I figured that since you all have stuck by this story and have been so patient, you deserve two updates in a week :). And the next chapter is almost ready too! Now, for Chapter 10.

Enjoy!:

Chapter 10

Oliver approached a small wooden shack in a small clearing.

It'd been a week since he thought he'd heard Kaz and Skylar on the island. Since then, he had dedicated all of his time to tracking down the Killer Arrow.

Once the Killer Arrow was defeated, Deathblade was Oliver's final opponent.

The shack Oliver was approaching was where he believed the Killer Arrow was. The door to the shack was slightly open, so Oliver pushed it open all the way as he walked inside.

The shack had only one room and had only one window on the wall opposite to the door. The Killer Arrow sat in a wooden chair with his hood pulled up, facing away from Oliver and looking out the window.

"Come to kick an enemy when he's down?" the Killer Arrow said. He sounded weak.

Oliver was suspicious. Maybe the Killer Arrow was setting a trap to try and catch him off guard.

Oliver gripped the handle of his knife on his belt. "I know what you're up to and it's not going to work! Drop the act and fight me like a man!"

The Killer Arrow did not move an inch. "I am in no condition to fight you."

Oliver walked around to the other side of the shack so that he was now facing the Killer Arrow.

The Killer Arrow's hands, which were stained with red, were clutched to his stomach. In the stomach area of his shirt and jacket and at the crotch of his pants were had dark stains of red. His face and skin were as pale as a ghost.

"Oh my gosh," Oliver said. "What the heck happened to you?"

"I was attacked," the Killer Arrow replied. He was practically mumbling now. "The fight was over before I knew it. Such a pity. I've always enjoyed a good ol' fashioned…good ol' fashioned…brawl."

"Wow, this trip has been anti-climactic," Oliver said. "Wait, who attacked you?"

"Deathblade!" the Killer Arrow whispered. "And…and he…he…left you a message."

"What's the message?" That's when Oliver noticed a boom box sitting on the floor by the door.

Oliver pointed to the boom box. "Is that it?"

The Killer Arrow did not respond. His hands fell limp and his head lolled to the side.

Oliver took a deep breath and bowed his head. He didn't like seeing people die, whether they were good or evil.

Oliver opened his eyes, walked over to the boom box, reached down, and pressed play.

"Hello, Oliver," said Deathblade from the boom box. "My name is Deathblade. We've never met and you probably don't know much about me, but I know quite a bit about you. I know who you've fought, who you used to fight with…"

Oliver shook his head and placed his hand on the doorknob. It looked like Deathblade's message was just a ploy to scare Oliver. Well, it wasn't going to work.

"…I even know who you love," Deathblade continued.

Oliver pulled his hand back. Had he heard that correctly?

"Yep, you heard that correctly," Deathblade said from the boob box. "I know of two people that you love: your best friend Kaz, and… Skylar Storm!"

"What?!" Oliver yelled. "What did you do to them? How did you even find out about them?"

"You're probably asking how I found out about your friends and what I did to them," Deathblade said. "Ever since you've come to the island, I've been watching you. I heard you talk a lot about a girl named Skylar Storm and a little bit about a boy named Kaz. Well, imagine my surprise when a boy and a girl fitting those exact descriptions showed up on the island.

That meant that that one day Oliver had thought he'd heard Skylar and Kaz's voices, that it was actually them! He silently cursed himself for making himself believe otherwise.

Oliver then bit his lip. Maybe his daily talks with Skylar had done more harm than good. And the only times he recalled talking about Kaz was when he first met Jessica and Max and in a few of his daily talks to Skylar.

"You still don't know what I did to them," Deathblade continued. "I'd love to tell you here and now, but I think I'm running out of time on this recording. However, I still like to brag, so here's the deal: if you want to find out what happened to Kaz and Skylar, meet me on the big cliff on the far west side of the island. You have two days to get here. If you take too long…well I just might forget and you'll never know what happened to them."

Oliver felt his heart race and he clenched his fist. "I swear, Deathblade, if you harmed them, I'll make sure that our meeting at that cliff will be the last thing you ever do!" he growled.

"You're probably threatening me right now," Deathblade said. "But this message was pre-recorded, so…I can't hear you! Ha!"

Oliver drew his knife and prepared to hurl it down on the boom box.

"And now you're probably getting ready to take your anger out on the boom box, which did nothing but deliver my sick, twisted message," Deathblade taunted. He chuckled evilly. "That's right. I know how heroes work!"

There was a click to signal that the recording was over.

Oliver took deep breaths, trying to keep his anger in check. "Darnet!" He threw open the door to the shack, picked up the boom box, and punted it like a football out into the trees.

Oliver stormed out of the shack, slamming the door behind him. "I'm coming for you, Deathblade!"

Back at the Caduceo mansion, Skylar did the first thing she could think of when she saw Experion. She performed a karate kick to his chest that knocked him over.

Caduceo scowled. "What was that for?"

"Don't you know who that is?" Skylar said. "That's Experion! He used to be a hero, but became a villain by working for The Annihilator! He should be at Mighty Max Prison!"

"I know who he is!" Caduceo snapped.

"Y-you do?" Skylar stammered. "But why is he here?"

"Due to how well your friend Oliver is doing with his training, it looks like he may become the next Caduceo," Caduceo explained. "So I need to make sure that everything in the Transference Chamber is good to go. I called Might Max and asked them to send someone over to take a look at it."

"Part of my prison sentence is to complete 600 hours of community service," said Experion as he rubbed his chest and got to his feet. "And I know a thing or two about mechanics."

"Wait, how is performing maintenance on some guy's mansion 'community service'," Kaz asked.

"Mighty Max's definition of the term 'community service' is very loose," Experion said. "I got an hour towards my total last week by sweeping my prison cell.

Kaz laughed. "It took you an hour to sweep your prison cell?"

"No…I spent five minutes actually sweeping and the other fifty five taking a nap. Megahertz, my cellmate, distracted my community service supervisor for the full hour by talking to her about problems she was having with her husband," Experion explained. "You know, for a villain, Megahertz gives good relationship advice. Apparently, whatever he told my community service supervisor worked so well that she wants him to be her relationship counselor."

"Wow, really?" said Kaz said thoughtfully. "Do you think he could help me get a girlfriend?"

Skylar rolled her eyes. "Getting back on track…what's a Transference Chamber?"

"I'll show you." Caduceo turned around and walked back in his mansion. Skylar, Kaz, and Experion followed him down the main hallway, turned left into another hallway and stopped at the door right before the basement.

"Experion, while I explain the chamber to Skylar and Kaz, I want you to do a preliminary inspection and see if anything needs fixing," Caducei instructed.

Experion nodded. "Yes sir."

Caduceo opened the door and the four of them stepped in.

The walls, floor, and ceiling of the Transference Chamber were made of a shiny silver metal. In the far right corner, there was a large capsule that was about the size of an elevator. The door to the capsule was made completely out of glass while the rest of the capsule was made of a metal a little darker than the walls. Attached to the top of the capsule was a brass funnel with a circumference the size of a basketball.

"Whoa," Kaz breathed. "Are we in the future?"

Caduceo shook his head. "Nay nay! When the soul and powers of Caduceo leave my body, it will try to fly free like a normal spirit. The metal walls are designed to make sure that it stays in this room and doesn't escape. Eventually, it'll rebound into the funnel on the capsule and be stored there. The new Caduceo will go into the capsule, press a button, and the powers will be transferred into him safely."

Experion walked back to Caduceo, Skylar, and Kaz. "The walls seem to be fine, but there are some faulty wires in the capsule that could prevent its funnel from properly storing the soul and powers it needs to. Luckily, it's something I should be able to fix in about an hour or two."

Caduceo pointed to the capsule. "Then get to it!"

Experion smiled. "Right away, sir." He walked over to the capsule.

Caduceo sighed. "I'm hungry," he announced. He looked at Skylar and Kaz. "You two up for wings?"

"Duh!" said Kaz. "I'm always hungry! And I love wings! Plus, the Eagles play the Giants tonight. We can watch the game as we eat!"

"I do not want to watch the Eagles game," Caduceo said.

Kaz scowled. "Aw, you're a Pats fan, I knew it! Will you be a fan after Brady retires? Were you a fan of the Patriots before 2002?"

Caduceo rolled his eyes. "I am not a Patriots fan."

Kaz gasped. "You're a Giants fan, I knew it! We can't be friends anymore!"

"You know I'm paying for your wings, right?" Caduceo said.

Kaz paused. "Oh…then go Giants!"

Caduceo rolled his eyes. "I'm not a Giants fan, either!"

Kaz looked to Skylar. "You coming?" he asked.

"No, I'm gonna stay behind and watch Oliver on the TV, if that's okay," Skylar said.

Caduceo shrugged. "I don't care."

"You sure you don't wanna come?" Kaz said.

Skylar nodded. "I'm sure."

What will happen when Oliver meets Deathblade? Can Experion fix the capsule in the Transference Chamber?

Find out in Chapter 11.

~Jameer14