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DC Gothic – Red-X
Part 24
Slade's Hideout – Jump City
"Well, we got the message, what do you want?" Gizmo asked.
The midget of mischief and his companions stood in the dark below Slade's chair and they all waited for him to speak.
"I have a job for you" Slade said in a flat, monotone voice that made him sound rather bored about the whole thing "A simple task, really. And I am willing to pay handsomely".
From up there Wilson resembled an unkind king who was looking down upon his subjects.
"Just how much is 'handsomely?'" Gizmo inquired with a sneer.
In response Slade held up a small device and then tossed over to the younger criminals. Upon the device a number flashed on a screen, it contained a lot of zeroes.
"I dunno…" said See-More as he looked at the device "If we can't use Jinx, then things will be a little tougher".
Wilson had, for reasons unknown the rest of the gang, insisted that Jinx not be involved with this job in anyway.
"Could be real dangerous" See-More added.
Slade narrowed his single eye and then tapped a few keys on another device. The numbers on the machine the H.I.V.E students held between them changed. A few more zeroes were added. It was a lot of money.
"But I think we can handle it!" said See-More with a big grin
He was the latest member of this little gang and therefore hadn't learned that it was unwise to annoy Deathstroke.
"So what's the job?" the crook Billy Numerous asked, he also sounded rather bored about the whole thing.
Slade did not answer verbally, instead he pressed a button on the arm of his chair, and the monitors behind the crook blinked to life to reveal recorded videos of a blonde haired teenage girl.
"A kid? What do you want a kid for?" Mammoth grunted, scratching the top of his head.
Mammoth was not the brightest guy around, and therefore he also didn't know that it was a bad idea to annoy Wilson.
"That is none of your concern" Slade said dismissively. "Just bring her here to me, and then you will get paid".
The crooks then looked over the videos.
"She's cute" Gizmo said softly enough not to be heard by Wilson.
He at least was smart enough to know not to piss off Slade.
"Yeah, maybe when you're done I should ask her on a…" See-More started to say, but he trailed off very quickly.
All eyes then focused on Slade. He wore a mask but somehow all the crooks knew that Wilison was glaring at them.
"If one hair on her head is out of place then you will regret it" Deathstroke said in a calm yet still somehow scary voice.
"Okay, we get the point!" See-More replied.
He was holding his hands up as if he was afraid that Slade would launch himself from his chair and throttle the life out of the young crook.
"Just bring her to me" Slade ordered "Now go!"
The four crooks grumbled to each other and then turned to leave. Slade watched them go, and then spun his chair around to face the monitors. Half the images of his daughter changed to footage he'd taken of Red-X over the short time he'd been interested in the boy.
Rose and Red-X looked good together. They'd make a nice couple.
(Line Break)
The Mall – Jump City
Rose, Slade's daughter, and I walked through the closed mall, searching for something for me to steal for her. This wasn't exactly my idea of a romantic date, but it was two in the morning so there wasn't any where open, Besides it hadn't been too much trouble to break into the place as I had been able to disable the cameras and while that wasn't a concern for me I didn't want Rose to get into trouble with the cops.
"So some people were talking about adopting me, but they chose another girl" Rose told me as wandered around.
She crossed her arms, and then she ran her hands up and down her own arms as if trying to warm herself against the cold. I was tempted to wrap my cloak around her, but I had already taken off my mask and that exposed me enough. Besides it was actually rather warm in here.
"You were living in an orphanage?" I asked.
I hadn't been able to think of anything else to say. I was actually feeling a little awkward, which was odd for me as by now I really shouldn't have had this much trouble with the dating thing by now.
"Yeah…my mom died when I was really young" Rose informed me "And I never knew my father... well until now".
Given who her Dad was she would have been better off staying with the other orphans, at least in my view.
"My Dad left me when I was a kid" I told Miss Wilson "And then I got separated from the rest of my family so I know what it's like to alone".
At least she'd had a roof over her head. I'd been worse off a year ago. I'd been hungry enough to steal from people who could afford it, and I'd ended up living in an abandoned house.
"This is some kind of a date" Rose said, smiling with amusement.
With that we started walking, wandering with no particular direction. There was a brief silence, with neither of us sure what to say.
"This was my Mom?" Rose said as she reached into her pocket and produced a photograph that she handed to me
It revealed a smiling woman holding a baby wrapped in her arms. The woman seemed happy, but her eyes had a sadness to them.
"That's the only picture I have of her…" Rose said sadly. "She died when I was still a baby"
Given that her mother been involved with Slade then she might have been murdered by someone wanting to hurt Deathstroke. A guy like that had to have made more than few powerful enemies over the years.
"I'm really sorry" I replied, but only because that was what you were suppose to say.
"Thanks" Rose said, and then she forced herself to flash a smile. "Hey, why all this concern for me? Are you this way with all the girls?"
Actually I didn't care enough about Rose to listen her talk about her crappy life, but when Deathstroke the Terminator tells you to take his daughter out then you don't dare say no or screw it up.
"I can be a softy sometimes" I said "Just don't tell anyone"
Rose giggled a little, but the mood was totally ruined when someone else spoke.
"Let's see how soft you are" a voice said from the darkness "On the inside"
I pushed Rose out of the way just in time to see Mammoth's massive fist to smash into the floor right where she had been standing only a moment ago.
Then I put on mask and got ready for yet another fight. I seemed to get involved with a lot of them these days.
"What do you want?" I asked my fellow H.I.V.E students.
I was somewhat perplexed by why they were here. I had no grudge with them and as far I knew they had no problems with me. I'd not hurt any of them during the tournament. However they might want my grand prise, but if they did then they were fools.
"Your date" Gizmo said with a snicker "A cutie like her needs a real man as a boyfriend, not a kid like you".
Given that he was a tiny person I found this amusing. It was like having Stewie Griffin trying to take my girl.
"Like I'd ever go out with you!" Rose shouted.
Slade's daughter was not that imposing, she wasn't even armed or wearing armour, yet the crooks were taken aback by her words. She had that inner fire that could turn a helpless girl into a deadly foe. Still she was in over her head.
"Rose, get out of here!" I said as I reached for my gun.
I'd never actually used the weapon in combat but I knew it worked, and killing people was becoming less of an issue for me.
"You're kidding!" Rose said while moving into a combat stance "This way more fun than stealing from a mall".
Personally I would rather be taking things with my lovely five fingered discount, but now that wasn't an option.
"If it's a good time you want, we're glad to help out!" Gizmo retorted.
A pair of what I guessed to be be robot arms popped on his backpack and they launched a pair of boomerangs into the air that proceeded to make their way towards us. Rose and I both leapt away in separate directions before the strange projectiles hit us.
Then the boomerangs circled back around, making another pass our way, but before they could any damage I shot one out of the air with my xenothilum powered energy weapon. I then tried to shot the other one but Rose surprised me by whacking it with a chair that had been left out in the food court.
"Hey! I worked for hours on those things!" Gizmo shouted.
Before I could comment on that Mammoth had me in a bear hug and I did not enjoy the experience one bit.
As I struggled I saw Rose taking on Kid Wykkyd he was about to pounce when Rose spun around and delivered a powerful kick straight into his chest, which sent him into the wall.
That so turned me on for some reason. Which was odd because it wasn't as if violence normally aroused me, and currently a big guy was pressing into me so this wasn't the time to think about hot girls.
"Hey. Keep your hands to yourself!" my date for the evening spat out as another of the crooks tried to grab her.
While she was yelling I was electrifying my suit. which really annoyed Mammoth, but did nothing to free me. However I did get to kick See-More in his stupid face when he got in close to mock me, but that was all I could do. Mammoth was so strong that I couldn't get free and even my rotary Xs were no good because my arms were all tangled up. If I used them I'd more damage to myself then my enemy.
"Hey tough guy, why don't you pick on someone your own size?" I heard Cyborg quip as he got Mammoth off me.
Then I could hear Gizmo insult everyone in his childish way as he readied another pair of the boomerang-weapons for launch. Only a pair of green energy-bolts came out of no where and blasted the robot arms to pieces before the little crook could fire his boomerang-weapons.
"On my planet, we have a name for someone who plays with such dangerous toys" Starfire told the midget of mischief.
As I moved away from the crooks and heroes I saw Robin and Kid Wykkyd go at it. The Boy Wonder kicked at Kid Wykkyd's head only for the silent villain to vanish into the wall, and them he reappeared behind Batman's sidekick, only Tim saw it coming and started to punch the mutant.
Also I saw See-More slowly backing away from a big green lion only to bump into Mammoth, who was also looking less than certain of himself as he faced off against Cyborg. They were soon joined by Gizmo and Billy Numerous, who also looked as if they had a sudden change of heart about this whole situation.
"You know boys, I'm thinking maybe our pay-day can wait a while" See-More said to his companions.
I didn't speak. Instead I was in process of grabbing Rose so I could get her the hell out of here. If I let Slade's daughter get hurt then my life would become very painful in the future.
"Aww man, I was just getting to the best part!" Gizmo whined as I used my own grappling hook to take my date up to the top floor.
Sadly for me not all of the Teen Titans were occupied with the crooks, and I ran straight into Raven who did not look happy to see me.
"Hi, Sunshine" I greeted.
Using my pet name for her did not amuse the part-demon. She was not happy about me hanging around with another girl I could read that all over her face.
"Whose this?" the female Titan asked to know.
I didn't really know what to say at this point.
"Me" said Rose while moving to stand in front of me "I'm his date".
I had the horrible feeling that Raven was about to re-enact the fight she'd had with my ex-girlfriend Jinx last Christmas. Only this time one of the girls didn't have super powers, so it wouldn't be an unfair fight.
"Screw this" I muttered.
Wanting to get away I dropped some smoke and I grabbed Rose around the waist, then I used the hook to get us up to skylight. It was open because that was how we'd gotten in here in the first place.
"Let's get you home" I said to my date "Before he kills me".
Which wasn't as horrible as it sounded as I couldn't die, but still it was best avoided
(Line Break)
Slade's Hideout – Jump City
Beneath his mask Deathstroke the Terminator smiled. He was watching some more footage. Rose hadn't known that she had a small camera on her person, and while most of the footage was of no interest to Slade he was intrigued by the fact that Red-X no longer showed up on film.
Wilson suspected that some sort of magic or advanced tech was involved as his apprentice had returned from a tournament with some impressive prizes, and for some reason the skull on an alien creature.
Red-X had not supplied much in the way of details, and Slade didn't care as he had other things to focus on. Besides he had other ways of finding out about what the Master of Games had been up when hosting his event.
His daughter was for now his main project. Deathstroke wanted to secure his legacy. An apprentice was one way to do that, as was moulding his daughter in a copy of herself. Also grandchildren were a possibility.
That had actually been the point of hiring those H.I.V.E morons, and why he'd tipped of the Titans that the crooks would be there.
Wilson had known that the young heroes would prevent anyone from being harmed. He'd been so sure of that he had even been willing to risk his offspring's wealthfare on it.
Slade had not only wanted to see how his child handled herself, but he had also wanted to put Red-X and Rose in danger so that they could become closer. Nothing brought people closer together than shared peril, and if his daughter wanted to learn how to fight in order to better protect herself, than that would be a nice bonus.
When he heard footsteps Slade pressed a button on the arm of his chair and the screens blinked off. It was then that he saw the tiny figure silhouetted in the doorway behind him. Wilson straightened and turned his chair to face the young person who had entered his sanctuary.
The small figure stepped forward, and Slade noted that his daughter seemed uncertain about she wanted, however he knew that really she did know what she wanted, she just didn't know how to ask.
"Can I help you, my dear" Wilson asked.
Rose stepped closer to her father, and now that she was standing in what little light there was Deathstroke could see how angry she was. This was good in Slade's opinion.
"I don't want to be helpless anymore!" Rose shouted, her voice echoing through Slade's lair "Teach me how to fight".
Slade turned his chair back around to face his daughter. He sat completely still, like a statue made from marble, and he looked at her with total seriousness. He had been hoping for this, yet part of him was disappointed by how quickly this had happened.
Clearly Rose had not felt protected by Red-X. Yet he was sure that his apprentice should have been able to deal with the H.I.V.E students. Something must have happened to the thief to make him less sure of himself, that or the Titans had gotten involved before X could really start to fight. Either way Slade knew he had to increase his apprentice's training. His apprentice needed to learn to destroy his enemies totally.
"Do you mean that? Truly mean that? Are you prepared to do whatever it takes?" Slade asked his offspring.
His voice was completely neutral despite the fact that he actually wanted to pass on at least some of his knowledge and methods to his child. Having her give him a grandson was also a plan, but that could take years and Slade didn't think he had that much time left.
"Teach me. Everything" she requested of her father.
Under his mask Wilson couldn't help but smile.
"That's my girl." Slade said as he rose to his feet, his voice taking on a note of fatherly pride.
He stepped down to stand in front of her, his single-eye meeting her twin orbs as they gazed into each other. Then he did something he'd never done before. He hugged his daughter.
Rose made no move to return the gesture and embrace her father as he held her. She kept her hands at her sides and simply stared into the darkness of Slade's lair, feeling that darkness hold her in a way that Slade never could.