Teen Titans – ReBeL Yell – If I had Stayed a Renegade –
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Turning Tables
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Intermission from sick day off – coming back to Gotham for some Jokes and whatnot. Dealing with flare ups possible (again?) leaky gut (wow, owch not surprising, post surgery long term nightmare. Pant!*) this week. Stuck inside typing this, so….here we go! Also, the lack of italics was voluntarily used to not make this sound overtly dramatic, it's more to the rony that is or will be Renegade in the future. As if I'm willing to make it Rated M – no way! Rebel yell is a teen's game so here we are…?
/
The chandelier could have been more encrusted with diamond's than the manor's first addition.
The one Dick had broken in his little romp around the home, first day being the Boy Wonder and all.
The second Robin? That was a long way off as Dick watched people coming in to greet the man of the hour.
"Alfred!"
Dick looked to the kitchen door from the stairwell by the balustrade his was currently peeking through at the guests for tonight's party.
"Can you go see if our new addition to the house is dressed in his suit for me?"
The women below chuckled and pointed at a properly dressed twelve -year-old in his stuffy tux and bow tie, peeking through the pillars above their heads. A frown on his young, unblemished face. Richard John Grayson couldn't help getting a little flustered as he pulled back through the balustrade's bars and huffed, before deciding to go to see Bruce at his door.
He giggled. Bruce was such a busy - body, himself. They really did act like a pair sometimes. However, he never turned the boy down because that was his job, currently.
/
Walking up the stairs to the next flight, Dick would possibly find Mr. Wayne with the love of his life or in some tryst he'd not speak of for years to come.
The tabloids had gotten it all wrong. That was just a cover, grinned the kid with a great big bound of energy on two legs, walking right up to his father's bedroom door to deliver some news.
Tonight, was Al's party! Dick would remind him to hurry up, and with a turn of the knob…
A creak as it opened…was…was Bruce…?
~ He never leaves it unmanned like that. ~ Dick frowned as he held his breath and further entered into the man's quarters unannounced.
"Hum…Does this pair look too small…I wonder."
Dick gaped at the tall, blonde and…was that a glass eye??
"I…. I…. where's my dad?!"
"Oh, boy." The older adult blinked at the kid as he still held onto the tux in its plastic dressing from a recent cleaner's experience. That was his first…the one he'd worn to a gala after inviting Dick to join his family...
Dick dragged his feet to move, no mask.
No cape.
Certainly, no batarangs to swing at the perpetrator.
Who was this clean - shaven, yet ruggedly suave stranger going through Bruce's suits like they were best pals??
(Using Deathstroke comics but Dick is twelve and it's Al's b – day party. Slade gets interested in the new Robin's wit and potential. The rest is, heh. History.)
"I want you to answer the question, mister." Dick kept his fists up, not half as aware of "who" the man was by that fake eye or, his height now out – doing Bruce's own six – foot excellence.
His steps weren't of a boxer, Jiu Jitsu maybe? Ah, no….
Was he ex –
"Think fast, kid." Slade came at his neck, the boy weightless and distracted far too easily as he was lifted up onto –
"Hey! Let me go, ya creep!"
"Rude, but I do understand your surprise of my being here, little boy."
Dick snarled like a small dog held by the scruff as Slade repositioned the kid farther from his unclad face.
"Let me kick you in the face already, ya' crooked –
"Hey! Don –
Dick was shoved out the door to Bruce's room onto his knees, thankfully not scuffed. He got up, snarling, as he rammed into it with his smaller frame.
"You can't hide in there forever! I'll –
"Master Dick!"
Uh oh…
Dick turned to see Alfred and his toe tapping on over.
Oh, he was in it to lose this fight… so dead.
"That's not who I was – I can explain!"
"Never mind your antics for tonight, Master Richard. You should let Master Bruce be for the while to get himself properly prepared to speak at the dinner table this evening. Have you no common decency? He's under a great deal of pressure as it very well is."
"That. Wasn't him, Alfred!" Dick whined and pointed at the door that had shut him out of all of its secrets.
All of them, kept from sight like that man's real face.
"You gotta believe me! Somebody broke in and took Bruce's suit! He's in there right now!"
Alfred had to ask; Dick was a bright young lad who'd lost his parents in only the recent years before, he was a crime fighter's protégé and eventual partner. Only after…
He'd found out Bruce was the Batman as well at age nine; same year as becoming Robin. Then, so maybe he had some gall in stopping the Brit from boxing the boy's ears on the man's own birthday.
"We'll just see about that." Alfred Pennyworth knocked on the door, seeing that it wasn't at all locked.
The man moved the knob to turn it, Dick holding his breath as the two peeked, then opened it wider.
Ah, there was no mess…yet the window was open. A breeze.
"No way…Al, he had to…He tossed me out. I swear! Th –
"We will discuss this, later…Dear me. There is an awful draft in here, now. Please. Go to the kitchen and stay there until I'm done alerting Master Bruce of whatever you claim happened…Alright, Master Dick?"
"Huh?"
"Richard."
"Oh, yeah…sorry…" Dick bobbed his head and flew off towards the stairway. While Al…
Had to dust for fingerprints. He pulled out a unit that only the Bat would know of. It was odd that the boy had seen an uninvited guest come about for some unbeknownst reason…ever stranger that he'd not been on the guest list by that accord…
"Master Dick spotted an unnamed party guest that will soon be unmasked, I imagine. Your bedroom door was open, as well..."
~ Al, I saw the figure but you need to keep Dick out of danger. That man…was here to see me. ~
/
Dick made his way to the hall, until the kitchen doors swung back.
"So, you gave up, little detective…"
The purr was somehow, unforgettable. If just in that moment, as Dick swerved around and saw that man's bold features.
In his father's good blue, party suit.
And….they had matching shoe sizes?? What?
"You should get out of here before Bruce comes down. Alfred is a better bloodhound than both of us." The kid puffed out his chest and goaded the adult, yet Slade just admired the spread that their butler had helped to prepare. All to cater to the whims of the filthy rich.
"You do know that you don't belong here, child. The ward of Gotham's son and white knight; previously you'd had another family outside of this city…You're not going to top that man, one day. But I just came to show my respect to an old, friend. Nothing out of the ordinary." Casually, Slade Wilson picked up an apple from a precariously placed fruit bowl on the kitchen counter.
As the apple, it went CRUNCH rather slowly, while Dick stood too still to gawk for much longer than he had to. He was in its sights, whatever this giant was…And how did it know his family? Or about his old life at Haley's Circus? Was that still news to the rest of the country? Was he a business associate with a bad lip?
"You're still too young to care about parties that pop buttons like this one, but I suppose you have the ability to keep yourself entertained. Either way. Don't lose interest in the hunt, boy." He took another bite.
CRRUNCH…*
"In fact, your daddy should be glad to have you; the son he never expected to keep –
"He chose me, like he's ever gonna listen to you."
"Oh, but I think your butler already has my scent." Smiled the toothy character. Sly as a fox, he tossed away the core into a bin at the end of the counter. "Be glad for what you've got kid, Wayne is hardest to please when you try to break the mold. I'll see you again I imagine, maybe when you can point me out of the crowd –
"Wait!" Dick dove, yet he was gone. That mesmerizing waste of energy was right…
He still couldn't tell if that man was a literal blonde.
/
Dick grumbled and sat eying the guests at Bruce's large dining room table.
No WAY that guy was a fake! He had to be a shape shifter, or a fox from one of those dusty old books in Bruce's study that could change genders even…or, could people? –
"I'd like to propose a toast."
Bruce was already stealing the spotlight. Again, Dick rolled his eyes….
And there.
Out in the yard with a glass in hand and a cell in the other…
" Gotcha…" Dick grinned and dove under the table with the grace of his family's own athleticism.
"Happy Birthday, Alfred. To many more….."
/
The noise was now far off as Dick took to the exit with silent steps. Avoiding Ace, the hound as he slept in the den. Not bothering to raise an ear to the tip toeing twelve-year-old out on the side lawn.
Dick padded out in his well shined shoes and without a scuff to his pressed and pristine image. Who was this guy to tell him who he wasn't like? He'd talk that guy straight. Bruce had given Richard so much of what he'd have otherwise missed, had he…
"You still lack the element of surprise; Richard, was it? Nice to finally be noticed by someone at the dinner table…but, then why aren't you saying "many more" with the rest of them." Slade put away his cell. His ride was coming, he'd left his reminder so that the bat wouldn't be disturbed with his own kind to entertain.
Except, this one. Prowling around in the bushes. Looking for a fight without knowing exactly why.
"Who are you? How do you know my dad? And, why aren't you being a good guest tonight?"
"Like you've been, child? Sneaking out to meet with some unnamed stranger? You should learn to be more careful." Slade swirled his glass and took a sip. The kid knew not to stare, didn't he?
"I...wanted to judge you for Bruce – he's a good guy. I have no clue what you two do at the company, and –
"Oh, little detective was…. almost, right. But no. Daddy Warbucks in there was not very generous to lil' old me. Go back inside. This is –
"I don't waste his time, and I know you'll talk later to him bout' this…but what was with your, moves? Were you an ex- military officer? A martial artist? Or...or maybe - A secret agent!"
"Should I call in the men in black to come take you away in their flying saucer, child?" Snorted the adult. His glass not nearly as empty as he'd hoped. Kid was a distraction. He knew how to ask interesting questions at that age, but he knew about that fighting stance…. very, intriguing little thing…(It's a PG 13 film so he got to see it with Alfred and Bruce, not unsupervised.)
"Ha-ha. I saw the movie, it was good but you can't fool me." The brat crossed his arms. "I should get our dog Ace to come and herd you back to the table so I can really figure out your identity…"
Slade sighed rather softly. Could be the lack of a buzz he'd missed due to the healing factor. Could be how he'd been interrogated by…a kid. A very irritating sight, though it was almost humorous, in truth.
He'd call it off. Places to be, people's lives to fix or ruin. Time was limited among these aristocratic Gothamites.
The kid didn't even know his name…
"Listen. Kid, you are a smart and witty little brat, I'll give you that much credit for trusting your instincts. I can see you have a lot of knowledge that the man's bestowed in only a few fortunate years. Great for taking a part in his legacy one day, but you've got it all wrong. I'm not here to make fuss. And if you go and get the dog to have me box its ears, I won't hesitate to do the same to you. Understand? Never bother a man at leisure. Earn the right to be a pest."
" Didn't I by going after your secrets? You were talking about a ride. You knew the driver." The kid frowned with a foot tapping against the yard's freshly cut grass.
"You have devilishly good ears, for an imp –
"Hey!" The boy glared at Slade as a pair of lights from a black suv pulled up to the drive. Dick shielded his eyes as the blonde's hair looked a slight lighter. Almost as snow?
"That's my cue." Slade smirked and placed his arm out for the boy to take the glass from it. Dick reluctantly did. These were Al's favorite glasses after all. He did not want to be responsible for causing anymore chaos tonight.
"Ah, do tell daddy that one of the guests he'd invited was late. Had to run early, however…and who knows. If the deal with Wayne goes as well as I'm expecting it to the next time, I might end up a "blessed" God father to you. Or not." Joked the merc with a toothy grin back as he watched the kid's face turn even redder under the collar than in the kitchen inside. Embarrassed for having started this debacle on his butler's seventy – fifth birthday at the manor, the boy would find a way to unmask the perpetrator. In time, even before he'd told the man "lights out."
Richard was after all a true, "boy wonder." Did it ever dawn on the kid that he was being messed with? Why else would Slade the skin walker have, such an interest in seeing the billionaire in his man cave after the party had died down? Oh, well. He'd long distance it over the hotel wi - fi. That was what the kid had done.
Richard Grayson Wayne had interfered with a perfectly good contract of Slade Wilson; A.K.A – Deathstroke the Terminator's. That, was non - negotiable, he'd tell the bat later tonight. Make him pay for all the trouble the kid had caused. The time table had gone up in a single exchanging of words…
Dick turned to go as the car had finally driven off down the sloping street in to the city. A yip and a bark had the boy smile back over his shoulder kindly, to the older guard dog of his home coming to save his skin far too late. His young hand atop the head of Ace's fine fur, the dog licked Richard's twelve-year-old wrist to come back in and out of the chilly night.
"That guy…. who was he to you, and dad?" Dick would ask, but the answers never came…until…
Years later….
/
~ I might even become like a father to you…~
And he had tried, but it still wasn't good enough. Dick still remembered the bat's encouragement after he'd left the pack in Gotham. His replacement and how upset the kid had been. He had to confront the boy, tell him the truth of that night.
"Renegade; come here."
Dick showed up in his gear as Deathstroke's unwilling protégé. A renegade without a city to call his any longer.
"Yes, Master Slade." He managed to say. "What is it that you want."
Such ice in his lungs, the boy must have been forcing himself to breathe properly. How the Titans being infected must have really sunk in over these last few weeks.
He'd rub it in, just a bit.
Of their innate natures as a detective and criminal genius.
"Boy. We've gone over the efforts to change…to do away with your alter ego as Robin long enough." Slade paused and rubbed his masked chin as he sat on his throne of iron. Contemplating what steps would come with his small lesson in respect and letting go. "It seems however, I have to dig deeper still." Slade wasn't being very clear, yet again…Robin wasn't playing very fair either. He scowled at the man every chance they fought. Threw fits when the bots went too hard on his friends, and the other thing…
The other, that Slade absolutely thought laudable of the boy wonder's little act?
His devotion to the man he still called his equal. In some way, Slade had to set the record straight. The kid was stubborn, but never foolish enough to get sucked into such delusions that were the "mis – adventures of Batman and Robin." He had to clear his own head just to process it all; how would Robin finally let down his walls?
"You recall a single night; a birthday, the year when some alien spy thriller came out in theatres (just around time as second men in black for tt 2003.)
"I….why are –
"You remember it? The something that bothered a little boy at the age of twelve all night, he was so curious to catch a thief in his own house."
How Dick's eyes drew back to think on it. How his head bobbed up with mouth slightly agape.
"That…was you?"
"See?" Slade relaxed as Dick felt his head pound from the stagnant air of this horrid lair. How he wanted to feel the night against his skin…why? Why was it that??
Dick panted, open lipped as his mouth twisted back into a raging snarl. "You…you made Bruce punish me for telling the truth! You knew…he couldn't have –
"I've always had a hunch, and you gave away nothing. It's my job as a killer to know their prey. You knew my face only years later, but under a different mask, and a name…"
Dick stood and gulped.
"Slade…" He rasped. "Wilson…you…. Bruce turned you down for your shady investors… he knew that you were trouble! –
"To the League, and his honest word." Slade sighed. "Not, so honest. And now that you know, that…why, Dick?"
"Huh." Dick looked up and wasn't sure what…was this another trick? Was Slade using his mind game tactic to weaken Dick like after the blaster had been recovered from the "Needle" or whatever it was called. Ingenico, S.T.A.R. It was all the same…he'd get no thrill out of being used, while he had to use the man back to save four lives from perishing in a single hour.
"You said that night that you'd unmask me, Richard." Slade brought his chin to rest in his palm as he watched the apprentice he'd made fall apart right in front of the mad man of Jump city. Not a great title, but the kid had done it.
"Turns out, you already saw my face. You even had my DNA but never bothered to use it."
Dick swallowed again. "I'm not trying to play dirty." Dick rebuked, seeing Slade growing tired of a game he'd chosen to start.
"Well, then…" Hissed the man with a slight purr to his tone. "You'll have to start, if you ever want to free the Titans from their unfortunate fate…" A laugh so wry that the kid dropped his gaze to the floor, licking his lips as he worded something of a great risk to his chin.
"I guess I should… shouldn't I, Deathstroke…"
Bats echoed above as they searched blindly for the sky light. Freedom. It was a price and Slade Wilson was a hunter like any known killer on the planet or off it.
~ I have to get out. ~ Dick let his gaze meet that smirking king's in his iron hot seat.
~No matter the cost of my old promise to him…. I have to kill, or I'll be hunted down by this monster for real. No more games. ~
"Sorry, Master." Dick brought his face muscles to loosen a bit as the mask went back on. "I would like to return to my last tasks you have for me this evening, if you don't mind."
"I'm shocked you want to continue to lie. That's truly, a rather cocky move, my apprentice." Slade still smirked as the screens reverted to those of the bots inside of the boy's friends.
~Act cool. Don't let his game fool you. Be strong, Like Bruce taught you. Fight back in any way, even if it means…going against everything Batman gave himself up to…~
Slade's one eye drove into crawling flesh as Dick nodded back.
"I won't lie, but if I ever want to have you trust me here…I have to put in the work."
"And if I say to attack your team?"
"They'll live, so I can do it. I can change." Dick gritted his teeth a bit as his shred of a resolve quickened with the beating in his young chest. "As long as they stay alive, I'll stop being Robin. Only if you give me your word. And I know how much Deathstroke is to his "word" on a contract, even with something as personal as this."
His boy's grin was as toothy as Slade's had been at that night in the manor, as Slade almost forgot to take in a steep breath.
"I'll keep my promise to save my friends, so forget about Bruce."
The pounding drove his words on.
"I'm all yours. Teach me, and I'll never let him change who I really am. I'm right now free; of all he ever gave to Richard Grayson."
The act was to flatter, to get under that man's skin and break his arm long enough to be HANDED the trigger. Robin knelt to one knee, making it a decent plea. "I'm ready. Make it official, Master Slade."
Slade raised a brow as he sat, seeing the kid to be waiting on something.
So, he baited the question out of his little bird.
"And…" Slade egged on curiously. "That means, no more Boy Wonder?"
Dick nodded, his head spinning and young face rising up to meet that one charcoal gaze with the last of his betrayal and the very first, he would ever make. To break all promises.
"No more, Robin." He said, a smile on his face of a time he'd soon wipe clear from memory, once this was all behind them.
And once the Titans, finally turned the tables to put Deathstroke in this adult time out cell, for life.
"Not anymore."
/
This was a "Dick met Slade in the past and got teste because he was treated like a liar when he'd tried to expose Wilson at Al's b day party. Bruce knew Slade was coming, but Robin was brand new to the job and lo and behold? He is lying now to Slade to have his ear and to get close enough to work a bit further in his escape. And to free his friends, if he still can. Past meets present here, so let me know what you think!
