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The team had only been on the island of Santa Prisca for an hour when things went south. Robin had already resolved within himself that this was just standard mission procedure at this point. There was probably a rule book somewhere that said they couldn't properly complete an assignment without blowing something up.
Kobra and his goons thought that they could take over Bane's reacquired turf again, since he clearly didn't learn last time. The two rival dealers were already going at each other by the time the team got there, and Robin was half-tempted to just let them take each other out. Unfortunately, his teammates didn't share his sentiment, with the exception of maybe Artemis. Though the Boy Wonder did have to admit he was looking forward to a rematch with Kobra.
Surprisingly, it was Kaldur who slipped up first. Two groups of goons were shooting at each other from opposite sides of an empty warehouse, and a stray bullet had nicked the Atlantean on the arm, shocking him and causing him to unintentionally cry out. The sound alerted the fighting villains to their position, and they wordlessly united against a common enemy. The team instantly "returned fire."
Robin vanished into the shadows, on the hunt for the two leaders. Bane would be smart enough to know what was going on by now, but Robin didn't know enough about Kobra to make an accurate assumption.
The first of the leaders Robin found was Kobra, and he wasted no time in a surprise attack. The man, if one could even call him that, was twice the teen's size, but the Boy Wonder felt confident in his skills. They had been interrupted last time, and Robin had had more practice and experience since then.
"We just keep bumping into each other here, don't we?" he cackled and twisted out of the way of an oncoming punch.
Kobra smirked. "Yes, it appears we do."
Robin attempted to get the upper hand, but he was matched blow for blow by his opponent. At one point, Kobra was able to land a solid kick, sending the thirteen year old flying through a wall of the rather crowded warehouse. Robin coughed and tried to regain his bearings, slamming a fist on the ground angrily. He had gone up against better, stronger, faster. He should be able to take on someone like Kobra alone by now, in his opinion.
When their resident bird came crashing in, the team had already subdued most of the goons and had just finished tying up most of the ones that were still conscious. The group of heroes got into defensive positions as Robin picked himself up. None of them missed his particularly dark glare or the way he was favoring his left wrist.
Kobra strutted in through the hole he had created, cracking his knuckles as he did so. His gaze was set on the young teen, much like a true cobra would stare down their prey.
Robin, to his credit, looked more than ready to take him on, but the team suspected that much his enthusiasm had turned into bravado. No human boy can handle getting thrown through a wall and just keep walking as if nothing happened.
Kobra prepared to strike first, but before he could, a black and orange form leaped down the rafters and stood between him and Robin. The new arrival drew a katana from his back and pointed it at the villain.
"I would choose your next step very carefully," Deathstroke warned as his single eye stared down Kobra. Everyone in the room paused.
Kobra furrowed his eyes at the mercenary, and his gaze flickered between him and the Boy Wonder. A predatory gleam entered the man's eye, but the glint of a rather lethal looking katana reflected it back at him.
"Very well," he hissed and stepped backwards into the shadows, "Until we meet again."
Deathstroke waited until he could no longer see the man before he sheathed his blade. The assassin turned around and strode up to Robin, ignoring how his teammates had lowered back down into defensive positions as if they could actually pose a threat to him.
The mercenary, to their surprise, bent down to Robin's level and gingerly took his left wrist in his hands. The teen sucked in a sharp hiss, and the man released it. He had seen all that he needed to.
"Your wrist is broken," he stated matter-of-factly, "He threw you quite a ways, didn't he?"
Robin grinned, "Yeah, but I still managed to get in a few good hits."
Deathstroke's eye narrowed, "You shouldn't have engaged him in the first place. You weren't ready."
"Says who?!" Robin demanded. Deathstroke stood and crossed his arms as he stared down at the boy. Robin craned his neck up to keep eye contact and mirrored his stance, ignoring the pain in his wrist.
"Your team was in the middle of a fight in here, and you left them to take on an opponent who could have killed you if I hadn't stepped in."
"I would have been fine! I was handling it."
"Clearly," he scoffed before his gaze turned dark, "And what would have happened if you weren't thrown through that wall? What would have happened if you kept fighting outside where none of your precious team members could have helped you. You would be dead, Robin."
Robin knew he was right, but he was loathed to admit it. Instead he picked up on the underlying message the mercenary was sending his way.
"I always knew you cared. Looks like I owe Rose twenty bucks."
The Boy Wonder got the distinct impression that Slade was smirking beneath his mask. The assassin hummed noncommittally, and he seemed to be seriously considering something.
"This discussion is far from over."
"Dude! What's going on?!" Wally exclaimed, drawing the unusual pair's attention and reminding them that they had an audience.
"Chill, KF," Robin drawled.
Artemis drew her bow back, aiming an arrow at the mercenary. She didn't like the familiarity between him and the kid she had grown to see as a younger brother. Villains never saved the heroes, not unless they had some sort of ulterior motive. And she was especially wary of Deathstroke. She had heard of the man through her father. Sportsmaster would sometimes rant about his competition, stating how he and the man in the two-toned mask were rivals of some sort, though Artemis always got the feeling Deathstroke was far more dangerous.
One did not simply become the most expensive and highly sought after assassins overnight, which was why she didn't like the idea of Robin standing so close to him. The kid might be the protégé of the Bat, but even this was pushing it.
"Robin, I think it would be best if you explained what is going on here," Kaldur reasoned. He didn't know who this stranger was, but he tell that the man was dangerous.
"Team, meet Deathstroke, world's greatest assassin," Robin introduced casually, as though the mercenary behind him was just another family friend, "Deathstroke, this is my team."
The one-eyed assassin kept his arms crossed over his chest as he assessed the teen's friends, and they did the same.
"Dude! Seriously? He's an actual assassin? What are you doing?" Wally demanded. His best friend had never mentioned meeting an assassin, let alone Deathstroke of all people. The man was on the Justice League's Red Alert list as one of the top three! This guy was a legitimate threat, and his best bud was standing right next to him without a care in the world.
"To be fair, he really only kills other bad people," Robin mused, "...most of the time."
"Not helping," the speedster deadpanned.
"Oh come on, it's not like we haven't hung out with Cheshire on occasion," he drawled, rubbing a hand over his masked eyes as he did so.
Artemis spluttered in surprise, "You've been hanging out with Cheshire?!"
Wally sweat-dropped, "Me and Rob, and it's only because of Roy, I promise."
"Not that I don't enjoy this display of teen drama," Deathstroke interrupted, "but I think it would be best that I get going. Are you all right, Robin?"
"Huh? What? Yeah," he waved dismissively, "Yeah, I'm fine."
The little bird wavered on his feet, and the assassin caught him before he could face-plant on the ground. Robin groaned.
"I would check to see if you have a concussion, but I know how picky that Bat is about your identity," Deathstroke stated.
"He knows your secret identity and we don't?" Superboy asked, his annoyance temporarily overriding his concern.
"S'okay," Robin slurred, "I know his too, so we're square."
"Definitely a concussion. That's the only thing that makes you have such a loose tongue," Deathstroke concluded and hoisted the boy into his arms. Robin struggled but to no avail.
"I can walk."
"In a straight line?"
"...You're no fun."
The mercenary looked up at the team, "Assuming you all didn't swim here, lead me to your transport. I'll carry him."
"Yeah, right. Like we trust you," Superboy glared.
"I could walk out with him right now, and none of you could stop me," he challenged, more than happy to rile up the Kryptonian, "Be grateful I'm here at all."
"You can trust him, guys," Robin added, his eyes lowering as they all started walking, "He doesn't lie. Bends the truth maybe, but not lie."
Deathstroke shifted his hold to shake him slightly, "Robin, stay awake."
"Okay. Why are you here, anyways?"
"I hear things," he replied slyly, "And seeing Bane slip away from the scene was a pretty big giveaway that you were in some sort of trouble."
"Superboy did clock him real good last time," the Boy Wonder grinned, causing the other team members to smile at the memory.
"Now why are you here?"
"Mission," he shrugged, "It didn't exactly go as planned though, but that's nothing new."
"How did you two meet?" M'gann asked as she flew up to them.
"Contract," Deathstroke supplied and nudged Robin to finish, so he could keep his mind occupied long enough to make it to the Bioship.
"A Gotham mob boss hired him to kill my civilian ID, but what he wasn't counting on was that somebody else had already ordered a hit on him. So Deathstroke didn't have to kill me after taking out that guy."
"But who would call out a hit on your civilian ID?" Wally asked, concern lacing his tone.
"Tony Zucco."
Wally could feel his hands balling into fists. He was the only one on the team that knew who Robin was under the mask, and Dick had told him the tragedy of his parents. For a brief moment, the speedster could feel a seed of gratitude toward the assassin. Dick no longer had to live with that shadow hanging over him.
When the team finally arrived at the Bioship, Slade stood Robin on his feet and looked him over one last time.
"And you promise to go straight to the medbay as soon as you arrive?"
"Yes, yes, quit badgering me," Robin drawled playfully, "You're worse than Wintergreen."
"That might be stretching it. I'll see you in a few weeks."
Robin waved his goodbyes as the mercenary vanished into the shadows. He turned around to find his friends gaping at him.
"What?"
"I could sort of understand you hanging out with Red Hood, because he's your brother and all, but seriously, Deathstroke the Terminator?"
"Dude, how do you make friends with everyone? Is that a superpower you forgot to tell us about?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"What we mean to ask, is how did you befriend such a dangerous enemy?" Kaldur clarified.
Robin shrugged as they all took their seats in the Martian ship, "I don't know. It started out as kind of a mutual obsession that became sort of an understanding. His kids kinda semi-adopted me, so now I go over to their house once in a while for supper. He also trains me from time to time, it just depends."
Yeah, there was no way he was going to tell them about Slade's offer to become his apprentice. He may have turned the man down, but they didn't need to know about that whole situation. Besides, the connection could come in handy someday.
"Deathstroke has kids?!" Artemis gasped.
"Yeah, they're pretty chill. I can't go into too much detail about them though, for obvious reasons."
Wally laughed and shook his head, "Man, you're crazy. You know that?"
Robin leaned back in his seat with a smirk, "Yep, I'm the good kind of crazy, unlike a certain speedster."
"Hey!"
And that was how Robin deflected the conversation away from his more deadly affiliation. Now, he just had to blackmail them into not telling Batman.