Chapter 43 - what happened?!

"Wade?!" Wally blurted out, his eyes wide with disbelief. "He's alive?!"

Robin was frozen, the shock evident on his face. "But—he... I thought—"

"Hello megan~,that's why the ship liked him!"

Wally shook his head, still processing. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... I thought Conner said he was... unalive."

Artemis raised an eyebrow, looking confused. "Guys... um, who is this Wade? I don't remember anyone by that name."

The team shared uneasy glances before Robin, hesitant, answered. "He was... one of the founders. Wade Wilson, also known as Youngpool. Or that's what he liked to call himself."

Megan said"he turned out to be a crazy killer....."

Superboy finally chimed in, his voice tight. "Yeah...I was infiltrating the prison he was in for another mission... and we all thought a prisoner had... killed him."

The room fell into a somber silence, memories flashing through each of their minds. It was the kind of uncomfortable pause that even Wally didn't know how to break.

But Batman wasn't one for lingering in old emotions. "Enough," he said, his voice cutting through the tension. "Wade may have gone dark, but the situation is more complicated than that."

Batman tapped a key, and the screen changed. It showed a grainy recording of Wade in his pirate disguise, standing over the defeated form of Atomic Skull. "It appears that youngpool was the 'pirate' responsible for killing Atomic Skull... and absorbing his power."

The team collectively gasped.

"No way..." Robin muttered under his breath. "Wade did that?"

Batman nodded. "After absorbing the power, he fled the scene when he realized we were closing in. But," he continued, "he lost control of the stolen atomic power above the sea."

Wally couldn't resist reacting. "Wait, hold up—he lost the atomic power, and then what, just took a swim?"

"No," Batman said, his voice grave. "He was eaten by a shark."

The room fell silent. Artemis's mouth hung open for a moment before she managed, "You've got to be kidding me..."

Wally's face twisted in shock and disbelief. "Eaten?! By a shark?!"

Batman pulled up another image, showing Wade being carried out of the water by a group of Atlantean children. "Fortunately, Atlantean kids found him drifting in the sea. He was unconscious, but still alive."

Artemis, still in disbelief, muttered, "How did he...?"

But before she could finish, Conner, his arms crossed and eyes narrowed, cut her off. "He's Deathstroke's clone. The guy's got insane regenerative powers."

The screen shifted once more to show Queen Mera with Wade. "Queen Mera took him in as a guest of Atlantis, where he was... recovering."

Wally leaned forward, eyes gleaming with a spark of hope. "So... can we go to him now?"

Batman's face remained stoic. "Unfortunately, no. Something has changed."

Robin frowned. "What do you mean?"

Batman sighed, a subtle sign of unease creeping into his usually calm demeanor. "It seems that a mad Atlantean professor printed a tattoo of life on Wade's left arm... using a sea dragon's egg."

Wally's jaw dropped. "Wait—what? Dragons are real?"

Artemis crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. "Duh, Wally. You've already seen magic, aliens, and everything in between. Why not dragons?"

Wally opened his mouth to retort but closed it, realizing she had a point. "Yeah, but... dragons?"

Before the discussion could spiral further, Batman's face hardened slightly. "It's worse than that."

The room quieted, the weight of Batman's tone bringing their focus back to the screen.

"It seems," Batman continued, "that the mother of that dragon attacked Atlantis in anger over the missing egg. She didn't leave until she... took Wade with her, to her deep cave."

The team's faces all shifted from surprise to shock, and then to something heavier, something that left an unsettling knot in their stomachs.

"She took him?" Megan asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"We've already sent a search team to the site," Batman continued, and the screen shifted to show two massive dragons lying lifeless on the rocky cavern floor. "These were found deep in the cave. Unfortunately, Wade was not among them."

Artemis frowned, her brow furrowed in thought. "So, he's a suspect in their deaths?"

"Yes. It appears he was involved, though the circumstances are still unclear," Batman explained, his eyes narrowing. "The dragons' demise is a concern. Without further evidence, we cannot definitively link him to the incident."

Connor, who had been quietly absorbing the information, finally spoke up, cutting through the tension. "He's Deathstroke's clone. He has amazing regenerating powers. It's possible he survived... somehow."

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