Wonder Woman knocked on the door of the safe house and took a slight step back, absently observing her surroundings with Zatanna.
Early in the morning she had warned her colleagues of UN that she would be taking a few days off for personal reasons and with great impatience she had waited to somehow receive updates from Deathstroke. She didn't have to wait long when an anonymous message appeared on her phone showing her the address of a safe house, so she contacted the sorceress and together they headed there.
The door opened and the two superheroines' gazes darted forward, meeting the masked face of Deathstroke who simply nodded and moved to the side, silently inviting them to enter. The two women entered and followed the most dangerous mercenary in the world who led them into an enormous room in which there were four other figures, all female, who they instantly recognized.
Talia Al Ghul, current Demon's Head and leader of the League of Assassins. She was cleaning her guns with automatic, fluid movements.
Sandra Woosan aka Lady Shiva, the most lethal and deadly woman in the world and considered the best in hand-to-hand combat. She was gently chipping the blade of her sword on the table.
Jade Nguyen aka Cheshire, daughter of the expert mercenary Sportsmaster and one of the best assassins in the world. She was bouncing one of her daggers from one hand to the other.
Tatsu Yamashiro aka Katana, expert and skilled assassin and one of the best in combat with weapons such as katanas and swords. She was swinging her katana with expert movements.
All their gazes fell on the newcomers and the room was filled with tense, awkward silence.
"Nice choice of allies." Zatanna commented casually thus breaking the silence, nodding politely to the other older women.
Although the sorceress was a little uncomfortable being in the same room as some of the best assassins in the entire world, she forced herself to bury it deep inside because they all shared the same goal.
Save Renegade, no matter what.
She glanced at her teammate and wasn't surprised that Diana was totally at ease despite their menacing and dangerous presence because, well, she was the fucking Wonder Woman.
"They would have made me regret being born if I hadn't involved them in the rescue mission." Deathstroke snorted in response.
Wonder Woman tilted her head slightly to the side, remembering some words from the second best mercenary when he helped her in the alien invasion. "All of you are part of the League of Assassins, right?" she waited for confirmatory nods before continuing. "So all of you are like an extended family to Renegade."
Cheshire nodded, taking off her mask and revealing her emerald green eyes. "That's right. Renegade is my little brother in all but blood and is like a nephew to them." she finished by nodding at the other three assassins, her long dark hair reaching down to her back following the movement of her head.
Katana also took off her mask, revealing her Asian features which immediately hardened. "Waller crossed the line. We won't let her live on. Not after what she did to our boy." she growled, her brown eyes narrowed into menacing slits.
Talia and Sandra just nodded, their expressions mirroring their fierce anger towards Waller and protectiveness towards Renegade.
The Amazon raised her upper lip slightly in a smile of satisfaction and relief.
Definitely the most dangerous, ferocious and protective family ever. Their unconditional love for Renegade is obvious and they would do anything for him. I'm happy for him: he deserves a family like that.
To Zatanna and Wonder Woman's surprise, Deathstroke also took off his mask and they were shocked to see a black patch covering his entire right eye. The Justice League had always suspected that the world's deadliest mercenary had only one functioning eye since the black half of his mask was missing the eye slot, but seeing and confirming it in person was something else entirely.
"You can call me Slade or Deathstroke. As you prefer." he grunted before smirking wryly. "I'm sure Batman will reveal our identities to you soon, so there's no point in hiding it at this point. Although I will leave you the suspense about the surname." he ignored the surprised looks from the two superheroines and continued. "Enough chatter now. We need to save Renegade and as soon as possible too.
"The A.R.G.U.S. has numerous maximum security facilities not only in the United States but also in international territories. Zatanna, with magic you will discover which of them my son was locked up in."
"I need something personal to track him down."
"I know. That little suitcase" he pointed to the closed suitcase positioned on a piece of furniture in a corner of the room. "contains his previous armor when he was still my apprentice. I assume that's enough."
Zatanna nodded with a small smile. "It will be perfect for the tracking spell."
Meanwhile Slade had returned with a box full of files and placed it on the table. "The rest of us, however, will study A.R.G.U.S. in depth, in particular we must know as much as possible about Amanda Waller, the most important federal agent of this agency, and Sasha Bordeaux, the director." his single cold, angry gray eye rested on each of them. "Let's all get to work."
Diana had just started reading the file on Sasha Bordeaux when she heard someone approaching her and she shifted her gaze to the side, raising an eyebrow when she encountered the four female assassins. "Can I do something for you?" she asked politely.
Lady Shiva took a step forward, her brown eyes harder than steel staring intently at the Amazon. "I'll get straight to the point. What are your intentions with Renegade?"
"W-What?"
"Do you have romantic feelings for Renegade?" Talia asked bluntly
Them too?
Wonder Woman took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her heartbeat which had accelerated slightly. "I don't think this is any of your business, you know?"
"I really think so since we are his family and we know him much more than you." Tatsu pointed out, crossing her arms.
They know what happened to Renegade. The hell he went through.
The princess of Themyscira stared back, trying not to reveal anything. "I appreciate your concern and protectiveness towards Renegade. I'm serious. But I don't think you should get involved. Renegade and I… Renegade and I are just good friends."
Liar. You also know that this is not the case.
Shut up.
You can lie to others but not to yourself, Diana.
Do everyone a favor and remain silent, you traitorous mind.
"Let us give you a hint." Jade began, her hard gaze softening slightly. "If you don't feel anything for him it's fine. It's not like we can force you. But if there's even a chance that there might be something more between you two than just friendship, take it. Trust us: Renegade is simply the best person in this world without a shadow of a doubt. He would make you the happiest woman in the entire universe."
The hundred-year-old woman remained silent, feeling the familiar sensation of warmth and tingling -never felt in her entire long life except when she was dealing exclusively with Renegade- spread in her chest. Her heart began to beat a little faster, and she could recognize the feelings of excitement, joy and trepidation that erupted in every fiber of her being.
Diana let out a long, deep breath as her mind realized something extremely important.
I can't keep lying. Not to others but above all not to myself.
She stared at the four women in front of her, her blue eyes shining with determination. "What are we waiting for? Let's get moving and get everyone back to work." She growled, ignoring the suggestive smirks they exchanged.
Deathstroke never looked away from the file he was reading and behind it he hid the smirk that appeared on his face.
I love my enhanced hearing.
"I located Renegade's location!"
Everyone's attention fell on the sorceress who had a victorious smile on her lips. Slade sent her an impatient nod. "Well?"
"He is in the A.R.G.U.S. maximum facility security in a Colorado county."
"Great job." Diana congratulated her, chuckling silently at her bright smile. "What are you doing?" she asked the world's deadliest mercenary as she saw him sit in front of a laptop.
"Hack the prison and download the floor plan." he replied sharply and gestured vaguely in their direction without even looking at them. "See if you can find any useful information about the prison in the meantime."
So rude, although it's probably due to his concern for his son. In any case I wonder how Renegade became such a kind and caring person under his parentage.
"Guys, I found something important." Jade stated, her eyes trained on the bright screen of another laptop as her fingers fluttered over the keyboard. "The prison where Renegade is held is headed by Sasha Bordeaux herself."
"This will make things easier for us since she is the only one other than Amanda Waller who knows the civilian identities of us heroes." Diana observed helpfully.
"Exact." Jade nodded. "There's something else. Apparently… what the hell?"
Talia growled impatiently when the younger girl stopped speaking. "What?"
Cheshire shifted her vision from the screen to stare at everyone else, a shit-eating smirk forming between her lips. "About 300 inmates died last night."
A shocked silence hung over the room as all occupants came to the same conclusion. "It is impossible even for Renegade to kill so much criminal scum as just a normal human without armor, weapons and Tal-superhuman abilities."
Diana and Zatanna exchanged a look, both noticing Sandra's slight stumble as she seemed to want to say one thing but ended up saying another. In any case they agreed with her and expressed it.
"In fact, it seemed very strange to me too, which is why I decided to delve further into the prison servers to find the official report."
"Are you all such good hackers?" Zatanna couldn't help but ask.
Cheshire chuckled. "Renegade taught us all a few tricks of the trade." she explained, getting nods from the other assassins.
Diana smiled, slightly amused.
Not so surprising.
"What does the official report say?" Tatsu asked, redirecting the conversation in the right direction.
"It says that last night during dinner in the canteen a huge fight broke out between Renegade and practically all the inmates."
The Amazon stiffened, her heart skipping a beat in worry and fear.
"However, some criminal stole some cleavers from the kitchen and Renegade got hold of them, thus being able to get rid of the inhibitor collar and thus causing a total massacre and bloodbath." Jade concluded, her relieved and bright expression mirroring everyone else's.
"That's my son." Slade nodded, letting pride shine through his voice which surprised both superheroines.
Diana did not believe that it was possible that her admiration, pride and esteem towards the young assassin, already at the highest and unattainable levels, could grow further but it did.
Renegade will never cease to amaze me. This is one of his countless qualities that I like most about him.
She felt her cheeks heat up slightly at the thought and couldn't help the bright smile that broke across her lips.
The feeling of absolute relief that washed over her at the wonderful news Jade gave them was indescribable.
Renegade is currently safe. This is the only thing that really matters.
"I downloaded the prison plan." Slade then stated, turning serious again.
"Good. We'll have to start coming up with a plan right from that." Diana advised -though it sounded more like a firm order from her-, getting nods in response.
The assassins and heroes spent the rest of the day devising the rescue plan which was ultimately finalized during the afternoon of the following day.
Slade summarized the final plan for what must have been the third time. "The plan is quite simple. Is everything clear to all of you?" he asked again.
Jade huffed impatiently. "Yes, old man." she teased, chuckling at his flat look.
The mercenary sighed wearily and ignored her. "Good. As agreed, we will strike as soon as night falls."
A murmur of agreement spread through the room, and everyone rose from their seats, immediately starting to prepare their equipment.
Diana closed her eyes and released a deep breath. When she opened them again, her blue eyes shone with confidence and steely determination.
Hold on just a little longer, young warrior. We will save you soon.