"You know, that general had a pretty penny on his head and you just made me lose him," Cheshire, the woman who I recognized from the series, spoke with a smirk as she twirled her sai and I frowned as I kept my back to the wall.
After all, both are assassins and letting one get behind me would mean death.
The air was thick with tension as the samurai assassin stepped forward, the glow of his new Kryptonite dagger shimmering with a sickly green hue, Cheshire walking to the opposite side of him.
With a grunt, I kicked backwards and shattered the desk, the shockwave of my kick cracking the flooring as well as I lowered my leg with a frown before raising my fists.
'I'm not skilled enough to face them both,' That was a fact I knew all too well, which means that I do not need to beat them. I just need to get out of here.
'Unfortunately, I don't think they'll let it happen,' I thought as I cracked my neck, watching the assassin shifting his stance to fit the dagger more while Cheshire did the same.
"So, you two ready to dance?", Cheshire didn't answer as she lunged in, aiming a right swing low and I quickly sidestepped while throwing a downwards punch that would have shattered her ribs.
She easily twisted around it though and hopped to the side right as the samurai rushed in, quickly standing up right as he dodged my initial jab and stabbed at my neck.
Pain exploded in my left arm as I caught his wrist, feeling the radiation flowing through my body as he twisted his wrist free before swinging at my chest.
I was more worried about the Kryptonite dagger than about the fact that a human was even capable of keeping up with me, pulling back to dodge his swing before ducking under his slash at my neck.
He was quick to shift the blade and stab at the back of my neck right as I caught his wrist and spun out of the way, pulling his arm behind his back before chopping at his elbow.
He dropped the Kryptonite dagger with a pained grunt, but I hissed as he kicked its hilt with his heel and delivered a gash across my leg before I spun around right as Cheshire stabbed at me with her sai.
I barely twisted out of the way as her sai grazed my ribs, the woman easily ducking around my kick and hopping to the side as I held my hands to my side.
"Getting a bit slow there, hero," Cheshire spoke from behind her mask as she moved back, the samurai having already picked up his dagger as I took deep breaths.
'His attacks are aimed to kill me, but hers were to weaken me bit by bit, letting the Kryptonite do her job instead,' Looking between the two, I nodded as I used my TTK to force my wound shut before smirking.
'Time to improvise,' Grabbing at the broken desk, I picked it up and hurled it towards her, rushing to the samurai as she ran back and used the wall to flip over it.
The samurai swung a stab at my head as I rushed in before I ducked under, shoulder-checking him in the chest and sending him flying back out the entrance he had made.
Spinning as Cheshire stabbed at my head, I must have surprised her as I grabbed at her wrist before landing a powerful headbutt to her mask, shattering it while spinning with her still in my grasp.
Ripping out the sai as she crashed into the samurai and sent the both of them flying back, I stabbed the sai into the ground before turning to the wall, delivering a powerful punch that sent brick and concrete flying.
My arm burned as I shot out of the room, the black Spider-Man copy looking surprised as I tackled him in the back and sent him flying through a tree.
"Superboy?", Robin sounded surprised as I landed with a stumble, giving a thumbs-up before looking around to see both Aqualad and Velocity facing against their own foes.
"I see my target is stronger than we expected," A deep voice spoke up and both Robin and I turned before my eyes widening at the black and orange mask gleaming in the moonlight, the assassin dressed in black and grey armour with goldenrod gauntlets and a Kryptonite baton in one hand.
'Fucking Deathstroke. Of course it's fucking Deathstroke,' I thought with a curse as I stood up, not surprised to see Robin looking just as nervous as I did.
After all, this is a guy that could go toe to toe with Batman, the master of over a hundred martial arts.
"Uh, do I need to know you?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady and Deathstroke simply tilted his head before answering in a cold voice.
"I suppose not. You'll be unconscious before it happens."
"Deathstroke. His real name is unknown and he's arguably one of the most lethal assassins in the world. We need to work together with this one," Robin spoke and I nodded as I shifted my footing, TTK keeping my wounds shut as Slade held the baton loosely.
"Agreed. I'm not sure I'm going to be much help, though."
"Is that because of Cheshire and her samurai friend? They were not supposed to win, but to simply drain you so I wouldn't have to waste time," Deathstroke spoke as he calmly began walking towards us, the Kryptonite baton humming with radiation.
Robin didn't waste a moment as he threw a flashbang, blocking it with his hand while turning his head just enough to avoid the worst of it before he rushed forward.
Deathstroke was surprisingly fast as he was in my face before I could even prepare and the man was not one for taunts or flashy dramatic attacks as he delivered a crushing elbow to my ribs followed by a baton swing to my temple.
The attack to my ribs were more annoying than it was painful, but the blow to the temple made me stagger backwards, a growl escaping my lips as I reoriented myself and swung at his head only for Deathstroke to catch my wrist while shoving his baton towards my chest.
However, Robin thankfully slammed his staff into Deathstroke's side just in time, but the man barely reacted as he finished striking me with the baton before grabbing the end of Robin's staff as he aimed another strike.
Pulling Robin in while spinning around, he kicked him back while tossing his staff at my head, to which I caught it before swinging it down right as he raised his baton to parry it to the side.
The baton screeched against the metal staff, sparks flying as Deathstroke pushed his weapon to the side before hopping into the air with a spin to deliver another baton strike to my jaw along with delivering a vicious kick that Robin barely blocked.
I forced myself to move through the radiation as I grabbed onto his arm, Robin grabbing onto his leg right as we both spun and delivered a spinning kick to the man's back that sent him flying forward.
Deathstroke unfortunately lived up to his reputation as he caught himself and flipped over, grabbing a few shuriken from his pouch and flicking it at us.
I moved and forced myself in front of Robin, the shuriken bouncing off of my body as I shook my head to get rid of the drowsiness from the radiation.
'That was-Man, is everything supposed to be spinning? That was three strikes with the Kryptonite baton and I already feel like my organs were turned to mush.'
"Robin, got any gadgets that could work here?", I asked and shook my head as he just raised an eyebrow at me.
"No, but there's one thing about us younger heroes that the older ones don't do. We cheat," A wall of water surged in from the side and sent Deathstroke soaring through the air, his armour protecting him for the most part as he crashed through a tree.
"Aqualad, am I glad to see you, buddy."
"Is he concussed?"
"He's gotten two Kryptonite baton strikes to the temples," Robin explained and I just waved as Aqualad looked at me with a wince before we turned back to where Deathstroke was.
We watched as the assassin pulled himself from the tree, rolling his shoulder while cracking his neck before he rushed in without a word again.
Aqualad and Robin met his attack with their own, Aqualad countering his swing with a water sword while Robin picked up his staff and swung it at his head.
Deathstroke twisted his arm and blocked the attack with the armour on his elbow, the force of the strike also helping push Aquadlad back while the man spun around and delivered a high kick that knocked Robin backwards.
However, that was what I needed as I rushed in at full speed, Deathstroke turning around just in time to swing as I ducked under it and delivered a powerful uppercut to his jaw.
The blow knocked his head back and knocked him off his feet, but my eyes widened as he grabbed a leg around my arm before pulling himself back and delivering a crushing blow to my collarbone.
White-hot pain exploded down my arm and I fell to a knee as the blow drained my strength, Robin coming in with a dropkick that sent Slade back before I sighed in relief as Velocity came in from the side.
The shockwave from his shoulder tackle sent Deathstroke rolling across the ground before he rushed towards us, tackling us into the invisible Bio-Ship behind us right as Ms. Martian turned on the thrusters and took off.
"Chris, are you okay?", Goblin asked as he walked over and I simply gave a nod before wincing as my movement made the pain in my collar just worse, lying back down while letting my body eliminate the Kryptonite radiation in my body.
"What the hall was that guy made of? It felt like I was hitting a tank," Velocity spoke with a frown as he leaned against the ship's wall and I just shook my head with a groan as Robin answered.
"From what I've scanned, it's appears to be military-grade, reinforced with shock-absorbing mesh and powered joints."
"Also, I hate that Kryptonite baton thingy of his,"
"Are you okay?", Ms. Martian asked from the driving seat and I just sent feelings of comfort through our telepathic link as I laid my head back down.
"Why was he there, though? He said that he had Cheshire and the samurai guy weaken me, but why did he not just take me out without trying to torture me with his baton?"
"Because this was not an assassination. It was a test," Robin answered, all of us looking at him before Velocity raised an eyebrow.
"A test? To see if he can take us all on?"
"No, a test to see if Superboy here is living up to the expectation of the Light. He only targeted him and even when both Aqualad and I interrupted, he only shifted his focus back to Superboy again."
"So, he was just there to gather intel on me for the Light? Is that what you're saying?", I asked, frowning as Robin nodded before shaking my head as I sat up.
"Well, we'll worry about that later. How are you doing now that you're free from someone trying to kill you, General?", I asked, to which the man just shook his head while staying seated in his chair.
"I…I do not think I've truly processed what just happened, but…I suppose I owe you my life."
"No problem, sir. It's just part of the job," I answered with a shrug before groaning as the motion made my wound ache again.
"I also think that Superboy wasn't the only subject of this test. While Deathstroke was distracting us, do you guys feel like the guys you were fighting weren't trying to actually beat you?", Robin asked and Aqualad and Velocity looked at each other before both nodded slowly.
"That is kind of true and it does make sense. The three of us were the ones who saved Superboy from his potential life as their weapon so they must still hold a grudge for that."
"I would," I answered, to which Velocity snickered as Aqualad smirked and Robin shook his head.
"If the Light plans to escalate their efforts, understanding our team's current strength and weaknesses is vital to figuring out ways to defeat us."
"So…what you're saying is that we're officially on some supervillain's radar?…Nice," Velocity spoke with a grin and I rolled my eyes as the other shook their head.
"What do we do now?", Goblin asked and I frowned before looking at the General who looked to be in his own world.
"For now, we head back to the Cave and let Batman and Captain Atom take over. After that, we rest and maybe go out for something to eat. How does that sound?", I asked, smirking as they all nodded in agreement before turning to Ms. Martian.
"Ms. Martian?"
"I've heard the plan. Already heading for the mountain," She answered with a smile and I gave a thumbs-up before lying back down.
I just finished fighting a super-assassin with a Kryptonite baton. I deserve this.
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"Even though the test subject was not subdued, the test yielded acceptable results," The shadow figure in Screen L3 spoke in a calm voice, Deathstroke staying silent as Screen L1 spoke next.
"More than acceptable. He was able to fight off three master assassins and held his own against Deathstroke himself albeit with help. It's not quite ideal but indicative of rapid adaptive growth."
"His instincts are still crude, but he is not without promise. With the right pressure and guidance, the boy could become something useful for the Light," Screen L2 spoke in an amused voice before Screen L5 let out a snarl.
"Useful? The boy resisted and escaped. He did have help from others, but it was resistance all the same. He is a liability."
"He is also a symbol. Symbols sway people, heroes, villains and even nations. If we break him, we'd shatter the symbol, but what if we shape him?", Screen L4 asked with a purr and the others hummed before all six shook their heads when Screen L6 spoke up in an excited tone.
"Can I break him instead? Crack him open, see what squirms out? Who knows, maybe he glows green and screams fun things."
"The Kryptonite exposure provided sufficient data. Cellular decay was at 3.4% across soft tissue, which is a stark difference to Superman's 18% if he had been struck the same amount of times. It appears the combination of his human-Kryptonian DNA and his meta-gene is helping him resist the radiation more."
"That is not enough. We must know if he can be turned or if he must be removed. We will continue to test him morally, physically and psychologically until we have our results," L1 spoke up after L7 finished speaking, to which the others hummed in agreement before Deathstroke spoke up.
"I agree, but there is the issue of my payment here."
"You will get you-!"
"Like I said, I agree, but I do not work on promises and delayed compensation," He cut off L3 with a stoic look, to which all seven screens stayed silent before L1 spoke up.
"Your performance was satisfactory and as always, the Light pays its debts. Your next deposite is being processed with a…bonus for improvisation."
"However, do not mistake payment for trust, Slade," Screen L2 spoke up and Deathstroke simply looked amused under his mask as he nodded.
"Trust is overrated. Fear and utility are more reliable currencies."
"Then let us hope you remain useful. You will receive new instructions soon as the boy and his allies will move. When they do, so shall you," Screen L3 spoke up before they vanished, the other screens turning off one by one until Deathstroke was left standing in the silence.
"You all will test him, but do not be surprised when he decides to no longer be the test subject and becomes the threat," Deathstroke murmured as he turned around, walking out of the empty room with a smirk.
A/N: And so ends the arc with a surprise showcase of a character that was introduced much later and a little meeting of the Light.
What are they up to? Find out next chapter~!
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