Chapter 28

Batman cleared his head of all emotions and thoughts. He only remembered his training.

"!!" Deathstroke did an overhead slash.

Batman crossed his forearms to guard then, delivered a front kick to deathstroke.

"Urgh!" It was successful.

With his forearms still guarding Deathstroke's sword, he released one arm and turn around and delivered a backfist to Deathstroke's head. It got blocked by deathstroke's other hand. Batman continued to turn and maneuvered his arm to lock onto deathstroke's arm holding the sword and tried to break his shoulder. Deathstroke saw this and switch his sword to his other hand to stab at Batman. Batman gave up from breaking Deathstroke's shoulder and delivered a punch instead as he dodged the point of the sword aimed at his head.

A few more exchanges of moves and Terry, the new Batman, evolved. No, he was still evolving as the fight continued.

"!!" Batman's continued progress during the fight baffled even Deathstroke.

The match became even between them. Both were now heavily breathing as they maintained distance from each other. The next exchange would most probably end the fight.

Batman decided to gamble. At the current state of things, even if he continues to learn and evolve from fighting Deathstroke, Deathstroke will still have an edge over him because of his experience. He has no other choice but to risk it all.

He took a stance. Deathstroke also did the same.

Batman kicked off the ground. He launched a kick.

Deathstroke smiled. He planned to cut off Batman's leg that was aimed at him. He figured the progress of the fight was abnormal but now Batman's fatigue caught up with him and made him make a mistake.

But it wasn't a mistake. Unbeknownst to him, Batman has baited his own leg to make him move. It was too late when he realized it. His fast thought process wasn't able to catch it fast enough.

The sole of Terry's other foot released its rockets and propelled him forward. Now, Deathstroke's sword was slashing at nothing but air. The rockets continued to blast until Batman was lifted through the air and aimed his leg that he used to feint a kick towards Deathstroke's shoulder. Deathstroke's sword barely missed his head as he did so. Batman proceeded to grab Deathstroke's whole arm with his arms and began to pull.

It was the move that Barbara did on him during their sparring session. A flying armbar after feinting a kick. Deathstroke began to feel the weight on his whole arm. The force from it made him lay down flat on the ground.

And because this wasn't a sparring match but a real life and death fight, Batman broke his shoulder.

Crack!

"Arrrrgh!!!" Deathstroke grunted in pain.

His shoulder didn't just dislocate, his shoulder blade got fractured to. Batman did it with a force that wanted to tear his whole arm off.

Batman got off of him and turn him to lay on his back. He removed Deathstroke's helmet to see Slade Wilson's bare face.

"Haaah. Haaah. Haaah." Batman panted as he tried to control his seething anger. The man that killed his father was lying defenseless in front of him. The temptation to kill him right now couldn't have been any greater.

Slade breathed out a sigh and made a wry smile as he accepted his defeat along with his incoming death.

Batman's fist hovered over Slade.

Slade closed his eyes as he waited for the fist over his head to fall like a guillotine.

But it didn't fall. He opened his eyes again. The fist that was over his head started to loosen before it withdrew.

Batman fell on his behind and supported himself with his arms to sit down in an inclined position. He panted out of relief that he won over his desire to kill.

"Are you happy with this?" Slade Wilson asked the man sitting next to him.

"Not yet." He uttered in between heavy breaths. "I need you to go to jail first. Then, I'll be happy."

Slade Wilson heaved a sigh and looked up at the ceiling. "To each his own, I guess." Deathstroke would have never left himself alive if he was in Batman's shoes.

"Father!" Ravager woke up and rushed to her father lying on the ground.

"Rose..." Slade smiled at his daughter with such affection like you would never expect from someone like him.

Batman stood up from the ground after he finished resting.

Ravager helped her father up by wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"I guess, it's Blackgate prison for me, huh?" Slade Wilson said with a wry smile.

"No."

"Huh?" Slade furrowed his brows in confusion

"Director Waller asked us to surrender you immediately to ARGUS upon your capture." Batman said before turning towards the exit and started walking. Slade bowed his head.

Ravager followed Batman but Slade who has his arms around didn't budge.

"What are you doing? Let's go-"

Schwiiiing

Batman immediately turned around. There, he saw Slade with a knife aimed at his daughter's throat.

It was Ravager's knife. Slade grabbed it when Batman wasn't looking.

Batman narrowed his eyes.

"Let me escape or she dies." Slade said to Batman.

"Don't you have any honor, dad? You were already defeated!" Ravager said.

"Would you really kill your own daughter, Slade?" Batman said as he examined him carefully.

"I'll do anything if it means not going back to ARGUS!!" Slade shouted as he pressed the knife on Ravager's neck.

"Calm down. Just tell me what you want." Batman slowly walked towards him.

"Let me go." Slade strictly said as he furrowed his brows.

"Fine." Batman said with no hesitation. "Let her go, and I'll let you leave."

"You're lying."

"Don't put me in your category, Slade. I'll let you leave if you let her go right now."

"..." Slade stared at Batman. "I don't trust you."

"!!"

He pushed his daughter towards Batman.

Batman immediately focused his eyes on Ravager to catch her completely ignoring Slade throwing the knife at him. Luckily, Ravager saw as she glanced to her side where her father was. She took out her other knife and blocked the projectile.

"Hak! Kahk!"

But Slade wasn't as lucky. The knife that he threw ricocheted towards his neck when his daughter blocked it from hitting Batman.

The knife sliced his carotid artery and half of his spine cleanly. Slade kneeled down as he held his neck.

"Dad!" Ravager ran towards him and supported him by his back as she laid him down.

His head was still attached but his healing factor won't be able to save him because he was losing more blood than what his healing factor can manage, plus his spine that was damaged won't regenerate easily too.

Batman stood next to them.

"Rose..." Slade said as he caressed her cheek. It seems the other structures of his neck that was needed to speak wasn't damaged.

"I'm sorry." Rose took off her mask as she held her father's hand.

"Don't be. I'd rather die by your hands than going back to ARGUS." Slade mentioned his refusal to go back to ARGUS again.

"Why do you want to go back to ARGUS that you'd threaten your own daughter's life?" Batman asked him

Slade laughed Batman's statement. "My daughter's life was never endangered. I just figured you would consider letting me go if I used her as a bargaining chip, but I was never going to harm her." Even before, when he sent Grant Wilson, his son, the previous Ravager after her, Rose wasn't in danger, but the people that were around her was. "And to answer your question about ARGUS, they're much more like monsters than me."

Batman narrowed his eyes. "How so?"

Slade looked at him. "You ask a lot of questions." He chuckled. "Fine. I'll answer if you tell me who you are. I won't be able to tell anyone else now, anyway." He referred to his imminent death.

Batman's nanotech mask creeped down towards his neck and revealed Terry's bare face. "My name is Terry McGinnis. My father was Warren McGinnis. The one you killed nine years ago."

Slade Wilson widened his eyes. "I remember now!" He laughed out loud.

Terry glared at him. "What's so funny?"

"Fate is funny." Slade said with a wry smile.

'It's funny isn't it. How fate works.' Terry immediately recalled Amanda Waller's words.

"Instead of telling you, why don't I just show you?" Slade reached towards one of the compartments on his utility belt.

Terry readied himself from a sudden attack.

"Stop being cautious. I have more sense than that." Slade took out a key with a number on it. "This key opens a safety deposit box at Gotham City Bank. The money in it is for Rose. The flash drive in there is for you. I originally planned to use it to get revenge on ARGUS but I think it will be more suitable for you to utilize it." Slade said as he handed the key to Terry.

Terry stared at the key before looking back at him and nodding.

Slade laughed again. "To think that my daughter would date my arch enemy's son."

"What did you just say? My dad is your enemy?" Terry furrowed his brows.

Slade furrowed his brows as if he's already tired of this conversation. "You'll find out everything in that flash drive. Everything in there was what your father died for. I made a copy of it. Now, leave me alone to talk with my daughter." He said as he shooed him away.

A few minutes later, the mutant leader finally arrived but it was already over when he walked in. Slade Wilson died. The strongest mercenary, the terminator, died.

The mutant leader saw Ravager as she cried on Batman's chest and Batman held her tight in his arms.

Both of them had their masks back on. Terry put Ravager's mask back on when he heard their car's breaks.

Batman locked eyes with the mutant leader and both of them nodded.

"It's over, Cedric." The mutant leader said as he got back in the car. " Let's go home." He said as he tapped Cedric's shoulders.