A/N: OH LOOKIE NEW STORY! I am entering the universe of YJ Fanfiction. Wish me luck. *jumps into universe* GERONIMO!

Excitement buzzed through the air as the customers walked into the circus, happily chatting and talking among each other. No one paid much attention to the one eyed man who blended right into the crowd.

The one eyed man was of course, none other than Slade Wilson himself. But that night, to the eyes of the public, he was neither Slade Wilson, nor Deathstroke The Assassin. He was Jack Spencer, a 35 year old brown haired, green eyed bespectacled lawyer who lost his eye in a car accident.

The truth was that Slade decided to come to the circus to find an apprentice. He heard rumors of children from Haly's Circus getting sent off to the Court of Owls, whether the old ringleader was involved or not, he didn't know. He was there to get one of the children.

~ TIME SKIP ~

It all happened so fast. They jumped, they flew and they fell. When Slade left the big top, he could still hear the sorrow filled wails and cries of their son. He felt a twinge of pity, but it quickly disappeared.

A vulnerable young boy, orphaned and skilled, such potential could not be wasted. Slade grinned. A perfect candidate.

Of course, before taking any action, there must be a plan. Slade spent countless hours doing research on the boy, finding out everything he could about the last flying Grayson.

After weeks of research, he had quite a few...jobs in between which interrupted his resourcing, he went back to the scene of the crime, the circus. The circus still was in Gotham, recovering from the shock of the deaths of the other Graysons. He stuck in the shadows, watching everyone for clues of where the boy was now.

He was about to leave when he saw Haly having a seemingly heated conversation with a middle aged lady.
Of course, he did what everyone would do, he eavesdropped.

"Mrs Kenning, this is ridiculous, the boy recently lost his parents, and you're bringing him to Juvie?!"

"I'm sorry Mr Haly but this boy is a minor and he has no relatives that are able to take care of him. Thus, this is the next best thing."

"How is sending him to Juvie the next best thing?! You're not even sending him to an orphanage for God's sake!"

"The orphanage had no more space for any more people, so we have no choice but to put him into Juvie."

"What do you mean no choice?! You could have left him with us, we can take care of him!"

"With all due respect Mr Haly, I don't think a circus not even with proper sanitaries would be the best environment for a child at this age to live in."

"Are you kidding me?! I have you know, Mrs Kenning, my circus is one of the cleanest and proper equipped circuses there are. If you take him away from here, you'll break his heart!"

"I apologize Mr Haly but the judge's descision is final. We will be back to pick him up tomorrow."

And with that, Mrs Kenning walked away, the clicking of her heels against the ground slowly fading. Mr Haly pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, before retreating back to his trailer.

Slade smirked. 'Interesting,' he thought, 'the boy's going to Juvie.' 'Now which Juvie was Richard placed at, that is the question,' Slade silently mused.

~IT'S TIME TO SEE DICKIE BIRD~

Curling up into a ball, Dick closed his eyes and bit his lip to prevent whimpers for coming out. He couldn't show any signs of pain, or there would be punishment. He learnt it the hard way when the guard withdrew his dinner after he sobbed in pain from the beatings he got from the other children. Apparently the guard found it too annoying as it interrupted his naps.

He deserved it. He didn't tell his parents about the ropes and they fell because of him. It just hurt too much sometimes, but he had gotten better at hiding the pain.

He had learnt how to survive in this living hell. At first, the other kids would nick his measly amount of food, beat him up daily. But now he became more stealthy, knew where to hide and how to avoid them most of the time. Stealing their food also helped.

He knew that his parents disapproved of stealing but he was desperate and it helped with his ravenous hunger. It started just with a few french fries, it was pretty easy. Using the hand tricks and skills he learnt from the magicians in the circus, he quickly made the fries "disappear". He was a bit fuller that day.

He tried to stop, he really did, but he had to do it to get the mininum amount of food he needed to survive each day. The fact that his stomach shrank helped a bit, but not much.

He understood and knew how to say English, yes, but it never really improved his situation. So he chose to keep quiet.

A voice from the present moment broke him from his thoughts.

"Richard, someone is here to see you."

See him? Why would anyone want to see him? He was a murderer.

"Richard. It is impolite to keep the guest waiting."

Dick stood up, wincing at the new wave of pain the action brought in, before following Ms Helen, that was the worker's name, into a room.

There sitting on the chair, was a white haired, blue eyed stranger curiously staring at him. Feeling uncomfortable, Dick looked away. Ms Helen glared at Dick and gestured for him to look at the stranger before proceeding to introduce the stranger.

"Richard, this is Mr Slade Wilson. He will be adopting you."

Dick's eyes widened in surprise. He couldn't believe it, someone was going to adopt him. The stranger, now revealed as Mr Wilson, smiled at him, stood up and shook his hand. "Hello Richard, nice to meet you."

Slade exchanged some words with Ms Helen, signed the adoption papers and shook her hand. Dick wasn't aware of any of that happening around him as he zoned out, his mind still wrapping around the fact that he was going to be adopted.

Only when Ms Helen grabbed him roughly by the shoulder that he snapped back to the present. He looked shyly up to the towering figure that was Mr Wilson. Mr Wilson smiled at him, reached for his hand and they both walked out of the doors of Juvie. Dick broke into a grin, it was finally going to be a fresh new start after weeks of being in that hellhole.

Boy was he so wrong.

The next two and half years were a nightmare for Dick.

Of course in the beginning, Slade continued with his false persona, giving gifts, being nice and sweet, but that was just a ploy for Dick to warm up to him. And warm up to him Dick did.

But one day, Slade decided it was time to prepare Dick to become his apprentice. William Wintergreen, Slade's butler, protested, saying that he was too young, which he was, but Slade, being the stubborn man he was, ignored him and proceeded to do exactly what he planned to do.

On the pretense of teaching Dick to defend himself, Slade brought him to the training area and sparred with him. Dick repeatedly failed, as expected with someone who had no experience in fighting.

Dick wasn't allowed dinner that night.

Over the course of months, Dick was taught how to fight and how to use many, many different weapons. Everytime he refused, he would either be punished, given lesser food, or have his meal removed in its entirity. Then, he would be forced to do it again, and if he refused, the same thing would happen, but with a harsher punishment. It would happen again and again until he finally agreed.

Then came the missions. Slade refused to call him Richard, only Apprentice from the day he started Dick's training. After he felt that Dick was properly equipped with skills he needed, he would force Dick to go on missions with him. Dick would be the distraction or the accomplice, while Slade was the main man.

After some contemplation, Slade decided that Dick was ready. Ready for what? You might wonder. He was ready to step over the line of morals and make his first kill.

Walking into Dick's room, Slade reached down and shook Dick's shoulders. Dick immediately sat up, tensing for an attack. He looked around before noticing Slade.

"Get dressed Apprentice, we're going on a mission," Slade ordered. Dick nodded, keeping an expressionless face. However, Slade could notice the slight tightening of his fists and the gnashing of his teeth together.

Apprentice soon joined Slade and they went off. When they reached there, Apprentice stood in front of Slade, and waited for Slade to give him his orders.

"Your target is Thomas Denick. He works at the trading port. He usually goes to the port at 7 to check on the shipments before getting dinner. Everyone else usually has left by then. That is the perfect time for you to finish him off. Remember your training. Do it quickly and silently."

"Wait wait. Me?"

"Yes, it is time for your first kill, Apprentice."

"B-But, I don't kill, you know that!"

"Would you like to be punished instead?"

"No no! I'll do it, I'll do it!"

"Good."

Slade handed Apprentice a gun. Apprentice nervously stared at the gun, shifting from side to side.

"What are you waiting for?" Slade impatiently asked," Take it!" Apprentice jumped, and with shaking hands took the gun and put it in his holster where his tranquilser gun used to be.

Apprentice inwardly cursed himself for being too weak to resist the threat but the punishments just hurt too much. He was hiding in the shadows, looking out for Thomas. He secretly hoped that Thomas didn't come so that he didn't have to...you know.

To his disappointment, Thomas came. Right on time as well. Slade's voice came into his ear through the earpiece.

"He's here. Time to get rid of him Apprentice."

"Y-Yes Master."

With shaking hands, he closed an eye and aimed at Thomas. His finger closed around the trigger. A simple push and the job would be done.

Dick took a deep breath and repeated the mantra, 'Just press the trigger', over and over in his head. Just as he mustered (A/N: Or should I say mustard amirite? ;)
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH ) the courage to shoot him, Thomas' phone rang.

Dick paused. Thomas took out his phone and answered it.

"Oh hey Kayla! ... Daddy's still at work darling ... Don't worry! Daddy will be back in no time! Promise ... Love you too, bye!"

Dick couldn't do it. The target wasn't just a target anymore, he was a father and a husband. And he wouldn't take Thomas away from his family. He wasn't going to let his children lose their father like he lost his. Dick lowered the gun, and watched as Thomas walked off, alive and breathing.

"What were you thinking?! The target has escaped!"

"S-sorry Master, he had a kid and I -I couldn't do it. I promise I won't disappoint you next time."

Slade was fuming, the boy let the target escape! Preposterous! He was in so much trouble. In the back of his head, Wintergreen's words played over and over, as if mocking him that he was wrong and Wintergreen was right. Slade roughly grabbed Apprentice's arm and they left. The trip back was in deadly (More like DEATHLY! #DeathlyForLife) silence.

~A CLOCK IS SKIPPING WITH A SKIPPING ROPE. WHAT DO YOU CALL IT? A TIME SKIP!)~

Dick laid on his bed unconscious, every inch of his body was battered and bruised. His punishment was at least two times harsher than before. Slade was in a really horrible mood, and that terrified Dick, well until he fell unconscious.

Slade sat in his chair, thinking of the events of the day. He knew he couldn't continue like this, he could see it in the boy's eyes. Apprentice was slowly breaking. If he didn't change his tatics soon, the boy would break. And he didn't want a broken apprentice.

Slade knew what he had to do.

"Hello, is this Scarecrow? This is Deathstroke, I have an offer..."

A/N: FINISHED! 2000+ CHAPPIE. A NEW RECORD! What offer was Sladey Wadey making with Scarecrow? What happens to Dickie Bird next? When will the next chappie come out? THIS WILL ALL BE ANSWERED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! YAY! WOOT WOOT! BAI GUYS! I'M SORRY DICKIE FOR MAKING YOU SUFFER ;^;

-MegPie (•w•)