Zatanna brought her hands to her mouth, swallowed the bile and trembling took a step back, the nauseating smell of burnt flesh beginning to overwhelm her. She closed her eyes but already knew that this would be a nightmare that would haunt her for a long time.
It should have been me, not him.
The sudden thought surprised her and the authenticity of it fully overwhelmed her with such force that her legs turned to jelly and she fell to her knees.
That magical attack was directed at her.
Not at Renegade.
Her.
Only she was too blinded by the pain caused by the magic lightning to even move and she had already surrendered to her impending doom.
But Renegade, despite feeling the same pain she felt, still managed to shake it off and save Zatanna's life by sacrificing his own.
What kind of hero was she if she could not even save herself but forced her ally, the damned second best assassin in the world, to save her life by dying himself though?
Zatanna did not deserve the title of hero at this point.
It was more deserved by Renegade who, despite all his killing and somewhat ambiguous morality, actually helped make Earth a better place. He had not only sacrificed his own life for hers but had... had had a stronger, braver, more determined personality than her.
It had been thanks to Renegade that Zatanna had been able to locate Klarion because of his motivational speech, which was crucial in instilling in her the determination and self-confidence that she lacked at that time.
And while she was busy figuring out what spell to use, Renegade decided to use the time by spreading a message of hope around the world for children and teenagers who were experiencing the worst situation of their lives, having seen the adults in their lives suddenly disappear before their eyes.
That was an action worthy of the title of hero that Renegade fully deserved, unlike the sorceress.
The young girl felt traces of tears falling from her blue eyes and down her face and was overwhelmed by sobs she could not stop.
In stark contrast to the immense danger and threat that Renegade represented, he was truly a kind, funny and beautiful person to know and Zatanna had the honor of seeing him in their shared time inside the Watchtower. He never intended to hurt her but in fact even apologized once he realized that he was frightening her.
All of this painted a very clear picture, far from the starting idea that the Justice League, including herself, had about the young mercenary: he was indeed an immense threat but only to human scum and those who deserved his wrath, otherwise he was one of the most accommodating people Zatanna had ever known, despite all the pain and atrocities he endured so young, in Martian Manhunter's opinion.
And now that person, that amazing person, was gone forever.
The world had lost one of its most important defenders who had always fought to make it a better place, since he was only eleven fucking years old.
And it was all her fault and her own damn incompetence.
Zatanna didn't know how much time had passed and although it was as if an eternity had passed for her, it probably hadn't even been a whole damn minute. She rose to her feet and with a fierce snarl turned around, meeting the surprised but smug gaze of that bastard Klarion.
The sorcerer spread his arms wide with a huge crazy grin plastered on his face. "Yes! Oh man, I can't wait to see the others' reactions when they hear that I killed Renegade!" he exulted, not even realizing that he had just confirmed the existence of the Light to an important member of the JL.
However it was not important to the sorceress who had other thoughts on her mind.
In addition to guilt, grief and sadness she felt a huge rush of anger and adrenaline coursing through her blood that she had only felt on one occasion in her life: when she had received the news of her father's death.
Her eyes shone with a blinding white light and with a fierce growl that echoed menacingly throughout the forest she pointed her arms toward the sorcerer's magical barrier, her hands surrounded by a pure white aura.
"Kaerb eht lacigam reirrab!"
From her hands came a powerful white magical ray that with lightning speed reached the Lord of Chaos who did not even have time to blink. The moment Zatanna's attack hit the red barrier, Klarion cried out when his barrier shuddered violently until it disappeared completely and he was swept away by a strong shockwave that knocked him abruptly backward to the ground.
"No! It can't be!"
Zatanna ignored the sorcerer's cry and struck him with another powerful spell. "Ezilibommi mih ni eht eman fo eht Redro!"
Dr. Fate's typical yellow cross appeared above Klarion and immobilized his head and arms, causing more panicked screams from him. "No! How the hell-!"
"Eht meg ot em!" Zatanna grabbed the gem that levitated toward her and raised it skyward, her eyes and hands never ceasing to glow with that pure white aura so bright and blinding. "Yam eht owt emoceb eno ecno erom!"
The entire world exploded in a blinding white light and when Zatanna opened her eyes again she saw the other sorcerers, mentioned earlier by Shazam in the Watchtower, bound and knocked down on the ground at the corners of the ritual area. She shifted her view to the side and watched her teammates look around almost in amazement.
Superman was the first to notice her and flew to a stop in midair at her side, smiling proudly at her. "Zatanna! You managed to defeat Klarion! Good job!" he stated, drawing the attention of the other heroes.
"Although the containment spell is not as strong as that of the personified Order itself, it is still noteworthy from a young magic user like you." Dr. Fate solemnly remarked, nodding slightly as he observed the yellow cross immobilizing Klarion.
The Lord of Chaos glared at his rival before giving a mischievous smirk. "No matter. I still completed a vital mission, even if it was not originally planned."
"Which is?"
Klarion's smirk became broader and he merely remained silent, shifting evidently his eyes to Zatanna with a meaningful glance, his red eyes shining smugly and victoriously.
Zatanna froze in place, the memory of the sickening horror still fresh in her memory. "Renegade!" she shouted, her voice choked. Ignoring the confused and panicked babble of the others she turned to Superman and pulled him into a fierce embrace, wanting reassurance from Earth's mightiest hero that only he could give.
The Man of Steel, though very confused, automatically returned the embrace and with his massive stature hid her small figure, protecting her from the rest of the world. He mentally panicked when he heard her crying and wondered what the hell had happened.
"Can you explain to me what Renegade has to do with this, Zatanna?" he asked in a soft whisper.
"R-Renegade... h-he is-"
"Did someone mention my name?"
A very familiar young male voice resounded loudly throughout the area and the attention of all the heroes shifted to the source of it. Zatanna's eyes went wide and she flailed wildly from the arms of the hero of Metropolis who distractedly let her go, too shocked to even think.
The sorceress turned around and gasped when she saw at a distance of meters Renegade alive and well, scratching the back of his head in confusion, holding himself up perfectly with such tranquility and nonchalance as if he had not been dead at all for the past two minutes.
"Renegade!"
Zatanna forgot everything and ran toward the mercenary, ignoring Superman and the other heroes calling her name, and continued running toward him.
Renegade turned toward her and emitted a surprised grunt when Zatanna swept him into a fierce embrace with such force that he stepped back two steps. "The hell-"
Zatanna noticed his almost imperceptible gasp of pain and immediately pulled back, her guilt skyrocketing. She opened her mouth but immediately closed it again when her eyes landed on Renegade's entire chest -both lower and upper parts- that was still completely charred and incinerated, and only then could she smell the same nauseating smell of burnt flesh as before. She opened her eyes wide in shock and staggered dazedly backward, her eyes fluttering from the mercenary's confused face to his horrible wound.
How the hell does Renegade stand when he was clearly dead before and now looks perfectly fine despite his entire chest being completely burned and charred?
Zatanna heard the rest of the heroes running toward the two of them and stopping abruptly when they could get a full view. Before they could even start the countless questions about what the hell was going on Klarion's shocked and angry voice rang out clearly.
"NO! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"
All gazes fell on the sorcerer who with a snap of his fingers made the yellow cross disappear. The heroes stiffened but Klarion remained motionless, his frantic eyes fixed on the young assassin and pointed an accusing finger at him.
"How the hell are you still alive? I killed you, damn it!"
Wonder Woman's trembling murmur of "W-what?" briefly interrupted the Lord of Chaos but was ignored, and in a remote corner of her mind Zatanna felt compassion for the Amazon.
"The spell was supposed to burn not only your entire chest but also all your internal organs, heart and lungs first and foremost! And I know it worked because not only did I see you dead but also because my spells never fail, damn it!" Klarion screamed hysterically.
Zatanna gasped in horror, understanding at that moment the extent of the sacrifice Renegade made to save her life without even thinking half a time. Just the thought of such a painful and terrible death almost made her vomit and that feeling increased with the realization that that was exactly what Renegade had felt to save her life, even if he was somehow still alive, but she resisted.
Even the heroes burst into hysterical, shocked screams and although Zatanna remained silent she could not blame them and for the first time neither could Klarion. She too was on the verge of going mad and it seemed as if her brain might explode at any moment.
"It's true, I was dead." Renegade confirmed slowly, rolling his eyes as several more hysterical screams erupted, and when he spoke his voice towered over all the others. "But unfortunately for you, I never stay dead. In fact right now my heart, lungs and other internal organs are growing back. Superman, if you would kindly give you all a confirmation."
The hero in question swallowed hard and used his x-ray vision on the mercenary. His face quickly became whiter and paler than a sheet and he uttered a shocked, hysterical and frightened scream. "I-It's t-true! T-They're g-g-growing in t-this m-m-moment!"
"I think I'm going to faint." Green Arrow muttered, his body trembling. "It's just too much to handle."
At his side Flash nodded in agreement, his face as pale as anyone's. "I hear you, man."
Even Klarion himself was completely horrified, shocked and disgusted by the revelation. "What the hell are you, a fucking monster?"
Renegade scowled and stared at him hard. "Watch your words, dude, or I will send your severed head by post to the rest of the Light." he snarled. "Remember: the only reason you managed to kill me is both because you targeted Zatanna in her weakened state but mostly because you protected yourself behind a lousy magical barrier, coward that you are. Otherwise I would have killed you no problem."
Klarion half-closed his eyes menacingly, an inhuman snarl escaping from his throat. "Are you threatening me, you insect?"
"Are you really sure you want to challenge a monster?" the mercenary sneered, using the sorcerer's words against him, and to emphasize the point he gave himself a light tap on his chest, sighing annoyed when a chunk of burnt, ashen flesh peeled away from his chest with a sickening pop.
The Talon felt a little guilty at the shocked, horrified and disgusted looks from most of the heroes, and it rose when he saw Shazam vomiting.
Damn. Billy is just a kid. He wasn't supposed to see that. Damn me.
His masked eyes shifted to Wonder Woman, fearing what he would find in her beautiful and brightblue eyes.
He knew that he could hardly resist if in the Amazon's gaze he would find disgust, fear or something like that. Yet when he looked at her he found her already staring at him intensely, her gaze so inscrutable and indecipherable that even he could not understand what she was feeling at that moment.
Better than open disgust and fear, I guess.
The young assassin focused on Klarion when he spoke again. "You know what? I'm out of here. You're a fucking monster, man!" he growled and with another snap of his fingers he disappeared.
For a brief moment an awkward silence reigned, which was broken seconds later by Hawkgirl stepping forward. "Can someone explain what the fuck just happened?" she growled annoyed, spreading her arms wide.
A murmur of assent filled the air and Renegade mentally sighed, deciding to at least partially satisfy their curiosity. "The short explanation is the fact that I met Zatanna in your base and-"
"Wait a minute: you snuck into the Watchtower?"
Jesus Christ-
"The next person who interrupts me will literally get a stick up their ass." Renegade threatened coldly and Aquaman wisely chose to shut his mouth. "Anyway yes, I entered the Watchtower because it was the best place to try to locate Klarion. There I met Zatanna and we decided to ally because we both had a common enemy to defeat. So I was the ally Shazam told you about.
"Once we found out where the spell came from we headed here and fought against Klarion. At one point, however, that bastard immobilized us with a fucking magic lightning and launched a fatal magic attack on Zatanna, which resulted in me pushing her to the side and receiving that blow that as you can see killed me. I awoke from death only a short while ago: only Zatanna can tell you the other details of the fight." he concluded with a casual shrug of his shoulders.
"No one can wake up from the dead like they wake up from a fucking afternoon nap!" Green Lantern pointed out, a note of hysteria in his voice.
"I can." replied the acrobat dryly. "As you can see my wound is already almost completely healed." he pointed to his chest whose lower half had returned to its original color while the upper half was still burned and charred.
This shocked the heroes because barely three minutes had passed since the mercenary had awakened but he went on, ignoring them.
"As for my internal organs," he paused briefly to see what the situation was like. "only most of the heart is missing from regeneration. That has always been the organ that takes a little longer to regenerate." he reflected lazily. "The other organs are fully functional and whole."
"How the hell is it possible for you to stand like you're not missing a part of your heart?" asked Superman, clearly shocked by such a far-fetched situation.
"My very unique abilities allows it. I am literally able to live even with my internal organs destroyed. They regenerate in no time anyway."
"Does it hurt?"
The young assassin almost winced at Wonder Woman's voice asking that question in a genuinely concerned tone and he did not miss the fact that this was the first time she had ever uttered a word. He was briefly moved by her genuine concern for him, not expecting it in the least from her but happily accepting it. "At first, yes. Then I got used to practically every sensation of pain until I practically didn't feel it anymore." he answered sincerely. He gave her a small but sweet smile. "Don't worry about me, Princess. I've endured similar injuries many times before, although this is the first time resulting from magic. I'm perfectly fine."
Wonder Woman reciprocated with a small smile, effectively catching off guard the anti-hero who was fascinated and attracted by her beautiful face and bright smile directed at him. He did not miss the almost imperceptible grimace that crossed her face, however, and Dick thought briefly that perhaps he should have chosen his words better to reassure her.
"That explains a little bit about your virtually infinite tolerance of pain." Martian Manhunter commented. "We've never heard you show any signs of pain."
Suddenly, as if the universe wanted to send a signal indicating how much it hated him, Renegade was the victim of a coughing fit and he immediately brought his hands in front of his mouth. When it ended seconds later he sighed and lowered his arms, his gloves visibly stained with dark black blood. "Ugh. That's why I hate wounds to internal organs: they're always the most annoying." he moaned, mentally chuckling at the heroes' tired stares.
Somehow all this time Dick had managed to resist the strong temptation -which he had been feeling ever since he had been resurrected- to vomit a copious amount of dark blood, caused by the destruction of his internal organs, which would surely have frightened and worried the heroes, which he did not want to happen at all: it was truly a miracle that rather than vomiting an unceasing worrying amount of dark black blood he restricted himself to only a manageable coughing fit.
Dick was briefly surprised at his own resilience and self-control.
Silently cursing Klarion for destroying the central part of his armor he caressed the bare skin of his chest, now of a pale color and smooth and soft and no longer burned and charred ash-black in color as it was before.
"See? Completely healed now."
Virtually all the heroes watched in amazement at this demonstration of a more than excellent healing factor. "Man, I'm jealous of his healing factor now." Flash huffed, receiving a few murmurs in agreement with him.
"Yeah, well, that was a good talk. I'd better be going now. See you around, Justice League." he began, intending to turn and go but as always here was another demonstration that the universe hated him.
"Not so fast, Renegade."
The assassin groaned annoyed. "It seemed strange to me that you still hadn't said a single word, dude. But still, after all, you're not known for being a big talker."
Batman ignored him and took a menacing step forward toward the youngest, glaring at him. "Turn yourself in for all your crimes, Renegade."
"Are you serious about doing this now despite all that's happened?" asked the mercenary, genuinely surprised by his stubbornness.
And people called him stubborn.
"Justice never rests." Batman replied solemnly, scowling deeply at the amused snort of Deathstroke's former apprentice. "You must be captured, tried and sent to Belle Reve, no matter what."
Renegade pinched his nose, irritated. "I don't have time for your bullshit, Batman. We already know how this is going to end anyway. You try to put me down, I easily kick your ass by holding me back by a lot, you then cry and complain while I happily return home. Can we skip this part and part amicably, at least this time?"
"I don't really disagree with Renegade that much." Flash intervened on his behalf, which surprised Dick greatly. "I mean, do you really want to fight the same guy who literally feels no pain even with his internal organs completely burned out and destroyed?" he asked to the surprised stares pointed in his direction.
"Your teammate is right." the assassin nodded in appreciation toward the speedster. "Even if I were still wounded and with all my organs burned and destroyed, I could still continue to fight against you as if nothing had happened. I can literally fight in all possible conditions, even the most unthinkable ones, and even in those cases I can easily kick all of your asses. Starting with you, Batman."
His comment made most of the heroes hesitate as they looked uncomfortably at each other but predictably Batman was not among them and he growled. "It doesn't matter. We have a duty to fight you and bring you to justice."
"You will not fight him."
Renegade stared shocked at Zatanna who stood protectively at his side, casting grim glances at the rest of her team.
"If it were not for Renegade, I would now be dead and with my entire chest incinerated and charred and all internal organs completely destroyed and burned and I, unlike him, possess neither an excellent healing factor nor can I return to life even after death." Zatanna pointed out usefully. "I think Renegade deserves a pass this time. After all, he literally gave his life for mine and sacrificed himself for me."
"No criminal deserves a pass, least of all one as dangerous as Renegade."
"Thanks for the compliment, Bats."
Batman glared at the Talon and gave a curt nod to Zatanna. "Step aside, Zatanna. You are clearly emotionally compromised as you feel indebted to him for saving your life."
The sorceress's gaze became hard and cold. "No. I will not move aside. If you attack him, I will fight by his side until he can leave."
All the heroes stared at her shocked as if they could not believe her words. Even Renegade was staring at her with a completely shocked and surprised look, his mouth wide open. "Zatanna... you shouldn't-"
"I'm going to do it anyway." she interrupted him. "You have helped me in more ways since we met in the Watchtower. It's my time to return the favor." she stated solemnly, meeting the shocked gaze of the mercenary with blue eyes that reflected her determination and firmness.
To say Dick was shocked was an understatement.
Zatanna was protecting him from Batman and the other heroes and was even prepared to fight against them, against her own friends and teammates... and all for him.
He was already beginning to think about what kind of gift to have delivered to her house when Batman's growl caught his attention. "Get away from him, Zatanna, or you will face severe repercussions for your insubordination."
Zatanna proudly met his gaze without ever wavering. "Dare me. I'm not your fucking pawn, Batman."
Renegade nodded proudly at her and threw a smirk in the direction of the Caped Crusader who was seething with pure rage. "Did you hear her, dude? Now step back or I will kick your ass so hard your ass will burn for at least a month." he threatened him with a nonchalant but frightening grin, smiling at a few giggles.
Thanks to his enhanced vision and thanks to his training and reflexes he had already seen the movement of Batman who had grabbed several batarangs and thrown them towards him. He was already ready to grab them but never had the opportunity because the event of that day, which probably shocked him more than anything else, happened.
And it had been a damn day full of shocking events even for him.
He very cleverly gasped when there was a movement in the air that moved his hair back and the next thing he saw was Wonder Woman protectively in front of him, her hands closing around the batarangs which were easily destroyed under her strength.
"How dare you." Wonder Woman snarled coldly, her gaze harder than steel aimed on the Gotham vigilante. "How dare you try to hurt the person who saved the life of one of our teammates? How dare you try to hurt someone who literally died to save Zatanna's life and was of fundamental importance in stopping Klarion?"
Renegade had never witnessed a Wonder Woman so pissed off and he quickly promised himself not to make her so pissed off at him because damn it all, her anger was fucking scary.
And also exciting but for obvious reasons he kept that comment to himself because, although he had no self-preservation instincts, he was not suicidal.
"Are you protecting a murderer now too?" Batman growled, giving her one of his infamous bat-glares, as Dick called them.
Unfortunately for him, the demigoddess wasn't intimidated in the slightest. "I am not protecting a murderer but a hero for the action he performed." she growled back. "Hardly an assassin, in its worst meaning and conception, would have died to save the life of a super-heroine. At least for today he has earned the title of hero after such a noble sacrifice that he was not forced to make."
The acrobat stared in complete shock at his childhood crush, the words missing for the first time in his life - a hero? Him?-, while the discussion continued.
"Renegade must be brought to justice. Now step aside or-"
"Don't you dare disrespect me like that, Batman." Wonder Woman interrupted him coldly, her blue eyes shining with anger that simultaneously scared and excited Dick like never before. "Although I don't use it often, I hold the leadership role of this team as much as you and Superman. You can't order me around like I'm your little dog." she sent him a sharp smile. "Only on paper we are on the same level because otherwise I am completely superior to you and we both know who would win in a fair fight."
At that moment Dick longed for some popcorn to enjoy the show and how Wonder Woman was roasting and totally humiliating the Dark Knight.
The good news was that his mask was recording everything and he would be able to watch the show with his father again, this time with real popcorn.
If possible Batman's body became even stiffer than usual. His jaw clicked in anger as he clenched his fists. However, he never had the chance to speak because the Amazon preceded him.
"Now you will let go of Renegade or I will personally make sure to break both of your legs in a way that would take your human body weeks to heal." Wonder Woman cracked her fists menacingly, coldly narrowing her eyes into slits. "Am I clear?"
For a moment a tense silence reigned and the two heroes stared at each other menacingly for a few minutes. Renegade actually held his breath for a full 3 minutes and 48 seconds, that is, until the silence was broken by the Caped Crusader who grunted and walked away, his mantle fluttering dramatically behind him.
The young assassin's masked eyes focused on Wonder Woman who was still staring at the retreating figure of Gotham's vigilante, his thoughts completely in turmoil.
Of all the things that could have happened in his life, Dick would never have imagined that he would be defended by none other than Wonder Woman with such a protective and ferocious defense towards him to the point of physically threatening one of her best friends aka Batman himself!
If someone had said this to Dick a few minutes earlier, he would have laughed in their face and thrown them into the same cell of the Joker because such an idea was simply crazy and unthinkable.
And yet that was what actually happened.
A sensation of heat quickly spread throughout the acrobat's body, enveloping every single fiber of his being. He had only felt such happiness and contentment on such a high level a handful of times in his entire life. At that moment he felt like the happiest person in the entire universe and damned if he feel good!
Renegade was initially totally shocked and surprised by her deadly and lethal anger towards Batman and by such an intense and ferocious protection towards him: only after overcoming the initial shock did he begin to feel that sensation of warmth, pleasantness and happiness that it completely overwhelmed him, compounded by the fact that every word that came out of her mouth was so obviously the pure truth.
Dick was truly honored that Wonder Woman had such a high opinion of him: he would never have expected it but for once he was happy to have been proven wrong.
He was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts when a hand positioned itself on his arm, bringing his automatic instincts and reflexes into play which pushed him to grab and squeeze said hand tightly. He stopped when he recognized that the hand belonged to Wonder Woman and stopped himself just in time to avoid flipping her violently to the ground.
That would definitely be one of his worst bullshit ever, especially after everything she had done for him.
"Sorry, Princess." Renegade apologized embarrassed, releasing her hand. He gave her a half-smile. "Mercenary and assassin instincts, you know?"
Wonder Woman snorted in amusement. "I understand that." she nodded in understanding. "Are you okay?"
Once again the Talon found himself touched by her genuine concern for him. "I'm fine, Princess. Thanks for asking." he nodded, receiving a nod in return. "You know, you didn't have to do that for me. And neither do you, Zatanna." he spoke, obviously referring to their protective and fierce defense towards him.
"I couldn't stand by and let Batman try to arrest the boy who without hesitation saved my life by literally dying for me when he had no reason to do so." Zatanna said, fixing the other seventeen-year-old with a deep, serious look. "For this I can never thank you enough."
"Zatanna is right." the Amazon nodded, her wonderfulblue eyes fixed so intensely on Renegade that he felt his legs turn to jelly. "I couldn't let Batman hurt the one who saved my friend and teammate's life. You deserve all my respect, young warrior: I will never forget what you did today for the Justice League."
Renegade moved on the spot, slightly uncomfortable with so many compliments from them, especially from his childhood crush. The warm sensation from before, if possible, increased even more and it was a damn fantastic sensation to feel.
And he'd be lying if he said he didn't feel a shiver of pleasure run down his spine when Wonder Woman called him "young warrior": he knew that was basically the best title she could give him.
"I haven't done that much, after all." he murmured, suddenly feeling shy.
Strange feeling to say the least and never felt while he was in his mercenary identity.
Wonder Woman sent him an amused smirk that fluttered his chest nervously. "Modesty doesn't suit you, Renegade." she said, making the acrobat laugh. "As one of the three leaders, I speak and thank you on behalf of the Justice League for saving Zatanna's life, heroically sacrificing yours."
"It wasn't a problem at all. I knew that I would not stay dead, that I would be resurrected in a short time and that the wounds would heal within minutes, no matter how severe." Renegade stated with a nonchalant shrug.
It literally wasn't a problem for him at all: after all, he had already died countless times during his dark period with the Court of Owls and none of his deaths were pleasant, especially the first ones when he wasn't even the slightest bit used to it.
An unreadable look crossed the face of the princess of Themyscira but before she could speak Superman floated in the air towards them. "Wonder Woman is right." he began, landing softly on the ground next to them. "All of us are extremely grateful for your noble and heroic gesture. We were also a little uncomfortable with Batman's idea of trying to arrest you after finding out that you were literally dead just minutes ago from saving our teammate's life." he said, gesturing to the rest of the League behind him.
"The big guy is right." Green Lantern intervened with a nod. "We definitely didn't feel like arresting you after your sacrifice, considering the fact that you're literally a boy of only seventeen."
"That and you would almost certainly have kicked our asses for the third time." Flash added helpfully.
After a short chuckle Renegade frowned. "In this case, age doesn't matter. I thought you had learned your lesson after all this time."
"That doesn't take away the fact that a seventeen year old died to save our teammate, never mind if you can resurrect and that your healing factor heals everything in a short amount of time." Wonder Woman pointed out with a soft voice and looks, receiving a few nods from the other heroes.
"But that doesn't mean we'll go easy on you next time we meet, Renegade." Hawkgirl challenged him, pointing her spiked mace in his direction. "Sooner or later we will defeat you, boy."
The mercenary chuckled. "I wouldn't dream of it any other way. However, yours will remain a mere hope." he stated while giving them a shark-like grin, mentally chuckling as some of the heroes trembled.
Dick decided it was time to leave because otherwise he would have committed the stupidest act of his life.
That is, kissing Wonder Woman in that moment because damn her Dick could hardly contain himself in front of her so sweet and tender gaze focused on him, in addition to all the compliments she had given him up until that moment.
He cleared his throat and smiled at all the heroes. "Well, thank you for your beautiful words but it's time for me to leave. I have many things to do. You know, assassin and mercenary stuff." he chuckled at the heroes' uncomfortable looks. "So I greet you. Heroes." he nodded respectfully to all of them and when he looked at Wonder Woman his entire posture softened noticeably and, when he spoke, his voice came out tender and respectful. "Princess." he said softly, hoping to convey his gratitude for what she had done for him just by his tone of voice.
Wonder Woman's surprised look immediately softened and from her slightly brighter and more radiant gaze than before, Dick was confident that she understood and he automatically smiled back.
All of this didn't mean Renegade wouldn't leave without a pinch of theatricality, though: he grabbed a smoke bomb from his utility belt and threw it to the ground, chuckling with his eerie laugh that quickly spread throughout the area.
As he walked away he laughed silently as he heard several heroes cursing loudly.
"For God's sake- was that really necessary, dude?"
When he returned to the Wilson home in New York his father was already waiting for him in the living room, absentmindedly cleaning one of his guns. The first thing Dick did was to wrap Slade in a hug so tight that he heard the man's bones creak slightly: however, the more experienced assassin didn't complain and returned the hug, giving his son a few pats on the back.
"I missed you so much, dad." he murmured, his face planted on the man's warm, lively chest. "At first, when I understood the situation, I feared the worst."
"I'm here, kiddo. I'm not going anywhere." Slade assured him in a low, warm voice, his fingers stroking the back of his neck protectively.
They remained wrapped in the embrace for a few seconds before Renegade reluctantly moved away and then tore off his mask and finally threw himself on the sofa with a deep sigh.
Slade looked at him sympathetically. "Long day?"
Dick grunted. "You can say it loudly. So, what was the goal of the Light? I'm sure that separating adults and kids served the Light to distract the heroes from their real goals."
"Once again your detective skills are excellent, kiddo." Slade praised him, a small smile as he saw his son preen slightly. "In the adult world, my job was to foment a riot, accusing the scientists at Gotham's STAR Lab who knew more than they were revealing about the disappearance of children and teenagers. Some agents of the Light had the task of exploiting this distraction put in place by me to recover a briefcase from the laboratory without anyone noticing."
"What are the contents of the briefcase?"
"The last piece of the echinoderm from Atlantis. In short, it should have used by the Light to create havoc in Atlantis."
"Did you manage to come up with a plan to stop them?"
"Yes but you won't like it."
"Obviously." the acrobat muttered and nodded to his father.
"The only way to prevent them from recovering the briefcase was to secretly inform the League of Assassins of the Light's plan so that they could stop the agents of the Light by simulating the fact that they too were interested in the contents of the briefcase in such a way as not to arouse suspicion."
Dick absorbed the information and finally groaned. "So you're telling me that Talia, Sandra, Jade, Tatsu and the rest of the League of Assassins now know how you're a mole infiltrating the Light and how I've been secretly foiling their plans over and over again?" he summarized and whimpered at the nod. "I'm so fucked." he sighed, glancing at his phones -both personal and work- as if they might explode at any moment.
"In fact they were planning to visit here very soon to give you a piece of their mind." Slade warned, lifting his bottom lip a few inches in amusement at his son's tired, panicked look.
He would have enjoyed seeing his son chewed up by his overprotective aunts and older sister, finally being able to take revenge on him for once.
Speaking of which…
"You know, during the Light meeting where the others were complaining about the failure of the plan, Klarion said something that caught everyone's attention." he began casually.
Dick froze and stared into the ex-soldier's single gray eye, swallowing nervously at his cold gaze.
Oh shit.
"He mentioned how he killed you by burning all your internal organs and how you resurrected like two minutes later and how your charred and incinerated chest healed within minutes as did your organs." Slade narrowed his gaze at his son menacingly, growling slightly. "Do you want to explain this to me, Richard?"
Also full name. Man, I'm so fucked.
"In my defense he launched the attack on Zatanna and, you know, she can't resurrect every time nor does she have a healing factor." Dick defended himself. "I couldn't let her die!"
"Explain from the beginning."
The Talon sighed but obeyed and explained everything to his father from the beginning.
At the end of the story Slade growled coldly, his gray eye flashing dangerously. "I'm going to kill that bastard and have fun doing it."
"You still can't kill him and you know it too." Dick reminded him helpfully, not surprised by his father's overprotectiveness. "It would blow our cover."
Slade stared at him for a few seconds, clearly displeased, before grunting. "When we'll kill the members of the Light, he'll be mine to kill."
"Done deal."
"The others of the Light asked me what your weakness was." Dick let out an absent-minded hum and Slade continued. "Of course I lied and told them that you have none and that you are practically immortal. I would have enjoyed their shocked looks if it weren't for that damn light covering the screens."
Dick snorted before frowning. "Now that I think about it, I would like to kill Klarion personally. He made me lose the bet with Jade."
"What bet?"
"Do you know that my last death was back in the days of the Owls and that I have never died in the field since I became Renegade?" the younger one waited for the nod before continuing. "I made a bet with Jade that I wouldn't die as Renegade until I was at least 20 but now because of that damn fucking sorcerer I lost the bet. And also $500."
Slade stared at him impassively. "You bet Jade $500 on your death."
Dick raised an eyebrow and shrugged casually. "Obviously. It's a sibling thing."
"Obviously." the more experienced mercenary drawled sarcastically. "You know, I will enjoy myself endlessly when you inevitably have to tell Talia, Jade, Sandra and Tatsu about your death."
Dick's skin became even paler than usual, making his dark veins more prominent. He groaned. "Fuck. What a fucking amazing day."
"Except for the part where Wonder Woman showered you with praise and compliments, right?" Slade teased with a shit-eating smirk, his eye twinkling mischievously.
Dick stared at him with a flat, indifferent look. "I advise you not to even start on that if you want to listen to Wonder Woman roasting Batman."
Slade remained silent but his smirk grew in size, chuckling when his son sent him the middle finger.
Even before anyone said anything, Dick's civilian phone rang. He stood up and sighed wearily when he read the name I Hate Monkeys on his screen.
"Clark really needs to stop gossiping with Conner every damn time."
Just to make this day even more impossible to forget. Fuck, I haven't felt this mentally tired in years, dammit.
The first thing Zatanna noticed when she returned home was that on her table in the living room there was the most beautiful and fantastic sorceress top hat she had ever seen. She went to examine it more closely and noticed the note next to it, written in digital characters, and took it.
Thanks again for everything, Zee.
If you ever need my services for any reason, they will be completely free to my favorite magician friend.
From your favorite anti-hero mercenary,
Renegade.
Zatanna smiled softly and felt her eyes tingle slightly.
Thank you for giving me the trust I needed and for saving my life by sacrificing yours, Ren.
Zatanna would be lying if she said she didn't like the nickname Zee that Renegade had just given her. She knew that she should probably feel uncomfortable that Renegade could come and go from her house at any time but she wasn't at all: she now trusted him unconditionally after everything that had happened.
Her new sorceress top hat was definitely the most beautiful she had ever seen and after trying it on, it fit her perfectly: not too tight, not too loose. She snorted in amusement, not having to be surprised that Renegade had gotten the measurements perfectly right without even asking her.
She went for a much deserved nap with two thoughts on her mind.
Renegade is a good guy and nothing will convince me otherwise.
And
Diana is a fucking lucky woman.