Notes: This story is a joint effort between Gottaluvit and myself. I forgot to put that in the summary when I posted the Prologue.

Chapter 1

"Where in the hell is he?"

"Nightwing said E.T.A. in ten minutes, Ollie– it's only been five," Speedy reminded her anxious mentor.

Green Arrow paused his agitated pacing long enough to look down from the fringes of the jungle hilltop where they were hiding. A high fence ran around the boarder of the well-lit compound. Aside from a guardhouse at the entrance, only two other buildings were visible: an aircraft hanger housing a couple of helicopters and a large, modern complex. From the information Nightwing had provided, Ollie knew it was a combination of living quarters and an elaborate medical research facility.

The tense archer stared in silent contemplation for a long moment, "Anything could be happening down there . . . anything could have– " His words broke with concern as his thoughts began to carry him away.

It had been far too long, weeks in fact, since his son had disappeared. When all his attempts to find Roy on his own had failed, Ollie swallowed his pride and, out of desperation, called in Nightwing, knowing he'd give his all to find Roy. Having bonded over the years through the many battles they had fought together, side-by-side, the two young men were as close as brothers.

Speedy rose from her seat on the ground and reached out a hand to her mentor's shoulder. There wasn't much reassurance she could offer, they were all worried about Roy. The last accurate report Nightwing got from his informants indicated he was still alive--but that had been four days ago and she prayed it was still the case.

"You're the one who's always telling me to think positive, old man; it's time you took some of your own advice…"

Ollie snapped his head around to look at his young partner. The full moon made her clearly visible in a silvery glow. "This is Vandal Savage, Mia, and– "

"And . . . you know as well as I do that Roy isn't going to be a pushover, not even for Sav–"

A loud explosion cut off the rest of the young archer's words. Both heroes automatically dropped to the ground and crawled on their bellies to watch as two guards at the entrance of the compound ran toward the main building–-a cacophony of shouts and screams could clearly be heard coming from the facility.

Ollie pulled out a set of small night vision binoculars and focused on the building. "What the…?"

Loud animalistic screams joined the chaos of shouts and human cries, interceded occasionally by crashes and the occasional burst of gunfire. Then almost as suddenly as the chaos had started, it ended–silence fell and the lights in the entire compound went out. "Shit!"

Ollie began moving out of the jungle, keeping low as he ran through the long grass toward the complex below then paused at the sound of an aircraft engine cutting into the night's obscene stillness.

"GA!" Speedy called pointing as the helicopter rose from the hanger at the back of the building.

"Go, Go, Go!" Green Arrow shouted. He had no idea what had just occurred in the building but the knowledge that his son may have been caught up in it was enough for him to set caution aside and sprint toward compound.

The two archers neared the surrounding fence, Green Arrow firing off an arrow as he ran. The arrow exploded, tearing a hole in a section of the fence. Mentor and protégé leapt through and, running to the side of the building, they both flattened themselves against a sidewall, panting and weapons drawn as they waited for someone to come running and investigate the explosion.

After an extended wait it was obvious that either no one had heard the explosion or more immediate issues had otherwise occupied them.

"Well, they hafta know we're here, so it`s not gonna matter if we make a little more noise…" Ollie smashed through a nearby window then frowned when no alarm sounded. The power was completely out but he had been waiting for some sort of back up power source to come on at any moment; he'd created enough noise getting this far to have made his presence well and truly know.

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, "Heads up kid, something's not right here…" he warned as they cautiously climbed inside room–glass from the broken window crackling underfoot. All senses on high alert, they crept forward, moving stealthily as both archers determinedly slowed their breathing from the fast, anxious pace it had escalated to only seconds before.

Moonlight lit the dark room, but the pale glow wasn't quite enough for them to see clearly. Speedy wrinkled her nose at the distinct metallic smell that permeated the air. Her boots squelched oddly as she walked through something wet and sticky covering the floor. She squinted in a desperate attempt for her eyes to adjust to the darkness in order to see what the dark patches on the floor were before suddenly stumbling over a dark lump silhouetted by the moonlight.

Green Arrow relaxed his hold on his bow and quickly darted his hand out to catch his partner. Once he had assured himself it was reasonably safe to do so, he pulled an arrow from his quiver and struck the tip firmly to the floor. The arrow tip exploded in light and bathed the room with an eerie green glow. It was only then that the archers were finally able to see just what they had been walking through.

"Shit!" Ollie stomach churned as he stared down at the floor. The room was littered with body parts, blood covered the majority of the area illuminated by the light from his arrow.

"Hurck…" Mia swallowed hard as bile surged into her throat. For one long moment both she and her mentor were stunned into inaction as the horror of what had occurred in the room slowly sunk in--a noise at the door behind them cut through their horror and both archers spun as one, coming to face the hulking figure that filled the doorway.

Green Arrow automatically tossed the glowing arrow closer to the intruder and simultaneously knocked another arrow, drawing the bowstring back and aiming automatically at the 8-foot-tall monstrous figure.

Speedy–her own bow drawn and ready–halted suddenly by something in the monster's expression…red hair…those eyes…"Ollie, wait!"

Green Arrow held his bow steady, ready to fire an arrow into the man-beast, then the horror of recognition struck him. His stomach flipped nauseatingly as his eyes wandered over the familiar--if not twisted--features of the monster's face.

"Oh, God. Roy?"

Swallowing hard, Ollie lowered his bow and took a few steps toward the beast--drawn closer by the familiarity of the creature and the need to help it. "Roy . . . what the hell've they done to you, son?"

"Ollie don't…!"

Speedy's cry of alarm came a fraction too late, for the beast growled menacingly and moved forward with a speed seemingly impossible for a creature of its size.

Too late; Ollie realized he'd let his concern for his son dictate his actions--the archer did not even have time to cry out before a huge hand closed around his neck and lifted him from the ground.

"Ollie!" Mia screamed, letting fly the arrow she had drawn and held at the ready. The beast twisted suddenly--moving the struggling older archer into the line of fire.

To Speedy's horror the arrow embedded itself deeply into Green Arrows upper back. A sickening crunch assaulted the young archer's ears and she gasped– her mentor's head lolled to the side, his body dangling lifelessly from the beast's grip.

"OLLIE!!"

To be continued...