just a distraction for Deathstroke to get away. The mercenary was already jumping off the side of the bleachers by the time Nightwing got a solid grip on the boy.
"Avery, take care of him," Nightwing laid the boy down as gently and quickly as he could and went after Deathstroke, hoping her medical knowledge would do well in the moment.
Avery shifted her position as she prepared to jump the gap between the ticket booth and the bleachers. With a running start of three feet she jumped the gap and tried to get some friction between her shoes and the thin, slick metal seats so she wouldn't fall off. The effort was enough, considering she didn't fall.
She moved over to where David was and began mentally marking down everything that would need to be fixed. Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw two Shadows jumping onto the bleachers at the other end. Avery knew that the other Shadow she took down was just pure luck, and that she wouldn't be as lucky this time.
Regardless, she stood and readied herself. It wasn't her life on the line after all.
A/N: I'm such an idiot. I had the chapter written and I thought I sent it out to my beta. But I didn't. It was still on my computer. And no one had read it but me. And now you guys can read it, only because I realized I didn't send it out. I hope this never happens again, 'cause seriously, what the flip Past Me? I hate myself just a smidgen for it. Have a nice day everyone.
Read. Enjoy. Review.