Rather Be On Top

chapter six

"You have completed your training, Renegade. Today is a day of celebration. You have graduated from your previous title, today, on your sixteenth birthday, you are ready to begin your next level of training. Today is the start of your ascent to the throne."

It was the great day.

Damian turned sixteen today.

After three years of more than difficult training, hardships, allies both gained and lost over time, the armies he's led across the world and the assassins he's trained and killed, he felt ready.

Sixteen was a big deal for the heir of the al Ghul family. It meant that today, he was no longer the apprentice of Deathstroke or the mentee of his mother and grandfather.

Today, he was his own individual who could do whatever he wanted, fighting whoever he pleased and planning for anything no matter how dire and dangerous for even the villains closest to him.

Today Renegade was named an official villain ready to take on the world.

He now had a higher authority. With his new power, Damian could recruit new assassins on his own, build his own personal army if he pleased. He would create some of the best soldiers actually, it was one of his first step to take over a city.

His first city would be Star City too.

Deathstroke already had his back in many things and while Deathstroke prefered to be the referee in all things involving the underworld, he would easily support Damian in his path of world domination.

Slade wrapped an arm around Damian's neck and pulled him closer. "Look how far you've come, kiddo. All grown up. Stop by my base later. Wintergreen and I have a present, kay? Rose has one too."

"I will be there then. I am patrolling your city tonight anyway."

"Perfect."

Today was a sentimental day for sure. While it was one to be celebrated, he preferred quiet celebration with the few people he valued as normal human beings. Normal was a little far fetched to call a group of villains but that was his definition of normal at least. Additionally, he still had work to do. Even though it was supposed to be a day of resting and relaxing to think over the past three years of nonstop missions and lessons to learn from to add onto his list of experiences, he had a long list of to-do's that he would rather be completed as quickly as possible.

Three years of learning spent for these next few years ahead of him.

If such a risky and uncalculated plan of his three years ago was able to be pulled off, then his future plans that would be strategic and in place were sure to have a complete success rate.

Step one: Recruit

In this single step alone were multiple other steps under it. Of course there was the recruiting but even then, he still needed to train his recruits to do everything his way. He had to teach him the ways of the assassin and his moral code. How to be obedient and loyal to him alone. Now he had to think to himself. Did he want a large army to where his soldiers would be expendable or did he prefer a small crew that were equally as trained as he was in his fight to take the world?

So many possible choices in each phase of his brilliant plan of the decade.

As much as he wanted to go to Jason for help too, he couldn't. Ever since Damian became an al Ghul, he purposely limited his contacts to villains only. He would go to Jason or Roy sometimes but that was rare now because while Jason was an anti-hero, he still leaned towards the hero business.

But Damian needed people he knew who were skilled. If he couldn't find anyone then he'd settle for seeking out the best of the best of assassins.

And then a few people came to mind and Damian suddenly straightened. "That works." The process would be faster with Rose or Jason helping him but this was a job he had to do alone. Besides, both Rose and Jason were anti-heroes and Roy was an independent hero.