Project W.I.N.G.

Chapter seven

Uff, this is gonna be a long chapter again. A lot of dialogue, a lot of backstory...
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135,5 hours before (6 days):
8:30 am
Secret location

It came as a surprise, not necessarily an unpleasant one, that Kayla had taken the teenagers hostage faster than Deathstroke had anticipated. It forced him to slightly alter his plans though.

But now he could see Cain's wide eyes, Brown's furious expression, Todd's murderous lazarus-glowing orbs, Drake's down-curved mouth and Damian's... well, there were a lot of different emotions flashing though the boy's eyes.

He seemed angry, obviously, but Slade hadn't missed the flinch when the door was pushed open. In the days he had been captured, Castor and Slade had visited him once, other than that, he had been kept in total silence in the white room.

It had taken an impressing amout of time for it to take effect, but Damian had reacted quite startled when his siblings had been pushed into his room of solitude. And not merely out of worry for his kin.

A small smile grazed the mercenary' s lips. Perfect.
He had one more thing planned for the boy. It would never be enough to push an al Ghul over the edge, but despite it all, Damian was just twelve and it would at least leave lasting effects.

But first things first.

He pushed Grayson forward, watching as he stumbled into Cain, who immediately wrapped her arms around him protectively. The eldest sibling patted her back reassuringly, turning to face Slade, subtly placing himself in front of his sister. From the look on the ex-assassin's face, she realized Grayson's intentions too.

Seizing up the vigilantes, it was obvious Todd was this close to lunging himself at Slade, while Damian looked like he was torn between aggressively growling and defensively hissing.

Like a kitten backed in a corner.

He chuckled silently at the mental image.

"Now, Grayson. I am going to have a talk with some of your siblings here, while you tell the rest of them of our... shared history."
The vigilante's eyes widened and Slade hold up his hand as the kid tried to say something. "This is not up for debate. I told you, you have agitated me enough as it is, don't test me."
Grayson's eyes lowered to the floor in a way that was all too familiar to Slade.

When they had first clashed, the kid had been thirteen short years old, running around with the Bat and flipping off people's shoulders. It had taken some work (and an unmentionable amount of money) to get the kid in his grip, but after some time of molding and a very subtle form of brainwashing (the carrot and the stick, so to speak), the former Robin had become so damn compliant. The though made his skin tingle pleasurable.

(Though sadly enough, Richard joining that team of sidekicks had undone all side effects Robin's time with the merc had left.)

Forcing himself out of his thought, Slade pulled a gun out of the holster on his thigh. The teenagers (did 13 year old Damian count as a teen? Slade wasn't sure) all stiffed, scooting closer together. Cute. "I am not going to shoot you." He smirked wickedly, although it was hidden by his mask. "Unless you give me a reason to, of course." No one moved.

Slade swiftly clamped his hand around Todd's arm, hauling him to his feet. The gruff looking teen scowled, white strands falling into his eyes, baring his teeth. Of all the Bat's children, Todd was the most unhinged, but he also had undeniable potential. Slade pressed the gun against the kid's temple, safety off. He pulled him close to his chest, watching the other heroes over the kid's shoulder. Damian was clenching his fists tightly as his sides, body stiff as a bow. Slade wondered briefly if the boy would attack him, but quickly discarded the thought.