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.

In the tunnel, the Arrow and Canary crawled their way out from the rubble.

"Laurel!" The Arrow called out as neither of the vigilantes couldn't find her.

"Laurel!" The Canary wailed.

Jack jumped back as Diggle fell on the ground as they were trying to block Isabel's attacks.

"You can't kill me." Isabel said smugly.

"You're not invincible." Diggle said as he pulled out his telescopic baton.

"Close enough." Isabel smirked as she attacked Diggle with her swords and Jack kicked her back and shot her with his gun but it didn't faze her as she glared.

"That won't stop me this time."

"Laurel!" The Arrow called out.

"Oliver! Sara!" Laurel called out from the other side.

"Are you OK?" The Canary yelled.

"The tunnel collapsed. I'm trapped. I just… it's getting really… hard to breathe." Laurel coughed out.

"You are gonna be OK." The Arrow assured her.

"What do you see, Laurel?" The Canary asked. "Tell us everything!"

Laurel looked around. "Rocks and water and…. And your bow."

"Do you see my quiver?!" The Arrow yelled.

"Wait! Yeah, yes, I have it!" Laurel picked up the quiver full of arrows.

"How many arrows are in it?" The Arrow asked.

"There's a bunch of them." Laurel replied.

"There should be one with a metallic head that's bigger than the rest of them. Do you see it?" The Arrow shouted.

"Why do I need this?" Laurel asked nervously.

"Because it's an explosive arrow. And you're going to fire it." The Arrow explained.

Jack advanced on Isabel as she was fighting Diggle but she knocked them both on the ground with her swords.

"Hey!" Henry yelled as Isabel turned to him. "Fire in the hole!" He pulled out a pin and tossed towards Isabel a grenade as Jack and Diggle ran away from her and lied on the ground and the explosion knocked Isabel down.

Both Jack and Diggle got on their feet as they entered Henry's car. "Thanks, Henry."

"Let's get out of here." Diggle ordered as Henry's car backed away.

"Are you far enough away from the debris to avoid the blast?" The Arrow yelled as Laurel was holding the bow.

"I don't know! What if I can't shoot that far?" She called out.

"The bow's a hybrid compound, Laurel. It's going to do all the work for you. All I need you to do… just aim at the middle of the debris. Take a deep breath. Center your feet. Left hand on the bow. Place the arrow on the drawstring." Laurel carefully did as instructed. "Alright, I want you to pull back on the drawstring and keep your left arm straight. OK?" Laurel did as told again. "You count to three and then you just let go. You can do this. 1… 2… 3!"

Laurel fired as the arrow exploded upon hitting the debris, blasting a hole through as Laurel fell on the ground and the Arrow and Canary went out, helping her on her feet.

"Nice shot." The Canary smiled at her.

"Diggle, Jack, are you there, guys?" The Arrow called out.

"Yeah, Oliver, we hear you." Diggle said. "We're coming up."

"OK, I'll get Laurel to safety to SCPD. Then, I'll go looking for my sister and nephew." Henry said as they all met together on the street, nodding in approval.

"Slade's army, he has at least fifty men out there, all like him." Oliver said as he looked at the city.

"They're everywhere." Diggle grumbled.

"We gotta stop them." The Canary said.

"We might have a way." Chloe revealed. "S.T.A.R. Labs just sent a courier en route with the cure."

"Where is it?" The Arrow demanded.

"I have his coordinates." Chloe showed them her phone. "I texted him to stay put."

Everyone entered the car, driving towards the location.

SCPD

"Listen up." Quentin ordered. "We're going to establish a perimeter with checkpoints at 5th and Adams, a safe zone, do you hear me?"

"Who the hell are these guys?" One of the officers demanded.

"These guys are the enemy." Quentin said simply.

"They're attacking innocents at random, creating mayhem and chaos, we need to put then down." Pike ordered.

"Lieutenant…" Quentin intervened.

"Now!" Pike snapped.

"Listen to me." Quentin snapped. "These guys, have you seen these guys? They do not go down! We gotta call on the National Guard!"

"That's a call for the mayor and he hasn't made that yet…"

"And he won't. Mayor Blood let this happen." Quentin interrupted him.

"What?" Pike asked incredulously.

"Trust me. Blood's behind this." Quentin insisted.

"Look, even if I believed you, I don't have that kind of authority." Pike protested.

"Well, in an emergency, the chief of police does, so get Westberg on the line." Quentin suggested.

"Westberg is dead." Pike revealed.

Quentin sighed. "Well, then, there's only two more people we can call. You're not gonna like it."

"The vigilantes." Pike sighed.

"The Arrow and the Canary. Yeah, I know, they're breaking the law but what we're up against isn't about the law, it's about survival. We got masks, tearing apart our city. It's gonna take masks to stop them." Quentin told him.

After a pause, Pike gave in. "Make the call."

"OK, let's do it." Quentin nodded.

"One more thing." Pike dragged Quentin aside as the rest of the police was getting to work. "You know more about what's going on over everyone else I got. I need you making decision and leading these men… Detective." He finished as he handed Quentin his badge.

"Daddy." Laurel rushed to Quentin, hugging him tightly.

"Laurel, thank God." Quentin sighed in relief. "Where…"

"Henry got me here to safety." Laurel told him as Quentin nodded towards Henry gratefully.

"Thank you, Fyff."

"You're welcome. Laurel, stay here. I need to go find my sister and nephew." Laurel nodded as Henry went out from the precinct.

Elsewhere in Starling City

"You think Sin's going to be OK, Mom?" Riley asked.

"I don't know but she's a big girl and she's smart, I hope that's enough." Nicole pulled out her phone as she and her son were pacing down the street.

"Nicky, where are you?" Henry asked.

"I don't know, somewhere in… damn it!"

Nicole and Riley were running through the alleys as one of Slade's men followed them but they reached a dead end as Riley was behind his mother, frightened. "Mom, I'm scared."

"It's gonna be OK, honey."

Suddenly, the gate behind them opened as Richard showed up. "Nicky!"

"Richard!" Nicole exclaimed.

"Dad!" Riley yelled.

"Come on, let's go!" Richard barked as they followed him through the alleys before they stopped at a cruiser.

"Dad?" Riley hugged Richard tightly as Nicole kissed him.

"That was for coming back." Then, she slapped him on his cheek. "And that one's for leaving us again!"

"I'm sorry, Nicks." Richard said sadly.

"Any word from Thea?" Diggle asked as he was driving the van down the street. "Is she safe?"

"She decided to leave Starling before the attacks started." Oliver said.

"Just under two miles to the bridge. And the courier." Chloe said.

Then, Sara's phone rang. "Daddy?"

"How can we help you?" Quentin asked.

"We?" Sara asked, confused.

"The Starling City police force is standing with you on this one." Quentin assured them.

"We need help containing the soldiers." Oliver ordered. "We're working on something and it may stop them but we need more time."

"We can do that." Quentin assured them. "Whatever you're doing, good luck. For all our sakes."

"That street leads to the bridge." Chloe said as Diggle turned before one of Slade's soldiers started to follow them.

"Oh, no." Jack gasped.

"Floor it!" Oliver yelled as Diggle hit the gas but the soldier raced ahead of them, pushing another car to block their way.

"Hold on!" Diggle yelled as the van rammed the car, flipping over as Slade's men were nearing the van.

"Dig?" Oliver groaned. "Diggle!"

"Yeah." Diggle groaned as Chloe was groaning.

"Ugh, my rib…"

"Hang on." Diggle assured her as he was helping her out as he kicked out the shattered windshield, crawling out as everyone was crawling out until Oliver readied an arrow as Slade's men neared the back door and Oliver fired an explosive arrow to the door and as the soldiers opened the door, the explosion knocked them both out.

"Where have you been?" Nicole asked as Richard didn't even look at either her or Riley.

"It doesn't matter."

"Why did you come back?" Nicole asked.

"Nicky!" Henry shouted as he neared both Nicole and Riley, hugging them both tightly. "Oh, thank God." Then, he let them go as he stared at Richard. "You… I thought you left. Why are you here?"

"I don't know." Richard admitted, barely looking at them. "There's nothing waiting for me here."

"Your family is here. And your friends." Nicole pleaded. "We missed you."

"No." Richard shook his head. "You shouldn't. Not after what's happened. To all of you. As long as I'm near any one of you, you're all just gonna get sucked into my orbit and get into danger. And I can't let you pay the price for my mistakes. Not again. Not like your fiancé. Not like Henry. Not like Naomi. Not like how it went down in Africa."

"You believe that you're protecting us by pushing us away. But that's not true." Nicole pleaded.

"Dad, no matter what happens, we're in this together. You saved Uncle Hank and Sara. You always find a way to help us." Riley pleaded.

"No matter what we've been through, we've always found a way. That's what we are." Nicole insisted as she knelt down.

"And what I am, is irredeemable." Richard sighed.

"I don't believe that." Henry said from behind Nicole and Riley as they turned around. "Was the man, who gave up his life to save my sister and Sara irredeemable?"

"The man I love, he saved my brother and my best friends. Tried his best to put us through that darkness." Nicole pleaded. "I don't believe you're too far gone. You've always had a good heart."

"You just need to have faith." Henry said. "And it took me time to find my faith in you again. Maybe it's time you found faith in yourself again."

The Arrow, the Canary, Diggle and Chloe were walking down the street.

"The cellphone GPS says he should be within a 500-foot radius." Chloe said as she pulled out her phone.

"Hey, where are you?" The courier asked.

"We're looking for you but it's a mess out there." Chloe said.

"Wait, I'll try to honk my horn." The courier isad.

"No, wait, wait, don't!" Chloe shouted but then, they heard the horn blare a few times.

"Wait, I can see your feet, you're standing right outside my car."

"It's not us!" Chloe yelled before they heard screaming as they all rushed to the car with the dead courier and the cure was gone. "Damn it!"

Clock tower

Chloe hung up, groaning. "Damn it."

Jack turned to her, worried. "Does S.T.A.R. Labs have…"

Chloe shook her head. "No, what they sent us was all they got and they used all of the Mirakuru we sent it to them, so they can't make more."

"We can't stop Slade's men without the cure." Oliver said in defeat.

"We'll find another way." Diggle said optimistically.

"There is no other way!" Oliver snapped. "Diggle, the Foundry's been compromised and we need to get Roy out of there."

"I'm on it." Diggle went out.

"I'm coming with you." Jack followed him.

Oliver looked outside the window at the devastation. "Five years ago, I was a completely different person. And I had no idea that something like that was even… possible. I couldn't have imagined. When you brought me back to Starling City, I made a vow to myself that I would never let anything like the Undertaking happen again."

"This isn't on you, Ollie." Sara pleaded.

"Yes, it is." Oliver turned to her and Chloe. "I have failed this city. Yao Fei, Shado, Tommy, my father, my mother… all that I have ever wanted to do was to honor those people."

"You honor them by fighting for them, remember?" Chloe reminded.

"She's right, Ollie." Sara held his hand. "Malcolm Merlyn, the Triad, the Count, we stopped them together because we kept on going. And that's how we'll stop Slade. I know two things for certain: The only way we stop Slade is if we stand together and if we won't give up. And that no matter what, I love you." She kissed him.

Oliver's phone suddenly rang as he answered Sebastian's call. "What do you want?"

"To save this city before it's too late." Sebastian told him.

"It's already too late." Oliver growled.

"You were right about Slade Wilson." Sebastian admitted. "I should have listened to you but I'm here now and I can help you."

"Why should I trust you?" Oliver demanded.

"Because, Oliver, I have the Mirakuru cure." Sebastian revealed, to Oliver's shock.

A few moments later, Diggle and Jack returned with Roy and the venom IV as they pit him on the table.

"How much venom do we have to keep him under?" Oliver asked.

"Two hours, maybe." Diggle said.

"Let's go." Oliver ordered.

"We'll keep an eye on Roy." Chloe promised. "But how do you know you're not walking into a trap?" She asked, worried.

"We don't." Oliver admitted.

"But we don't have a choice." Sara pointed out.

Elsewhere in Starling City

Henry, Nicole and Riley were running down the street with Richard, who had a hood on before they saw a building on fire as people were leaving it in haste before they heard someone scream.

"Someone help! Please, help! Please! My daughter is still inside!"

Henry rushed to action as Nicole grabbed him. "Hank, stop being a hero, you can't…"

"Hey! What are you doing here?" Quentin rushed to the family. "It's not safe to…"

"Quentin, we need to help them!" Henry pointed to the building.

"My daughter's still inside, I couldn't get to her!" The woman cried out as Quentin and Henry rushed to the door but the explosion forced them back.

"Delta-Charlie 52 to Central, copy? Delta-Charlie to Central, please copy me, now!" Quentin yelled into the radio.

"Quentin, look!" Nicole pointed to the building as Richard in black hood held the girl in a blanket in his arms.

"My baby! My baby!" The woman screamed as Richard handed the girl to her. "Oh, my baby." As she looked at Richard, he vanished. "Who was that?"

"A hero." Henry smiled.

"The Dragon." Nicole added.

City Hall

The Arrow and Canary entered Sebastian's office as they noticed the corpse of D.A. Kate Spencer before approaching Sebastian at the window, who was holding the leather skull mask. "As a young boy, I was plagued by nightmares." Sebastian said. "Every night, I would wake up in a cold sweat, frightened and alone. It was my father's face that haunted me." He turned around to face both vigilantes. "And this is how I saw him. The embodiment of desperation and despair. I made this mask to conquer my fears. And remind myself why I fight, every day, to give this city's most desperate a chance. All I ever wanted to do was to help people, Oliver."

"Then help us believe. Where's the cure?" Oliver demanded.

"Slade Wilson will not rest until he honors the promise that he made you." Sebastian said as he put the mask on the table.

"We won't be so easy to kill, once we level the playing field." Sara promised.

"He's not interested in killing you." Sebastian said. "Not until he's taken away everything and everyone you love."

"After he murdered my mother, he said one more person had to die."

"Actually, three more." Sebastian corrected. "Sara, and whoever you two care about the most." He turned to his table and reached down as Diggle readied his gun. "I hope you can beat him with this." He showed the case with the Mirakuru cure. "For all our sakes. And when this is over, I promise you I will do everything in my power to rebuild Starling City. And I won't just make it what it was, I will make it better. Like I always planned."

Oliver and Sara looked at him incredulously.

"You really think that after everything that's happened, after what you've done, that they'll still let you be mayor?" Oliver demanded.

"Why not? No one knows that I've done anything except try to save this city." Sebastian pointed out. "And if either of you tells anyone about my mask, I will tell them about yours." He warned.

"Do what you have to, Sebastian." Oliver said before he and Sara left the office with the briefcase full of Mirakuru cure.

Clock tower

Sin rushed upstairs as she hugged Sara. "Thank God you're here."

"What are you doing here?" Sara demanded. "I thought you were going to safety with Nicole."

"We got separated. I didn't know where else to go." Sin explained before seeing Roy on table. "Oh, God, Roy…"

"Are you sure about this?" Jack asked as he examined the cure in the briefcase. "I mean, we don't know if it even works."

"We don't have a choice." Sara said.

"What if it kills him?" Sin exclaimed. "Or, worse, what if he wakes up and kills us?"

"We need to know, one way or the other." Oliver said before Sara's phone rang.

"Daddy?"

"Are you near a TV?" Quentin asked.

"Yeah…" Sara said slowly.

"Turn it on." Quentin said as Sara ordered Chloe to turn on the TV on her tablet as they saw the footage of convoy of troops as she and Jack glared at the screen hatefully.

"A.R.G.U.S." Jack growled.

Oliver pulled out his own phone and dialed the number.

"How did you get this number?" Amanda Waller demanded.

"Amanda, what are you doing?" Oliver hissed.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Oliver." Waller dodged.

"Amanda, the troops taking up position at the city's exits, they're not army, they're A.R.G.U.S., these are your men, so you tell me what you're up to." Oliver demanded. As he got no reply, he snapped as he raised his voice. "Amanda!"

"Slade's followers are a clear and present danger. I cannot allow them to escape the city. They need to be contained… by any means necessary."

Oliver felt a pit of dread form in his stomach. "You can't."

"There's a drone en route carrying six GBU/43-B bombs. Enough firepower to level the city." Waller said.

"There are over a half a million people in this city." Oliver protested.

"576,000." Waller corrected. "None of whom deserve to die but I have to think about the people in every city. You once told me that Mirakuru made a man virtually unstoppable. What could happen to this country, this world, if I don't end this here and now?"

"Listen to me, I have the cure." Oliver told her. "I can stop Slade and his men."

"I can't take the chance you'll fail, Oliver." Waller shot back.

"Amanda, I just need more time." Oliver pleaded.

"I'm sorry. You have until dawn. And then, Starling City is a crater." Waller said as Oliver hung up and in despair, he turned to Roy and jammed the syringe with the cure in his shoulder.

So, what do you guys think about it?

Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far.

And before anyone asks: Yes, I do plan a sequel but it might take a while before I get to it. The next chapter is going to be the last one of this story

And a spoiler: By the end, Sara will retire from being the Canary and Laurel will replace her as the Black Canary. As for why, you'll see.