Jade is gone.
The words echo through his brain like a hammer blow to his skull. Three of them:
Jade. Is. Gone.
He fights down the panic, the fear, the guilt. He can't afford those feelings. Not now. He has to think.
He didn't hear a car before he went back inside, so no one picked her up. She was on foot. She wouldn't be on the road—he had taught her better than that—so he couldn't just get in the car and follow her. Tracking her at night—with no clue as to which direction she'd gone—would be useless.
That airport. She had mentioned a county airport. If the Shadows were going to pick her up, they'd do it there.
He didn't know where it was. He didn't know when Jade had spoken to them.
He doesn't know how long he has to find her before its too late.
"Artemis! Baby, wake up! We gotta go! Get ready now!" He goes to his bedroom and suits up. His gear. The clothes that he had thought he would never wear again.
He had to be ready. If the Shadows had her, he had to be ready.
They are not taking his daughter. That is not an option. He will not lose Jade—he will not let her be taken from him. He was too late for Paula—he will not be too late for Jade.
By the time he's dressed and out the door, Artemis is already waiting for him with a small bag in hand. "Daddy, where's Jade? I can't find her anywhere!"
He sees the tears, the fear, in his baby girl's eyes and he swears to himself that he won't let her down. "It's okay, baby. Jade just went out without permission and I have to make sure she's okay."
"Is that why you're wearing your uniform? I should go with you! You need someone to watch your back!"
"No!" He roars the word, then kneels down and gives her a quick hug and picks her up. "No, baby. I have to know you're safe so I can concentrate on finding Jade. We're going to the Kents. You be a good girl while I'm gone, and when I get back with Jade …" He trails off.
"What, Daddy? When you get back with Jade what'll we do?"
"I'll think of something. Come on, baby." He carries Artemis to the car and puts her in the seat beside him. "Just hope their place isn't hard to find."
It's not.
He's honking his car horn as soon as he enters the driveway. It's a risk to trust them—a risk to trust anyone—but he doesn't have a choice.
Skip is barking up a storm as they reach the door. Jonathan Kent is standing on the porch in a bathrobe. Martha Kent is just inside the door, stifling a yawn with her hand. "Lawrence …?"
"Jonathan, I need your help. I need for you to watch Artemis. And to tell me how to get to the county airport. Jade's—I have to find her."
"Daddy …?" Artemis blinks sleepy eyes in confusion and fear.
Martha Kent opens the door and walks over to the car door. "Hello, honey. I'm sure your daddy is going to find Jade, but why don't you come inside? I have some chocolate cake. You and I can have a piece."
Artemis gives her father another look, and then opens the door. She takes the older woman's hand and walks onto the porch. When she nears the dog, she wraps her arms around Skip and begins crying.
The dog licks her face and for a moment seems to be glaring at him with a faint hint of red in its eye …
"I'll be back, Artemis. We both will!" It's dangerous to make a promise like that but he can't help himself. He turns back to Jonathan Kent. "Please, Jonathan. Help me."
Jonathan gives him the directions to the county airport. "I could call the sheriff. He could keep Jade from leaving …"
He barks out a laugh at the idea of a small town sheriff being able to force his daughter to do anything. "No, Jonathan. That's not a good idea. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Be careful, Lawrence."
"Thank you." He reaches out and shakes the older man's hand. "Thank you for—everything."
Jonathan Kent nods once, and then steps back.
He slams the accelerator down and drives off into the darkness. "I'm coming for you, Jade. I'm not going to screw it up. Not this time."
He reaches the county airport and is out of the car almost before it stops. "Jade! Jade!"
She's near a landing strip—well, the landing strip. She's holding a small bag, and when she turns to see him her face has such a look of surprise on it he almost laughs. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to take you home, Jade. Where you belong."
"I don't have a home. I never have. No home. No real family. You made sure of that. This is all I have left. This is what I was meant to be."
"No it isn't. No it's not." He grabs her by the shoulders—a movement that she's too surprised to counter but he knows that he only has moments so he presses his advantage. "You're right. I'm a bad man. A worse father. I screwed up, Jade. I've screwed up all your life. And I'll probably do more in the future."
A small personal jet is coming in for a landing.
"But you're not me, Jade. You're not your mother. You are more than we shaped you to be. You don't have to do this! You can be anyone, anything. You don't have to be a killer! You can be more than that, little girl. Don't make my mistakes, Jade.
"Come home, Jade. Come home to your sister. Come home to your family. Where you belong."
He has no more words left. His heart in his throat, he lets her go and opens his arms.
"Daddy…"
Her eyes are filled with tears and she looks at him like she's never seen him before. Like she's never known him before. Almost in spite of herself, she opens her arms and moves toward him …
"Well, well. Isn't this interesting? Now I see why the Shadows were willing to pay my fee just to have me pick up a new recruit."
He looks over and sees that the plane landed while he was having his talk with Jade and he curses himself for being too slow. He curses even more when he sees who just spoke. "Wilson."
"Crock."
"You can't have my daughter, Deathstroke." He shoves Jade behind him and draws his lance. "Leave."
Deathstroke, also called the Terminator, draws his blade. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Sportsmaster. I have a contract. You understand."
"I suppose I do."
"For what it's worth, I'm a father too. I would do the same. It's just too bad I have to kill you in front of your girl."
"Talk's cheap."
"So I've heard."
And then—almost faster than the eye can follow—Deathstroke attacks.