Chapter Four: Awakening
Azula PoV
It's been two days since I awoke from my comma. I can walk with support, talk like almost normal, and use small bits and pieces of my powers, which were burnt out from healing me physically so rapidly.
My clothes were discarded due to the amount of blood and shrapnel pieces in it. Wintergreen Brought in a pair of light blue jeans and a green camouflage T-shirt. The pants fit perfectly and so did the shirt. They weren't typically my style, but I was happy to wear anything besides a hospital gown.
I learned that the first man I saw was named Wintergreen, he was Slades butler. But I soon realized he was also his good friend. Slade just happened to be a millionaire that lived in the small town of Lithonwood, Wisconsin.
I also asked him about the accident.
He says that when the explosion first went off, he couldn't find me, then a rival of his started shooting and he took three bullet wounds to the chest and one in the calf. He is a metahuman, though, like me. And so his healing rate is through the roof. The only remnant of the bullets is little pink circles on his skin with slight jagged edges.
He found me when he fought his way free. When he says he got me to his home, I was dead, but then before his eyes, I floated just above the bed he placed me on and my wounds were gone in minutes. I stayed in a comma for twelve hours though, and I stopped floating after two of them.
In my free time I explore his home. I hated being cooped up in that small white room. With my sturdy cane by my side, I roam the endless halls until either Wintergreen finds me or I get tired or sit down to rest somewhere.
On the fourth day after my awakening, I can run and talk back with my witty comments, I can recall most of my memories, and my motor skills are as good as new. I am normal, save for my memories, but those will return with time. I hope.
On the fifth day, I got curious about his occupation, and why I found him in the abandoned warehouse with lackeys. He doesn't tell me much, which tells me just enough.
Either the crazy-pirate-goatee man is a secret mob boss, or he gets bored in his mansion and likes to explore. The latter was more for fun than actual incident.
Luckily, Slade allows me to stay in a guest room. It's a considerable upgrade from the medical room, and I am grateful. It's even bigger than my shared room at the group home. The room is decorated in at least three different shades of purples, and I consider asking him if he had a daughter, but I think better about it. I have a private bathroom too, with a giant mirror that covers an entire wall above the long countertop and sink. But the mirror just shows me the remnants of the explosion; Singed hair and light and fading pink marks over my skin. The scares will be gone very soon though, what with my healing.
Healing. That's one thing Slade asked me about right now. We were standing in the study, where the bookshelves reached the ceiling and were filled with a rainbow of books in all sizes, and several elegant couches are places variously around the room. I'm sitting on one couch, while Slade searches through a bookshelf ten feet away from me.
"I've been meaning to ask, how did you fix yourself up? I mean, I know you healed yourself, and I used to know another woman that could do the same thing, but, it still makes me wonder…" He keeps his face turned towards the books so I have to guess what his expression is.
"I've always been a little different. All my senses are heightened and I heal abnormally fast. I have this black magic thing going on that I can control, in small amounts though. I use to much and bad things happen," And bad things did happen when I tried to block a dog from getting hit by a car; I used so much power in that moment of desperation that I threw the dog and the car in opposite directions, the dog and the people in the car both died. I surface from the brief flashback and I realize that I had stopped talking and Slade was looking at me. I shake my head and continue, "I can teleport, fly, lift objects, and I sense auras and emotion. So to sum it up; I'm a freak," I try to cover my disapproval with a chuckle. It doesn't work.
"Black magic?"
"Well, the color is black, anyway. Like this," I levitate a book from a tall shelf and bring it to my hands, then put it back.
"Have you heard of the Teen Titans?" He walks to his dig desk in the corner of the room and sifts through a drawer.
"No. Wait, they were a superhero group in California, right? Like, ten years ago?"
"They were, yes," He looks up from the drawer and eyes me, as if deciding something. He brings a three inch stack of newspaper articles and plops them on my lap. I raise an eyebrow at him.
"The Titans," He gestures to the papers, "You wanted to know about my occupation, well, look through these papers. You're a smart girl, you'll figure it out."
He walks to the door and is about to leave, then speaks, "Come find me when you're do."
I go to ask him where he will be, but he is already gone.
I spent roughly thirty minutes reading through the stack he gave me. All of them had one thing in common; They were about the Teen Titans vs. a villain named Slade. Okay, that and they all come from Jump, California. And I was pretty sure, after the first five articles, that Slade Wilson was Slade the Villain. A few of the last articles had features of one of the Titans, a girl named Raven, who became his apprentice and then disappeared.
I shove the papers aside and searched a few hallways before I gave up with a huff. If I couldn't find him on foot, then I would look for his aura. I close my eyes and release my senses.
When I open my eyes again, there are two auras I see. One is a light red, and could be easily mistaken for a vibrant orange, and the other is a dark, smoky black. I'm willing to bet that the black one is Slade. So I follow that aura.
I pass a lot of hallways, and down three flights of stairs. The aura that is believed to belong to Slade is directly behind the last door at the end of the hall.
I push open the door and low and behold, a training room. Slade waits for me with his arms crossed.
"So you're the famous "Slade"?"
"Yes," He nods, "I have a proposition for you."
"Oh?" I raise an eyebrow and place my hands on my hips.
"I will let you stay with me, and if you would like, I can even adopt you."
"You said proposition," I point out. Everything has hooks.
"I want you as my new apprentice. You remind me so much of my last apprentice, Raven. But I believe you will be better than her."
"Hmm, very tempting offer. But I have to ask, what happened to Raven? The last article I read said you murdered her?"
He shook his head and frowned, "No, I didn't. It became very complicated, and she decided to leave. I do wish she had stayed, though. I haven't seen her since, though I've heard of her mercenary work and it's quite impressive."
What have I got to lose? I gain a house, a father, a mentor. It sounded pretty fair to me. I broad a minute over the option, then smile.
"Apprentice Azula at your service," I give a faux two fingered solute to him. He smiles.