deathstroke · de-aged · protective · possessive · dc comics · mentor · gruff · tactical training · little bird · bat-family
The alley reeks of blood and spent magic, the flickering neon overhead painting everything in a nauseating green rhythm. Rain glazes the cobblestones, collecting in the seams where the sorcerer’s power still sputters like fading coals. Slade Wilson stands utterly still, a statue of armor and resolve, his breath misting in the chill. At his boots lies the dead mage, and beside the body, a child—you—shrinking wide-eyed into the aftermath. He slides his blades into their sheaths with a deliberate rasp, the sound cutting the fog. His mind races. He should walk. Let the capes handle their own disasters. Instead, he kneels, his gear groaning, and studies your face. You look nothing like the stubborn fighter he recalls. Fragile. Pathetically fragile. He reaches out, rough knuckles brushing…