The rooftop was completely still. The dying light cascading over the young mercenary in sudden turmoil, his mind churning with uncertainty.

Renegade drew a breath to voice his confusion, he might need to hear it again to actually process what was said. He bit his lip to keep the words from tumbling out, looking down in hopeful thought.

Did he mean it? Was he actually going to not be with Deathstroke, and go to BATMAN of all people?

He looked up again, searching his mentors faceplate with renewed fervor. This had to be a mistake, a dream, a nightmare.

Deathstroke was a blank slate, no emotions whatsoever. Renegade knew the order would not be repeated, even if his mind was still reeling with the surprise. His eyes lowered as he stopped seeing the world around him, buried deep in thought. All the sudden meanings and possibilities were crashing down on him at once. Through the chaos, his mind slowly pieced it together.

The packing.

The avoiding.

The mysterious mission.

The sudden appearance of Batman.

Renegade was so confused. He looked up again, trying to find some hint as to what was going on. Deathstroke met his gaze, his steel eye almost unnerving, it narrowed ever so slightly. Deathstroke would not say his orders twice. Never has, never will. Which meant...

Renegade turned his head to face Batman but had to pry his eyes off his mentor. This was not a negotiation, there was no arguing, no way to weasel out.

It was an order.

Batman just seemed to stare as well, watching the young mercenary's face change from confusion, to fear.

"Your past is yours to do with, he cannot order you to share that which you do not desire to share." Deathstroke said quietly, Renegade almost didn't catch it, still staring at the far away shadow that was soon to be his new master.

Renegade was still stuck at the first order. Wait, so, Deathstroke was giving him to Batman? Why? For what? Did he do something wrong?

"Go." Deathstroke said louder, Renegade nearly jumped.

Batman's shadow grew as the sun dipped lower, the orange slowly fading from the sky, the mystic glow devoured by the elongating shadows. Renegade squared his shoulders, Deathstroke ordered him to do soemthing, he wasn't about to disobey just because he didn't understand. There had to be a reasonable explanation. It didn't make any sense.

Either way, Renegade would have to think on it, and he would have to think on it while Batman was the one giving the orders. The idea sent chills across his arms, making his hair stand on end. Batman was the enemy, what would he make him do? Sure he was a goody-two-shoes hero, but he wasn't exactly nice.

Renegade forced himself to take a step forward, the first, and the most hesitant.

He gave one last look to his mentor, his confused and angry face slacking into fear for a moment before he forced it back into a hardened scowl to cover his true feelings. But he wanted Deathstroke to know he didn't want to, his allegiance was with the mercenary, not just anyone giving orders to him. The betrayal felt in his heart was gone as quick as it came, he trusted his mentor too much. Was it temporary? Would he ever see Slade again?

The young mercenary stepped forward again.

And another.

And another.

Left.

Right.

With each step he drew away from his surrogate father and closer to the man who was the enemy. With each step his mind both unraveled and built itself back up. A fight between panic and resolve. Trust against fear.

He kept his eyes on the ground, not sure if he looked up that he'd either be crying or glaring. He really shouldn't make such a big deal out of this, he was fine, he's not dead, he was just walking to into his enemies clutches while his mentor only watched.

Too many doubts and questions swirled in his mind, he had to break things down, make them simpler to understand. But he could do that later, right now he had to focus on what was happening at the moment. What was happening was betrayal.

The idea bubbled up again. This time taking a foot hold.

...Betrayal?

It wasn't like Deathstroke... to... betray.

Did he feel betrayed?

...

Yes.

He would have been resentful, if it weren't for the fact he wanted to turn around and tackle his mentor in a hug and plead with him not to make him go.

He didn't want to go.

But the crunch of the gravel under his boots rang throughout his mind, adding to the clutter, adding to the fear and dread piling in his stomach.

Renegade felt numb as he stopped in front of the shadowed vigilante. He felt in danger in the prescience of the Dark Knight, even though the man simply watched him. His skin prickled with goosebumps and his rising pulse pumped in his ears. He was sure dread radiated off of him in waves and his face was drained of blood. He felt cold all of the sudden, the sun was gone, the warmth leaving the atmosphere. The cold wasn't the only reason his body wanted to shake. It was too much.

Too much.

Renegade gulped his dry throat, his breath coming out in a short gasp. The world blurred.

This only happened once, he made sure it only happened once.

His hands clenched at his sides, squeezing his eyes tight to get rid of the tears gathered there. Not here. Not here. Anywhere but here.

He let out a breath steadily, he didn't care that it was noticeable. He just needed a moment of peace.

He didn't look up, he didn't trust himself to do so without wanting to murder the bat so he didn't have to go with him. The only thing that stayed his hand from going to his blade was Deathstroke.

He... he ordered him to do this. He didn't have to understand to follow orders, Deathstroke did this all the time, blind trust. But it's a completely different story when he was ordered to become the tool of his enemy. Renegade had no doubt Batman would want to use him, whether it be his skills or his information, Renegade was prized by the man, like a hostage.

A hostage. That is what Renegade felt like. A hostage to his own feelings. He wanted everything to stop just so he could finally make sense of it all, but he had too little information, and he doubted Batman would approve of stopping the earths rotation.

"Have a grappling hook?" Batman asked, his voice was more gritty up close, and actually quite loud considering the low tones he used. This only added to the underlying fear that coursed through the young mercenary. Renegade couldn't help but feel threatened by the casual stance Batman displayed, it shouldn't, but it did.

The question drew him from his thoughts, his first instinct not to answer, but to check if this was truly happening. Renegade looked back, his eyes widened as the empty roof finally settled his situation in his brain. This was really happening. Deathstroke was gone. Left him... alone... with Batman.

He blinked profusely and tried to keep his breathing under wraps, Batman shouldn't know how much an empty roof was affecting him. He nodded to Batman's question, heaven knows if he tried to use his voice he'd probably start crying. It just... didn't... make any sense.

"Follow me." Batman took his own grappling gun out and shot into the fray of buildings.

Renegade played with the idea of running off, as it would be almost too easy to do so, but then Batman would come after him, and Deathstroke would be no help. He felt like a fish out of water, strung up high and dry. It felt worse than being trapped. It felt like a hole.

Batman didn't leap off until Renegade got his own grappling hook out, a wise choice on Batman's part. Batman swung down, Renegade took a deep breath before he leapt off the building. The cold wind blasting across his face didn't have its usual thrill. Seeing the ground come so close didn't give him any adrenaline. The world was cold and dark, the sun long gone and so were the last rays of warm light.

He followed Batman, because he didn't know what else to do. He felt lost, he felt betrayed. This shouldn't be happening.

But it had. It is happening.

He couldn't change that. He could only work with what he was given.

The remorse he felt for Slade faded into a throbbing ache, his need to trust Slade at this juncture was pivotal. He had trusted Slade, he needed to keep trusting him. Slade always knew what he was doing, Slade would never tell him to do something he couldn't handle. Even when Dick didn't think he could.

But that didn't shake the doubt that plagued his mind. It was too fresh for reason to break in, logic was a stranger.

Whatever was going on, he just needed to power through, huddle into a little ball of emotions until everything passed him by and things were normal again. But the sinking feeling in his gut was not from the pull of gravity, it felt... permanent. And that's what scared him most.

Renegade locked down his mind, another trick meditating got him, he shut down all thoughts except for basic motions and simple cognitive abilities. Ignoring everything that happened in the past ten minuets in an effort to not break down. Essentially, Renegade was on autopilot.

It was the only way he could survive this shock, he just had to keep it up until he was alone, then he could begin trying to piece together this awful nightmare that was reality.

He could get through this.

Right?

Batman swooped down into an alley, Renegade followed behind, hardened eyes shifting in a practiced motion. Checking for danger was always near the top of the to-do list, and right now, Renegade was clinging to that list like a lifeline.

The Dark Knight wound up his grappling gun, looking over his shoulder to see Renegade doing the same, eyes down to the chord he was wrapping methodically, almost in a trance. Batman rose a gloved hand, flicking his fingers in a silent order. "This way." The man moved off, the verbal reinforcement wasn't needed, but Renegade followed all the same.

Renegade found himself nearing the batmobile, a memory bubbled up, himself inside as he hacked in ready to- no. Simplify. Keep moving. Don't look back. Keep the mind clear. What's next on the list?

Batman climbed into the open vehicle, Renegade hesitated outside for a second before he jumped in as well. This boots thudded against the metal floor, two seats at the front, the rest of the vehicle in a cramped cave like hole. Clearly this vehicle was not meant for many passengers, it was more like a battering ram on wheels. This was good, Renegade liked small spaces, small spaces were safer. Batman didn't have to tell the young mercenary to take a seat, he was already putting the seatbelt on.

The young mercenary kept his backpack on as he took his seat and Batman noticed he had yet to look up. He figured the boy was in deep thought considering it didn't seem like he knew that he was being given to the vigilante.

Batman felt the undertone of the silence, it felt like panic, but one look at the kid said he was completely calm. He was breathing regularly, he wasn't shaking or spasming, he only kept his head down, an ebony mat of hair where his eyes should be.

Batman punched the vehicle into drive and pulled out of the alleyway at an alarming speed, and started covering lots of ground very fast, going faster than most speed limits allowed. Gothamites were actually quite used to this and parted to let him through like an ambulance when they heard the guttural roar of his engine.

Batman had been keeping an eye on the boy since Deathstroke disappeared off the roof. The boy was silent, it was almost unnerving, but it was what Batman expected.

"He didn't tell you did he?" Batman asked, sparing a glance every now and then from the road to see if the young mercenary would do anything other than sit still.

The boy shook his head, keeping with his silent vigil.

Batman wanted to sigh, he knew Renegade would probably not be a fan of this change, not many people ever wanted change. The silence didn't give him much to work with, he wanted to know if it was safe to let the boy be with other people.

The risk here was the validity of Deathstrokes claim. He was a mercenary after all, and Damian raised the point often enough that Batman should not believe everything Deathstroke told him. Deathstroke said the boy would follow orders, so far it had been true enough. The scene he witnessed between the the young mercenary and his master proved that, as did the boy's actions when Batman told him to do something. But something about it didn't smell right, it was too easy, too simple. A criminals mind was simple and straightforward, something Batman could predict. But a mercenary like Deathstroke? His mind was one whisker short of a cat.

There had to be a flaw, Deathstroke would never let Renegade loose like that without precautions. There was a secret identity to worry about, what happened if Batman were to ask about that? There were no records of Slade Wilson having a second family, Adeline shot him in right eye and left him before any children came about, nor did she currently have any interest in children. That begged the question. Where did Renegade come from?

Batman pulled into an alley, parking the batmobile in a secure hidden garage next to a ratty alley with a blue phone booth in it.

Batman turned to Deathstrokes apprentice, and was internally concerned to find the boy shrunk under his gaze. "Deathstroke advised against putting you in prison. I agree. But, that being said, if you hurt anyone, I will not hesitate to put you behind bars. Understood?"

The boy seemed to recoil just ever so slightly. His right hand to clench around his left arm too tightly, his feet shifting to the side away from Batman. Batman then noticed how loudly the boy was breathing, it wasn't gasping breaths but long and drawn out, measured, labored almost. It was completely silent save it be the young mercenaries intake and exhale of air.

Batman knew he was being a bit harder than he should have, but this was a serious matter he wanted the boy to listen and understand. He was going to be different from Deathstroke and wouldn't tolerate activities a mercenary would deem necessary. And hopefully, this would be a step up from how Deathstroke treated the boy, but nothing was certain until the boy started talking. But for now, Batman would assume the worst on both sides, he was either a victim, or a completely turned assassin.

"Understood?" Batman asked again when all he received was silence.

The boy visibly flinched and nodded quickly, shifting more in his seat, something like a gasp or whine escaping his throat. It was more emotion he got out of the boy in the past ten minuets.

Batman let up on his glare a little bit, Renegade was probably still confused, like a culture shock, he was unable to process everything and keep up appearances. It wouldn't last long, but right now the boy was raw and vulnerable, the most unstable. But once he was settled in Batman figured the boy would acclimate quickly, he was much too smart to let himself be this vulnerable for long.

"I decided you're not going to stay with me in the Batcave, you're going to spend some time with kids your age. The Justice League have recently, in the past few months, created a Young Justice League made of our protégés. They are stationed at the Leagues old headquarters. Mount Justice." The boy was still not looking at him but he knew he was listening by the stillness of his body. His steel-toed booted-feet had stoped shifting and his gloved hand had stopped its clenching and unclenching around his forearm.

"You will stay there until further notice, an adult Leaguer will be stationed at the mountain, they will know who you are and what your limits are. You will not be permitted any weapons. You will have your own room, and meals are three times a day provided by the mountain." Batman paused, letting the information sink into the young mercenary. It didn't look like the boy heard him at all, but he continued anyway.

"There are five members, Superboy, Miss Martian, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Artemis. They know you are coming but they don't have any details, those are yours to share if you wish." Batman was hopping by having the team ask him questions he'd open up to them easier than he would in an interrogation room with a Bat glaring at him. And he was right, mostly.

Renegade nodded, his mind had been a flurry of panic and peace in the last few minuets. The second he had strapped himself into the batmobile it settled into his brain that this was his life now, weather he liked it or not, it was happening. He had needed to calm his mind and decided to start doing those breathing exercises Deathstroke had taught him, but that thought alone made him want to punch the Bat and flee. But then he'd be directly disobeying an order.

He tried to use a positive outlook, treat it like a mission, he was going undercover or something, five targets, minimal resources, and a singular base of operations. He could work with that. Right?

"I'll need your weapons."

Batman's voice shattered his train of thought. Right. Out of the comfort zone and into the fire.

Renegade slowly released his arm, the one he had been squeezing the life out of to keep from both attacking and crying in front of the vigilante. During the lecture he had forced his mind to be blank, because he knew in that moment if he thought of anything pertaining to his old life he'd be gone. He reached up to his chest and quickly unlatched the two scabbards of his katanas, the sooner he did this the sooner he could figure out how to make a home made weapon. He had to take off his backpack first, but then shrugged the two katanas off, sure to keep his eyes lowered, and placed them in Batman's outstretched hand.

He took the hidden daggers from his gloves, then his boots, then his thighs. He felt numb as he did so, he imagined himself taking them out for cleaning. Yeah, just a simple cleaning. If it weren't for the already sharp edges and shiny look in the silver blades he might have convinced himself, but the reality of handing hem over to the Dark Knight crushed any chance of trying to think things were normal. He felt caught, torn, ripped apart in two. He had to follow his enemies orders, because his trusted mentor had ordered him to. It was so simple yet so complicated, too many moving parts and yet everything felt in stand still.

"Belt." The growling voice returned.

Renegade's hands hovered over his belt, it was the last weapon him, he was about to go head long into enemy territory with nothing but his suit. He unlatched the belt before he could think any more on it, handing it over to the vigilante. He breathed in a sigh, but it hitched, and he panicked for a moment before he rained it in and continued his breathing exercises.

"I'll give it back." Batman said, he had noticed Renegades apparent fear in loosing the belt, an observation Renegade wanted to kick himself for. What else was he going to mess up? What other proof did he need for Deathstroke to get rid of him?

Once the belt was empty it was returned to the young mercenary. It's weight was gone, but it felt better having the empty belt than no belt at all.

"Anything dangerous in that bag?" Batman pointed in question. Renegade picked it up and set it in his lap. He opened a few zippers and brought out a few blades and some smoke pellets, he handed them over before zipping the bag up again and keeping it in his lap.

"Is that it?"

The boy nodded.

Batman gave him a look but realized he would have to trust the young mercenary.

"The entrance is in the phone booth, I'll have to give you clearance." Batman informed, rising to step out from the batmobile.

Renegade followed silently, slinging his bag over his shoulder, his eyes focused on his surroundings, something to keep his mind off of his situation. The alley was dirty, and quite dark, street lights were on but they didn't reach this far into the shadows. Trash and grime lined the alley, the blue phone booth was in decent shape, a few scuffs here, bird poop smeared there, a shattered window near the bottom. There was a little black box on top with a lightbulb imbedded in it, with the color scheme of the phone booth Renegade was reminded of Doctor Who.

Does Batman have a glowing screwdriver in his belt? The corner of Renegade's mouth twitched upwards at the thought. If the phone booth was the entrance to the entire inside of a mountain, did that mean it was bigger on the inside?

These thoughts comforted the young mercenary, it was still possible, he could have fun, maybe. He recalled his joke a few days ago about having no social interaction with people his age, he honestly didn't expect it to come back and bite his butt. Because yeah, he definitely didn't know what to do in a social situation by himself without a motive.

He remembered Batman said someone named Artemis was in this team, if it was the Artemis he knew he might have a chance, he knew how to poke fun at her, she was Sportsmasters daughter.

Wait a second.

Sportsmaster.

Was he behind this some how? There had to be a connection somewhere, this can't be a coincidence. Gassed by Sportsmaster, ran into Sportsmasters first daughter during a mission, now he's being 'introduced' to his second daughter. Deathstroke must have known about this, Deathstroke knows about everything.

That was the first puzzle piece into place, if Deathstroke gave him to Batman, he needed him here. For whatever purpose, he needed to be here, where Deathstroke wants him. He didn't need to understand to be a pawn, he didn't need to know what's going on if not knowing what's going on is what needs to happen. Deathstroke wanted him here with no knowlage. If an interrogation were to happen, and he was sure it would, he couldn't break under the pressure because he truly didn't know. His next course of action would be his own, he honestly didn't know what it would be but knew that Deathstroke put him here for a reason. And whatever the reason was, he was going to be useful. It made sense now.

At least, somewhat. It was better than the nothing he had before.

For now, his trust in his mentor was restored, not that it really left in the first place. If it had, Renegade would be long gone by now. But his curiosity was suspended for now until he could think more on it later, he had to be social first.

Ugh, people. Cats were so much better.

Renegade let his lips lift in a tiny smile as he stepped inside the phone booth behind Batman. The Dark Knight was illuminated by a soft blue glow, a holographic keyboard, Renegade presumed. He folded his arms and leaned back, wondering how long it was going to take. Because however good he was at his mental exercises, he wasn't the best and especially at the mental state he was now, best case scenario; he was on a timer. Once that timer is up, he'd leave sanity behind and all the pent up emotion would spill out, he definitely did not want that to happen in the middle of a bunch of heroes around him.

What seemed like ages later but was actually a few seconds, Batman's form brightened to an unwatchable degree. Renegade lifted an arm to shield his eyes but still he saw white. The light dimmed after a few seconds and the booth was empty, Renegade scrunched his nose and pinched between his eyes. A little warning would be nice next time, he was still trying to get the white spots out of his eyes.

Then he felt it, like an energy coursing through him, breaking him apart from top to bottom. A burning numbing sensation across his body, he looked down and saw his hand was beginning to glow, he felt panicked but knew it was only a form of teleportation. But that didn't make it any less scary, being disintegrated was not one of Renegades favorite pass times.

He held his breath and closed his eyes, waiting for the pain to be over. He realized it wasn't exactly pain, just an odd burning sensation that seemed painful but actually was not. When the white faded from his eyelids he opened them, finding Batman in front of him again and in a new building. Mount Justice most likely.

"This way." Batman started off, going down some stairs next to a reservoir of water. Renegade trotted up and kept his pace, head turning to analyze his new surroundings. Most of the ground was concrete, nothing new there, but the ceiling was much higher, there was even a helipad to the side. He didn't like that, open spaces made him uneasy, he'd rather have his back to a wall than to an open field, much less chance of getting stabbed in the back.

But he kept in stride with the Dark Knight, they didn't need to know his Agoraphobia, the fear of open spaces. As big as mountains were he had hoped it'd be more cramped inside, apparently not.

The walls were all dirt, packed dirt, possibly the actual mountain, but he was sure they put stabilizing structures under it, they didn't want a cave in and it'd be much to easy to get in. The ground was pretty clean for the ceiling made of earth and stalagmites, there was also lights imbedded in the ceiling, big ones that spread lots of light.

They went through a hallway, suddenly the dirt walls went away and it was more like a square tube, still with chalky and earthy colors. There were no doorways in this hallway, odd, considering he might have thought this to be the more homey part of the mountain. They came to a crossing, four identical hallways meeting in the middle, Batman just plowed through straight ahead.

Renegade wanted to pause and look at the other hallways but he decided to stay with Batman and avoid any unnecessary complications. He started hearing voices up ahead, young ones.

He fidgeted with his backpacks strap, he really wanted his weapons back but he could deal without. He was just nervous to meet them, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't excited, only a little bit though. Batman exited into another big room, but it held a lot more things inside, a kitchen island, a table over there and what looked to be a living room to the side. There was a green couch and a few other single chairs, a screen across from those and a coffee table in the middle. The most notable part of the scene was it was occupied.

A lanky red-headed boy stood in the kitchen, eating from a bag of chips as he lazily leaned on the counter, talking with a familiar green archer. He looked like a mustard bottle, half of a face mask was covering his head but let his red hair free, his eyes weren't exactly covered and were a emerald green. Artemis had her yellow hair up in her normal pony tail, the only dash of color on her beside the overbearing green everywhere. His first thought was that she was a plant, a mole, but then he remembered reading about the rouge daughter that switched sides. He wondered how she liked it compared to her old life, of course her father was Sportsmaster, so he was sure this was better.

Another girl was also in the kitchen, mixing a bowl of something as she listened to the two teens talk, well, more like argue. Her skin was green, her hair auburn, and seemed right at home with the mixing bowl. Her outfit held nothing special, casual clothes, civilian clothes. Interesting, what was she supposed to be? Renegade failed to recall her name, Batman had only given names, not who they were assigned to.

Two boys sat in the living room, the TV was on static but the big boy with a black shirt seemed to stare at it like it was the most intriguing thing on the planet. There was something red on his shirt but from his standpoint he couldn't tell what it was, he was also wearing tan cargo pants. A dark skinned boy sat in a chair reading a book, if he wasn't mistaken he saw gills on the side of his neck. He wore a red shirt and black pants, and was oddly bare footed.

"Team." Batman called their attention, the five teens looked up and abandoned their stations to come closer. Renegade took a deep breath, here we go.

Once all the teens gathered closer they took varying positions of attention. "This is Renegade. Renegade, this is Kid Flash, Artemis, Miss Martian, Superboy, and Aqualad." Batman waved a hand in the direction of each member, giving each a name as he gestured.

Wait. A Martian? Crap. He was definitely not in the right mental state that could deter any mental invasions. She could probably tell he was at the brink of collapsing, hopefully she wouldn't prod, because that would definitely break him. He'd have to end this quickly.

All five teens regarded him with various looks of caution, Superboy just plain glared, and Artemis was almost angry looking, but he knew she recognized him. Kid Flash was sort of glaring as well, but he and the Martian seemed the most 'friendly' of the group. His shifting eyes caught white fur, and suddenly a two ton wolf was next to Superboy, easily coming up to the clones head.

"That's... a big dog." Renegade said, eyebrows raised, the first thing he's said since the roof. "What did you give him? Kobra Venom?" He said it as a joke, a small smirk planted on his face, but everyone seemed to tense when mentioned the chemical.

Batman turned to him, as the team members glanced at each other and seemed to share hidden messages with their eyes before settling back on Renegade. Even the wolf was eyeing him, he was fine with the people glaring at him but the wolf was actually quite concerning. People he could handle, a giant wolf would tear him to shreds before he could even try to make a weapon.

"What do you know of Kobra Venom?" Batman asked, narrowing his eyes in an almost accusatory tone.

"You know what it is, I don't see why I can't. It's not that a big of a deal. Kobra Venom is old news." Renegade said, folding his arms and loosing the smirk.

"Wait but how do you know?" Kid Flash asked, pointing with a chip in hand, emerald eyes narrowing.

Renegade rose an eyebrow, pointed to himself with his thumb and said, "Mercenary. It's my job to know things."

"Then you know where the Kobra Venom is from." Batman said, sort of like a question but it was more of a statement.

"Yep." Renegade said, popping the 'p' and shutting his mouth after, they weren't going to get very far this way. It was amusing if Renegade was being honest.

"...Are you going to tell us?" Artemis asked, folding her own arms in defiance and glaring with renewed intensity.

"Now why would I do that?" Renegade asked, unable to keep the smirk from rising.

"Leave the interrogating to me, tonight your job is to introduce yourselves and the mountain." Batman started, then he turned from the team to the young mercenary. "Your room will be locked at night, during the day you are to stay with the team. Black Canary does team training and will keep an eye on you."

"Got it, babysitter." Renegade said, complete dead pan. "Do I get a cookie for going potty?"

Kid Flash snorted into laughter but was cut off by Artemis elbowing him in the gut which ended his laughter into a grunt. Superboy and Miss Martian seemed confused while Aqualad didn't react, neither did Batman for that matter.

"I'll leave you to it." Batman grunted and turned away.

Kid Flash's face went slack, "Wait you're leaving us alone with him?"

"Yes." Batman walked off.

Renegade watched him leave back down the hallway. Batman was so confusing, he was harder to read than Deathstroke, but it was a similar concept. Renegade figured he'd just have to spend more time with him to figure out how to read him correctly. But currently, he had five very easily red teens looking at him with unease. And one very big dog that looked like he wanted to take a bite. The only problem was Renegade was bite-sized.

"Let's get this over wish shall we?" Renegade said, letting a little sigh escape as he spoke. The pressure was less now that Batman was gone, but it lingered, it didn't matter if he was here or not, he still felt in danger. Heroes were the enemy, not to mention the room was HUGE, he wanted to put his back up against something quickly.

"Well, here's the kitchen." Miss Martian started, turning to gesture to the room. Renegade wanted to roll his eyes, he could see that.

"Really? Never would have guessed." The young mercenary mumbled under his breath as the group moved forward to the kitchen. Superboy gave him a harder glare, which he promptly ignored.

He got a tour of the main rooms, including the kitchen, living room, and mission room, he was shown where the training room was but he wasn't permitted inside. The only issue he had with any of this was the lock-in at night. Yeah, that ain't gunna fly. Bats should know more than most night was when he was most awake. He actually hadn't been paying much attention to the tour, trying to keep his mind from the very open rooms by reading the teams emotions.

They were all so different, Superboy was just one big glare, his dog thing was intimidating as all get out, and he could help but feel like lunch under its gaze. Aqualad was calm and collected but he could see the weight of leadership the Atlantian felt. Miss Martian was almost too kind and didn't take any of the young mercenaries taunts. It's not like he wanted to taunt them, it's just the only way he knew how to communicate. Kid Flash and Artemis were inseparable, but they seemed to act like they hated each other, a confusing combo but one he was quickly realizing was a relationship.

They ended up in the kitchen again, Miss Martian back to her bowl and the rest of the team splayed around. They certainly didn't want to leave the mercenary to his own devices, but at the same time they weren't eager to spend time with a murderer.

"So... Deathstroke is your dad?" Kid Flash asked quite bluntly, sitting at one of the bar stools across the kitchen island. Artemis was to his right and Superboy and Aqualad decided to stay standing, Miss Martian was on Renegades side of the island and was mixing whatever was in the bowl. Wolf went off into the living room, Renegade being both worried and relived by it, he'd rather know where the big dog was but he didn't exactly want him in his face.

Renegade huffed through his nose, folding his arms as he leaned against the counter and his back pack, better than nothing but he would have preferred a solid wall. "What did Batman tell you about me?" Renegade inquired instead.

"That you're dangerous." Superboy said with, you guessed it, a glare.

"He's not wrong." Renegade shrugged, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards.

"He said the mercenary Deathstroke trained you." Aqualad spoke up, for being the leader he didn't take charge very well, but now that he stared speaking Renegade realized why. Aqualad was the logical one in this group, no one else here was qualified to lead, Kid Flash was too impulsive and Artemis too hot-headed, not Superboy for obvious reasons and Miss Martian was too kind.

"Also true." Renegade said, nodding.

"Then you lived with him right? What's that like?" Kid Flash asked, almost eager. This made Renegade frown, he could understand curiosity, but he was too excited.

"What are you expecting?" Renegade asked, did they think he was being mistreated or something? Deathstroke may be a mercenary, but that doesn't mean he's a monster.

Kid Flash shrugged, suddenly trying to be nonchalant. In fact, the entire team acted like they weren't interested, but he could tell by their tensing and shifting eyes that this is what they really wanted to know. "I don't know, does he do normal dad things?"

Renegade narrowed his eyes, he was not going to make this easy for them. "Well I'm sure I'd love to answer your question, but considering I don't know what normal 'dad' things are, I don't have enough information to correctly or accurately answer."

A silence settled over the team, he could see them looking at each other, but no words seemed to be shared. Then it clicked. Miss Martian, telepathic. No doubt they were talking about him. Great, juuuuust great. He really needed to get behind a door or something, his timer was almost up, and bringing up Deathstroke did not help his attempts at mental stability.

"Hungry?" Miss Martian looked to him, rising her bowl of... whatever it was... in an offer.

Renegade frowned. "No thanks. Already ate. If that's all you need from me I'll be going to my room now."

"I'll show him." Kid Flash immediately said, raising a hand and walking over.

Renegade walked silently after the speedster. Going down a darker and smaller hallway the young mercenary realized this was where the rooms were. Not exactly home-y like he thought the other hallways were, but it was smaller, and that made him like it more.

"So, side kick to the Flash." Renegade started, unsure how to proceed but he wanted to know more about the team members themselves, and more accurately, how to take them down.

"Partner." Kid Flash corrected quickly, "The team was made because the younger partners of the adult heroes felt held backs."

"Ganging up on the adults. Respectable. But not in that yellow mustard bottle you call a suit." Renegade couldn't help himself, he wanted to see him riled up, how much could he annoy him before he broke.

"It's friction proof so I don't catch on fire every time I run." Kid Flash defended, frowning at his feet. "This is your room by the way." Kid Flash opened the door and Renegade stepped in tentatively.

"Sure." Renegade continued, "but the name literally has 'Kid' in it, you want to be respected, it doesn't start with a degrading name." He turned and folded his arms after taking a quick look around the room.

"I like it, it makes me part of something. Kid Flash, fasted kid alive." KF smirked, puffing out his chest just a tad and squaring his shoulders.

"Is that supposed to impress me?"

"Well..." Kid Flash was flustered, clearly unused to being sassed. "You're short!"

Renegade almost laughed. Really? The short card? He snorted. "Jeez, then the air really must be thin up there." He grabbed the door handle and started to close it, but paused when Kid Flash spoke up again.

"You know wha-"

"If I ever need something from the top shelf, I won't come find you." Renegade shut the door before the speedster could say anything else.

Renegade out his back to the door, he shouldered off his bag and let it slip to the ground. He breathed out a sigh of relief and slid down the door to sit on the floor. He was mentally taxed, stretched too thin. The timer was out, he could already feel the tears gathering.

He grabbed blindly for his bag, he unzipped the top and reached inside, pulling out the singular comfort that was available to him.

He was beyond thankful he decided to stuff Peanut inside at the last minute.

Whoa this is almost too long, but I'll stop here. Thought the meeting was underhwleming? Well don't worry, it's gunna get real whelmed real fast, maybe almost overwhelming.

I'd also like to say how amazing you readers are, I honestly didn't think this book was get much praise, I wasn't looking for it either but you guys delivered. You guys are amazing, the comments from last chapter alone got me to update this early. So good on you, I'm pretty much just as excited as you guys are about this story, it's gunna get fun real soon.

Also I nearly didn't update today cuz I made a cat analogy and my mind ran with it and I spent 5 hours on this one drawing.

7067 words my peeps.

See y'all soon!

Btw school is gunna start soon and this might majorly affect updating abilities.