Slade Wilson x Nemo Arkham

There’s nothing more fascinating , and revolting, than putting together two people who, on their own, are already a threat.

Yes, I know perfectly well that Slade is a despicable man. But what the hell am I supposed to do if Nemo is drawn to someone like that? I guess I just have to deal with it… and draw them together.

Don’t judge me too harshly. This isn’t a love story. It’s a story about power, control… and violence.

Deathstroke has worked more than once for DeathMatch, Nemo’s father. Dirty jobs —the kind that need steady hands and a dead conscience. Slade doesn’t fail. He doesn’t ask questions. He executes.

And when Nemo started becoming an obstacle in his father’s path, the solution was simple: make him disappear. Erase him from existence. Reeducate him by force, if necessary. Brutally remind him whose side he belongs on.

But that’s what no one seems to understand about Nemo. He’s never fought to save anyone. He’s never been a hero. All he’s ever done is fight his father. Because in the end, what matters to him isn’t good or evil. It’s breaking free from whoever holds the leash.

So DeathMatch put a price on his head. Paid Slade a fortune to kidnap him and take him somewhere far away. The goal was to turn him into an obedient ghost, an empty shell that followed orders without blinking.

But Nemo doesn’t break that easily.

And sure, he couldn’t escape a cargo ship in the middle of the ocean.

But he could rot it from the inside out.

He wasn’t looking for freedom.

He was looking for an opening.

And he found it, in Slade.

He used every part of himself—his sharp tongue, his twisted mind, his body as bait—to weave a web around the assassin. Little by little, he shed his chains. Not through brute force, but through cunning. He didn’t become a prisoner…

He became a weapon. A weapon Slade molded with his own hands.

And Slade knew. He always knew.

From the moment he saw that kid in chains, he saw the fire in his eyes. He knew what he was capable of. And still, he pulled him out of the cell. Took him to his quarters. To his bed.

That damn brat became his sickness. It wasn’t love. It never was. There was no tenderness between them, only obsession. A silent war between predators.

They stared at each other… And neither of them blinked.

Because they both knew, whoever flinched first, wouldn’t survive.

Additional note: Slade was the first significant relationship in Nemo’s life. As a result, his understanding of emotional bonds is deeply distorted. To him, relationships are defined by power dynamics, control, and a kind of intimacy laced with humiliation.

That’s why it’s so hard for him to connect with Tim. Nemo doesn’t understand affection in a healthy way—because love, to him, is an abstract concept he learned all wrong.

And now, with Tim, he’ll have to unlearn all of it.