Clipped Wings

Suspicions

At the Watchtower:
Batman studied the security footage from the warehouse the team's failed mission had been at. The thought of Deathstroke having an apprentice was troubling. His intent stare was focused on the apprentice that Miss Martian had said was called Talon. Though Batman would never admit it, he was impressed by the boy's talent. Each move was strong and swift, taking on everyone that came close. The hero watched as he went from one move to another, smoothly transitioning between them. Batman inhaled sharply as Talon did an intricate flip between kicks. That combination.... it was so much like -

"Enough." Batman muttered to himself. Dick was gone. There was more than enough evidence to prove that. Images flashed through his mind. A shadow in the shape of a small body imprinted into cement, the charred remains of Sportsmaster's staff lying on the ground. Batman pushed those images away, burying his emotions. After all, he was the Batman. That was his job.

The zeta tube announced the arrival of some of the other Leaguers. Batman sighed, forcing his face to portray no emotion. He would have to deal with that later. But, when the time came, those responsible for his son's death would pay.
Dearly.
------
Robin's P.O.V.

I rushed to hide the vial of drugs I was holding. The sound of footsteps traveling up the hall had caused panic to rise in my gut. I've had been hiding what was going on for months now. I can't lose. Not yet. As the door to the lab I was in slid open, I hurriedly wiped my face of any emotion, staring blankly as my "master" walked in with Luthor. I did my best not to look at them, only bowing slightly when Deathstroke walked past. The urge to trip them made me smirk, though I hid it from the ones present in the room.

"Lex." Deathstroke started roughly. "When is the next phase going to be ready? We've waited long enough. Our first test subject," he gestured to me. "Is clearly successful." I almost wanted to laugh at how wrong he was. "We need to move up higher." Lex turned towards me, appearing to debate with himself on how much he should say. I met his stare evenly, refusing to back down before he did. The man grinned, quirking an eyebrow.

"Are you positive that your apprentice," I hid my wince at the word. "Is completely on your side? What if I told you that we have evidence that he is no longer under our control?"

"Crap." I drew in a sharp breath, burying the overwhelming fear the was causing a knot in my throat.

"He's baiting you." I thought, repeating it over and over in my head. Deathstroke regarded me carefully, walking over to me. I felt grateful for the mask the covered all but my eyes. I needed everything I could to assist in hiding my fear. I stood my ground as Deathstroke raised a fist, as if he was going to strike me. I still refused to move as the fist went flying towards me, stopping within a mere centimeter of my cheek. I stood unflinchingly as he studied my posture. Then, after what seemed like eternity, he turned to Lex.

"Is this evidence for certain?" Lex grinned.

"No." He stated calmly. "In fact, we have no real evidence." I held in a sigh of relief. My hacking was still as good as ever. "We just needed to assure where loyalties lie." He reached over to the computer in front of him, bringing it to life with the click of a button. I let myself grin under my mask.

"Finally. Results." I watched as dots lit up on the map that was being displayed, and from what I could tell, each signified a base of operations. I quickly memorized the locations, storing the information away as Lex pulled up a new image on the screen.
"It's time for your next mission." I couldn't help but feel dread as I noticed the grin on the man's face. "Someone is paying us good money to get rid of this man," Lex pulled up an image of none other than Bruce Wayne. I grit my teeth as Lex droned on and on about the details of our new target, including where he worked, who he was affiliated with, and the list went on. I chuckled as a picture of the Daily Planet came up under the list of "Businesses owned" Deathstroke would be in for a rude awakening if he tried to go there. Throughout the briefing, I allowed my attention to wander slightly. After all, I could name everything on the list and more.

"Though I doubt Deathstroke will care what Bruce's favorite food is." I thought wryly. But even as I attempted to focus my thoughts, a nagging question still burned in my mind.

"Who?" Both men turned towards me, clearly surprised that I even dared to speak.

"I doubt that that information is relevant to the mission, is it?"

"Now, now, Slade. Why don't we satisfy his curiosity? He is, after all, one of us." Lex turned to face me directly. "I did." I stared at him, unsure of which was more odd. Him being involved in what would soon be an attempt on Bruce's life, or the fact that he was being completely open about it. "You see, Talon, Wayne Enterprises has incredible resources in all of the latest technology. Technology that could prove damaging to our operations." He turned back to the screen. "If Bruce Wayne dies, it should send the company into confusion, enabling us to send in our people to confiscate the tech we want."

"Ha, yeah right. Bruce has so many measure in place to keep that from happening, it would take me a week just to name half of them." I kept my thoughts to myself, nodding when Lex asked me if I understood. The gravity of the situation hit me as the briefing ended. I needed to warn Bruce, to keep him safe. I strolled calmly behind Deathstroke as we went to gear up for our mission. I silently begged for him to leave me, giving me just a moment to send out a message. I watched, waiting for him to go, waiting for my chance.

After strapping his weapons to him, Slade Wilson walked out of the room, leaving me alone, though I had no idea for how long. My eyes scanned the room I was in, searching for a way to access the mainframe. I grinned as I saw a small intercom system attached to the wall. I hurried to it, pulling it apart.

"Please work, please work." I muttered to myself. I plugged in the holopad I kept on my wrist, glad that even Deathstroke recognized that this would be useful.

"Though I doubt he thought it would be useful against him." I worked quickly, forcing myself to not focus on the "what ifs" that plagued my mind.
As I scrambled to come up with a way to contact the League, a shock ran through my body. A very painful shock. A scream died in my throat as electricity courses through me. Before darkness enveloped me, I saw the pair of boots that belonged to none other then the real Deathstroke.

Hey guys! I hope you are enjoying my story so far! I hope it doesn't seem like I'm dragging it along. Please let me know what you think of this story!