“Or ducks, or the odd coyote” Slade would quip from his place at the fire. It was just edging past dawn and breakfast had just been finished. He had turned this into a mix of training and actual vacation. They were a few states over, in a beautiful forest just at the base of a small mountain range. There was a variety of small game that could be found in the area, hence the point of the mans quip, but that wasn’t the only thing in the area. Hiking and camping were another great draw for the area, but at this point in the season most people won’t bother as the temp was lowering.

The weapon of choice for this hunt was a rather basic hunting rifle, bolt action with a five round clip that fired .117. Not the lowest caliber round, but not far from it either. Would be good enough to take down any of the game that the two of there were actually here to hunt at least. Though that wasn’t to say that that was all they had. Slade had at least three more knives on him. Two for throwing one for more general use. As well as a 1911 as a side arm. He didn’t think he would need it, but paranoia wouldn’t let him leave with out it.

Jinayah was allowed to bring her knives as well if she wanted to. Not all of them, but half of her throwing knives as well as her main pair of daggers. They were hers now, and Slade had been working on getting her into the habit of always having at least one knife on her no matter where it was they were going.

“Now. You’ll be the one leading this” He would go on to say. “I’ll help point out things, tracks, or other things that might be of use. But for the most part you are the one who’s guiding things today.” Yesterday Slade had been the one in charge as he got them to this camp sight. “We have plenty of daylight so don’t worry about that, and I will be able to get us back here easily if needed. So shall we start the hunt?” He would ask knowing that there was plenty he could teach out here even while they went searching for Jinny’s first kill. Stealth and Tracking being the top things on that list.

And even if they weren’t able to find anything, Slade had slipped out last night and set up a few snares and other such traps that might have bagged something as well. One way or another, Jinny was getting a kill this trip.

Jinny had several knives of her own. Her daggers, neatly strapped to either side of her belt. Her throwing knives hidden in a small backpack. And a hunting knife as well, tucked into one of her little combat boots. She was ready for anything, and determined to have a fun vacation. The scenery made a nice change of pace from the usual training environment. She'd never been on a mountain before. Even the air was different here.

Before they left, Jinny had looked up various tracks and signs of animals, and was determined to put this new knowledge to use. At the very least, she wanted to find one rabbit. Maybe something even smaller to start with. "Okay, I'm leading. Let's go... this way." She picked a general southern direction and started walking. Looking up and around, she could see flashes of color in the trees. Birds were all around them. Taking in the sunlight. Making noise at other birds. Diving and twittering and flying around. It was a very entertaining fact to her that the boy birds were the colorful ones. All in all it was very pretty.

Turning her attention downward, she started looking for signs of animals. It didn't take long for her to catch sight of a tuft of grayish brown fur stuck on a low branch. Not far from that were definitely some kind of droppings. "I'm on the hunt." Jinny said cheerfully, pointing them out and beelining in a new direction.

Her boots crunched through the underbrush as they went. After about 15 minutes, she piped up with a quiet voice full of frustration. "I'm making so much noise. I'm not quiet like back at home. There's too much stuff on the ground." She was getting on her own nerves, not being able to be stealthy.

"Help me." She didn't know how to step silent in a forest. Every step there seemed to be a leaf, or a rock, or a stick, something to get in her way.

Once again Slade was impressed, but no longer was he surprised. Young Jinny had cut in half his estimate for how long it would take before she realized that she wasn’t having much luck with being quiet. The more he taught her the more he was certain that she would have ended up in his world one day, in one way or another.

Reaching out he would grab a large, if thin, branch off a near by tree with his knife too keep noise down. “Keeping quiet in wilderness is far and away one of the harder environments” He would start to explain “You’ve no doubt that each step seemed to have something in the way. There are a few ways around that. First is to change how to are taking each step.” He would gesture to Jinny foot with the stick “You are walking heel to toe. Which is fine for locomotion and combat, but for stealth you want to walk toe to heel.” He would tap his own boot before taking several slow, exaggerated, steps.

The lift of each foot was the same, but on the down step he would use the toe of his shoe to brush forward the loose debris before resting on the ball of his foot he would then lean into the step slightly his foot sliding just a bit so that when he set his heel down it too was in the small cleared area he had made before. “It’s simple, but keeping it up at speed is tricky.

“Second is to know how to walk across brittle twigs” He would say before walking around a bit more normally, but it was notable that there wasn’t a whole lot of crunching. “This one takes a lot of personal balance and good sense of awareness. As I’m shifting my balance and point of contact with each step. You need to have an innate understanding of how much pressure what you are stepping on can take and react accordingly with each step.

“Third option, is simply not be on the ground.” To demonstrate that he would simply jump up into the three nearby. “This is my best route for following the third option, which comes with its own complications. Balance and weight distribution as well as acrobatic capability.” He would jump back out of the tree landing softly and quietly. Which if Jinny was paying attention to his feet involved him landing more or less on his toes and smoothly rolling back his weight in a mix of the first and second options he had explained.

“you might be able to use your meta-ability to assist with the first two options or simple negate the complications entirely by going over them”

All in all, a good primer, enough for Jinayah to get started, as well as something for her to work on, since it seemed like she had tracking down pretty well for her first time. Yet, it also wasn’t everything. He hadn’t mentioned anyway to slip past bushes or low hanging branches without disturbing them but that was by design on his part.

She asked about the stuff on the ground, so he answered about the stuff on the ground. This was as just as much about testing exactly how good her instincts were for Slade as it was imparting useful skills.

Jinny watched with careful attention as Slade demonstrated how to move quietly in the forest environment. She mimicked his steps for a few moments, walking in a circle to get the footing down. It was much quieter, but she found herself walking normally every few steps. It was going to take some practice. Then she tried climbing a tree, which was surprisingly difficult for her. She muttered to herself, poked herself with branches, said a few choice words that she shouldn’t probably know, and managed to make it to a sturdy branch.

“...that was hard.” She was just a bit out of breath, so she sat down on the branch with her feet swinging.

“I know I could have used my powers to fly up, but sometimes I don’t want to use them. What if I overdo it, or what if there’s something that takes my powers away? I have to be ready for that, right?” She wasn’t even sure that second thing existed beyond her own imagination, but it was definitely worth considering in her mind.

“I have to learn things the regular way just in case.” She stood and leapt from her perch, falling into a careful tumbling roll as she had been taught. Brushing herself off, she led the way again. Her feet were much quieter, but it was clear she was still getting the hang of it.

It took quite a bit more time, and there were more signs along the way. There was the faintest sound of water ahead. The source of it became much clearer, as a trickling stream came into view. Just ahead, having a nice drink of water, was their quarry, a fat, healthy looking rabbit.

“There it is.” Jinny whispered softly. It was completely defenseless, and so far, had not caught wind of them.

“…is this a good spot?” She looked around for other animals.

Watching Jinny climb the tree was an interesting experience, and Slade made a mental note to purchase a rotating climbing wall. To further assist in overcoming this handicap before it became one. Her choice of vocabulary didn’t really mean all that much, did have him passingly curious as to where she learned them, and whether it would be a good idea to teach her more at this age.

“Good” Slade said with a touch of pride at her reasoning for not simply floating up the tree “Your abilities are a great X-factor, and will no doubt be the thing that saves you time and time again. But never grow to be dependent on them.”

“Because you are correct, there are ways to dampen or or seal your abilities. Not common ways, or easily acquired but that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. But mastery of yourself can’t be taken away. It’s the reason The Batman is as accomplished as he is. Because despite what the myths say he is only a man. Yet there is no more a difficult opponent.” He would answer her half asked question. “Except for me.” Because it wasn’t vanity if it was true.

He gave her nod of approval for her tumble out of the tree, it was a good show of understanding the skill required, as doing that on untamed ground wasn’t as easy as padded flooring or concrete and asphalt.

Once they continued on their way, Slade would occasionally tap at her shoe with his tree branch when she was about to step wrong. Making sure she was being mindful of her steps, it contributed to the extended time it took, but it helped it become closer to second nature as well.

Upon seeing their quarry Slade would glance around, scanning the surrounding area quickly. He could note another rabbit or two in the area, but they were hidden by the brush. Their spot wasn’t the best, but at the same time they didn’t have much time either. If the rabbit was here for a drink, it would leave once it was done. Thankfully they were downwind, which was a stroke of fortune.

Silently he would crouch down next to her “This spot will work, but there is a clock ticking. The quarry will notice us once it has had its fill of water.” He would slip the rifle off his shoulder and hand it over to Jinny without a word. It was up to her now.

Jinny took the gun silently and clutched it tight. She took it to her shoulder and made sure it was securely set. She had been taught to shoot, but only little red plastic targets. This was something else entirely.

Her lips moved as she calculated and the rabbit drank.

Exhale. Steady. Squeeze, don’t pull, the trigger. And -

The little bullet flew out faster than she could track. Birds and creatures scattered from the water. But not the rabbit. It lay there in an ever expanding pool of it’s own blood, twitching very slightly as the life drained out of it.

Jinny pulled back the rifle and stared at the animal. Splashing through the little creek, she approached it and crouched down. She gave it a little tentative poke just to be sure. It was definitely, absolutely dead.

“…”

Jinny kept staring, half aware of the blood getting on the tips of her shoes. The area around the stream had gone quiet, as all the wildlife had promptly left.

Slowly, she looked up at her uncle.

She felt…

She felt…

Absolutely nothing.

Frowning, she looked back at the rabbit. “It’s dead. I did that. But… is something supposed to happen? Like… here?” She pointed at her chest. “I killed it but I don’t really feel anything. Not sad. But not happy either. It’s like potato chips. You kind of eat them and for a second they’re there but then they aren’t, and then… well, you’re still hungry afterward.”

Her frown deepened.

“Uncle, am I broken?”

It takes just over two pounds of force to pull the trigger of the rifle that Slade brought to this little trip. The velocity of the round is just shy of breaking the sound barrier. The critter is dead on impact, it just takes a few seconds for its brain to catch up and a few more for its body to follow though. All in all, it was a quick and clean kill. Easy, simple, and for Slade, boring.

But that’s to be expected. This was to help his niece learn. So, he stayed quiet, watching her. Because of that he would catch onto her confusion before she even knew to express it. Because he would see the lack of any real impact. The rabbit was dead, undeniably so, Jinny had been the one to pull the trigger. Yet nothing.

He would take a moment to formulate his thoughts regardless, “If you are broken, you are no more than I am. Most people would have some emotional reaction to their first kill, even if it is only a rabbit, but not all. There are those who are a part of normal society that don’t react. To them it’s too disconnected from people to feel any connection when it dies.”

“Easiest way to test that would be finding someone to kill, but I don’t think we need to go that far today.” Besides he was a professional, if they were going to kill someone at the very least, they should get paid for it. Bullets weren’t cheap after all.

“I can state that I am, and have never been, concerned with the lives of other people. Empathy in general isn’t something that I personally understand, even though I can still make use of it. So even if you never end up feeling anything when it comes to taking lives you aren’t alone.”

He would glance at the sky, checking the daylight left. “Do you want to keep hunting, head back to camp, or just hike around a bit more?” He would ask “We’ve got a few more hours before we would need to turn back.” He would add on moving to pick up the killed rabbit. Would either be a good addition to their dinner, or the pelt could be kept for a souvenir.

“I’m glad I’m not alone.” Jinny was still a little worried, though. If most people had a reaction to killing, and they weren’t most people, didn’t that mean they were both weird? Was she going to be lonely forever? She didn’t like the thought.

Then again, maybe being lonely meant that people couldn’t be taken away from her. Because there would be no people to take away. Thinking about that made her feel even worse.

To his question of whether to keep hunting, she shook her head. “I want to go back. I don’t want to hunt right now.” While she was trying to keep it under wraps, it would be obvious to an adult that something was amiss. She was still learning how to lie properly.

Still, she turned around and started walking, carefully stepping and picking her way through brush and leaves. Occasionally she would ask questions about what she was seeing. Such as if the berries on a particular bush were good to eat, or if a particular set of tracks was a certain animal, or if he’d ever had to take a job that involved being in a forest.

Other than that, she was unusually quiet.

Once they made it back to camp, she sat down, eyes emptily probing the ground. Then she started to nibble at her nails, something she only ever did when she was bothered.

Slade watched his niece with a critical eye as she withdrew. He allowed it to happen, wondering if perhaps it was a delayed onset reaction to her first kill or perhaps it was coming to face to face with her lack of empathy that was the shock. He had seen both happen before.

“To camp then” He would agree, but rather then shadow her as he had before he would walk along side her, a step behind at most. The training portion of the day was over after all, no need to stand back and observe. He would answer her questions, the berries were fine and he would point out how to tell which was which. Would tell a few of the simpler jobs he had in forest locations, though he focused more on tactical applications or work arounds more than the jobs themselves.

But for the most part he left her to her silence, willfully filling the silence with simple dialogues and anecdotes. Some people just needed time to process. He got that, he couldn’t say he understood what it was like, but he did understand that some people did.

It wouldn’t be until after they got back to camp that he would bring it up. He had seen her nail-biting habit enough to know that she wasn’t dealing with this very well.

“Want to talk about what it is you have on your mind?” He would ask sitting in off to the side in one of the chairs set up. Not the comforting opening, but it was very likely that the up coming conversation wasn’t one he would be able to fully understand and help with. Assuming, of course, that it was connected to death dealing and the emotional ramifications of such.

“…” Jinny let out the tiniest huff of air at his question. She didn’t want to talk about it. Mostly because she wasn’t fully sure how to discuss what she had in her head. But still, she would try.

“It’s not about the rabbit. The rabbit is dead and we’re probably going to eat it. That’s already done.” She frowned, pinky fingernail being nibbled at.

“I figured out why I don’t have friends. Its because I’m like this, right?” She still wasn’t looking at him. “Because dead rabbits don’t bother me.” She huffed again, trying to gather her wayward thoughts into something concrete. It was proving difficult.

“I guess people can tell when you aren’t like them, even if you don’t say so. Maybe I act different. I don’t know.” She sighed, her slender shoulders slumping. “I really don’t like it, Uncle. It means I’m going to be alone, right?”

She could feel her eyes filling up with tears, but was trying very hard not to cry.

“Part of me thought that it might be good, because then people can’t be taken away if I don’t have them. But that just kind of makes my tummy hurt. I don’t want to be alone forever.”

Looking up slowly, she asked the sort of blunt question only a kid could. “Are you alone, too? Have you always been alone?”

That. That hadn’t been what Slade was expecting. Which was good, in at least one sense, as the thing that was bugging Jinny was something that Slade could answer and explain. It just sucked because it wasn’t an easy thing to talk about for him. “It’s likely a mix of things, but you are right that people can tell when there is something… different about us.” He would start leaning forward as he spoke.

“It is something that you can learn to hide, but as you already have found out its not exactly an easy skill to learn. And there will always be some people that can sense it. The only way to completely get rid of it would be to forget completely.” A solution that, in Slade’s honest opinion, was worse then living though the events that changed them into who they were.

“But that doesn’t mean you will always be alone.” He would continue on without waiting. “Even discounting me” Since Slade was sure he would live at least another hundred years “Just as there will always be people who can pick out the differences, there will be people that aren’t phased by them. The underworld is filled with people like us, for example, most of them won’t care.”

And he could stop there, it was an uplifting message to give. That there was always going to be people out there that could care for her. That she could hold close.

And it was true.

But.

“That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy or safe.” He let out a bitter chuckle and let his gaze drift away from Jinny. “Before. I had three people I would gladly call friends. Your mother was one of them. Now I have one and even then, it has been a few years since me and Wintergreen have talked.” He let out a sigh, he really should get in contact with the old bastard. “But even before then I had a family. I don’t really need to explain what happened to most of them however. My Ex-wife is still alive though. She hates me though. Gave me a parting gift before she left.” He would say sardonically, tapping his eye patch. He didn’t blame her though, because she was right.

“So, as you can see, I wasn’t always alone. Thus, there is no reason for you to be.” But he had spent a large part of his life alone. And those he considered close never numbered very high. “Besides, things are different. Places like H.I.V.E. are new, a school for kids like you to learn how to do what I do is interesting.” He would add with a shrug “They likely won’t care about the rabbits either”

Jinny sat quietly as her Uncle spoke, trying not to interrupt. While it was great that he didn’t think she would be alone, he had dropped several bombshells in a row that she really wanted to talk about.

He had a family? Emphasis on had. That was not such a huge surprise to her; everyone had a family, right? But it made her sad that they weren’t around anymore. It also answered what happened to his eye, which was something she had wanted to know since the day they had met. However, she had never once asked. She had been taught in school that it was impolite to do so. Despite not caring about dead rabbits, Jinny was not what one could call a rude child. She was usually well-behaved, despite her energetic nature.

Still, this explained so very much.

Jinny got up from where she was seated and went to her uncle. Then she hugged him very softly, her forehead briefly resting against his chest. It was rare for her to show this sort of affection, as she was not much for touching people. “I’m sorry your ex wife hurt you. Hating people is... not very nice.” It was clear she meant this. Then again, she hated the people who took her parents away, so she wasn’t without that particular brand of guilt. “I mean, I get why people hate people? But that doesn’t make it… good.” She paused, sorting her thoughts while she spoke them.

“Then again, I’m not worried about being good. Not in that way, anyway. But it kind of hurts your chest to hate someone, doesn’t it?” With that childish koan spoken, she looked upward at him in a curious way.

“You’re probably not going to answer me, but what if you met someone who was more like you – us – and didn’t care about rabbits either? Would that be good? I just don’t want you to be all alone when I go to school.” She grinned a bit, mischief in her eyes. “You need a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend. That way, you won’t be lonely.”

“When I go to the HIVE, I’m gonna make a friend.” She paused, thinking on this. “I don’t know how. But I’m sure I can figure it out.”

Slade quietly wrapped his arm around Jinny when she embraced him. He, like her, wasn’t the most physical of people when it came to showing affection. But he would accept it from her when it came to this. Because Jinayah knew how it felt. And in the silence of his own mind, he would admit only to himself, that it did feel good to know that a child could show him sympathy about how he lost his children.

He would stay quiet in regards to her opinions when it came to hate. Because oddly enough, he couldn’t relate when it came to carrying that particular emotion. Not because he didn’t hate, because he did, just it was such rare occurrences that those he hated never lived long after he came to such a conclusion about them. He was more accustomed to dealing with the hate of others then his own really.

“You laugh now” Slade would huff seeing the mischief in his daughters niece’s eyes. Not hurt by the question “But I will remember this” He would warn with wry smile. “And I wouldn’t be opposed to a girlfriend” He would answer, knowing that his answer would have been different had Jinny not found her way into his life. “But that’s not going to be needed to keep me from being lonely”

“And I’ll make sure to give you and your friend to be some space at HIVE” He would go Amicably, not doubting her declaration. Shared trials had a way of bringing people together, assuming it didn’t push them apart in the first place. And he was likely going to be a trial to most everyone else “Because you didn’t think I was going to leave your training up to HIVE alone, did you?”

“I’m coming along as a teacher”

Jinny’s eyes went wide at Slade’s declaration. “Wait, you’re coming with me?” Her eyes sparkled with joy. “Yaay! That’s so awesome!”

She was relieved. While she was absolutely determined to make a friend, she wasn’t sure if it was actually going to happen. After all, she didn’t have much experience in it. But if her uncle was right, there would be plenty of kids her age with similar views around. Not being thought of as weird was probably the first step. The rest she was just going to have to work out on her own.

“If you’re going to be a teacher, I don’t think the other kids know what they’re in for. You’re not the nice kind of teacher.” She was still smiling, though. Then she backtracked a bit, realizing she might have been insulting. “Not saying you’re mean. But when you spar with me… you kick my butt. A lot.” While she knew he wasn’t fighting her at anything near full strength, he never failed to take advantage of her mistakes. She had bruises to prove it. Jinny had lost over and over again. It was a frustrating not even to be able to land a proper strike. But she would, one day. She got faster and more adept with every fight.

“I have a question though.” She peered up at him curiously. “Is the fact that I’m adopted by you going to be a secret there? Or am I allowed to talk about it?” When she had taken her first steps into the underworld, there had been a rather frank discussion about enemies and danger. Considering where they were headed, she wasn’t sure if their connection would prove more dangerous than ever.

“No, they likely aren’t” Slade would agree with Jinny, smirking slightly as he did so. Finding some amount of humor in the fact that her thoughts and his own had skirted along similar lines. And his plan for his first class would teach everyone in it that fact very quickly.

But those thoughts were for another time.

“That’s up to you.” The older man would answer “But it won’t stay a secret for long either way I suspect. Because while the students won’t think much of it, the staff and others in the underworld will easily be able to put things together. My adoption of you was, for the most part, legal. Which means it won’t take very long for anyone who goes looking to find your connection to me.” Which was true. According to the law she was Jinayah Ifriti-Wilson. His legal ward and child. And Slade had never hidden his name. A fact he always found enjoyable, since almost no one expected that to be the case. Even Deathstroke was a callsign he used when he was still a part of the military.

“Short term it won’t be an issue, and will in fact be safer. Our home is defensible, but HIVE’s facility will be more so once we are settled. And the set up will make it very difficult for single target contracts to be carried out without making a lot of rather powerful enemies.” Yes, it would put out what it was Jinny could do. But even that had the potential to benefit her in the long run.

“Long term it might be more of an issue, but that depends on how things develop there and we can leave before things get unsalvageable.” So long as they get at least a year at HIVE, the time spent there would prove to be worth it. As after that Slade would have enough of a baseline to continue to properly train Jinny’s powerset. As well as a deep enough understanding of how HIVE was going to operate to be able to predict it. Anything after that was simply a bonus.

---

With the forest trip taken care of time would pass quickly. Before long it would be the day. The day they both left for H.A.E.Y.P. Though getting there wasn’t going to be much of a hassle. Be it luck or providence, the academy was located in Jump city. So once breakfast was finished and the house was locked up it would be a simple drive to the private estate grounds where the academy was located. And while it would be quite the drive, but Slade and Jinayah had both been earlier risers for years at this point. Thus, shortly before noon on a balmy Friday they would arrive.

The school was a large multibuilding structure situated on several acres of woodlands. The main building was the largest and housed the main offices and class rooms, along side the library and lunchroom. The other buildings had more specialized class rooms, such as those used for Auto mechanics or woodshop, held dorms for both staff and students, or housed the gymnasium. Which had all manner of exercise equipment as well as a diving pool and lap area.

On the grounds themselves there was another pool, outside, and geared more towards fun with various water park frivolities, such as waterslides and diving boards. There were also a few courts for either basket ball or tennis as well as a track and field area. Other pathways leading away from the academy implied that they had even more buildings situated elsewhere on the grounds, but what they were wasn’t apparent at the moment.

All in all, it looked like an upscale, and extravagant, private bordering school. Because that is what it was. Jin wasn’t the only student showing up either from the looks of things. As when her and Slade exited the car there were at least a dozen others that were also arriving. Some looked older, a few looked younger, and the rest seemed to fit into Jinayah’s age bracket.

The students were easy to pick out. All of them wore a similar looking uniform, one that Jinayah had herself. A gray blazer had the academy’s logo emblazed on the breast. A white under shirt, with a deep purple tie or small ribbon. The boys had slacks, and the girls were split between also waring slacks or moderate skirts, with the majority leaning towards skirts. The uniform was finished off with black dress shoes. All of them had a member of the staff talking either to them or to their guardians. Answering questions about the layout of the school and other such mundane things.

“Quite the place they have here.” Slade would remark now that he had seen the place in person. It was an impressive showing, and made him wonder all the more what the parts that they had hidden away looked like. None of the staff would approach, but their arrival wasn’t unnoticed. As several of the staff members could be seen almost double taking when they noticed Slade himself. He had a reputation after all, that and they likely didn’t truly believe that he was going to be working here up until just now. If they even knew of such beforehand.

“Seems like we are being left to our own devices for the time being.” He would say turning his attention back to Jinny. Amused by the reactions of those here. “Do you want to go exploring a bit, get the lay of the land, or get the bureaucratic business out of the way?

Jinny was almost bouncing in her seat by the time they arrived at the gates, thoroughly excited. Despite waking up just before dawn, she was eager and awake. She had opted for the uniform with pants, thinking it would be easier to fly in just in case. Her hair was tied back into a neat braid with a purple ribbon.

She hopped out of the car and started looking around, staying within Slade’s vicinity. “This place is huge! And look at all this stuff.” From where she was, she could see the outdoor pool and most of the courts. As she looked this way and that, she did notice other students her age in the uniforms. But she did not approach them. Not yet.

It didn’t escape her notice that they were being looked at. After the staff stared at Slade with some mixture of shock and fear, their eyes slid down to her, with pure confusion. She didn’t like those looks. Part of her wanted to march right up to them and tell them to stop staring at her. But – she held her temper as best she could. Stepping back within her uncle’s reach, she whispered quietly.

“Um. Just how famous are you? Everyone’s looking at us. It’s actually a little creepy.” To his question, she responded even softer. “Let’s get the boring stuff done first. Then I gotta look around here.”

“Very” Slade would answer confidently as he pulled out his and Jinny’s luggage out of the trunk of the car. “I’ll hold back on the details for now, but know that even if they don’t recognize me on sight, every single member of staff will know who I am.” They may not know him by his legal name, but the only people who didn’t know of Deathstroke the Terminator were new to the underworld.

“For now, ignore them, this is part of the reason why I mentioned keeping our connection from staff would be pointless after all. We can deal with it later if needed.” With that Slade would start walking towards the main office building. Looking for all the world like just another guardian here to drop off his charge. He wasn’t wearing the staff uniform after all, just a simple white button up, a pair of khakis and his dress shoes.

The double takes would keep happening however, even a few of the older students would do such. Still, no one would approach, partially out of disbelief, partially because Slade was walking like he knew where he was going. Which was the case. In short order the two of them are standing at the main reception desk. A brief conversation with the receptionist later, one made easier by the woman being one of the few who doesn’t seem to care who Slade is, and both of them have small stacks of papers to fill out.

It isn’t until a few minutes into filling out the paperwork that a voice interrupts them. “This begins to answer a great many questions” The voice, aged and stern, but not lacking for vitality comes from a rather strict looking older woman. One who is standing only a handful of feet away. She is a bit on the taller side for her gender standing at about five foot six. Her gray hair is pulled up into a high bun and she is wearing an almost completely black pants suit with a comfortable pair of flats. The only spot of color was H.A.E.Y.P.’s crest on her right shoulder. Her light blue, almost ice colored, eyes were trained onto Jinny despite her statement sounding more directed at Slade.

“I would be worried if it didn’t Headmistress” Slade would reply, not even looking up from the papers in front of him. “Jinayah, this is Headmistress Kane.” He would go on gesturing towards the woman off handedly “Founder and proprietor of this academy and Darkway prep. As well as headmistress of H.A.E.Y.P.” He would introduce still filling out the paperwork. Not seeming to care if he was insulting the person who was to become his boss.

The Headmistress herself didn’t seem to take any offense to his behavior either, content to watch Jinny instead. “Welcome to my academy Jinayah.” She would greet instead, offering the younger girl a small nod of acknowledgement, though she kept her hands crossed behind her back. “I suspect it will be more to your liking compared to most schools thus far. Are there any classes in particular that you are looking forward to?” She would ask politely though her voice didn’t lose it’s stern tone, she did sound honest in her curiosity though.

Jinny tried her best not to make eye contact as they moved through the school. She could feel the stares burning the back of her neck, and could practically read the minds of those who were looking. Just who was this child with the famous Deathstroke? She felt a little anxious, suddenly, wondering just what kind of expectations she was going to have to live up to. Then, after several moments of this, she raised her chin and looked determinedly forward. She had trained and prepared for this. Her uncle would not abandon her to the wolves. They were going to learn her name, one way or another.

As they settled in to do the boring paperwork, she put everything in her best handwriting. There were others around getting their papers done, some of them adults, some children like her. She was just staring at the class list and schedule when the Headmistress approached and spoke to them.

“Hello, Headmistress.” She offered a small, but polite smile. Something about this woman made her a bit nervous. Maybe because she ran the school? “I’m going to take Algebra – I really like numbers, and they wouldn’t let me take the good math classes in regular school because I was too little. Hm.” She glanced at the list briefly. “Stealth and Spying, Weaponry, Sciences… ooh, is that a mechanics class?” Her eyes lit up with happiness.

“This is so much better than regular school.” She noted that she was under the age bracket for the mechanics class, and frowned. Maybe next year. “There’s a sniper course that looks like fun from the description.”

She looked up, staring the woman in her cool blue eyes. “The ones I’m looking forward to the most are the Stealth and the Algebra. I’m good at them already, but I want to be better.” There was no bragging in her voice, just a level of confidence that had been instilled in her through months of training. She knew what she was good at, and what she wasn’t good at. The English class on her schedule was going to be a struggle, but she was determined to face it.

“Are there any ones you would recommend, Headmistress?” Her question was very polite, but it was clear she was digging for more information.

Kane would raise an eyebrow as her question got turned back to her. “Not at the moment” She would reply “Though you might want to hold off on filling out a class slot or two. Schedules aren’t finalized until two weeks after term starts. As the requirements listed can be tested around.” She would offer up, Jinny disappointment about not being able to join the mechanics class hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“It also might be a worthwhile idea to use that time to audit some of the more esoteric classes as well” She add “Your...” She would stall for just a moment to glance over at Slade “Mentor likely wouldn’t have been able to provide much more then simple discussion points on some of them”

Slade would let out a soft chuckle at that. Not because she was wrong about his inability to teach on those subjects, but because of the Headmistress’ labeling of his connection to Jinny.

“I assume that the teachers are responsible for testing prospective students?” He would ask as he neared finishing his paperwork.

“That is correct” She would reply, to which Slade would only give an understanding hum.

“After the first week of class I would be willing to reassess your question” She would finish, continuing from where Slade interjected. “Any other questions?” She would ask, a lingering curiosity notable.

Jinny nodded, going back to her paper and crossing off a class. “Thank you for the advice. I know I should probably enroll in Power Control but I wanted to do some fun ones.” Controlling her power was necessary, especially given her tendency to get migraines from overuse. That didn’t mean she had to like it, however. Still – better to have it than not have it.

Jinny was just as curious about this woman as she was of her. There were so many questions in her head, but she didn’t want to waste the Headmistress’ time. There was probably plenty for her to do in order to keep things running on the first day. “Just one more question. Why are you running a school like this? I’m really, really happy that you are, by the way. I’m just curious as to… why.”

She gazed up politely, her attention rapt for an answer.