This was most definitely not how Slade Wilson had planned to come out of retirement.
He had been biding his time since the incident with Trigon, keeping an eye on the Titans but not personally returning to Jump City and his criminal empire just yet. He also didn't bother telling anyone that he was alive, aside from a select few on a need-to-know basis.
William Wintergreen was one of those few.
"Slade, I know you're not one for a holiday, but this is ridiculous!" the older man huffed, leaning over Slade's shoulder to glare at his friend's computer screen. "You're supposed to be laying low, not hacking into superhero databases."
"William," Slade gasped, pretending to be offended, "You can't honestly expect me to sit back and become some lazy old geezer, do you? Shuffleboard and golf, I think I'd rather die…"
Wintergreen rolled his eyes. "Save your breath, Slade. You and I both know Rose is enough to turn your hair white, if Adeline and the army hadn't beaten her to it."
"Mmm, yes, I don't think Lilian appreciates all of the martial arts I've been teaching her daughter." Slade pensively adjusted a picture on his desk. It was fairly recent, a souvenir from some county fair. Slade, with his white hair, hard features, and eye patch, had an arm around the beautiful, dark-haired Lilian. The thirteen-year-old girl between them had her mother's black, piercing eyes, Slade's white hair, and a rebellious spirit that both of her parents had forgotten they'd given her. Slade had been staying with them since the Trigon incident. He'd called up Wintergreen shortly thereafter. Slade turned back to the files he was downloading, suddenly serious.
"The Titans have expanded their ranks, Wintergreen. This Brotherhood of Evil nonsense only served to bring the next generation of heroes closer together, from all over the world. There's bound to be a few interesting ones to choose from."
"Another new apprentice, Slade? You really do seem to fly through them. Sounds like the opposite of lying low, if you ask me."
"All in good time, old friend. It doesn't hurt to plan for-" Slade froze, fingers hovering over the keys, staring at one of the new profiles in the Titans' system. "No…it can't be… Joseph?"
"No," Wintergreen gasped, tilting the computer for a better look at the screen.
The boy looked a bit older since they had last seen him, but his curly blond hair and bright green eyes were unmistakable. The scars on his neck were hidden by some white material (bandages or a white turtleneck, the image didn't show enough to tell) and he seemed... happier than the two men could remember him being in a long, long time. After a while, Slade finally tore his gaze from the picture long enough to look at the words alongside it:
Name: Jericho
Alias(es): N/A
Location: Tibet
Abilities: Possession
Additional Info: Close friend of The Herald. Recruited in preparation for defense against the Brotherhood of Evil. Fought in the initial battle with the Brotherhood in Paris. Friendly. Able to get along well with everyone.
Slade found an additional note in Robin's personal files, "Potential main team member."
The arms of Slade's desk chair splintered from the force with which he was gripping them. Rising, Slade flung the chair back and began to pace, his mind whirling.
"Slade," Wintergreen began cautiously, setting the chair back on its legs. "It says 'potential,' all right, 'potential.' He hasn't joined their team."
"Not yet," Slade spat, "But the Titans will ask him to join, and you know Joseph will feel obligated to go along with it."
"I know, but-"
"He won't be safe, Will! He's in their database; who knows who could be after him already. I'm going to get him." Slade reached for the phone on his desk, only to have Wintergreen place his hand over Slade's.
"You cannot blow cover like this. If you show up now, you'll just scare the boy. Give it some time and keep an eye on it, but I think he will be perfectly safe surrounded by heroes for the time being."
Slade sighed and pulled his hand away, turning to stare at the image on the screen.
"I don't want to see him hurt again, Will."
Rose had to admit, she liked having her father around.
He'd just shown up one day while she was at school. She wanted to be angry at him for not being around her entire life, but he was just as surprised at her existence as she was at his. He thought he was just visiting an old flame for a few weeks to recover from his latest "adventure." Instead, he found a family.
Slade was cool, too, with his eyepatch and scars and hair that was white, like hers. He taught her to fight and took her and her mother out to fairs, sporting events, the movies. He didn't care that she was a girl.
Things got even better when Uncle Wintergreen showed up. He was a gruff old man who solved problems by sitting you down with a cup of tea and talking some sense into you. Apparently, Slade drove him crazy.
For Rose, it was as though she'd found a piece of herself that she'd always been missing. She should have known it was too good to last.
Mom had told her that Slade had secrets, things he could never tell them. Eavesdropping outside Slade's office, Rose found out that her mom didn't know the half of it. The Teen Titans of Jump City? Heroes and villains? Someone named Joseph? Slade was planning on leaving them.
We'll see about that.
A few weeks passed. Everyone acted normal, but there was a new tension there. Slade was restless, Wintergreen and Lily were worried, Rose was frustrated. The girl had been asking questions lately, prying at Slade's life before he'd dropped himself at Lily's doorstep.
They came home one night, bats and gloves over their shoulders, covered in dirt from helping Rose practice for baseball tryouts, to find Wintergreen waiting anxiously. He pulled Slade aside.
"We need to talk. Your office. Now."
Slade turned to Rose, his expression serious. "Go clean up and help your mother with dinner."
"But Dad-"
"Now," Slade said sharply, and turned to follow Wintergreen.
Slamming and locking the door behind him, Slade turned to the monitors on his desk. The Titan database was up on one of the screens, with an alert flashing. Joseph's picture, with a message that he was missing, presumed kidnapped.
"Damn it!" Slade growled, banging a fist on the desk. He turned his glare to Wintergreen. "How long?"
"The alert went out this morning, ten o'clock our time."
"That's seven hours, Wintergreen, why am I only hearing about this now?"
"They rebooted their systems, looking for leaks, and they're sending this alert across several hero databases. It took a while to work around. I only just got to this a bit over an hour ago. I was preoccupied before that working around this," Wintergreen gestured to the other monitors, crowded with incryptions, security feeds, and a map of Jump City.
"There's been an increase in activity around your former hideouts for a while, and this particular one in Jump City has been live for over a month now. They tried to cover their tracks, but not well enough, evidently."
Slade slumped into his chair as the programs finished regaining access while concealing their own presence. He knew this took time, but if Joseph was truly in danger…
"Has Searchers picked up on this?" Slade moved his fingers over the keys, adding his own codes to speed up the process.
"I doubt Addie knows what Joseph's been up to, since you are the connection to the Titans and presumed dead. She's never approached them before, and I doubt Joseph would have told them about her."
Files began to open. Slade scattered them about the screen. There were files, copies of notes, videos. Slade opened the feed from live security cameras. In one of the frames, he caught a glimpse of curly blond hair. Zooming in on the footage, Slade noted that the boy was strapped to a table, surrounded by lab rats and hired guns, struggling weakly against the restraints while the scientists hooked him up to various monitors.
Slade's stomach dropped. These people didn't just kidnap Joseph.
They were experimenting on him.
Wintergreen was saying something that Slade couldn't hear. He let his enhanced mind take off, cross referencing current mercenary positions with base schematics, factoring in changes the intruders had made. His hand was already reaching for the phone. This time, Wintergreen made no attempt to stop him.
Threat assessment made, helicopter commandeered, and wrath festering, Slade finally rose from his chair to find Wintergreen ready with his gear.
"Welcome back, sir," the older man said gravely.
Slade gave a nod as he took the gear. "Watch over Lily and Rose for me."
Wintergreen opened the door and stepped aside. Lilian and Rose were waiting for him. Lily seemed sad, but not surprised. He kissed Lily on the cheek and took a knee in front of Rose.
"Sorry, kid," he said, "But Dad has to go to work now."
Rose threw herself into his arms. "You can't just leave! What are you doing? When will you be back? Who's Joseph?"
Slade sighed, "It's better you don't know." He held her out at arm's length. "Stay out of trouble, listen to your mom, and keep up with your training."
They could hear the helicopter hovering above the house. Slade picked up his bag and turned his back on them. His posture shifted in a way Rose had never seen before; she had never seen someone look so completely… dangerous.
"Looks like Deathstroke is officially out of retirement." Slade muttered to himself, stepping out to meet the helicopter.
They just had to make it personal.