1Right, next up.
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Gizmo muttered. He was really, really, REALLY sick of the new teacher now. He got off the hook, and Gizmo had more work to do. Right now, he was scrubbing the floor of the training room. Sparring hadn't gone that well for some of them, and he picked up more than a couple teeth. One of which used to be his. Gizmo WANTED to blame Taskmaster for that, but he actually tried to call THAT match-up off. Gizmo made the mistake of smarting off at his opponent.
Even he had to admit he could use some training. Physically only, of course. He knew he was smarter. Even if he was the only one with that opinion.
"Scruf-munching maggot...I hate this..."
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Meanwhile, Bumble Bee was doing her own extra work. While Taskmaster was out, she went into his room, to snoop and try to figure out a way for the Titans to beat him. She'd heard from the school grapevine Taskmaster had beaten them, and she wanted to try to rectify that.
She was currently rummaging in the desk in his room.
"There's got to be something around here that-"
"That WHAT, dearie?"
She froze, sweatdropped, and turned her head to look. Just as she feared, he caught her in the middle of it. He loomed over her, behind her, cloak around his body, so she couldn't see if he had his hand on a weapon or not. She had to think of an excuse fast.
"I was...looking for my grade score. To see how I compared to others." She told him, acting like a troublemaker.
"Hmph. Two things then. Firstly, Blood's trainin' you brats a bit too well fer' being troublemakers. And secondly.." He started, before he hopped up, and threw his foot out, sending her over the desk, onto the floor.
"Augh!"
She landed on her shoulders and wings, which hurt, and crinkled the wings a bit. She got part way up, looking at him.
"Do ye' think I wouldn't recognize a runt stallin' for a lie? I did that myself tryin' t' pass off my talent in school."
Bumble Bee grimaced, and stood up, as Taskmaster took a fighting stance. This would not end well...
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Elsewhere, Blood was currently tapping a pencil on the side of his face gently, thinking something through in his head. It didn't take long, and he jotted it down, moving onto the next part. He was actually figuring out the "school budget", as it were. While it may seem like villains never bother with this, it was important nonetheless, especially considering how much the entire building cost. And he was not happy with his figures...
"WHAT? WE'RE IN THE RED? GAH!"
He threw the notepad and pencil, furious, then grumbled, telekinetically bringing both back to him to review. He knew the figures were accurate. He just had to cut something. As he rechecked, he learned there were two problems. One was not enough income to cover the costs. That hadn't been a problem before, since they just steal their income. The other was spending too much. So he decided to see what cost the most, and cut it from his list. It was Taskmaster's pay. He sighed in annoyance.
"I should've known. The GOOD free agents are always so darn expensive!"
He set the pad and pencil down hard, and stormed towards Taskmaster's room..
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Bumble Bee was behind the now overturned desk, panting, hands on her stingers. The fight had been intense, but she was a teenage girl still training. Granted, she was GOOD, but...he was better. MUCH better. She was getting clobbered in hand-to-hand, so she kicked the desk over to hide behind. Trouble was, he took cover too. She was waiting for him to come out before she would.
"Come on..."
She heard him rush out, and she got up and fired his way as he charged, his shield out to block. She yelped, and flew straight up, to avoid the tackle that shoved the desk back. She fired down at him, making him leap back, throwing the shield up at her to knock her out of the air. She groaned, as she crashed to the ground, and he grabbed the rebounding shield to put back around his arm. He then rushed her, and she grabbed the first thing she could to throw at him, which he effortlessly ducked. It was at that moment, that Blood opened the door and stepped in.
"What is going ON in h-"
Whump.
Taskmaster and Bumble Bee both sweatdropped, and turned to face Blood, who was now sporting a chair cushion on his face.
"I thought I locked that..." Taskmaster muttered.
Blood pulled the pillow off, and threw it down.
"I HAD BETTER GET A GOOD EXPLANATION FOR THIS!" He shouted.
Bumble Bee squirmed where she was, she knew that she would be-
"Bumble Bee is a step above the other kids. I felt it best t' teach her personally. I thought I locked that door, incidentally.."
Bumble Bee sweatdropped, then grinned sheepishly.
"Er, that's right...sir?"
Blood arched an eyebrow, scowling, then looked to Taskmaster.
"Speaking of teaching, I have to let you off. The students aren't making enough income right now to support paying your fee."
"So yer' cannin' me, eh? Tch..."
"Right, pack up and head out. I'll call you again when I KNOW I can afford you."
With that, Blood strolled out, and Bumble Bee sighed in relief, then stared at Taskmaster.
"Why didn't you give me away?" She asked.
"Blood wasn't payin' me t' ferret out spies." he stated matter of factly, heading to his things to clear out.
Bumble Bee gave him an odd look, then headed out slowly, hoping he didn't change his mind. Taskmaster quickly packed up and left.
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It wasn't much long after that, that Taskmaster had stopped at a local motel, out of costume of course, to relax and ponder his course of action now. He leaned back in his chair to think.
"Well, this is a fine mess I'm in now. Someone actually canned me. I hate those fussy penny-pinchin' power mongers. They always think they kin just use us like toys."
He muttered, reaching for his drink, and stopped because he saw someone reflect in the glass. He thought for a bit before speaking.
"Deadpool, if that's you, ye know I don't like it when ye go silent. Ye never amount to anything but trouble when ye aren't yammerin' on like always when I see ye." He said, turning his head to look.
"Not quite..." The other figure stated calmly, heading to the brighter part of the room, showing his two tone mask, with only one eye opening.. "I still don't quite understand how you can tolerate that lunatic..."
Taskmaster smirked.
"Ah, it's you. Deadpool why ye stopped namin' yerself Deathstroke? And he's not that bad once ye befriend him. Ye get t' being able t' predict him."
"I have need of your unique talents here."
"I've been keepin' tabs on ye. The brats in tights, right? Still prefer t' manipulate others for yer plans and t' toy with their minds, I see."
Taskmaster's guest narrowed his visible eye, as Taskmaster took a drink, then set it down.
"I am a little sparse on income at the moment, no thanks t' Blood. When do we start, Slade?"
Behind his mask, Slade grinned...
