Teen Titans; Severing Old Bonds – Sibling Rivalries –
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Chapter 6: Autonomous Weapons System
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An "unofficial" oxymoron; Slade IS a living weapon so I'm using this metaphorically to depict how he'll react to his kids going off, eh… with their world domination plot.
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Slade did sit on a crate in the safe house or just a warehouse made to look like one, despite the high tech masking weapons clustered inside the walls, or an infrared beam that could cut you in half.
Dick and Eli watched and sat as informally as they could. Slade would not move while Eli had his powers keeping Slade's leg in ice – without freezing it off miraculously.
"Rose was keeping an eye on my eldest son; you know him as Ravager and as Grant Wilson. He was…a bit ticked that I made him take the treatments to keep his madness from the Hive's procedure to the lowest count that I could. It did just fine, until he forced Rose to talk."
Dick nodded, and Eli ushered for the intervention to continue.
Interrogated, Slade took it rather well. Even if he was being treated like a criminal that could end up with a torturer like Eli to worry about later. That was why he was safe bringing the kid. In his organization he worked for, this side of him was necessary to open up that stone wall's gates to get answers before the Titans all fell down. (Humpty dumpty.)
"Rose panicked, but before I could have my hands anywhere near that boy to fix the –
"You drugged your son, locked him up and made him stay out of view of anyone. Even your wife was unsure if he even survived." Dick crossed his arms, plainly as concerned as Slade wasn't. He had done this to do what? Grant was a child! Teen, whatever. She was playing nanny and it cost Rose her freedom to get away – and her own sanity.
"Grant went nuts." Slade sighed and put a free hand over his face. "By the time I had gotten to Rose, he'd knocked her out and had fled to God knows…I was in the German countryside to keep things safe, and they both –
"Rose became your lackey." Eli scowled. "I've heard of similar abuse cases, but an eventual undertaking of death?? You caused this, by not letting real science take hold of that boy to cure him."
"He sees into my thoughts?"
"He's a telepath too." Dick rubbed his neck and gulped. "Nothing phases you, still."
"Nope." Slade shrugged and replied.
"You've known so far what I'm capable of." Sniffed Eli. "Snake in the grass."
"Kid's got a set on –
Eli growled at the man to quit it. "I'm not going to let a criminal in until I KNOW that you won't run off." He stated.
Slade agreed that as long as Eli was still in sure focus, he would not have a minute to activate his tech.
Or, well…the kid had seen it.
"Ok, Eli….um…." Dick tried to remain in perfect control here. "Slade is…still a source the Titans need alive, so…we can't just act on good cop bad cop."
"He's started wars, Robin." Elijah said to the boy wonder. Frantic eyes did not leave the man. Was…he overloading…
Dick woke up, no more standing by.
"Eli. Disconnect from his mind. That's an order. You can't –
"He's not using anything I'd call lethal..." Eli's palms shook a bit.
"Slade. Stop fighting back." Dick demanded the criminal consider the consequences carefully.
"I have a rather large brain, oh! And he's snooping in places where he doesn't belong." Slade chuckled, leaning back a bit into the crate. "Why not call all off your little weapon's attack, and then I might talk."
"You…are a man…. who is just as vile…. why? MY…. powers…are –
"Fading away?" Slade came with a fist onto the ice that had his leg encased. "No!" Dick dragged his discs to refreeze their captive.
"Stop him! Eli! Let go of the link!!"
"I… can't!!" With a snap, Elijah was thrown back into another steel wall as Slade easily made it to a hidden control panel right beside the exit door.
" Slade! No!" Dick got up as Eli tried to collect himself and follow.
" Don't move!" Robin was keeping as far enough his teeth grit as he'd needed to. Slade had assaulted his interrogator. As Eli rolled over onto his stomach, the mastermind had no desire to remedy what his actions had brought.
Slade was too busy making it clear that he wouldn't be caged or become a prisoner inside his own house. His smirk was hidden, yet this was just like old times in his former apprentice's mind.
"Next time, Robin; when you are a guest inside my home, be sure to leash up your hounds and to act more appropriately towards the host." Slade said this with an acid finish as he pressed down onto the thumbprint scanner on the wall, activating his security defenses inside the cramped "pad," just before fleeing out into the night.
"Maybe next time, Boy wonder." The place went alive with lasers in the walls coming out, as Eli did what he could to dismantle a few. Dick pulled them both out through the catwalk entrance above quickly, all with his trusty grapple.
Slade knew something.
He panted and rolled Eli onto his back to see if he was still ok. Tired, but breathing.
And Robin and his team would not rest until they knew every detail of the man's return.
Including, why Grant was still at large in the first place….
Or What Slade's kids even knew…
Dick gasped.
Including Jericho.
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At Bushido's dojo, the heroes had all come and were to the tatami in moments – yet two of their teammates were still not present at five am.
"Is your leader still going to be present for the meeting?" Bushido asked the Titans as he sat with a worried set of eyes on each hero. "You also lost so many of your fellow heroes, Jericho. Argent." The dojo was quiet, save for a few students outside the yard, practicing their positions with another sensei.
Garfield Logan yawned into his hand, only to be met by a scowl from the team. "Um…. can we sleep, sitting like this?" He meekly asked, avoiding Raven's stare the most.
"Stop talking." Her eyes were baggier from being connected to her friends' emotions – but Dick? He and Eli had slipped past the censors which then left the empath deliberately drained. Without her herbal tea to bring her some sense of calm, no sleep topped the list, mostly it was that gnawing desire to know where they were right now. Just like her team, she could not trust how obsessed that man had been.
From day one, Slade stuck to him as a tick to an unsuspecting boy scout in the forest.
That leech had dragged her friend into his messes for the last –
"He is…"
Starfire nearly broke the silence as Bushido shook his head, sorry eyes to the mat. "Would it be not the best to reschedule –
"No." Raven answered her quickly. "We'll…I'll see if I can reach him."
She began to chant now, cross legged as Bushido allowed the casting within his dojo as any monk during a meditative session might be inclined to ignore all else.
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Dick winced at his luck as Eli looked pretty ragged once they'd made it to their hotel suite. Dick went to the desk and asked to be let up. That they'd been mugged as he made it look by their appearances, as tourists while out of the room – only this was to see about the rest of their stay as the manager took pity enough to allow them both their extra rest.
As well as to have the cops looking for a white-haired, blue-eyed adult (as Dick realized that Slade was a master of disguise on his own) and with a possible connection to activities that made the desk staff shiver. "We only just got away; I was terrified and my poor friend wants to be sure that no one else gets hurt on their stay in the area, Arigato." His words were useless however, as Eli scoffed at Dick's masked distress once they'd made it up to their rooms. "We won't be staying much longer, eh, mate?"
"No." Dick frowned and let Eli down onto his bed before speaking again, a hand to the exit. "I'll contact the Titans and let them know that we ran into some trouble. We might be a problem for the authorities if Slade's not interested in being on Tokyo's most wanted list."
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Ah, the rest of the heroes were not far from the coast….
Yokohama was a fun place, so Grant let their base stand in the air, not on the ground. An air ship which could house a stadium. As kooked as his plan was, Rose couldn't fight it. She was this close to having herself jump from the craft. Not the Grant might approve if she stopped the party going on inside his skull.
"I want to know what's next." She came to him in full Hive Queen regalia as Grant remained a Ravager. He wanted to kick his dad in the gut every chance he could, so this was one way to let it sink in. To sully the old man's legacy as he was hoping.
"The ship can only carry so much –
"I rented out a better view." Grant pointed from his control seat. "Look."
Down below, the stadium was going to be dropped and left on the beaches, a place to really kick things off. "We have all the heroes in deep freeze and it's working! Dad's got the trail and he's going to pay like you and I –
"But the Titans are –
"Just the proper bait for us to get what we're owed, Rose." The college age villain replied. Oh, Grant never used pet names. Joey was a loser to him for life and Rose was what his younger brother could never be. Strong enough to keep close enough by his ear. And devious enough to rip it off, should he slip up.
A worthy adversary in the future but, for now they were partners. Rose nodded and looked at the arena space with a curious glance downwards. "How are we going to subdue the last of them? I don't want the Titans getting any ideas of their own."
"That is all up to our little brother." Grant smirked. "He can't resist being so close, so why not phone him? Make sure everyone knows that they're invited to the grand opening."
"If Dad decides –
"Pops is just as cheeky as you or me." Grant rolled his eyes. "Stop being afraid of that pit bull and live while the going's getting! We might even fix the damn universe – no more annoying bugs to squash and you? Bein' the Hive diva you are?" He buttered her up. "I can say no more. Mwah ! * Fantastique!" (Typo on purpose) With a chef's kiss of excellence in his hand gesture, Grant truly had to put himself on that high a pedestal to feel right at home.
"We have our plan B, too. If anything goes wrong, we blow it all up and run off to start again and again…" He promised the blue-eyed sibling as she stood, frozen still to those words. "As long as it takes to tell "daddy" just what we think of his god -damned gifts…" He grinned to the other teen. "Let big brother Grant here do everything right this time…Kay?"
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Grant is nuts, the titans are in deep dog piles and…I'm off to my shift at 11. Wow, a lot of fun times! Stay curious and find out more!