The next day the team gathered in the operations room. The holographic display cast blue light across Robin's concentrated face as he manipulated tactical projections above the conference table. Hikaru watched his team leader work, impressed by the detail—building schematics, patrol routes, sight lines all mapped with precision that would've made Batman proud.
"Slade expects Terra to meet him Friday at midnight," Robin said, zooming in on an abandoned warehouse district. "He chose this location specifically—multiple escape routes, high ground advantage, minimal civilian presence."
"Of course he did." Cyborg leaned forward, analyzing the structural data. "Man's paranoid as hell."
"Paranoia keeps you alive in his line of work." Donna studied the projections with tactical appreciation. "He'll have contingencies. Probably already scouted our response patterns."
Hikaru nodded agreement. Deathstroke wasn't the type to walk into anything blind.
"Which is why we're changing our approach." Robin cycled through different scenarios. "He knows our standard formations, expects certain combinations. So we do the opposite."
"Opposite how?" Beast Boy asked, perched on the back of the couch in monkey form.
"We split unconventionally." Robin highlighted positions around the warehouse. "Pairs he wouldn't anticipate. Donna and Cyborg here—ranged support and heavy assault. Wally and Gar covering the southern perimeter. Starfire and Raven on aerial overwatch."
"And me?" Hikaru already knew the answer.
"You stay hidden until my signal. When Slade commits, you hit him with everything—light speed, full strength, no holding back." Robin's expression hardened. "He's seen most of our capabilities. But he hasn't experienced you when you're not trying to coordinate with seven other people."
The logic made sense. Slade had fought the team multiple times, analyzed their patterns through his combat computer. But Hikaru going all-out solo? That was something the mercenary hadn't fully encountered yet.
"What about me?" Terra's voice was quiet from where she stood near the windows, arms wrapped around herself.
Robin's expression softened fractionally. "You're the bait. The lynchpin. You meet him like he expects, feed him the false intelligence we prepared. Keep him talking, keep him focused on you until we have him surrounded."
"Then what?" Terra turned, and Hikaru saw the fear she was trying to hide. "He'll know the second you move in. He always knows."
"That's when you get clear." Hikaru pushed off from the wall he'd been leaning against. "Raven pulls you out with a portal, then we take him down."
"Easier said than done." Raven's monotone carried skepticism. "Deathstroke doesn't go down easy."
"He's human." Donna's confidence rang clear. "Enhanced, trained, experienced—but still human. We have three people on this team who can bench-press cars."
"And he's kicked our asses before anyway." Wally stretched, already restless. "Dude's scary good."
The room fell silent. Nobody could deny that truth.
Hikaru studied Terra—the way her fingers trembled slightly, the tension in her shoulders. She'd been quieter since the confession, maintaining her distance even though most of the team had voted to give her a second chance. Most of the team still wasn't speaking to her, and that hurt her more than she'd admit.
"We should run scenarios." Robin pulled up training simulation protocols. "Get everyone comfortable with the new formations. Terra, I need you sharp. If anything feels wrong, if Slade says or does anything unexpected—"
"I abort." Terra nodded. "Get clear, let you handle it."
"Exactly." Robin cycled through communication frequencies. "We'll be on separate channels to avoid interception, but I want check-ins every two minutes during approach. Seraph, you'll have overwatch on Terra's comm—if she needs extraction, you're closest."
Hikaru caught Terra's grateful glance. Robin was positioning him as her backup deliberately, knowing their recent conversations had built trust.
"When's the last time we fought someone this dangerous in a coordinated assault?" Starfire asked, concern threading through her words.
"Never." Robin's bluntness cut through any false confidence. "Most of our villains are powerful but straightforward. Slade's different. He plans, adapts, turns our strengths into weaknesses."
"So how do we beat that?" Cyborg crossed his arms.
"We stay flexible." Hikaru moved closer to the holographic display. "Can't predict what we're going to do if we don't lock ourselves into rigid patterns."
"Improvisation within structure." Donna nodded understanding. "Amazon battle philosophy. Maintain formation discipline but allow individual initiative."
"Exactly." Robin highlighted key positions. "We know our roles, trust each other to adapt. If something goes wrong—"
"Something will go wrong." Raven's certainty was absolute.
"—then we adjust." Robin met each team member's gaze. "Slade's advantage is preparation. Ours is that we actually give a damn about each other. He fights alone. We don't."
The weight of that truth settled across the room. Whatever happened Friday night, they'd face it as a team.
"Alright." Robin deactivated the holographic display. "Let's run scenarios until this becomes second nature. We've got forty-eight hours to prepare."
As the others moved toward the training room, Hikaru hung back, catching Terra's arm gently.
"Hey."
She turned, and he saw the fear she'd been hiding from the others.
"I can't do this." Her whisper was raw. "What if I freeze? What if I mess up and someone gets hurt because I—"
"Then we adapt." Hikaru kept his voice steady, reassuring. "But you won't freeze. Know how I know?"
Terra shook her head.
"Because you already made the hardest choice when you came clean to us. Walking into that meeting with Slade, knowing we've got your back? That's easier than what you already did."
"That's not true."
"Isn't it?" Hikaru tilted his head. "You chose us over him once already. This is just making it official."
Terra's laugh came out shaky. "By walking into a trap that might get everyone killed."
"By trusting us to have your back the way you've got ours." Hikaru squeezed her shoulder. "You're not alone in this anymore, Tara. Remember that."
Her eyes widened slightly at his use of her real name—something most of the team still didn't know.
"What if he tries to get in my head? He's good at that."
"He is." Hikaru couldn't deny it. "But you're stronger than you think. And if it gets to be too much, you bail. No shame in that."
"Robin needs this to work."
"Robin needs you safe more than he needs Slade in custody." Hikaru met her gaze firmly. "We all do. You're one of us now. Act like it."
Terra blinked rapidly, fighting tears. Then she nodded, straightening her shoulders.
"Okay. Let's do this."
They joined the others in the training room, where Robin was already positioning people for scenario runs. The next two days would be intense—drilling formations, practicing communication protocols, running every possible contingency.