Slade Wilson was quietly drinking his morning coffee and lazily reading the newspaper when Wintergreen tossed a series of files and articles onto the coffee table.

"Richard John Grayson."

The mercenary looked away from the paper and cast a confused glance having with it a silent question to his friend who rolled his eyes.

"I couldn't sleep so I took a DNA sample of the kiddo who turned out to be Richard John Grayson."

"Grayson." repeated Slade in a low murmur. "I don't know why but that name sounds familiar."

"Richard was part of the Haly Circus and a family acrobat who died during a performance in Gotham about three years ago."

"Now I remember." the former military's only visible eye twinkled with recognition. "There was an accident with the ropes and Richard saw his parents fall to their deaths, right?"

William nodded, a look of sadness and compassion crossing his eyes. "After their death Richard disappeared into thin air and no one could find him and he was declared first missing and finally dead."

Slade huffed. "Knowing the Gotham police, they gave up after not even a full day of searching." he muttered bitterly, taking a sip from his coffee. "How the hell did he end up in that condition? I doubt the Graysons were meta-human murderers." he drawled sarcastically.

Wintergreen ignored his sarcasm and shrugged helplessly. "On that note I cannot give you an answer. However, analyzing his blood I found something... particular and anomalous." Slade gave him an impatient nod and the older man continued. "I found traces of an unknown and never-before-seen substance, and I think it is the reason Richard ended up like this. I intend to do more analysis later."

Slade half-closed his eye, a dangerous look in his dark gray eye. "So you're suggesting that someone kidnapped the kiddo, implanted that substance into him, turning him into a meta-human zombie and training him to become a professional assassin?"

Randolph nodded darkly and grimaced. "Right now it's just a probability."

Deathstroke threw a punch at the coffee table and it was only by a miracle that it did not break and the coffee did not fall. "What the hell kind of twisted mind would do that to a child?" he growled angrily, ignoring the other man's disapproving look at his gesture. "Fuck, even I have a fucking moral compass and I'm the world's deadliest mercenary!"

Despite the way he expressed it, Wintergreen completely agreed with him. He remained silent, knowing that his friend would have to calm down before continuing their conversation civilly.

Finally, the former military man sighed and took another sip of coffee. "I suppose we should find a way to make him like he used to be or at least help him live with his... new being."

Wintergreen opened his eyes wide, actually surprised by his words. "Do you really want to keep the kiddo?"

"Of course not." Slade rotated his eye. "As you well saw, Richard is more than capable of taking care of himself. We just need to make sure that he does not kill anyone who meets his gaze and to make him self-sufficient and self-reliant and to prevent him from returning to his kidnapper who has probably brainwashed him." he spat that last part out as if it were poison.

William nodded, wisely choosing not to emphasize the many questions that ran through his head. "You're making it sound easier than it is." he said instead, getting a disgruntled grunt. "I'm just surprised that you, of all people, would want to help that child."

"Surely it's not out of the goodness of my heart, old man!" bit the super soldier, staring fiercely at his friend when the latter simply smiled in response. "We cannot keep the kiddo forever: who knows how much trouble he will bring with him."

Wintergreen lost his smile and glared at the younger man. "You are talking about a kiddo as if he were an animal or worse, an object."

"Well, right now surely he is not even human, let alone a child." Slade stated abruptly, causing the other man to frown further. "Surely he was before but now?"

"What are you implying, Slade?"

Slade shook his head and sighed, fixing his friend with a tired look. "You must understand that despite his youthful appearance Richard is no longer a child now.

"He is now a dangerous weapon in the service of some sick mind."

"Slade!" hissed Randolph surprised and shocked. "How dare you-"

"Damn it, Wintergreen!" snapped the mercenary, interrupting him abruptly. "A normal child should never, ever hold his own against Deathstroke The Terminator!"

"You were clearly going easy on him!" retorted William.

"And that was a mistake that almost cost me my one remaining good eye." Slade stated coldly, shushing him. "The fact is that kiddo is now a very dangerous living weapon and you have to accept that. I don't like this story at all either but there's nothing you or I can do now except take care of Richard temporarily until he recomposes himself as a normal child, hiding his secrets and abilities and then hand him over to some fucking foster family."

"You taking care of a child?" Wintergreen taunted him. "You're not known for great parenting, Slade."

"I fucking know!" Slade growled. "And in fact I won't be his fucking parent! Hell, I will not be anything to him but a fucking stranger who took care of him for a short time! He probably won't even remember me in 20 years!"

Wintergeen opened his mouth to tell him how fucking wrong he was and how much responsibility he should have taken and much more but eventually he closed it back up and merely sighed and gave him a tired look. "How are you going to help him, then?"

Slade also sighed. "I don't know." he admitted in a mumble.

Both men fell silent and then cast a glance at Richard who was still tied to the same chair, completely still and silent staring blankly at both of them.

"Did Richard ever speak?" asked William, unable to look away from the young acrobat.

"No. He didn't even flinch when I shot him."

Wintergreen almost choked on his own saliva and stared at the mercenary with a shocked look. "You shot a child?"

"A child with a better healing factor than mine." Slade distractedly corrected him.

"And where the hell was your valiant moral code?" muttered Randolph sarcastically, and the other man rolled his eye. "It's a worrying thing that he hasn't uttered a sound since yesterday."

Slade grunted and William continued.

"And sooner or later we have to release him."

"Absolutely not."

"Slade!" Wintergreen groaned annoyed and exasperated. "We can't keep him tied to a chair forever!"

Slade sighed once more. "You think I don't know that? I bet, however, that as soon as we free him, the kiddo will take the first opportunity to kill us."

"You can't be sure." retorted the other former military. "It may be that this time Richard understands that we are not his enemies and that we are not worth attacking."

Finally the mercenary groaned in defeat and stood up. "Fine then. If, however, the kiddo tries to kill you, I will let him!" he said in a snarl.

"Of course." agreed Wintergreen with an amused smirk and the two men approached the kiddo.

"By the way, how old is he?"

"He should be ten if I'm not mistaken."

"Hn. So those sons of bitches took him when the kiddo was only seven." concluded Slade stopping beside Richard who blinked slowly.

"Yeah."

"I swear I'll kill them." growled Slade before forcing himself to calm down and stare at the kiddo who returned the stare. "There better not be any surprises from you, kiddo." Slade warned him sternly.

In response Richard stared at him with blank golden eyes and Slade sighed, pulling out a pocket knife.

Slade hoped he would not regret his choice.

With a sharp, swift slash he cut the ropes that held the kiddo bound and tightened his grip on the pocketknife, his concentration at its peak in case he would attack them.

Richard landed silently on his feet and he merely stared at the two older men, slowly blinking his eyes. The two former military waited anxiously and ready for his reaction.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, but was actually only about ten seconds, Richard's gaze focused exclusively on Slade who narrowed his eye on the kiddo. After a few tense seconds the acrobat did the last thing the two men expected.

The only ten-year-old Richard Grayson knelt, tilted his head down in submission and from his mouth came his first words that scratched Slade Wilson's cold, emotionless heart.

"I am The Talon, The Gray Son of the Court of Owls. I am not a person but the ultimate and most dangerous weapon that will lead the Court of Owls to conquer Gotham. My only purpose is to obey the Court of Owls without question. To do whatever my Masters want. Carry out all their orders. Kill all the targets they will assign me and accomplish all their goals."

Slade and Wintergreen were shocked by the kiddo's words and especially by their gravity. Richard's tone of voice was cold and hoarse, most likely from disuse, and his whole posture screamed submission.

Wintergreen brought a hand to his mouth, his usually composed expression for once completely shocked. "Oh my God!"

Instead Slade...

Slade literally saw red.

His grip on the knife strengthened to such an extent that it eventually broke under his sheer force and he ignored both Wintergreen's worried gaze and the blood that began to run from the cut on his hand.

Who the hell would have dared even to think of doing such atrocities on a child only seven years old for three fucking years? To the point of breaking his body, soul and spirit, leaving room for an empty shell devoid of free will?

Shit, the situation was much more fucked up than he had initially imagined.

Slade pinched the bridge of his nose, mentally counted to fifty, inhaled and exhaled a few times and finally he stared directly at his friend. "I thought the Court of Owls was just a fucking Gotham nursery rhyme to scare kids."

"I thought so too but apparently we were both wrong." William stated somberly without ever taking his eyes off Richard still kneeling and head down. "What... what do we do with Richard? It is obvious that the Court of Owls has done a very good job in brainwashing him." he spat bitterly.

"Not only that, unfortunately," murmured the mercenary, momentarily ignoring his friend's question. "They have completely broken him in every way imaginable to the point of turning him into a weapon to be used at their will."

"How the hell can you do that to a child?" whispered William still in disbelief, staring at the figure of the little acrobat he was too fucking small with a heartbroken, pitiful look.

Slade did not answer because he did not know the answer either.

He had seen many things in his life that would make any fucking supernatural and/or divine entity piss their pants.

As the world's most dangerous mercenary he has experienced many things that no one should ever, ever have to experience.

But this...

This far surpassed everything. It was simply a messed up thing to witness and even someone like Deathstroke felt fear and nausea at the mere thought of all the Hell Richard went through.

"What now?"

Slade briefly contemplated Wintergreen's question before turning to the kiddo who had slightly raised his head just enough to allow the two men to see his face. "Well Richard, I am Slade Wilson and I am also known as Deathstroke The Terminator. The old man here is William Randolph Wintergreen."

"You're old too, Slade." declared the other man impassively.

"I still remain younger than you." then Slade turned to Richard. "Can you understand us?" he gave a slight sigh of relief when he saw Richard nod slightly. "Good. You can stand up, Richard."

Although his expression remained indifferent, his golden eyes showed his confusion. Slade repeated his words one more time, thinking that Richard did not understand him but the kiddo still remained kneeling and confused.

"I'm afraid he will not react if you call him by his name." Wintergreen guessed easily, fixing the child with a look of pity.

"How on earth am I supposed to call-" Slade interrupted abruptly and bit his tongue as the answer to his own almost-expressed question came to mind. Suddenly a knot formed in his throat and he cleared his throat. "You can stand up, Talon."

The kiddo finally stood up but remained standing motionless in a rigid and clearly expectant position.

The super soldier uttered a series of expletives as he realized what the kiddo was waiting for.

Slade must have expected that the Court of Owls broke the kiddo until he answered them only to the name Talon, and probably also to the name Gray Son.

The fact that the Court of Owls had made an innocent child its personal weapon, a tool belonging exclusively to it, made his blood boil with a fiery rage felt very few times in his life.

"I'm afraid Richard is waiting for an order from you."

"Thank you Captain Obvious!" snapped Slade.

Wintergreen remained completely unperturbed by Slade's outburst, having been used to it for a long time now. He merely sighed and stared sadly at Richard, or at least at the almost nothing human part of what was left of Richard Grayson, and wondered anxiously if one day the kiddo would return to his former self, that is, to feel emotions and make his own decisions.

Wintergreen hoped with all his heart.