A Twist of Fate

Chapter 41

TRIGGER WARNING!!!!

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Slade was fuming. Cobb would pay. In the very least he was going to cause the old Talon a lot of pain. Batman seemed to have the same idea as he charged headlong into the sea of assassins. The Justice League followed quickly behind. Slade on the other hand went a roundabout way. He sealed as many entrances as he could, making sure not a single assassin left. How he closed the entrances with an explosion, until only one door was left.

Assassins stumbled out of the doorway, until the doorway was cut off. Some of the League followed the escaped assassins but Slade, Batman, and Superman were left behind with the remaining assassins. One of them shoved to the front, his mask thrown off and an angry sneer etched on his face.

"Cobb." Slade snarled.

The man pulled his swords, "The boy is mine, Deathstroke."

"He might be your grandson but he's my apprentice." Slade snarled back pulling his sword, giddy for a fight.

The two killers charged each other. The fight was a series of blows that hit and defected. On multiple occasions did they get his, only to heal seconds later. Superman winced ever time he heard bone crunch or if a bone popped out of place. It looked and sounded painful but neither of the assassins relented.

Slade dodged another blow and he swiped out. The blade sliced kevlar and skin, leaving behind a light gush of blood trickling from the wound. Cobb sliced right back, cutting a clean line across Slade cheek. The two jumped back out of the fighting zone, gasping for air. Sweat trickled from their brows, around the eyes, to gather at the base of the chin before dripping off to the blood covered floor.

"Give me the boy." Slade snarled.

Cobb laughed, "Don't think there's much left of him to teach."

All of Slade's heavily trained control snapped with that one sentence. Cobb didn't know what hit him until he was on the ground with three different swords pinning him to the floor like an insect. One sword in each forearm and another sword right between his hip and thigh on the right side. The swords had been stabbed through him, to the stone floor and all the way to the hilt. It would take someone with quite a might to get them back out.

Cobb laughed, "Didn't think you cared. After your sons and wife abandoned you, you'd think not to care about another. What was different about the boy then the rest? Already skilled? Maybe it was his blue eyes and onyx hair. Or his sweet sounds he can make."

Slade pulled his fist back and let fly. It hit Cobb's head with a bone shattering crunch.

Superman and Batman who were tieing up the rest of the assassins froze in shock. They had both heard what Cobb had implied. What shocked them was Slade's lack of control. With a rush of panic, Superman flew over.

"Did you just..." He trailed off.

Slade shook his head, "Talons are harder to kill then that. You have completely obliterated them to kill them. He'll be awake in a day but not before that."

The rest of the League walked in all carrying assassins, dumping them in the pile.

"So what do we do with all of them?" Green Arrow asked.

Batman sighed, "We leave them."

"Come again?"

"We leave them. They can't last more than a week without their little drug and some of them have been in cryo pods for centuries. We take them to prison, they die in a week. We leave them, they have a chance but a slim one."

The League looked around them.

"So..." Green Arrow prompted.

"They're the modern day zombies." Batman growled, "They don't feel pain. They are actually dead. Feel their pulse; they have none. The only thing they don't do is eat people. Their mindless killing assassins."

Flash whistled, "Wow and I thought that Ra' was bad. Now there's more immortal assassins? What has the world come too?"

Slade smirked under his mask, "I'm immortal, speedster. As is Dick, Jericho, and Rosa."

Flash dropped his mouth, "How? What? Wait, how?"

Slade chuckled darkly, "The good guys aren't always the good guys."

He left it at that, making his way back to the Bio Ship to see his sons. They should all be there by now. He could see just how bad Cobb had messed Dick up this time around. When he first took in Dick, he wouldn't even speak. He was so frightened that he hid in corners each time Slade got even the slightest irritated at anything. He also didn't eat much, only staring at the food for long bouts of time, until everyone had left the room.

It was a month into his stay that Slade caught him cutting. Dick had broken down and Slade had been there to catch him only for Dick to try and run away. Slade hadn't let him. Holding the small boy in his arms, pressing on the fresh cuts to stop the bleeding. It had taken hours for Dick to calm down and tell Slade everything. It was also the day Slade decided to adopt Dick. The road from that day was long, rocky, and one that Slade didn't want to endure again but would for Dick's sake.

The moment he walked into the Bio Ship, Canary stopped him.

"I know you are a master of control," The woman stated, "But do not stress him out or anyone else for that matter."

Slade frowned, not liking the cryptic warning and underline threat if he didn't comply. Taking the last few feet forward he paused in the doorway to the front of the ship. He could see Joey and Grant right off the bat, sitting near each other but not next to each other. Sitting in between his two elder sons was Kid Flash holding Dick.

The sight had Slade clutching at the door frame. Dick was wrapped up in a fluffy blanket but he could see the white bandages peeking out of the small slivers. His boy was also curled up as much as he could, face buried in the younger speedster's chest.

"Um, Mr. Deathstroke, sir?"

Slade broke out of his assessment to turn towards the female martian, "Yes?" His voice came out as a small growl and the girl jumped.

"You're hurting the ship." She pointed to his hands on the frame.

Slade took them off, "Sorry."

She gave him a small smile that looked genuine but stressed and scared. Slade turned from the girl to look at his son again. He looked so beaten. Dick's hand clenched and unclenched Wally's T-shirt, as trembles raked his body in an inconsistent pattern. Wally would shift ever so slightly and a whimper would escape Dick's mouth.

With slow steps Slade walked over, taking his helmet off in the process. Wally shied away, letting out a deep breath. Slade would have chuckled at the boy in another situation but right now his priority was his son. His small, kind, smart, and broken son.

Reaching out Slade ran a hand up and down Dick's exposed arm, "Dick? Richard."

Dick flinched awake, blinking a few times, "Tati?" His voice was small, almost disbelieving.

"It's me birdy."

A tear escaped, running down Dick's cheek, "Tati."