It was a day like any other.

Slade dropped Dick off at school, picked him up to take him home, made his lunch, checked the details of their upcoming contract while his son did his homework, and the next few hours were about training.

As Dick performed a rather complicated combat move, Slade saw something out of the corner of his eye that caught his attention. He walked over to the tablet that was simultaneously showing camera feeds and frowned when he saw an unfamiliar car stop in front of the house.

He knew for certain that it did not belong to Wintergreen.

Suddenly Dick leaned over his shoulder on tiptoe. "Who is it?"

Too bad for him that Slade had heard his silent footsteps anyway. "I don't know." his gaze narrowed when no one yet got out of the car whose windows were tinted. "Very few people know my identity."

"Should we go back upstairs?"

"Probably." grunted the more experienced mercenary, and after one last look at the camera monitor the two exited the secret training room. "Don't attack or kill until I tell you or it attacks first."

"Roger." Dick gave a mock military salute that made the man snort.

The two had to wait a few minutes -with Dick filling the rather one-sided conversation- before the doorbell of the house rang. With one look Slade ordered him to remain seated on the couch to which Richard huffed and the man went to open the door, already mentally and physically preparing himself for the worst.

Not even the most dangerous mercenary in the world could have imagined that behind the door was his ex-wife with a murderous, furious look on her face.

Slade blinked once, the only sign that indicated his genuine surprise and confusion. The two stood looking at each other in silence for a few seconds. "...You changed your car."

He ignored the amused chuckle coming from behind him that only he with enhanced hearing could fortunately hear.

"Way to start a conversation." said Adeline impassively and she without waiting for his permission entered his residence, much to the super soldier's dismay.

I knew that sooner or later Adeline would return to finish her work. He thought with an irritated sigh as he closed the door. When he turned around he saw his ex-wife staring at his son with a look he could not decipher.

"You're supposed to be Richard Wilson." she asserted with an unimpressed and not at all surprised look.

Slade diffidently narrowed his gaze but said nothing for now, merely observing the progress of the scene as a neutral spectator who already knew in advance that a real inferno would break out.

How the hell does Adeline know of Dick's existence?

Dick gave a bright smile -that always put anyone at ease and would attract any woman in the future, according to Slade- and extended a hand. "Call me Dick. You're Adeline Kane, right?"

His gaze wavered slightly when she made no move to shake his hand and his arm fell limply along his side. By his smile that became less genuine and more false Slade already knew that Dick did not like Adeline at all and was sure that the feeling was mutual.

Is this the karma that comes back to bite me in the ass for all the crimes I have committed?

Adeline merely answered the acrobat with an abrupt nod before turning directly to her ex-husband. "I admit I was surprised when I found out that you took in a stray and I am even more surprised that he is still unharmed."

Slade's gaze narrowed menacingly. "He is not my stray. He is my adopted son." he calmly stated, ignoring the last thing she said.

"Same thing." she said dismissively waving a hand.

"Until a few minutes ago I didn't think you still thought of me but now that you found out about Dick I'm not sure anymore." drawled Slade sarcastically with an arrogant smirk.

Adeline cast a hard look at Dick when she heard him let out a laugh before grimly staring at Slade. "Don't kid yourself: it was Joey who found out."

"It's been a long time since I adopted Dick." Slade casually pointed out.

"I don't know for what reason but Joey wanted to know how you were and what your situation was like by typing your name into Google." she huffed. "Imagine my reaction when I read the news."

"No thanks. Are Joey and Rose staying at your house?"

She clapped her hands sarcastically. "Why of course I would leave two children of nine and seven years old home alone unsupervised! I see with pleasure that your parenting skills remain as bad as they always have been."

Slade wearily rubbed a hand over his face, already feeling a fucking headache coming on. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Dick sitting rigidly on the couch with a blank, cold, detached gaze as he silently followed their conversation.

He began to fear that he would not be quick enough to stop Dick from killing Adeline if he really wanted to.

"They are in the car."

Slade gave her a lazy nod and was not suicidal enough to ask her to let them into the house. "How are they?"

Adeline tightened her lips into a straight line and crossed her arms. "None of your business." she did not notice how behind her Dick furiously clenched his fists but Slade did and he began to worry seriously for her safety. "...But still they're fine."

Slade knew this was the best he would get and he treasured it. "What are you really doing here, Adeline?" he asked, getting straight to the point. "If I remember correctly in addition to shooting me in the eye you explicitly told me that you wanted nothing more to do with me and that I should have no more contact with my children, not even by telephone."

Obviously it would have been easy for him to find out Adeline's new phone number but he reluctantly agreed to her terms.

Slade watched with growing fear in his chest as Dick's eyes glowed a pissed-off golden before fortunately they returned to their natural color.

Maybe I shouldn't have said that. I have to start seriously weighing my words carefully otherwise I will have to take care of three children at the same time.

"For the record, I did not regret anything I did and said." Adeline clarified. "I only regret that I didn't have better aim."

"What are you really doing here?" repeated Slade with more force in his voice, wincing internally at the flash of anger in his son's eyes.

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't ruining the life of another poor child entrusted to your care." Adeline huffed. She turned away, returning Dick's flat stare before returning to stare at her ex-husband. "And I see you haven't learned your lesson at all."

"What on earth are you talking about?" the super soldier asked gruffly.

She fixed him with a hard, hate-filled stare. "You took another child as your 'apprentice'." she spat the last word as if it were poison.

Over the past few months there had been rumors that Deathstroke had recruited another apprentice, but for virtually all heroes and super-villains these were merely unfounded rumors.

"I don't think you need to be reminded how that last one ended." she growled. "I don't think you're that dense."

"Grant was old enough to make the choices for himself." Slade retorted stiffly, distractedly noting a similar conversation he had with Wintergreen long ago. "He should have realized for himself that contract was too much for him."

"Grant wasn't even supposed to be a mercenary like you!" snapped Adeline angrily. "And you were not supposed to give in to his request to train him! He was only eighteen years old when he died because of you!"

"It's not my fault!" growled Slade with an ominous undertone in his tone of voice.

"Yes, it is!" Adeline tapped his chest with an index finger, her brown eyes harder than steel blazing with anger. "Grant just wanted to be good enough for his father! He just wanted his father to love him! He just wanted his father to be proud of him, damn it!"

Slade clenched his jaw, his self-control hanging by a thread. "We've had this kind of conversation once before. Now if you've finished your courtesy visit, you might as well leave."

"And leave you with another child you can ruin?" Adeline taunted him.

"And what would you want to do? Kidnap him on my watch and take him home when you don't know shit about Dick?" taunted Slade, barely managing his own anger.

Only Adeline could piss him off so easily.

"You're right, I don't know anything about him. But just the fact that you're cursing in front of him shows how much you've improved as a parent. Not to mention the fact that you're training him to be a mercenary like you." she taunted him. "I will take him to a foster family who can truly love him and treat him like a real human being."

Slade stared at her for a few seconds before huffing in amusement, further irritating her. "You can only try."

"You should know by now that I'm not afraid of you at all, Slade." growled Adeline, patting the holstered gun at her side and a few other knives.

Slade gave a shark-like grin. "I wasn't talking about me."

Adeline stared at him confused and turned away. She visibly gasped when she met golden eyes that were staring at her with a cold and clearly pissed off look. "How dare you!" hissed Dick as he got off the couch and slowly approached her.

Adeline's hand snapped toward the gun before stopping when she remembered that she was dealing with a child.

"How dare you come into the Wilson house and act like you own the place? How dare you come here and threaten to kill my father? How dare you come here and accuse Slade as if he is one of the worst people in the world?"

"Because he is!" snapped Adeline before taking a deep breath. "You don't know what you're talking about, child."

"Wrong." the gold in his eyes shone even brighter. "Did Slade intentionally want to hurt his children? Did he want Grant dead? Did he want Joey mute?"

"Well no but-"

"No but!" roared Dick, immediately silencing her. "It's not his fault Grant died because of a contract. It's not his fault that a group of mercenaries kidnapped Joey and cut his vocal cords. His only fault is that he married a witch like you."

Slade choked in laughter as Adeline mumbled in shock taken aback, her face immediately turning red with anger. "How dare you-"

"Do you really think you are a better person than him? Spoiler: you are not at all!" she was so surprised that she just stared at him shocked. "You are such a selfish and petty person that you were not at all at his side when the army chose him as a guinea pig for an experimental serum just when he needed you most!

"You are such a selfish, mean person that you prevented Joey from seeing his father again at the time when he needed him most! You are such a selfish and petty person that you totally blame Slade for Grant's death when in fact you let him down too! And instead of taking the blame you would rather give it to Slade!"

"Don't you dare talk about my children." threatened Adeline in a low, dangerous voice.

"Or else what are you going to do? Shoot a child?" Dick challenged her with his head held high, his golden eyes staring at her intensely.

"I'm beginning to think you're not even human." hissed Adeline, not noticing Slade's imperceptible wince.

Slade did not know whether to be worried or not when Dick merely sneered in her direction. "You're right, I'm not anymore. But instead you want to know who was the person who saved my life? Do you want to know who was the person who helped me when he had no obligation to do so? Do you want to know who is the person who allowed me to feel like a real human again?

"Do you want to know who is the person who kept me from remaining an empty shell devoid of life and free will? Do you want to know who is the person who comforts me every single night because my nightmares will never leave me? Do you want to know who is the person who always comforts me when I need it most?

"Do you want to know who is the person who gave me a second chance at existence? Do you want to know who is the person who gave me a chance at a second life? Do you want to know who is the person who has always been patient with me and who has always loved me as if I were his blood child?

"It is your ex-husband. The same man you call one of the worst people in the world. But you are so wrong. Because Slade is the best man I have ever met.

"Of course, Slade certainly is not a saint. I am aware that he has killed a lot of innocent people for money. But guess what? I too have innocent blood on my hands. Moreover, ever since Deathstroke The Terminator welcomed me, he has refused every single contract on innocent people who have done nothing wrong, instead accepting contracts on bastards who actually deserve to die.

"Slade just needed a person by his side to point him in the right direction. Now I don't take all the credit for being that person because Slade has always had a kind heart hidden in the innermost depths of his being hidden by countless barriers he has created for himself. But surely that person is not you."

A shocked silence filled the house, with Adeline staring at Dick with a look of complete shock that Slade had never seen before and with Slade himself staring at his son with an equally surprised look.

Slade would be lying if he said that his chest did not fill with warmth and love after Dick's defense. No one has ever defended him so ardently and protectively.

No one but Dick at this moment.

Dick continued the rather one-sided conversation.

"You don't know me at all. You don't know anything about my life before I was taken in by Slade. You do not know the atrocities I suffered. You don't know the atrocities I was forced to commit. You don't know what the fuck I went through. You don't know how much I risked being an empty shell with no free will, a fucking tool, a fucking weapon in the service of the most evil, asshole and bastard people I have ever met.

"You don't know that I was molded to be the ultimate weapon, the most dangerous weapon that ever existed on Earth."

At that point Dick's golden eyes shone with their own light and Adeline involuntarily stepped back a step. Slade walked past her and stood at Dick's side, gently stroking his back and rubbing his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down.

Slade had seen a completely pissed-off Renegade only once but it was enough to give him nightmares.

It was enough to say that in one of their contracts the situation had suddenly escalated and the two mercenaries were surrounded by about twenty armed men. One of those bastards said something wrong that completely pissed Renegade off to the point that Slade swore he saw his eyes glow golden despite his mask.

It took Renegade just over a minute and a half to kill them all without even Deathstroke intervening in a way that Slade surely had not taught him.

Deathstroke had witnessed real carnage.

Slade had not taught him how to behead a person.

Slade had not taught him how to literally rip off a person's arms or legs or other body parts.

Slade had not taught him how to pierce a person's rib cage with one fucking fist, which even for him was impossible, to the point of holding a fucking human heart.

Slade had not taught him how to twist a person's neck such that their head was in his hands while the remaining body fell limply to the ground.

That was a demonstration of how fucking brutal and intense the training of the Court of Owls was.

And that was the moment Slade realized not only how dangerous Dick actually could be, despite his young age, but also how he was accomplishing the task of the Court of Owls, albeit for definitively different reasons.

That is, to make Dick the most dangerous, most deadly person in the whole world. Far more than Deathstroke The Terminator himself could ever be.

And Slade would have been infinitely proud once his son became that person.

Because that meant that nothing and no one could ever hurt his son again.

"I can't believe it!"

Adeline's voice pulled Slade from his thoughts and he stared at her.

"I can't believe you are more of a father to him than you are with your real children!"

That was the wrong thing to say.

Slade's one eye blinked dangerously. "Dick is as much my son as Joey, Rose and Grant are. He is my son in all but blood but that is an unnecessary detail. Because Dick is and always will be my son, no matter what.

"And now I'm sick of you, Adeline. You know too that if only I had really wanted to by now you would be dead. I didn't kill you just because I don't want Joey and Rose to grow up without a mother. And also because there is a part of me that will love you forever, no matter what." Adeline's eyes went wide in shock.

Slade's tone of voice became lower and more menacing as his eyes flashed coldly and dangerously.

"But I swear to any deity in existence, try to hurt my son and you will get a taste of what I am truly capable of. I will gladly show you why I am the deadliest and most dangerous mercenary in the world with the greatest number of deaths to my credit. I will kill you without hesitation. Do I make myself clear?"

Adeline took a step back, for the first time in her entire life actually frightened by Slade.

She knew that her ex-husband was not joking: if she even dared to harm a hair on Dick's head he would kill her without remorse. Her mind traveled, unable to help but notice the changes in Slade since she last saw him almost three years ago.

Her gaze shifted to Dick, noting in surprise how slowly his eyes returned to bright blue as he stared with his mouth wide open at Slade. Next her gaze shifted to Slade who was staring at her with the hardest and most menacing look she had ever seen on his face directed at her.

It was funny and very strange how Slade preferred his adopted son over his biological children.

And Adeline was very sure of this fact: just look at Slade's face and you could tell how much he cared and was more protective of Dick to a greater degree than of Joey and Rose.

Adeline took a breath, ignoring how shaky it sounded even to her own ears. "Stay away from Joey and Rose."

She swore she saw a flash of sadness and disappointment in Slade's eye before it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "Stay away from Dick and we won't have any problems."

Adeline nodded stiffly and turned away. Just as she was about to close the front door, she heard Dick's voice.

"You won't be able to stop Slade from seeing his children. I will personally make sure of that."

She gritted her teeth furiously and slammed the door hard behind her, heading for the car.


For a moment there was silence as Adeline left the house. Slade stared at Dick, groaning inwardly as he realized that there would be an emotional conversation with his son.

Of course he would have it because he loved his son but damn the feelings sucked.

"Dick-"

The world's deadliest mercenary grunted when suddenly Dick turned sharply and crashed into him in a fierce embrace.

To say that Dick was moved was an understatement.

He knew that in his own way Slade loved him and regarded him as a son but when Slade said that he was as much his son as his three biological sons it was as if a heavy boulder had been lifted from the acrobat's chest.

That was the confirmation Dick necessarily needed in response to his insecurities.

"I'm fine." murmured Dick into the super soldier's chest. "I swear, Dad."

Slade's heart warmed.

No matter what, every time Dick called him dad Slade felt like the happiest person in the world.

"All right."

"...Shall we continue the training?" asked Dick.

Slade stared at him briefly. "You know what? Training for today can be enough. Later, would you like to go to dinner at the best restaurant in New York City?"

He smiled when he saw Dick's eyes light up happily. "Yes!" cried Dick excitedly, performing several backflips.

Slade made a mental note to go to a restaurant with his son more often, or at least to hang out with him more often, and affectionately tousled his hair. "How about we watch some movies or TV series together in the meantime?"

"Can we watch Pokemon please?"

Slade already knew he was screwed when he encountered the most dangerous weapon in the entire multiverse: Dick Grayson's damn puppy-dog eyes. His shoulders slumped in defeat and he let out a dramatically pained sigh. "Sure, whatever you want."

Surely Dick is my son but damn it every day my theory grows stronger that he is the son of Satan descended to Earth as karma for all the crimes I have committed.

Slade stared at Dick's face light up with pure joy and could not help but smile.

But this is the best karma that could have ever happened to me.