"BOOOOM!!"
Dio managed to cross the distance between the kitchen and the living room just in time to defend against the RPG grenade with his shield.
However, he couldn't do it perfectly, and the explosion destroyed the room. He was thrown against the wall and landed in one of the bedrooms.
This wasn't the first time he had been blown up by a bomb or RPG, but the sensation was still uncomfortable.
The problem wasn't even the pain of impact. In the New 52, Diana was hit by a nuclear bomb and recovered faster than Superman.
Since he hadn't fully matured yet, he was still beneath her in terms of resilience. Nevertheless, the explosions of this level are nothing to him.
The real issue was his ears.
The last time it happened, he was only five meters away, and he couldn't hear anything for two days.
There was also the smell of gunpowder and burns that lingered on his armor or clothes after the explosion.
In short, an RPG is just an inconvenience for his senses. This time, he managed to shut down his senses before the explosion.
"Bloody Hell!!"
Dio cursed while getting up and knocking off some bricks that were on top of him.
He had time to conjure his shield but not his armor, and the normal clothes he was wearing got destroyed.
Fortunately, there's no one around to see him naked.
Dio put on his armor and went through the hole in the wall to get ready against the person who attacked them so rudely.
He was the only one left in the kitchen after everyone else had left.
Dio remembered that when the grenade pierced the glass, Kid Flash was the second to react before the explosion.
Kid ran while dragging Starfire and Raven away.
He left only Dio and Rose, who somehow moved before the attack while throwing herself under the table.
He came back to find her, but he didn't see her under the table, so he fled and left Dio facing the explosion.
"I feel so loved."
Dio joked while touching his communicator to take it out of his ear. It was destroyed during the explosion.
It's a little harder to do things without a communicator, but Dio didn't need one to listen to his team talk.
He could quickly separate their voices from other sounds because he was used to hearing them.
"This is Robin for the team. We're chasing the shooter while heading east!"
Robin shouted.
"Does anyone know where the new girl is?"
Kid asked.
"You lost her!?"
Robin shouted.
"To be fair, everyone lost her."
Kid excused himself.
"Where's Kírix?"
Starfire asked.
"Oh, he got blown up by the bazooka, no big deal."
"Stop messing around and find the bastard who blew up our safe house!"
Red Arrow said.
"And who's going to find my new friend?"
Starfire asked while already adding a stranger she met recently to her friend list.
"One problem at a time, now go after the idiot!"
Red Arrow yelled again.
Dio closed his hearing for a few seconds. He highly doubted they were chasing Rose's father.
This guy is used to fighting and killing beings that are stronger than him, so the explosion was just to separate everyone so he could find his daughter.
Dio can't inform them about this, but he can go after her.
He went to the living room, which received a new coat of black from the explosion on all walls and was destroyed by some furniture on fire.
Dio ignored all of that and focused his attention on finding Rose.
It didn't take long, and he could hear her now crawling through the ventilation a few apartments beyond them.
Seeing the opening in the ventilation in the middle of the kitchen ceiling, he knew very well that it was her and not an enemy.
Dio didn't want to crawl through dirty ventilation ducts that smelled like they were full of rats and other smells.
He knew from the way she was crawling that she was going to the roof, which was one floor above unless she found a cargo elevator.
So Dio walked slowly and calmly to the entrance door and went to the elevator, where he pressed the button for the roof.
...
"How the hell did you get here before me?!"
Rose asked in surprise, with half of her body sticking out of the ventilation duct above the entrance door to the roof.
"Took the elevator."
Dio joked with a laugh when he saw her entire face covered in dust and spiderwebs.
Rose didn't think it was funny and jumped out of the duct.
She was still wearing the same oversized shirt, which looked more like a dress, just not as white as before.
"Where's the rest of the Scooby gang?"
Rose asked sarcastically.
"Chasing a ghost, and you? What are you going to do?"
"You're not going to force me to work with you?"
Rose asked with surprise.
"No, we don't force anyone to work with us, Rose."
Rose rolled her eyes at him and turned around.
"Whatever, let's just get out of here!"
This time, it seems like she wants to take the elevator.
"BOOOOM!!"
The bullet came perfectly in the direction of his neck, but it posed no danger.
He just had to draw his sword and place the blade sideways in front of her to cut it in half.
The bullet separated and hit the walls further ahead.
"Nice try."
Deathstroke said.
Dio looked at the one who just shot at him.
Deathstroke is indeed an imposing figure, with his entire body covered in sleek black armor, with only his shoulders and chest appearing to be silver chainmail.
He wears a two-colored mask—black on one side and orange on the other.
The black side lacks an opening for the eye. There are two red cloth strips hanging behind the mask.
The father of Rose lost his right eye, while Rose lost her left.
Deathstroke is ready to fight a small war by himself.
He wore two belts, one around his waist with ammo and one around his chest with different kinds of grenades.
He carries two silver pistols, one attached to his thigh and the other in his hand.
A weapon of this power level is practically useless for someone without extensive training due to its recoil, but this guy is not human and surely has a lot of training.
In addition, two swords with black handles crossed each other on his back.
Dio didn't know what material the suit was made of, but it must be quite resistant.
It also isolated the sounds of his body; Dio can't hear his breathing or heartbeat even though they're so close.
"You should still be entering the country."
That's all Dio could say after encountering the one who has been a terror to the team for a very, very long time in the comics.
Deathstroke didn't respond but holstered the silver pistols on his thigh.
"Daughter, it's time to come back and complete your training."
Deathstroke spoke in a commanding tone while looking at Rose, who seemed frightened and paralyzed.
"The girl will go wherever she wants to go."
Dio stood in front of her and drew his attention to him.
"I had no intention of killing a demigod today, but I'd be delighted to include that on my resume!"
"I'm not going anywhere with you!"
Rose finally gathered courage and shouted at her father while stepping out from behind Dio and standing by his side.
"Girl, your rebellion stopped being cute a month ago. Now it's time to come back and complete your training while standing by my side, your rightful place."
Deathstroke placed both hands near his thighs, where his pistols are.
Deathstroke knew he'd have to fight to get out of there with her.
"Ready to run?"
Dio asked Rose using telepathy.
She gave him a small glance, and he knew she'll be waiting for the signal.
Of course, this didn't go unnoticed by Deathstroke.
"I see, so you got involved with another man, this time a hero. You certainly couldn't sink any lower than that, daughter."
Deathstroke said.
That stung a bit.
Rose turned her gaze back to Deathstroke genuinely furious this time.
"He was a good person, and you killed him just for helping me!"
Rose shouted at him.
"He was in your way, child."
Deathstroke calmly replied.
"Now."
Seeing his hands inches away from the pistols, Dio gave the signal and used his spell at the same time.
...
https://www.patreon.com/Abyssuit
If you want to support me, you can find up to 25 advance chapters at my patreon
👇DROP SOME STONES👇