A Twist of Fate

(7K) Bonus

!Trigger Warning!

Big Time!

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Slade sat his helmet on the kitchen. It had been a stressful night. Batman just had to interferer tonight, causing him to make sure he wasn't followed home. Wintergreen was currently asleep. Joey had been dragged back to Adeline's apartment. Apparently she came home early from her job in Europe and found that her son was with her ex-husband. She was not happy.

Taking in a lung full of air to sigh, he smelled it. It was something he'd been accustomed to after so many years of shedding it. It had a deep iron zest that you could almost taste. Slowly Slade made his way following the sent of blood. He didn't get the spike of anxiety until the sent led him to Dick's closed door.

He knocked gently, "Dick? Is everything good in there?"

He leaned in close to the door hoping to hear something but it was silent. Normally Slade liked the quite but this was different. It was as if a predator was about and the pray didn't dare make a sound. It was an uneasy silence.

He tried the knob. It was locked, "Dick, please open the door."

Nothing.

"Dick, I will open this door. Please open it."

He knew now he was being a bit harsh but that damned smell was plaguing him. After another nock and plea, he forcefully opened the door by slamming his shoulder into the sold wood. The lock gave and he was in. The boy on the other hand was not in the room. He could tell by the light peeking out from underneath the bathroom door.

"Dick."

Behind the door he could hear a soft shuffle. Almost to quiet for his ears to pick out.

"Dick, please open this door."

The door did not open. Slade tried this door knob. It turned. He thanked what ever being that was looking out for the boy. Slowly he creaked the door open. Slade didn't see Dick at first, being stuffed so far in the cabinet that he blended in, nearly seamlessly. Once he saw Dick, he saw the pool of blood.

"Dick!"

The boy flinched back and a whimper escaped his clenched teeth. Slade reached in to drag the boy out, only for the boy to scream in response. His hand froze inches from Dick's shirt. Having an internal debate for a brief moment, weighing the pros an cons. Slade grabbed Dick pulling him out from under the sink. It probably wasn't the best choice but he needed to stop whatever was bleeding.

Dick screamed again, trying to pull himself away. Slade didn't let him get way. Pulling him all the way out Slade did a quick assessment. The blood was coming from his left arm. Being quick, the old mercenary snatched a hand towel and pressed it on the gash or gashes. Dick squirmed, trying to pull away, tears streaming down his face.

"Shh, calm down. No one's going to hurt you. Shhhh." Slade cooed.

Dick stopped his struggling, shaking in Slade's arms, barring his tear soaking face into the man's chest. Slade kept a tight hold on the towel that was now soaking in blood. Wintergreen came barreling into the room, pants a sacque and no shirt in sight.

"Slade?!" Wintergreen rushed into the bathroom, eyes frantic, "My god, what happened?"

"Don't know. Get the first aid kit."

Wintergreen nodded, rushing out of the rooms and finding the first aid kit. Slade took another towel and placed it over the old. Dick just shook in his arms, occasionally a whimper would escape.

"I'm sorry." Dick whispered.

Slade hugged him close to his chest, "Shhh. You've done nothing wrong, Dick. No need to be sorry. Shhhhh." He ran his free hand through Dick's hair.

"Pain. They gave so much pain. Didn't know what do without pain." Dick clutched at Slade's armored suit, "I don't know what to do. Too, different. No pain. Why don't you give pain like them? You're an assassin like them. Why don't you give pain?"

If Slade wasn't as trained as he was, the killer would have flinched. The words were so pleading. Pleading for something he never should have gone through. Not knowing what to say or even how to say it. Slade just kept running his fingers through the boy's tangled, mangled, ebony hair. God the boy needed a shower.

Wintergreen came rushing in then with the first aid kit. Quickly, between Slade and Will, they were able to clean the cuts before wrapping them up as tightly as posable without cutting off blood flow to Dick's hand. Will made sure to clean everything up before leaving Slade with Dick.

If it weren't for the soft sniffles, Slade could have assumed that Dick had cried himself asleep. Slade glanced at the tub then to Dick before sighing. No, not today. It would be too stress full. Taking the boy in his arms, Slade made his way to the den. Dick clung to him like a monkey. Legs wrapped around his torso and arms near choking around his neck. The boy's face buried between an arm and Slade's collar bone.

At the entrance to the room, the mercenary debated over sitting on the couch or in the lazy boy rocker. He made himself comfy in the chair. The only sound in the room was Dick's soft hiccups and deep breaths.

"Dick," Slade said softly, "Could you perhaps tell me who had you before this?" The old killer had not in fact missed Dick's words of 'Assassin, like them'. Dick started to tremble in his arms. "Dick I promise to what ever fate has in store for me, that I will not give you back to them. Nor will I see you any differently. Ok?"

"Talon." The word was choked through the boy's throat, as he tried holding back a sob.

Slade sat in silence for a second, rubbing the boy's back as he thought. Talon. He knew that name. Knew that person. It was the person who slit Joey's throat. The person who nearly killed Grant. But he wasn't a person, not any more. He was an immortal killing, monster. A monster on strings of one vary powerful and vary screwed up organization.

"Court of Owls." Slade didn't realize he said the words aloud until the boy nodded against his chest, "Shhh. Don't worry. I'd die before handing you over. And they'd have to kill me to get to you."

Another round of sobbing took over. Dick pulling himself as close as he could with out fusing with Slade.

"P-p-pare-ents s-s-sai-d that." Dick said between tears, "Th-th-they no-ow dead."

Slade tightened the arms around the boy, "God, damn, this boy has seen to much. Been through too much." Slade thought. Out loud he cooed, "I won't let anything like that happen to you again."

Slade let Dick sob on and on and on, deep into the night and into the weaning morning. He didn't know what time Dick finally fell asleep. But his did know was when the old father woke up, a sweet angle faced boy was wrapped in his arms.

On that night, the Court of Owls had made one of their grater foes tip over that line between tolerance and enemy. The Court has made fierce enemies before. Batman and Ra' to name a few. But Slade was a different enemy. He could not die just like them. Healed rapidly. And had one thing they seemed to lack at times. He had a mind forged for war.

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Sorry this up late. It's been a week, nearly two, of hell at work.

Don't forget to check out my other stories. Got two other Young Justice stories! One squeal to this one.

~Jewels F. Wolf