So many choices on where this story could go. Maybe, Robin finds Todd but he is too busy kissing his boyfriend to see him D: or maybe Robin gets hit by a bus and Bruce comes to get him from the hospital, ooor the titans find Robin! Choices, choices.
Get in line, for chapter nine.
Chapter 9
A Chase is only the Beginning
-Day 43-
If Robin knew better he would have continued with the turn and moved along the street he had turned onto. He would have walked towards the lone standing building that was apart from the skyline. He would have found himself at Grand Central train station, aboard a train that went directly back to Jump, but he didn't know better. The skyline of brilliant twinkling lights called to him like a siren's song, and he crossed the street, sealing his fate without even realizing it.
x
He wasn't sure how long he had been running or how many fences he had crossed, but he was tired and the fence that was now fast approaching seemed to be impossibly tall. He forced his legs to move faster, best case scenario would be that the added speed would ease the jump. He braced, mostly likely scenario would be him slamming into the fence even harder than he would have before. He made the leap and came up short. His stomach slammed into the top of the hard iron fence and he grasped franticly to keep from sliding back down. He planted his hands on the other side of the fence and forced himself over.
The move wasn't graceful and he tumbled forward, pinwheeling for a second before he slammed into the ground. The world swirled and Robin tried to stand up only to end up collapsing again. He held his head and waited for the throbbing to go away while he surveyed his surroundings. He guessed he was in a pallet yard, with the tell tale wooden pallets stacked in tall towers at the other side of the lot. Robin suspected he had landed at the far side of the yard due to the messy debris around him. As if this area was the trash dumping ground for the whole yard. A few feet away there was a heap of broken materials piled in a mound taller than himself. Splintered wood made up the most of the pile but he also spotted some metal pipes, broken glass and a few other odd shapes. The dim lighting of the amber street lights seemed to do a better job at making shadows that actually illuminating anything, so the exact details of what was around him was nearly impossible to figure out.
Robin got to his feet and shuffled forward, hoping to avoid stepping on anything. His progress was slow and it didn't help that he was practically falling asleep on his feet. After a few minutes he found himself at the lot's storage shed thing. He didn't know exactly what it was called but every lot he had gone through had a storage unit of some kind. The shed he was in front of now was tall and wide like an airplane hanger except a lot shabbier. The structure was built up on thick metal frame work with a metal roof and two walls made out of an assortment of metal and plywood and a swept concrete floor. The shed sheltered a couple pallet towers, two forklifts, a table with papers piled on it and a few file cabinets. It wasn't the most ideal place to stay but it would have to do. So with slow sleepy strides he vanished inside of the structure.
x
The man strode forward across the immaculate lobby, his black suit so impeccable it put the Armani and Venita around him to shame. The staff smiled at him as he passed, knowing money and power when they saw it. They opened a clear path for him to the VIP elevator, that would take him all the way to the top, to the man in charge.
He stepped inside the elevator and gave the elevator's attendant a nod. The attendant smiled and hit the button for the pent house office. The man felt the elevator begin to rise and found himself checking his reflection to pass the time. He had already checked his refection a hundred times before he came but he couldn't help but look again. His newly dyed hair was chestnut brown and was combed away from his face in a perfect fashion. His contact shown a similar shade of brown to his hair and matched his glass eye perfectly. He studied his squared beard and wondered if it would have been better to shave it instead of dyeing it. The elevator gave a soft ding and the doors opened onto a small lobby, and with no more time to scrutinize himself he exited the elevator car.
The lobby was fancy yet plain in the way only a waiting room can manage. To one side was a stained wood desk with a blonde typing away behind it and to the other side was a coffee table and a modern looking sofa. As soon as the elevator doors closed the blonde looked up.
"Mr. Wilson?" she asked plainly.
Slade gave a smirk, "Why yes it is."
She nodded and got up, walking around the desk and through a door of frosted glass and the far end of the room. Slade only had to wait a second before she came back, holding the door open for him.
"Mr. Luthor will see you now."
Slade slipped into the massive office and quickly found Lex Luthor seated at his desk. He moved to the desk, and Lex looked up at him.
"Why Slade Wilson, it's been a while. You clean up well." Lex Luthor said with a businessman's smile.
Slade reached out to firmly shake the bald's hand.
"It has been a long time hasn't it." Slade replied.
"Please have a seat. We have business to discuss." Luthor said with a slight motion to a chair behind Slade.
Slade sat down before Luthor and made the quick movement of smoothing out his suit jacket to assure himself it still hung perfectly.
"What is the job you require my talent for?" He asked as he absently straitened a cuff.
Luthor looked briefly amused before he spread his arm out wide and motioned around the room, "You may speak freely here, Mr. Wilson."
Slade nodded, "Of course. In that case, who would you like me to kill, Mr. Luthor?"
"Mmm, Yes." Lex nodded and opened a drawer in his desk and removed a manila folder that he passed over to Slade.
Slade immediately opened the folder and gazed at the photos inside.
They where mostly the same kind of thing, snap shots of obviously high ranking gang members as they exited a warehouse. It was the same warehouse and angle in every picture but the time of day was different in each. Luthor had probably had lookouts watching the warehouse for weeks to compile all the pictures.
"You see Slade, even though your last job was a success, the success was not as long term as I had hoped." Luthor said over his now laced fingers.
Slade nodded to that, he knew how those things usually worked, and knew he would end up in this chair sooner or later. Gang rivalries settled by assassin always had the same plot line. One side calls in an expert, like himself, to make their enemies lives harder or destroy their business. Instead of this action beating the other gang into submission, they simply retaliate and fight back harder. So the assassin is called in to simply take out all of the other gang's officials and high ranking members. The only curve ball that arose in the situation he was in now, was it wasn't two apposing gangs he was dealing with but a billionaire and a gang. Even though the client was unexpected, he played it the same way he always did. Let the plot line play out and get paid. Make it seem like he had no idea that the gang would simply retaliate against his attacks, and collect the extra pay checks for the previously useless destruction.
"So how are you planning on making this solution permanent?" He asked as if he hadn't already figured it all out in his head.
"I need all those people listed dead." Lex Luthor said bluntly, "Sooner is preferable."
Slade had to hide his slight surprise at the sear bluntness of the man's words. Usually clients had a slight emotion when they spoke of killing a person or multiple people, be it positive or negative, they always showed an emotion, but Luthor was different. He sounded only the slightest bit irritated but not because he was irritated at the people, but irritated that he had to waste the seconds needed to sentence their deaths. But what could he expect from a man like Luthor, he hadn't gotten to where he was now with good graces and pristine work ethic.
"And how soon would you like this done?" Slade asked levelly.
"Within the next week."
Slade's mental eyebrows rose just a little.
"That would cost you."
Luthor waved his hand making it clear that money was not an issue.
"Well then Mr. Luthor is that all?" Slade asked.
"That would be all, Slade."
Luthor rose and reached a hand over his desk and Slade rose to shake it. The deal was sealed and six men would die. Just business as usual.
x
Slade was relaxing in his hotel room with a newspaper. His plane wouldn't he leaving until dawn so he decided to relax. He flipped through the oversized pages idly and scanned for anything that might interest him. Due to the fact it was The Metropolis Times, most of the articles revolved around Superman. Not finding any entertainment in the thing, he simply threw the paper away and it was at that exact moment that his phone rang.
Slade reached over to the bed side table and picked up the phone only answering it when he saw it was Wintergreen's number.
"So you've made it safely to Los Angeles?"he asked before Wintergreen could say a word.
"Slade." The tone of his old friend's voice caught Slade off guard.
"What happened." The line stayed quiet, "Wintergreen, What happened." Slade repeated, this time with a slow forceful tone.
"He got out. The boy is gone." the old man rasped.
"What." Slade's voice was ice.
"He attacked when I came in. Snuck up and stabbed me with a knife or something, then knocked me out on the street. When I came to, he was gone." Wintergreen told the mercenary.
Slade was silent, an angry simmering silence that made the air in the room thick.
"There was a robot in a training room as well, out of commission. The boy seemed to have shot it repeatedly and left the gun behind." Wintergreen continued.
Slade remained silent.
"...Would you like me to go after the boy?" Wintergreen asked after a moment of hesitation.
"No, Wintergreen you have done quite enough." Slade said stonily.
"Yes, Sir."
Slade thought for a moment before retrieving the remote device for Robin's collar. He switched on the device and activated the GPS locator and watched as it pinpointed a small moving dot.
"Wintergreen?" Slade said.
"Yes, Sir?" Wintergreen replied instantly.
"Get me a ride to Los Angeles, now." He commanded.
"Already done, a helicopter will be arriving shortly to take you to the airport." Wintergreen informed him.
"Good." Slade ended the call and stared down the blinking dot on the screen.
"You better run quickly, Apprentice." he told the moving dot. "You have five hours, and your time is running out."
-Author's Note-
Interesting tidbit
Slade Wilson (Deathstroke) was created in 1980
He has a half-brother (same father) named Wade LaFarge (Ravager #4) was created in 1994
Wade Wilson (Deadpool) was made by Marvelin 1991
So I was thinking up a little family tree of Slade being 14 and having an annoying cousin, Wade, who is 3 and a baby half brother, Wade, who is a new born. Think of all the family fun with a family of killers.
I'm starting to think I should just have Deadpool pop into my story for the hell of it.
Fanfiction won't let me use plus signs to split up sections of text anymore (TT_TT) *cries in a corner*
So yeah, stuff is stuff and the story continues (°v°)
-Missing Jay