Hey!
So, here's another one shot. I'd like to thank Dextra2 for the idea. She mentioned something about whether or not Sportsmaster knew about any of this and I thought it could make a pretty good story.
I'm experimenting with a different style of writing. It's more like first person, and there's no dialogue. Hope I didn't mess up too badly, but I wanted to try something new.
Also, unless I manage to come up with and type another idea, this is it until mid August. Hopefully, I'll come up with a bunch more ideas in camp and will be able to crank out a bunch more after I get back.
DISCLAIMER: Don't own nothing. Oh look, a double contradiction!
Sportsmaster
When Sportsmaster heard that Jade had taken a break from crime fighting, he wasn't really worried. She had her own life now, and chances were that she was training with something new or on some covert mission for the Light or something. None of his concern.
When Sportsmaster heard that Jade was showing up as Cheshire again, a little more than a year later, he felt a little relieved. There had been a niggling worm of doubt that she had chosen to betray him like Artemis which had grown the longer she was MIA.
When Sportsmaster heard that Jade was asking around about that Speedy kid, he was a little confused- why did she care? Sure, she had been involved in the thing, but it was long done. No reason to go digging up the past- and a little suspicious.
When Sportsmaster heard that Speedy had been 'rescued', he began to suspect that something was wrong. Jade had been asking around, and now all of a sudden the heroes managed to locate him, after 5 years of searching? It smelled a little fishy.
When Sportsmaster heard that Jade had quite Cheshire, officially, he was curious as to what her reasons were. But he kept his nose out of it. Jade didn't want him anywhere near her life, and he was sure that there was a logical explanation.
When Sportsmaster saw Jade in the grocery store near Paula's apartment with a baby, he was flabbergasted. The baby looked like Jade, but the red hair… He pushed the thought out of his mind. Probably babysitting Artemis' kid or something. That pair (he still couldn't understand what she in that idiot of a speedster) could produce a vietnamese looking kid with red hair. He squashed the thought that he hadn't heard anything about Artemis being pregnant, or even that their relationship had progressed to that stage.
When Sportsmaster saw Jade and the Speedy Clone kissing after having come out of a movie, still carrying that kid, he decided to do some investigating. Something was very, very wrong here.
When Sportsmaster, after stalking the couple for a while, found out that they were married and that yes, that kid (Lian Nguyen Harper- what a name!) was, in fact, Jade's, he may or may not have set up a small trust fund for the kid and then left Gotham. Jade had her own life now, and she was happy. Sure, he was upset that neither of his kids would carry on his legacy as a villain, but he did care for his kids, no matter what anyone else said. They could make their own decisions.
He wouldn't interfere in their lives anymore.
Yeah. Hope you don't hate the new way too much. Next one, whenever it comes, will probably be more like normal.
Anyway, my theory is that deep down, Sportsmaster does care. He isn't going out of his way to baby them, but he supports them in his own way.