#starcrevolution

“Citizens of Star City, let me begin by expressing gratitude on behalf of myself, my wife, and my entire team. Thank you to our first responders, our firefighters, SCPD officers, and medical personnel for their quick actions during these trying times. Our best is embodied in these brave men and women, and even in the worst of times they put their own lives on the line to save ours. Let us not forget all the people who answered the call in our time of need. Please, please...a round of applause for them, before we continue.”

Mayor Dent hung his head and clapped his hands together until he heard others begin to do the same. His public appearances were less and less frequent since being elected, and months passed since his last speech. A slight tic, just a small jerk of his head to one side, was visible as he lifted his gaze to the audience again.

“With that said, I want to talk about the real reason I’ve called this conference today. In light of the recent events and the damage sustained not only at NOVA headquarters, but within Star City itself, my team and I have been engaged in an intense discussion with the federal government. I always have the best interest of Star City citizens at heart. And I’ve heard you. So, after exhaustive negotiations, we’ve reached a compromise that I believe will benefit your best interests. Effective immediately, the National Oversight and Validation Association will no longer be headquartered in Star City.”

After a pregnant pause, Mayor Dent accepted a single question from a Gazette reporter, clarifying, “My office will release a full list of changes to local media outlets, as well as the SCPD. Because NOVA is a federal organization, I have no authority to dissolve NOVA completely. However, it’s clear that their continued presence in the city is a danger to us all.

Let me take these final moments to say that I fully condemn the violence that resulted in the loss of lives and destruction of property that occurred during the bombing of NOVA headquarters, as well as the looting that tore through our city’s local businesses. Those responsible will be held accountable.”

Slade: Slade had planned all of this out with Damian. They both had their reasons. Their inclinations. Dick was the largest motivator for both, unsurprisingly. For Slade, he was the only motivator. There was no other reason for him to care about NOVA and, up until this point, he hadn't. No one had ever taken out a contract. The money hadn't been there. That was the surest way to get Slade to give a shit. That was, until they put a bullet in his little bird's head and Slade had had to figure out for himself--as no one had bothered to call him--that Dick was in the hospital. He'd sat there for four days. He wasn't doing it again.

He'd suited up with more guns and weapons than even he usually carried, his body a veritable arsenal as he met with Damian at the drop point. As the teen approached, Slade looked at him through the mask. "Hey kid," he said simply before getting right to business. They didn’t have time to fuck around.

"This is the map." With a few clicks to a console on his arm, a blue holo of the facility appeared in front of him. "The contact I bought out said we have entrance points here--" he pointed, "and here to get to the security hubs. We'll cut those and then it'll give us free access. Emergency lockdown will keep them all in and everyone else out for a while. Standard military procedure, but idiotic in some ways."

Glancing to the other, he shrugged a bag off of his shoulders. "We'll plant these explosives along vulnerable points of the building, indicated here, here, and here." From his belt, he drew an ear insert. "This is a comm. Two-way only. We're the only ones on the encrypted frequency. With me so far?"

Damian: Damian's progress with the lowlife criminals had run cold and it wasn't until his confrontation with Jason that he realized he was going about it the wrong way. He'd taken some time, possibly to give himself any opportunity to calm down, but the more he had seen Dick during that period, the more the only thing he could picture was him lying in that hospital bed and his anger just surged again. So he had eagerly awaited the chance to meet up with Slade and work up an actual plan. He had arrived on the dot, taking precautionary measures with his attire -- protective kevlar of his Robin suit covered beneath the layers of his less protective League attire. In his hand was the new sword Slade had gifted him for his birthday. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to christen it. 

He listened as Slade brought up a map of the complex and explained the information he had obtained from his informant. His eyes trailed to the bag of explosives and he gave a small nod of confirmation when Slade pulled the comm device from his belt, taking it and slipping it into his ear and readjusting his face mask. He was quiet for a moment as his mind raced. This was really happening. After this, there wasn't going to be any denying the things he'd done or how far he had fallen thanks to the desire to see Dick's attackers suffer. He shook his head quickly and brought himself back to reality. No time for idle thoughts. "Yeah, I understand. The military protocol should buy us plenty of time to mop the place up and get the explosives planted where we need." He responded simply. "Which points do you want me to work towards?" He asked, staring at the blueprint of the building to commit it to memory.

Slade: "We'll go in hard and fast, then split off to cover the west and east sides. I don't intend to leave many people alive. It's about a message to be sent. They need to understand that there are consequences to who they fuck with." When they fucked with the wrong people, they needed to have it explained to them. Loud and clear. "You good with that?" 

He noted the weapon Damian had equipped and gave an approving nod. "You have a chance to practice with it yet?" he asked.

Damian: Damian gave a small nod. "More than good with it. I wasn't planning on holding back." He stated icily before fidgeting his hood enough to reveal the red of his suit beneath the layers of leather and cloth. "It'll take more than their handguns to get in the way." He remarked. At Slade's question, he looked at the sword and gave it a couple of loose swings. "I practiced with it a little bit after I opened it. The Nth metal reactions with my body took a bit to get used to - but I'm a quick study." Damian answered simply. All in all, the sword was nothing but a weapon of benefits. Of course, he had made sure to practice with it enough to not be caught off guard by his quicker movements or stronger swings; but not so extensively that he would forget his own ability and start relying on the sword to compensate. He was smarter than that. "Thank you, by the way." He added and looked at the man.

Slade: "I figured you would be," he stated. 

"I had the material lying around and didn't think it would be right to waste the alloy. I haven't been wearing that suit in a long time." The Ikon suit was too good. Unless someone showed up with an identical one, he was set. He could take a hit from Superman without even flinching. That was what it was designed for, after all. And he still hadn't heard from Isherwood. There was no way that the other Ikon suit would show up. Why should it? "Glad it suits. I always thought, with the right weapons, you'd be fucking lethal." Now he was going to find out. "Let's see some of your mom's training come out. It's what I suspect you're really made for, kid. Not that I can decide what you are for you. None of 'em can."

He pushed to his full height, nearly a foot taller than Damian. "You have something on the suit that can support the map? Or are you just filing away what you can?" He wanted to figure out how much he was going to need to feed to him over the comm so he could plug that into his logistics.

Damian: The comments about his lethality were met with a silence. Damian wasn't exactly sure how he wanted to respond to those remarks just yet, and so he opted to give yet another quiet and small nod of his head. It wasn't just his mother's tutelage that he would be drawing out that evening. No, his Father may have taught him to adhere to a Code but he still provided vital hand-to-hand and hand-eye exercises between him and his siblings. When Slade rose to his full height, Damian straightened his posture. "I won't need the map. It's just a single building and the layout was pretty simplistic. It wasn't too hard to lock the information away for the mission." Damian stated and looked at Slade. Though his face mask covered the smirk, it showed in his emerald eyes. "I take after my Father's intelligence, after all."

Slade: "Basic human intelligence. Congratulations," he answered sarcastically. Though Slade did respect Damian's tactical mind. He'd managed to turn Slade around on a mission once before he bought him out. He would have lost just like his father would have, but he wasn't above doing what was necessary. That he also respected. 

"Any other questions? Any comments, requests, concerns?"

Damian: Cracking his neck, Damian shook his head. "None. Let's get this mission started so we can get out of here." He responded and put his gaze forward, pushing all other thoughts from his head and focusing solely on what needed to be done and what they needed to accomplish.

Slade: "Heard," he agreed before stepping back and nodding to the site. "You remember your entrance? When you get in, there'll be a panel on your side. You'll need to crack into it and pull the fuses before you trash the whole thing. That'll compromise security. I'll do the same on my side and they'll start the lockdown. From there we'll converge on the main hallway. Good?"

Damian: "Understood." Damian remarked, already maneuvering little by little towards the building - branching away from his path and veering to one side of the complex where his entrance would be found. He pressed the earpiece in his head, making sure it was activated and ready to go. "They're going to regret ever making Dick their target..." He muttered out.

Slade: "That's the idea," he agreed into the comm before he made his way stealthily to the entrance. It wouldn't do to be caught before they even made it inside. Slade had a message he wanted to send. Several, if he was honest. He didn't, therefore, want to deal with any interruptions before they got inside. So he fitted a silencer over his gun before waiting to pop the first person guarding the door and then didn't hesitate on the second. No alarms tripped as he reached down to swipe the ID badge off one and made his way inside. "You in?"

Damian: Damian was a little less refined in his entrance than Slade, but his former training and all of the exercises in subtlety that Bruce and Dick had given him over the years allowed him to descend upon the guards at his entrance before they were even aware he was there - silencing them with a few quick swipes of his blade across their throats and abdomens before swiping the ID card from one of the bodies and slipping inside. "Inside. Accessing panel now." Damian responded after a short moment - working open the metal cover to the panel and looking over the fuses inside.

Slade: Slade nodded, accessing the one on his side. "On my count, we'll cut the power at the same time. Ready?" As Damian confirmed that he was, Slade did a countdown from 5 before cutting the fuses and then trashing the panel altogether. "Meet me in the main corridor. And remember kid... it's about a message. Christen that blade."

Damian: With the panels trashed and systems fried, the pair were free to enact their vengeance. It was nothing less than the sort; no righteous assault; nothing but unadulterated vengeance for the attempted murder of someone they both deeply cared for in their own way. Damian didn't respond to Slade's orders - he knew what needed to be done and what to do. He didn't need to be reminded about that. His mind had already shut itself off from any doubtful lines of thinking. So when Damian came barreling into the main halls of the building on his way to the main corridor, he did so with a flurry of brutal attacks. Exchanging blows with the men and women that attempted to accost him; taking several punches and kicks before wrenching himself free from their grasps and introducing them to the cold steel of his blade. It was a macabre dance of violence that left several hands severed at the wrist and forearm, and deep stab wounds through throats and chests. Damian brushed aside the pain he felt as the Nth metal of his sword worked to patch up bruising and gashes from the blows he received as he forced his way deeper towards the main corridor.

Slade: Slade left behind a similar trail of gore and morbid display of his professionalism. He had been doing this a long time and he didn't even flinch behind the mask as he took out every person who got in his path. His healing factor wasn't affected by gunshots, but they couldn't reach him anyway thanks to the proficiency of the Ikon suit in protecting him from projectile force. He and Damian Wayne together were a raze of devastation and that much was obvious as they met in the center, blood of the fallen staining their clothing and weapons. 

They ended up essentially back to back, giving Slade the opportunity to observe the baby bat as he moved. He had grown up skilled, which still carried through this entire process. Slade approved and found himself thinking about what a shame it was that Damian had been remanded to a life as Robin when he could have been so much more with the right encouragement. He was every inch Talia's kid and Slade appreciated it in droves. Bruce Wayne did not, even if he had been perfectly fine putting it to Damian's mother. Not that Slade blamed him. But if Damian had been his child, things would be very different for him.

Once they had taken out the first wave, Slade wasn't even breathing heavy as he looked to Damian with some approval. "They'll send more people. But we need to start laying the explosives. Work our way through the building. I'll take the west and you take the east?"

Damian: Damian, unlike Slade, was panting ever so slightly when the pair finally met up. Though his sword's abnormal properties were a blessing for injuries, they seemed to work a little slower on recovering his expended stamina. He had a few blood stains around his exposed brow behind his face mask and hood, but the gash that caused them was mostly patched up. "East side. Affirmitive; I've got the locations memorized on where to place the primers and charges." He agreed with a nod as he sheathed the sword onto his back and adjusted the bag of explosives to be at the ready. "Rendezvous afterwards or do we make separate exits?" He asked for clarification.

Slade: "Shoot for a rendezvous, but keep your comm open. Be ready for more death. Every one is for Dick, though." He shook his head, looking around quickly. His danger sense was going off in droves and his heightened hearing could pick up orders being barked down the hall. "It'll be a tough go. They're rallying. If you need backup, tell me. Don't be a fucking hero about it." Dick would see Slade dead if Damian got hurt. "If we need to split, I'll let you know. I'm gunning for Nabel if she's here. If she's not, then I'll find her." He glanced to Damian. "Don't get killed."