"Batman, why have you gathered us here?" it was Superman who asked the question that everyone was wondering but no one had the courage to ask the Caped Crusader.
Batman had called a meeting at the Watchtower that the founding members and a few other heroes were supposed to attend, but without specifying the exact reason.
So there they all were: gathered around the table staring directly at Batman waiting for an answer, all curious about the reason he had called the meeting.
After all, it was common knowledge that Batman was a reclusive figure -it was literally a miracle that Batman had revealed his civilian identity to them!- and that until now he had never personally convened a meeting: the other two members of the Trinity always took care of that. So the fact that Batman had convened one was cause for curiosity, confusion and even concern.
The Gotham vigilante turned on the big screen behind him and turned toward it, causing several small windows to appear next to an image portraying one person in particular.
It was a young-looking boy, a blood-red mask covering his eyes through white slits like those featured in Batman's cowl and surrounded by dark, menacing black. He wore all-black armor with a giant blood-red R placed in the center of it. The rest of the armor featured menacing blood-red details. Along the arms were spikes -similar to Batman's but these were much sharper, accentuating their not only defensive but also offensive character- made of reinforced steel colored partially red. He wore a mainly blood-red utility belt that carried who knows how many weapons and gadgets. Also attached to his waist were several black holsters in which were stored guns and also two escrima sticks. Two X-crossed swords were attached to his back.
"Who is he, Batman?" asked Martian Manhunter.
"He is Renegade, former apprentice of Deathstroke The Terminator and currently the second deadliest and most dangerous mercenary in the world with a body count second only to Deathstroke."
"That sounds really scary, if I can be honest." admitted Green Arrow.
Black Canary absentmindedly drummed her fingers on the table, frowning. "The name sounds familiar but I don't think I've ever seen him."
"That's because the name Renegade has been circulating in the criminal world for about six or seven years but without any evidence to prove his existence. He only recently made a change of armor." an image flashed on the screen portraying Renegade in his old half-black half-orange armor.
It lasted a few seconds and was replaced again by the previous one portraying the current Renegade.
"No camera ever caught him." Batman added abruptly.
Hawkgirl scowled. "It's like he's a ghost."
"There are only a few witnesses who have seen him: nine."
"Only nine witnesses escaped this Renegade in just seven years?" Aquaman arched a surprised eyebrow. "I have to admit: it's impressive."
Batman clenched his jaw a little. "I'm sure Renegade let them live voluntarily, probably to get people talking about him but without giving too many details. They all described him as being some sort of demon thirsty for human blood."
"Jesus Christ." muttered Oliver. "And here I thought the rumors about you were scary."
"I think we left out the most important detail." all eyes turned to Wonder Woman who stared directly at Batman. "You said he was Deathstroke's former apprentice."
"Correct." Batman nodded abruptly. "Deathstroke trained him personally. It was until a few months ago until a rumor started circulating that Renegade is no longer Deathstroke's apprentice and has started his own solo mercenary career."
"Shouldn't we be concerned that a mercenary as ruthless as Deathstroke has had a child with him for at least seven years, if not more?" Flash asked, looking uncertainly at the picture of Renegade. "He looks so young in this picture."
"It would appear that Renegade is Deathstroke's son and that Deathstroke really cares about him." Batman began and then briefly explained the anecdote regarding Renegade, Joker, the Joker Venom and Deathstroke.
"We can't take the Joker's word for it. I mean, he's the fucking Joker!" Hal pointed out, raising his arms in frustration.
"Not only is that the only clue we have but the Joker would have no reason to lie to me. So for now the best probability is that Deathstroke did not abuse Renegade and was a real parent to him." declared Batman in an emotionless tone. "In addition, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn and Catwoman have also confirmed to me that Deathstroke is a good parent to Renegade and I... trust their words." it sounded as if Batman had forced himself to get the last words out.
Hal elbowed Barry. "Especially Catwoman's!"
The two giggled but soon stopped abruptly when they noticed Batman's glare pointed in their direction and swallowed in fright.
Superman crossed his arms, frowning. "I'm not very convinced by the words of some criminals but we have no evidence or testimony to suggest otherwise, so for now our best option is to consider that Renegade has voluntarily decided to follow in his father's footsteps."
Batman nodded in agreement with the Man of Steel's words. "Renegade was Deathstroke's second apprentice." he said, surprising everyone.
Another image appeared on the screen depicting another boy. This boy was also wearing armor that echoed Deathstroke's: his boots and utility belt were orange while the rest of his armor was completely dark, including his helmet, which had two blood-red slits. The image showed him holding a pocket knife in his left hand while holding a gun with his right hand. It was also possible to see a sword resting on his back and a dagger attached to his thigh.
Hal whistled slightly. "I must admit that Deathstroke knows how to make his children scary and menacing."
"He was Ravager, Deathstroke's first apprentice and son."
"Was?" Aquaman pointed out with a frown.
"He was killed during a contract."
Some gasped. "That's rather troubling." Superman swallowed. "It would seem that Deathstroke trains his own children to become mercenaries like him and yet... they look so young." he said looking specifically at the image of Renegade.
"Although Ravager's armor covers his entire face, he is thought to have been about eighteen years old when he was killed." declared Batman coldly, ignoring some expletives. "He lasted just over two years as a mercenary before he was killed, so he had become one when he was only sixteen."
Hawkgirl's grip on her mace tightened. "Too young to die." she growled. "What kind of father is Deathstroke to train and allow his own children to become mercenaries like him? Especially with the risk of death so high!"
"Wait!" all eyes stared at Barry who blushed a little at all the attention he received but he continued. "You said the first rumor of Renegade sightings was about six or seven years ago." Batman nodded and the speedster continued, pointing to the photo of said mercenary. "And it is obvious that Renegade is young and about eighteen years old.
"That means Renegade became a mercenary at the tender age of about eleven or so."
"That's right."
A heavy, tense silence fell in the room.
"I'm missing something." Wonder Woman began, getting everyone's attention. "Let's leave aside for a moment Deathstroke's somewhat questionable parenting skills. We understand that Ravager was his first son and apprentice and became a mercenary at the age of sixteen, so why would Deathstroke allow Renegade to become a mercenary much earlier, at the age of eleven or so?"
"And also how Renegade wasn't killed right away because, you know, he was literally a child when he started." Dinah added helpfully.
"These are all good questions but we don't know the answer yet." the Dark Knight grunted displeased. "However, there are many rumors circulating about Renegade's reputation and all of them agree on one thing: that Renegade is as ruthless, deadly and dangerous mercenary as Deathstroke himself, if not more so.
"Just like his mentor, Renegade has never failed a contract and is currently regarded as the second best mercenary in the world, below only Deathstroke. In just a few years he has already surpassed mercenaries of the caliber of Sportsmaster, Deadshot, David Cain and others in every respect. However, many people would not be surprised if sooner or later Renegade surpasses even Deathstroke himself, taking the top spot."
"Is that guy so dangerous?" asked Hal, absentmindedly fiddling with his ring. "I mean, you're making it sound like he's Satan himself come down to Earth but he's just a kid."
"I can personally confirm that Renegade is dangerous and deadly on an extreme level."
For a while the heroes watched the Caped Crusader in silence, trying to decipher his words. Then something clicked in Flash's head and he stared at the vigilante with a surprised and shocked look. "Are you saying you fought with Renegade?"
Batman nodded and everyone noticed how he clenched his fists. "About a week ago Renegade accepted his first contract in Gotham and managed to complete it even before I found out he was there. He managed to notice my presence even though I was completely shrouded in darkness."
Some of the heroes hissed impressed. "Not even Supes can sense your presence and he literally has super hearing that allows him to hear the whole world." Green Arrow chuckled, pointing a finger in the direction of Superman who stared at him impassively.
"So you had a fight." Aquaman guessed, getting a nod.
"Case closed then. Where's Renegade?" Hal asked with a casual shrug. "Did you lock him up in your cave, Spooky?"
"...He defeated me."
Everyone blinked at the vigilante's admission and it took a few seconds before his words registered in every hero's mind. "You, The Batman, the fucking Dark Knight of Gotham who fears nothing and no one, who strikes terror in anyone, who has mastered literally every martial art on Earth, were defeated by a teenager in hand-to-hand combat?" asked Oliver hysterically.
His look of utter shock, disbelief, and horror was mirrored in every other hero present at the meeting when Batman nodded. "Renegade wasn't afraid of me at all." growled Batman, clearly annoyed by the whole situation.
"WHAT?"
"Okay, I take back my previous words. Renegade is literally Satan himself." Hal rubbed his face wearily. "Because clearly only Satan can be unafraid of you, spot you doing your Spooky thing, and defeat you in hand-to-hand combat."
"At least you managed to give him some difficulty." Black Canary smiled uncertainly, trying to give some sort of comfort to the vigilante.
Batman remained more motionless than usual and everyone else swore they saw some sort of embarrassment in him. "...Renegade defeated me easily." he admitted, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "And Renegade was also going very easy on me while I was trying to take him down."
Everyone stared at him with looks of absolute shock and terror and began to understand why Batman had called this meeting.
"Are you saying that Renegade not only spotted you hiding in the darkness when even we are unable to sense your presence, but he was not afraid of you at all and even beat you easily?" Diana summed up, her gaze shocked. Batman nodded and she tightened her lips. "I must admit to being impressed by this Renegade."
"That and I'm pretty scared of him." Flash shuddered. "Because we just found someone tougher than Batman."
"And that's why we have available a clear image of Renegade when you said no camera was able to record him." guessed Martian Manhunter easily, barely smiling when he saw the vigilante nod.
"I suppose after your defeat you worked hard to find out more about Renegade." said Superman once he got over the shock.
"I did but for now his civilian identity and Deathstroke's identity are still unknown." grunted Batman and a series of information appeared next to Renegade's image while Ravager's shrank. "Civilian identity: currently unknown. Pale male. Dark hair. Eye color unknown. Height about six feet. Age between seventeen and nineteen. Could not decipher his accent but he is not from Gotham.
"Slim but athletic build. Renegade is the most agile, acrobatic and fluid person I have ever met and he has incorporated his acrobatic skills into his fighting style, making much use of them. He is as adept at mastering any firearm, snipers, swords, katanas, daggers, knives and any other form of weapon as Deathstroke himself and is also the best in the world at fighting with escrima sticks.
"Renegade is also the best hand-to-hand fighter I have ever fought. During our fight Renegade switched from one fighting style to another at an almost impossible speed with no problem and used a dozen different martial arts in a few minutes. It is very likely that he knows all martial arts as well as I do." some people made choked noises of shock but Batman ignored them. "His hand-to-hand combat reminds me a lot of Deathstroke's but there is also an influence of the League of Assassins and I have noticed other fighting styles: that means that Renegade has also trained under other deadly and experienced assassins.
"He is also an expert at reading body language, a skill that then allows him to read my moves, anticipate them and then counterattack. Renegade is also a meta-human."
"Meta-human?" Barry shouted on the verge of hysteria as the others uttered verses of shock and surprise.
Batman nodded abruptly. "Renegade has superhuman strength, probably about the same level as Deathstroke. Renegade is also much faster, more agile and fluid than Deathstroke and his reflexes are much better than his. Renegade also has a healing factor and I estimate that it is better than Deathstroke's."
"How can you tell?" Dinah asked and it sounded as if she was about to regurgitate her lunch.
"My only hit that went in cracked his nose and it repaired itself within about ten seconds. Also, no normal blood came out but a strange black substance that I don't recognize." said Batman and the screen showed the moment that occurred during the vigilante-mercenary fight he was describing.
"Jesus Christ!" Hal hissed.
"Against me, Renegade did not use any kind of weapon and merely faced me in pure hand-to-hand combat and this shows his level of threat and danger. He could have killed me during the fight, even after defeating me, but he didn't."
"Do you know the reason?" Aquaman asked after running a hand over his face, clearly surprised.
"Renegade only takes on one type of contract: his victims are always somehow involved in criminal activities such as murder, drug trafficking, child and human trafficking, rape, child abuse and many more." explained Batman in an impassive voice. "Renegade has never taken a contract on an innocent person."
This aroused interest in the heroes. "It seems as if Renegade is fighting crime in his own way." Martian Manhunter pointed out, tilting his head to the side.
"Which is unacceptable." Batman growled. "He still kills people for money, no matter if they are criminals."
Wonder Woman rolled her eyes at Batman's stubbornness and mentally thought that Renegade was the quintessential definition of an anti-hero.
In short, there was a specific reason why Renegade killed criminals and never innocents, and the economic motive can only hold up to a certain point. It was a moral code that in some ways was very similar to Diana's own and one that she would definitely prefer instead of imprisoning the bad guys and then letting them go free because of the bad justice system so that they could commit more crimes.
She kept her thoughts to herself knowing full well that Batman would never change his mind on the matter and merely observed the continuation of the conversation.
"So we should all be careful with Renegade. He is a high-level threat that should not be underestimated. It is likely that from now on we may encounter Renegade in one of his contracts during our missions. We should do everything we can to capture him and bring him to justice." Batman growled and immediately turned and without even saying goodbye he walked away, his cape fluttering dramatically.
Recognized: Batman 02
For a while there was silence in the meeting room that was broken a short time later by Hal Jordan.
"Who is of the opinion that Spooky is just pissed off because a teenager kicked his ass easily in his own town, totally humiliating him?"
Diana was not surprised when everyone raised their hands in total unanimity.
Soon the heroes began to say goodbye and leave. Before Diana left the room, she took one last look at Renegade's image for a few seconds before turning and walking away.