Retirement

Retirement, what an odd word to be saying this young. I know I've been through a lot over the years. But I feel great, my body feels fantastic and my mind is still sharp as ever. But here we are. Deep in the Washington bush near the Canadian border I have my own little town. I built everything here with my own two hands.

I am completely self reliant, the stream has clean water and I collect rain water whenever it rains. The river also supplies me with plenty of fish when I'm not busy hunting game. I built a farm with all the fruits and vegetables you could ask for. Pear trees, apple trees, blueberries, cabbage, you name it I have it all fresh and organic. There's not much I miss from civilization, maybe other than the occasional hamburger and maybe some ice cream.

I love sitting on my front porch, just enjoying the sunset and the fresh air. My daughter Rose would absolutely enjoy this, but she's off with her friends and her brother Jericho traveling the world trying to make a difference as she puts it. They left years ago and haven't been back to visit their old man. It's a shame because I do miss them. For fun and to keep myself sharp I enjoy archery. Rose did too, she's very competitive just like her old man. Everything reminds me of her. Jericho was way more reserved though. He's done his fair share of martial arts training but he's very quiet. If you ask him all he'd want to do with his free time was reading books. He loves books.

One summer day I'm going through my normal routine, when suddenly I can hear something strange coming from the sky. A sound I haven't heard in a very long time. A helicopter lands fairly close to my house. I have my hand on my waist close to my knife. I recognize this helicopter. I mean, it's green with a giant Q on the tail. I know who this is. "What do you want!?" I ask. Stepping out of the helicopter, holding up a bottle of whiskey and a pair of glasses the pilot responds "How about a drink first before we start talking business, for old times sake?" "Take a seat" I respond. Taking a seat I point to a chair adjacent to me with a side table in the middle. This is where Rose and I used to play chess in the mornings.

"It's a nice place, after all our time I never though I'd see the day you'd be retired let alone myself too. Dinah and I have a place not too far away from here too. Honestly the set up is kind of the same, but with more targets around for target practice" He informs me. "That's good Oliver. I'm happy for you too, honestly." I respond. We both take a sip of our whiskey before a minute of awkward silence.

"Look, I'll cut to the chase. They're gone, they vanished like thin air. Rose, Jericho, Dick, Tim, and Connor went dark a few days ago. We have no idea where they are, but I need to find them. They're just kids". Oliver informs me.

"They can take care of themselves, they knew what they signed up. Besides Rose wouldn't want me meddling in her business. Even if she was in trouble Rose still sees me as the monster I once was, Jericho not so much but Rose I know for damn sure she wants nothing to do with me no matter what. Plus we're retired for a reason. Our fight is done." I remind him.

"You're right Slade. We're retired, but it's Lex. They went after Lex before they went dark. Apparently Lex is hiring criminals to "steal" Lex Tech weapons. Then sell them on the black market and he's even claiming the weapons as losses. So Rose lead the others went to stop him. And now they're all MIA." Oliver says with a tear in his eye. "Please, they have our kids."

"Follow me" I say begrudgingly. Don't get me wrong, I'd do anything to keep Rose safe. But we really do not have the best father/daughter relationship. So Oliver and I make our way into the house and head down the stairs to the basement. On the north wall there's a hidden door. I knock on the wall 3 times. Then there's we a handprint and retinal scan that's only programmed to open for Rose, Jericho, and me.

Behind the hidden wall is a room is lined with old weapons. Guns, knives, grenades, any weapon. But dead in the middle is mannequin behind a pane of bulletproof glass with my old combat suit. Titanium dipped Tri-weave body armor, black and orange helmet with only one eye hole. "Where's your suit?" I ask Oliver. "Don't worry about me, it's on the chopper" he responds. Oliver heads back outside to wait for me while I get dressed.

Stepping out of my front door I take one last breath of fresh air. Kind of smiling but also kind of frowning. I worked so hard to get here and get away from my old life. But I have to bring back those demons to save our kids. I put my mask on and head into the helicopter. Putting on my headphones I hear "It's good to see you again, Slade Wilson. Or should I refer to you once again as Deathstroke old friend?" Oliver asks. "Only if I get to call you the Green Arrow again". I remark back

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