Sportsmaster spun the spiked ball in the direction of his opponent who dodged to the side it and Renegade ducked under the weapon when the older mercenary attempted to strike him again. The acrobat sprinted toward the man who, however, moved to the side in a demonstration of enormous speed and fluidity in his movements despite his massive and sturdy build.
Renegade deflected the spiked ball thanks to the spikes of his right arm and the weapon ended up barely grazing his face, lightly scratching his left cheek. Dick did not wince at all, ignored the small trickle of dark blood, and his hand snapped forward, grabbing the chain tied to the spiked ball and pulling it forcefully in his direction.
Sportsmaster staggered forward, momentarily losing his balance due to the younger man's superhuman strength, but he released his grip on the chain just in time to dodge Renegade's punch and he attempted to hit him with a kick. The Talon merely dodged the blow by moving his head to the side and with a kick struck the other leg of the man who immediately fell to the ground with a thud.
"You're lucky that I want to make this fight last longer, otherwise I would have aimed for your knee with that kick and broken it." Renegade commented casually as he watched the older assassin get back on his feet with a backflip.
"How kind of you." Lawrence drawled sarcastically as he grabbed two baseball bats from his belt and then launched himself at the younger man.
Initially Renegade merely dodged the blows, waiting patiently for an opening he could exploit. He did not have to wait long and when he dodged another blow he threw an elbow in the air, striking Lawrence's right hand holding a bat, while simultaneously kicking the other assassin's left hand.
The man grunted and backed away slightly, both bats falling noisily to the ground. Sportsmaster growled and sprang forward with a punch but Renegade blocked his arm and violently flipped him back to the ground. The older mercenary quickly got back up but met a vicious right hook that snapped his head to the side followed by a strong kick to the chest that threw him against a wall, his back slamming painfully.
The impact was such that it caused the wall to shake slightly and a painting nearby fell to the floor, shattering irreparably, and both assassins ignored it. Renegade walked slowly and menacingly toward Sportsmaster, watching his figure slump against the wall. "Tired already, dude? What a disappointment." he mocked him.
Although he could not see it, he imagined his opponent was smirking behind his mask. "I don't think so."
Sportsmaster sprang to his feet toward the acrobat with such speed that he actually surprised the youngest a little but Dick with his left hand blocked the older assassin's right hook and tried to punch him in the face with his other hand. Lawrence ducked under the blow and faster than a well-trained human eye could see he drew a spear from his belt and pushed it toward the younger mercenary.
Renegade, however, was no ordinary person and moved just in time for the spear to pierce his right lung rather than his heart. Black blood began to pour from his bloody wound and he felt more blood begin to pool in large quantities in his mouth. Dick backed away a few steps and was forced to cough up more blood without ever taking his eyes off Lawrence's brown eyes now dripping with satisfaction.
The mercenary lowered his gaze, staring impassively at the spear having passed through the layer of armor -he absentmindedly wondered where the hell Lawrence got a spear capable of piercing the combination of Promethium chain mail and Nth Metal- and having pierced his right lung, inches from his heart. He slowly raised his eyes again, staring intently at Sportsmaster whose bravado began to falter noticeably when he realized that Dick was still standing as if he had not just received a potentially fatal wound. "Then it's true that you're not human." he whispered in horror, his eyes a little wider than usual as he took a particular look at both the black blood and the spear sticking out of his right lung.
Renegade gave a frightened smirk, showing his dark blood-stained teeth and watching in satisfaction as the other mercenary trembled slightly at his gaze. "This wound will heal in no time." he casually informed him. "The only reason you managed to hit me is because I'm going very easy on you, man. Like, 10%."
Before Sportsmaster could comment it Renegade grabbed the spear and jerked it out of its wound from which more rivers of dark blood spilled. He grabbed the weapon with both hands and with no effort he broke the spear in half as if it were a tree branch. He tossed the two pieces of the spear to the side and let his hands crack menacingly, the smirk slowly slipping away.
"Now stop playing."
Before Sportsmaster could even fully comprehend his words, a violent 360-degree roundhouse kick struck him violently in the chin with so much force that it sent him flying away. He landed in pain on the ground, his hockey mask sliding off. He got back up with a gasp of pain, testing his jaw and quickly decreeing that yes, it was broken.
With a snarl Lawrence charged his opponent. Renegade danced around the punch, positioning himself behind the man, and grabbed his right arm and then twisted it painfully behind his back. The older assassin barely had time to wince when he suddenly cried out in agony as soon as he felt his arm break brutally, noise of broken bones resonating with a sickening crunch.
Renegade hit him with a vicious elbow to the temple and Sportsmaster fell forward onto his knees, one step away from falling to the ground. Talon spun him around and then delivered an uppercut that flung him meters away. Jade and Artemis's father fell with his back to the ground with a pained groan and did not get up. In his blurred vision he barely glimpsed the looming, menacing figure of Renegade who stared at him with a hard, icy stare.
"You are lucky that the only reason I do not kill you is because I know that both Jade and Artemis don't want you dead. That and also because I know that, deep down in your fucking heart, you genuinely care about your daughters, even though you suck at showing it a lot." Dick sighed, absentmindedly feeling his former wound be fully healed. "You are an excellent mercenary and assassin, Sportsmaster, one of the best in the world and you have a good moral code, I admit. However, you are a shitty father who needs to start improving."
"Should I take an example from Slade?" Lawrence managed to sneer despite being sore in every bone in his body.
"Yes." the honest answer took the man by surprise and the 17-year-old continued. "Although he is terrible at times in showing his emotions, in all these years I have never doubted his unconditional love for me and have noticed firsthand his genuine commitments and improvements as a father. It's time for you to do the same thing, Lawrence. Artemis and Jade need you, even if they will never admit it. It is never late to admit your mistakes and do something to start making things right."
Lawrence remained silent and Dick caught in his brown eyes a glimmer of something he could not define. However, this was something positive since it was the first time Dick could see genuine emotion in the man's usually cold and composed face, so he had the slightest hope that this would be the good time for Lawrence to become a better father to his daughters.
"Think carefully about my words, Lawrence."
The next second Renegade hit the other mercenary with a strong kick to the temple, sending him directly into unconsciousness. Dick stared at Sportsmaster's unconscious figure for a few seconds before sighing and turning communications on. "Your father is out and will be for quite a while. Status?"
"I just took Artemis out of the house." Cheshire informed him. "Aside from a few bruises and broken bones, she is overall fine."
"Good." Dick gave a sigh of relief that he didn't know how to hold back. "I'll join you."
"Roger. One thing, Dick."
"Tell me."
"...How is he?"
"He's still breathing."
"...Thank you."
"You're welcome, sis."
Dick smiled and pulled Artemis Crock into a fierce protective hug. "I'm so glad you're okay, Artie."
Artemis melted into the embrace and immediately returned it, resting her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for the rescue mission, Dick."
The meta-human tenderly stroked her back as he turned his full attention to Jade who was staring at them with a soft, tender gaze. Her eyes shifted to his and showed all her gratitude to him to which the acrobat nodded to her.
Do you want me to send your father to Blackgate or Belle Reve? He signed discreetly without making Artemis suspicious.
Jade stared at him for a few seconds before shaking her head. No. I think he will have learned his lesson.
Dick merely sent her a nod and they both returned their attention to Artemis, doing their best to comfort the 19-year-old .
Renegade watched with a sweet smile as Paula Crock enveloped her youngest daughter in a fierce, warm embrace, her look of pure happiness making her look as if she were thirty years younger. After a while at the invitation of both women Jade also joined in what became a family hug. Dick looked away from the scene, feeling like he was intruding on a private moment. He began to back away silently with the intention of secretly leaving the dwelling but stopped when suddenly Paula pointed her gaze at him.
After gently pushing her daughters away, the older woman pushed her wheelchair forward and stopped in front of the younger man. "Thank you for bringing my daughter back to me, Dick." she thanked him so warmly and sincerely, her gaze showing recent signs of crying. "I don't know how I could ever repay you."
"It's not a problem at all, Aunt Paula." Dick immediately reassured her with a beaming smile. "I'm just glad I could help."
Paula reached out a hand and grasped his, gently stroking it as she looked at him with eyes full of admiration and gratitude that made Dick move a little uncomfortably.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Diana Prince gave a sigh of relief once she re-entered the house. She loosened her ponytail, placed her glasses on the glass table and floated slowly in the air for a few seconds before throwing herself down on the sofa.
And this meeting with international leaders is over too, thanks to Zeus.
The good thing about her job as one of the UN ambassadors was that she was very good at her job as well as at international relations among the various heads of state and thus in getting positive relations established among the various states belonging to the UN.
The bad thing was enduring the inconsistency and hypocrisy of some of her colleagues along with their greed and gluttony for fame, power and wealth masked by their false desire to do common good.
The demigoddess sighed and decided that it would be best to stop thinking about her work, at least momentarily, and resting was currently a good idea. However, as soon as she closed her eyes in an attempt to rest flashes of distinct memories crossed her mind.
"You know, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my entire life."
"Can't a mercenary make a genuine appreciation for the best woman on the planet? By the way, are you single by any chance?"
Diana stood up sharply, her breathing slightly labored. She frowned heavily, silently wondering why the hell her memory tapped into Renegade's flirtation with her that occurred in their first battle.
An even stranger fact was that although it had been quite some time since then, Diana remembered that battle and every single word of the mercenary -especially his well-philosophic and contrived speech that only she was able to witness- as if only one day had passed.
Not only that but Diana remembered with limpid, clear accuracy every emotion she felt on that day.
The pure, genuine fear that for a moment had filled every fiber of the fierce Wonder Woman's body.
When their faces were only about ten inches apart and she could feel his light breath on her face, sending slight shivers down her spine and quickening her heartbeat.
When Wonder Woman shivered when Renegade swept her hair to the side, his touch softer and gentler than she had expected from him. His breath brushed against her bare neck and she felt a shiver go up her spine, shivers that increased when one of his gloved hands gently placed itself between her neck and shoulder.
At the well vivid and lucid memory of these last two memories Diana shuddered and felt her face go slightly on fire and cursed herself for her moment of weakness. After taking a long, deep breath she lay back down on the sofa, once again trying to rest her mind and body.
"I hope to see you again soon in an occasion where we can talk more, Princess. Oh, and I hope you enjoyed the flowers I sent you."
"I can't wait to see you again, Princess."
Apparently her mind was not in agreement with her idea at all.
Damn.
The Princess of Themyscira easily guessed that a rest would not be possible for the time and with an irritated sigh stood up, positioning herself in an upright position. She began drumming her fingers on the armrest of the sofa, wondering how on earth she could pass the time.
The image of a boy dressed in all-black armor with blood-red details, a large blood-red R in the center, a red mask with menacing white slits, utility belt and carrying who knows how many weapons and gadgets on which he had a unique mastery in the whole world crossed her mind.
Diana silently cursed.
What the hell is happening to me?
Perhaps she was simply curious about the mystery surrounding the figure of the second best mercenary and assassin in the world and she just wanted to know more about him.
Yes, surely that was the reason.
With this in mind, the Amazon nodded and stood up, deciding that it was time to fill her curiosity about the said mercenary by doing as much in-depth research on him as possible.
Diana sincerely hoped that after finishing the research on Renegade, she would be back to normal without any more thoughts of the damned assassin.