Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.
The Glades
"Did you see a man in black hood and a mask?" The Arrow demanded as he was interrogating a gangster, hanging him upside down.
"What? I don't know anything, I swear! Come on, man, I'm still on parole!"
"Not anymore." The Arrow punched the man in his face before knocking him out.
The Lair
"So, how did it go?" Felicity asked as Oliver entered the lair.
"Same as every other pointed conversation I've had with these lowlifes in the Glades." Oliver said, frustrated. "Nobody has seen a man in black hood and a mask but he's still out there."
Sara then entered, taking off her wig and mask. "No one has seen a ninja in a mask. He's good. But some of them are saying that he wants to take both of us out himself. I don't know why." She admitted. "Ra's is subtler than that and the League doesn't attack its own people, released or not."
"If he's not from the League, why would he be after us?" Oliver asked. "Do you have any other enemies I should be worried about?"
Sara took a breath. "Yeah… but I can't think of anyone, who would be this bold."
District Attorney's Office
"Is everything alright, Miss Lance?" Adrian asked as Laurel was at her desk.
"Yes." Laurel assured him.
"Sorry, it's just… you seem a little distracted, that's all." Adrian admitted.
Laurel nodded. "It's just that… couldn't Blood have secured the place last week a little better?"
"What are you gonna do? File a lawsuit against Starling's favorite son?" Adrian drawled.
Laurel sighed. "I… I don't know. It's just that I thought Sebastian would have known better than that."
Adrian nodded. "Dwelling on what could have been is pointless."
"I suppose you're right, Mr. Chase." Laurel sighed.
"Please, call me Adrian." He assured her, smiling.
Elsewhere in Starling City
The Arrow, Canary and Diggle were walking down the warehouse as they were looking around.
"Status on Reed's cellphone." The Arrow asked.
"Still at Apara and Puckett." Felicity said.
"Why are we following a phone of a missing lowlife?" The Canary inquired.
"Prometheus is trying to bait us." The Arrow said.
"Oliver, don't you think it's a trap?" Felicity asked.
"Either way, we don't have another choice." Diggle said.
As they saw some containers blazing, they cautiously scoured the area before they heard a ringing of a cellphone as the Arrow picked it up, with "UNKNOWN" flashing on the screen as he answered the call and turned on the speaker.
"Who is this?" The Arrow asked but all they heard was heavy breathing.
Suddenly, the room went dark before a small explosion followed and in front of them was on the floor in flames written "SO IT BEGINS".
Later, the Lair
"So what begins is the question." Diggle said as Oliver put his bow on the stand.
"He took out Reed because he almost took us out." Sara pointed out. "I don't know why but it seems personal."
Felicity then got a call. "Yes, Detective?"
Later, SCPD
Quentin was waiting on the rooftop as the Arrow and Canary entered.
"I thought you might want to see this." Quentin said as he showed them a file. "Gay Eked, divorced mother of two, before you ask, her ex has an airtight alibi and Miss Eked's rap sheet is down to three parking tickets. Do you know something about it?"
The Canary looked at the file. "Word around the Glades is that he calls himself Prometheus."
"At first I thought he was following your footsteps but why would this Prometheus target an average house wife?" Quentin demanded.
"I don't know." The Canary said honestly before Quentin's radio went off.
"All units, we have a dead body. Seems to be the work of the Throwing Star Killer."
"Delta Charlie 52, be right there." Quentin called out.
Quentin, Pike and Hilton were in the office. "So, first, the vigilante returns, with a new sidekick and now we have another copycat, who's taking it out on a crime lord from the Glades and has now killed two civilians and one of our own, from what I've heard."
Officer Daily then burst in. "Sir, you might want to turn on the news."
Pike turned on the TV and everyone stared in disbelief. "Detective Lucas Hilton, who is believed to be in charge of the investigation, could not be reached for the moment, nor could the SCPD. But it is believed that the Throwing Star Killer is responsible for at least four deaths so far…"
"What? How is this possible?!" Pike demanded as he shot up from the desk.
"I don't know but someone must have leaked the information out." Daily said.
Pike banged the desk. "When I find that idiot, who couldn't keep the mouth shut, I'll have him demoted to writing speed tickets! The last thing we need right now is a city-wide panic! Hilton…"
"On it, sir." Hilton nodded as Quentin followed him.
Later, the Lair
"What is that thing?" Sara asked as Felicity was putting the shuriken into the machine.
"I borrowed it from QC, it should tell us what is the star made of." Felicity explained.
"We might be able to track Prometheus down." Diggle realized.
"In the meantime, I used the names of the victims to cross-reference with SCPD database using VICAP algorithm to track down serial killers."
Then, Sara's phone rang. "It's Laurel."
"You gave her your number?" Oliver raised his brows as she nodded.
"In case something like with the Dollmaker happened again." She explained as Oliver nodded in understanding. "Yeah?"
"Are you near a TV?" Laurel asked.
"Yeah…" Sara said.
"Turn on the news." Laurel said.
Sara put the phone down before turning to Felicity. "Could you please turn on the news?"
Felicity turned the news on screen as they saw the news bulletin about the panic at shopping mall.
"Oh, my God…" Felicity gasped.
"Dig, let's go, we need to cover the ground and contain the situation before it escalates." Oliver ordered.
Later, Starling City
The Arrow, the Canary and Diggle were engaging and subduing the shooters.
"Drop it." The Canary ordered as she neared one of the people with guns.
"I have the right to protect myself." The man said, aiming at the blonde before she threw a knife, disarming him. "That's my property."
"Not anymore." The Canary shot back. "You're just spreading panic here, go home. The Throwing Star Killer is not here."
Then, the Arrow and Canary saw the police cruisers nearing them with sirens blaring as they were forced to flee the scene.
Later, the Lair
"Ladies and gentlemen, I promise you, this situation will be contained and we will bring the people responsible to justice." Sebastian said on the news as Sara turned the TV off, glaring.
"You bastard." Sara sneered as Diggle and Oliver looked at her, surprised.
"Any problem with him?" Diggle asked as Sara tried to think of an excuse. She had no solid proof of Sebastian's guilt.
"I just… that guy is so full of crap." Sara said.
Oliver sighed. "Any connection between the victims that Prometheus killed?"
"Well, nothing at first." Felicity explained. "Nothing in common with addresses, personal history, favorite color, nada. So, the victimology algorithm moved onto some crazy Zodiac Killer kind of stuff, such as looking for anagrams in case Prometheus was sending a message in the names of the victims he's been choosing."
"Is he?" Oliver asked.
"Kind of." Felicity nodded as she brought the names on the screen. "There are more victims that the brass was trying to keep quiet and I don't think that Prometheus picked them by random. A crime lord in Hub City was found dead last week, same M.O. Tobias Church. Then there's officer Sam Conahan, then Peter Meld and our latest victim, Gay Eked. It looks like Prometheus used those names as anagrams to spell out other names. Adam Hunt, Ted Gaynor, Palmer Cokes and Sachi Beech." She listed.
"Wait a minute, I remember Hunt and Gaynor from the news from four… last year." Sara quickly corrected herself. "You took them down, did you?"
"Those names are on the list." Oliver explained.
"Your Dad's list?" Sara asked as Oliver nodded.
"You know about the list?" Felicity demanded.
"I know that Ollie's Dad left that to him." Sara explained.
Oliver nodded. "It's a list of people that were involved in the Undertaking with Malcolm and of the people that he was targeting." He went to the crate and showed Sara the list as she looked at it.
"It's ghost ink." Sara said. "It's the League's style of sending messages. What does that list mean to you, Ollie?"
Oliver took a breath. "After… Amazo, I was rescued by Amanda Waller…"
"I know who she is." Sara nodded. "I've heard more than I'd want to know about her."
"Then you know what she's capable of." Oliver said.
"Who's Amanda Waller?" Diggle asked, confused as Oliver took a breath.
"Director of A.R.G.U.S. and Lyla's… boss."
"How do you know who she is?" Felicity asked.
Oliver sighed. "It's a long story but after I thought I saw Sara die again, I ended up in Hong Kong and under Waller's thumb. She forced me to work for her, otherwise she'd kill the family of a man, who was supposed to keep an eye on me. At one point, I returned to Starling City and found a message from my father…"
"You mean the one you told me about, when you were after Ted?" Diggle stepped up, remembering his and Oliver's argument last year, when Oliver went after Diggle's former commanding officer.
Oliver nodded. "In that message, Dad explained to me, I could right his wrongs with that list. I thought I could save this city by crossing off the names but…" He sighed deeply. "After the Undertaking… I haven't looked at it."
"I think I know the message Prometheus is sending you." Sara said as she looked over the list.
"Which is?" Felicity asked.
"He's saying Ollie is the serial killer and I'm not saying that he is." Sara said. "But apparently, Prometheus does, this kind of hate… it's personal. I don't know why but we're gonna find out." She promised.
Oliver was punching the dummy as Sara neared him. "What's wrong?"
Oliver sighed deeply. "It's just that… Prometheus is dredging up my past… the list… it reminds me of how I failed. I was just curing the symptoms, when the real problem was the Undertaking and Malcolm. If I had known the truth sooner, I could have saved Tommy… all those people..."
"You did what you could." Sara assured him. "Don't blame yourself."
"I'm trying to be better but…" Oliver sighed again. "Prometheus reminds me of the past year."
"Ollie… you're not a serial killer. Don't let Prometheus let you believe it." Sara said. "I know you want to honor Tommy's memory by not killing but I've read the news. The people you killed didn't give you any other choice left. Is it any different from how would a cop act in self-defense or when he has to save an innocent person?"
Oliver smiled at her, slightly convinced as Felicity entered. "Oliver, I found six potential targets."
"That's still too much ground to cover for us." Diggle protested.
"Then we need all the help we can get." Sara said.
SCPD
Quentin's phone went off as he picked it up. "Yeah?"
"Detective, we managed to narrow down the Throwing Star Killer's targets to six potential victims. But we can't protect them all on our own." Felicity pleaded.
"What do you want me to do?" Quentin protested. "I'm not a Detective anymore and how am I supposed to explain to…"
"Anonymous tip." Felicity suggested.
Quentin hung up as he was about to deliver the news to Hilton as Connor stopped him. "Sorry…"
"Is everything alright, Mr. Lance?" Connor asked.
"Sergeant Hawke." Quentin said quickly. "Sorry, I don't have time for this…"
"Whoa, whoa, slow down, Officer. I know something's going on." Connor interrupted him. "Just tell me what's going on and I'll handle it."
Quentin nodded, quickly explaining the situation to him before Connor went to Pike's office.
"Frank, I think I have a tip on which people is our killer going to target next."
"And how did you find out?" Pike asked, skeptical.
"I have my sources." Connor said cryptically.
Later, Starling City
"You think the police can do it?" The Canary asked over the comms.
"Let's hope so." The Arrow said.
The Canary then turned around to a man in an attire similar to League of Assassins but still, it was different as his face was covered with a different mask and he had a belt of shurikens on his chest. She pulled out her batons and attacked Prometheus, who blocked with his bow and sword and kicked the Canary on the ground before she pulled out a knife and cut Prometheus on his arm before they heard beeping and Prometheus found an arrow sticking out of his back and tossed it on the ceiling as it exploded. As the smoke dissipated, Prometheus vanished as the Arrow helped the Canary on her feet.
"You OK?"
"Yeah." The Canary nodded.
"Hey, we got a big problem." The conductor said as he showed the vigilantes a bomb at the train controls.
"We don't have time to disarm that. We're getting off the train, come on." The Arrow put on a harness around him. "Hold on!" The Canary and the conductor held onto the Arrow tightly as he fired an arrow in the air before it exploded into parachute, flying them all to safety as the train exploded.
Later, SCPD
Quentin was on the roof as the Canary showed up. "All the targets of the Throwing Star Killer are in a protective custody."
The Canary breathed out in relief. "That's good. But still, I don't think that he's done. I'm glad you're alright. I wouldn't take it if… something happened to you."
Quentin chuckled. "I appreciate the concern but I'm a grown man. I can take care of myself."
The Canary smiled, missing her father's optimism. "Do you believe in second chances?" Quentin frowned for a moment. "Imagine that you… abandon those you care about because you want to do what you believe is right… but then… you realize that doing the right thing has cost you those you love. If you could take it all back… and be with those you love instead of serving the right cause, yet risking that you would be endangering others around you? Would you take that chance?"
Quentin considered for a moment. "I don't believe that… everything is certainty. I used to believe that law is absolute, law is sacred but given what I've seen… I'm not so sure about anything anymore. What I do know now… is that sometimes I need to take a leap of faith and believe that the risk will have been worth something."
The Canary smiled for a moment. "For so long, I kept running from what I am… because I didn't think I deserve those I love. That they deserve better than that… that I can't be me… and be around them. But… recently… I realized that… I don't want to run anymore. Because I can't bear the thought of losing you again."
"What do you mean?" Quentin asked, not understanding as the Canary took a breath and put down her wig and mask and Quentin stepped back in shock. "No… it can't be…"
"Hi, Daddy." Sara said, smiling, yet with tears in her eyes.
The Lair
"Oliver…" Felicity said dreadfully as she analyzed the throwing star. "Listen, the material that shuriken is made of is from the same metal your arrows are. This is gonna sound crazy but so is Prometheus, I think he must have collected the arrows you've shot in the past year, melted them down and fashioned weapons out of them."
"But that means that…" Diggle trailed off.
"That Prometheus has access to SCPD lockup." Felicity said. "Oliver, I think that Prometheus is…"
"A member of SCPD." Oliver finished.
Elsewhere
A man was at his desk before he heard a loud bang as a man in black hood and a mask burst in, with two men dropping dead as the man turned around, revealing an eye patch and a beard, seeing that the man was holding a katana. "You should invest in better guards, Wilson."
"And you should invest in some manners, kid, in case you have forgotten them."
"I'm not Oliver Queen. But you could say that he's our mutual enemy." Prometheus said.
"Who are you?"
"Call me Prometheus. You don't know me but we want the same thing, Wilson. To see him suffer."
"You made short work of my guards but the kid is a very different proposition. One, for which I am fully prepared." Slade smirked.
"I know everything about Oliver Queen. Who he loves, who he trusts, who he's hurt. And I know about how he betrayed you… and the things even he doesn't know that will hurt him. We have the same cause, Mr. Wilson. Perhaps, together we can accomplish great things."
"Very well, you have my attention… Prometheus." Slade smirked, intrigued.
Author's Note:
So, what do you guys think about it?
Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far.