Disclaimer: I don't own "Arrow".
Malcolm sat in his brand new penthouse while drinking his glass of scotch, and it was the best scotch he'd ever tasted. Of course, it may have been because of his current condition. After Darhk had been imprisoned, it had taken very little effort for Malcolm to assume leadership of HIVE. The other heads had begun to grow dissatisfied with Darhk's pace in moving forward 'Genesis' and were ready to speed things up. Even Miss Ruve, despite loving her husband Darhk very much, had grown impatient in waiting for the new world he had promised her and was ready for 'Genesis' to be completed so that she could have her new beginning.
Malcolm had gone to the HIVE leadership following Darhk's subsequent arrest and convinced them to let him assume control while promising them that he'd see their vision for a new world flourish but in a far quicker fashion than what Darhk had planned. They had found his proposal to be very acceptable and the decision to instate him as HIVE's new head had been unanimous. He had to admit that his new position gave him far greater power than when he was Ra's A'l Ghul. As a matter of fact, he actually had more resources, manpower, and wealth than he would've have if his positions as Ra's and as the head of Merlyn Global were combined. Frankly, Oliver had done him a favor when he'd taken that ring from his finger and handed it to Nyssa. However, it didn't assuage his anger at what Oliver had done nor was his hate for the man mitigated, a hate that had lasted for centuries all the way up to this day.
No one knew this except himself, but his identity as Malcolm Merlyn had been an act, a smokescreen to conceal his true identity which was that he was the legendary Prince John, archenemy of the equally legendary Robin Hood. Many eons ago, though for him it sometimes felt like yesterday, he had been a powerful prince who went on to become a strong and powerful king following his brother King Richard's death. His reign hadn't been easy and was filled with strife and multiple wars with his rivals, but he always managed to retain an albeit tenuous grip on power. During his time as a prince, he'd been constantly plagued by that pesky outlaw Robin Hood who was always taking whatever money he collected from the peasants and giving it back to them, always depleting his treasury and causing his contempt for the archer to grow to the point of hatred.
In addition, he had also been beyond jealous of the relationship between Robin Hood and Maid Marian because of the strong passion they shared, passion which he'd desired for himself and his first then second wife. As far as he was concerned, why should they have a happy and loving relationship when he lacked that within his own marriages?
John had continuously stewed over how Robin seemed to have everything and had tried to destroy his relationship with Marian multiple times but to no avail. It drove him mad to no end until a dark and clearly malevolent being appeared to him and told him that he could improve his life but only if he killed the star crossed lovers. John had immediately taken the offer with eagerness and wondered why he'd never considered that option before. This way, he could finally allow his treasury to grow and wouldn't have to continually deal with the sight of Robin and Marian showing off their devotion towards one another. The dark being also promised unlimited power and best of all, immortality if John succeeded. That was of course the cherry on top and made John more than eager to get this done.
Before leaving, the malevolent spirit warned that the lovers shared a single soul and that The Fates had blessed them with the ability to reincarnate, enabling their soul to pass on to the next love struck couples who were reincarnated from them. He then told John that the only way to retain his power and immorality was by continuously killing them in each of their future lives. John couldn't exactly say he found this situation to be ideal, but hey, you can't have everything you want in life. That's just the way it is.
John would later go on to orchestrate the deaths of Robin Hood and Maid Marian. First, he manipulated a disgruntled handmaiden of Marian's into poisoning her mistress. A few years later, he went on to send a female assassin disguised as a nurse to kill Robin when he was ill, promising a great reward for her if she succeeded. The dark being on his part was true to his word, and Prince John went on to live throughout the passing centuries and in different positions of power while assuming different identities and disguises. He also made it his mission to locate every reincarnation of the late Robin Hood and Maid Marian with the guidance of the dark forces assisting him and always succeeded in killing them in one fashion or another, maintaining his immortality.
John eventually made it to the 21st century, took on the name Malcolm Merlyn, accumulated wealth and assets for himself, built the largest and most powerful company in Starling City, the city he'd chosen to reside in, and married a kind and lovely woman named Rebecca who gave him all of the love, passion, and happiness he'd desired in his life. She also made him even happier when she gave birth to Tommy, his pride and joy. Tragedy struck when a few years later, she was murdered by a then unknown gangster from the Glades, which led him to receive training with the League within Nanda Parbat and made him stronger than he was.
It was many years afterwards that the dark forces guiding him directed him to the current identities of Robin and Marian, which were Oliver Queen and Sara Lance. Learning this was a huge shock since the Queens and Lances were close family friends of his, but it wouldn't deter him from removing them from the equation once more. He soon found an opportunity to kill them when he heard from his sources that Oliver and Sara intended to accompany Robert, Oliver's father, aboard the Gambit. He knew that Oliver was supposed to be with Laurel, but he wasn't surprised that Oliver was secretly seeing Sara behind her back. Besides the fact that Oliver was an immature playboy, Robin and Marian were always going to find their way back to each other in whatever life they existed in no matter what.
Malcolm would go on to sabotage the Gambit with Oliver, Sara, and Robert onboard and when he heard that the boat had sank into the depths of the sea with allegedly no survivors, he believed his plan to have been successful. He also had the bonus of Robert's death since he learned from his business associate Frank Chen that he was conspiring to undermine the Undertaking behind his back. Ever since his wife had died, he had developed a strong sense of hatred for the people of the Glades, a hate that was even more intense than the hate for Robin and Marian.
Back when he was Prince John, Malcolm had always seen the peasants as inferior and possessed a deep sense of contempt for them despite occasionally lending them a helping hand. He wasn't totally heartless back then. But now that the love of his life was gunned down by someone from the Glades, he decided that all those of the lowest class needed to be wiped off the map because in his eyes, they were the root of all crime in the city and were destroying it from the inside, which was what the Undertaking was all about. Too bad Robert hadn't been willing to cooperate with his plan.
Anyway, with Oliver and Sara out of the picture, Malcolm was certain that his immortality was intact. Imagine his surprise when he learned that Oliver had survived the island and returned home. This annoyed him immensely, but since Sara was still dead as far as he knew, he wasn't too concerned about this setback. But then Sara herself turned out to still be alive and returned a year later, and a few weeks afterwards, she and Oliver had gotten back together. Well crap. Malcolm was nothing if not flexible however and with the forces of darkness advising him as always, created a new plan to take them out permanently, a plan he believed was foolproof.
The following year, Malcolm put his plan in motion and used a drugged Thea, the daughter he never knew he had, to kill Sara with three arrows to the abdomen. Following that, he manipulated Oliver into engaging Ra's in a duel when Ra's threatened the city over Sara's death, knowing that Oliver would do anything to save his sister and his city. Oliver of course failed and Ra's stabbed him in the abdomen, killing him. Malcolm found it poetic that the two former lovers died in nearly identical manners and was certain that there was no coming back for them this time.
All of a sudden, Oliver returns alive and well three weeks later and helps free the Glades, the neighborhood he had failed to completely destroy, from the tyranny of the gangster who so happened to be the same one who'd murdered his wife. Despite yet another setback, he still used this opportunity to place events in motion that would lead to him taking the mantle of Ra's Al Ghul. There were a few complications, such as Oliver being wrongfully accused of murder but something Malcolm couldn't help but enjoy considering his dark feelings towards him, but everything turned out great for him and with his help from the sidelines, Oliver succeeded in killing Ra's and gave Ra's ring to him, making Malcolm the new Ra's, giving him nearly unlimited power and a vast array of resources.
But then another wrench was thrown in his way when seven months later, Laurel and Thea arrived with Sara's body and demanded he restore her to life. Malcolm really had to wonder at this point if The Fates were conspiring against him, especially since he already knew that they were helping Oliver and Sara by giving them the blessing of continued life by reincarnation. He of course said no and used the side effects of the Lazarus Pit as an excuse. But in the end, he had no choice but to do as they'd requested if he wanted to maintain his relationship with his daughter and used the pit to bring Sara back. She hadn't been herself obviously but then he found out that two weeks later, her soul had been restored by a friend of Oliver's named Constantine.
Needless to say, the dark forces had been none too pleased with him and the being that'd originally approached him centuries ago gave him a furious lecture about how he'd messed up badly and allowed his love for his daughter to prevent him from doing what needed to be done. He also told him that both Oliver AND Sara needed to die, not just one of them but BOTH of them, if Malcolm expected to keep his power and immortality. The evil spirit then promised him a third chance to eliminate Oliver and Sara once and for all but in a direct confrontation with them and made it clear that failure wasn't an option.
Malcolm of course listened and promised he wouldn't fail again, both because he had no intention of losing his immortality and also out of fear, not wanting to continuously offend his supernatural benefactors. Frankly, they terrified him more than Ra's Al Ghul ever did and he knew that getting on their bad side would be suicidal. He also received extra incentive to do away with Oliver once and for all when Oliver took the title of Ra's away from him and handed it to Nyssa, who in turn used it to dismantle the League, infuriating him despite also seeing it as a blessing in disguise.
Currently, Malcolm wasn't just sitting around sipping scotch but was also working out the details in his mind on how he would break Darhk out of prison. Even though he now had control of HIVE and its council had grown dissatisfied with Darhk, he couldn't help but feel the man still had his usefulness. Plus, he'd made a deal with Darhk to get him out of prison in exchange for information he desperately needed in order to successfully complete 'Genesis'.
All of a sudden, the room Malcolm was in plunged into darkness and a cold feeling permeated the area surrounding him, causing a shiver of fear to travel up his spine. Outside, lighting began to flash followed by rumbles of thunder, except the lighting flashes caused the sky to glow a deep dark shade of blood red instead of the traditional flashes of white that lighting usually causes. Malcolm had a feeling as to why this was happening, and what he suspected was proven correct when a figure dressed in black and who's eyes glowed dark red emerged from the shadows. It was the same dark spirit who was his main benefactor and gave him the idea to kill Robin and Marian and all of their reincarnations so many years ago.
"I see that you are coming closer to making 'Genesis' a reality. While me and my fellow brethren are proud of your plans for the world, don't forget your true purpose and what's at stake here", the spirit said to him, his booming voice resonating throughout the room.
"I haven't forgotten my old friend", Malcolm replied crisply while casually getting up to face him. "I can sense that my time to face Oliver Queen and Sara Lance is coming and I assure you that very soon, they will no longer continue to live to see the sun rise again in this lifetime."
"I hope for your sake that you are correct", the malevolent being hissed. "You have already squandered your first two attempts and allowed your love for your daughter to prevent you from allowing Marian to stay dead. Believe me when I tell you that we will not tolerate a third failure!"
"I understand, and I promise I won't fail again. 'Genesis' will succeed and Oliver and Sara will die as soon as possible", Malcolm responded confidently while doing his best to keep his voice from quivering.
"I most certainly hope not. You had better start preparing yourself since your coming battle with them is approaching soon. This is your final chance, so make it count", the being thundered dangerously and melted back into the shadows. The lighting and rumbles of thunder then ceased, the cold feeling left, and the lights came back on, leaving Malcolm to breathe heavily. Composing himself, he headed toward his training room and began brushing up the skills he'd learned from the League, practicing with two of his dummies and training with an assortment of weapons, while also continuing to plot on the right course of action in freeing Darhk.
Malcolm also decided then and there to strike a personal blow upon Oliver and Sara by killing Laurel, Sara's sister and Oliver's ex who was now a close friend. It was as Darhk had once said, take what the heroes care about and they will lose the will to fight. Very soon, Oliver and Sara's reckoning in this life would be upon them, and nothing would prevent Malcolm from having his vengeance against them once more.
To be continued
A/N If anyone's wondering why the dark force didn't tell Malcolm that Oliver and Sara's souls had merged, it's because he and his brethren are unaware of it. When The Fates reached out to Oliver and Sara within the preceding chapter, they did it as secretly as possible so that the forces of darkness wouldn't be alerted on what they were up to.
In addition, the reason the dark forces are pleased with 'Genesis' progress is because as we've seen, 'Genesis' is about destroying the world and that's of course what darkness delights in: mass destruction.