A/N I don't own these characters, wish I did though...

Thanks for reviewing:)

The enormous man smiled, "I thought you'd see it my way."

Helena suppressed the urge to rip his face off. "Not like we have much of a choice."

"Come now little Helena, I remember when you were little. You never acted so mean to me, although I know you were terrified of me which is why Franco always ordered me to stay away from you." Mandragora chuckled. "Idiot of a man really thought he was in charge of me."

Huntress' body trembled in rage. She hated this man, this monster. She hated him and she wanted to watch him suffer at her mercy, she wanted to take a knife and shove it down his throat after she'd cut off his-"Helena." Vic said quietly as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't."

Helena resisted her natural instinct to smack him away and attack Mandragora. Vic was right; they needed to be calm otherwise their daughter would pay the price. "Fine." She muttered.

Bella looked back and forth between the adults in horror. Was he really going to kill Mama and Daddy? He couldn't; no one could hurt them! She'd seen Mama fight men before and Bella was fairly sure she could take this one down. So why were they acting like this was the end? "Mama...?"

Helena looked anxiously at her daughters face. "It's okay sweetie; Mama just has to take care of a little business."

"How touching." Cooed Mandragora. "If only I had my camera with me."

"You're scum." Helena sneered.

Mandragora flashed her a toothy grin. "No little Helena; I am a Mafio, just like you."

"I'm nothing like you."

"So true." Mandragora sighed.

"A deal's a deal." Question spoke up. "You give us our daughter, we give you our lives."

"...Daddy?" Bella whimpered. What was going on? Why weren't they fighting back?

"It's okay sweetheart." Vic said encouragingly. "You'll be alright."

But what about you? At this point Bella had decided to keep her mouth shut for once in her life.

"You heard him." Helena narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Hand her over or the deal's off."

"Fine." Laughed the morbidly obese man as he released the little girls unbroken arm and shoved her forward. Isabella blinked in surprise before scrambling to her parents and jumping into her fathers' arms.

"What's going on? Why are we-?" Vic placed a gloved hand over her mouth. "Shh..."

Mandragora stood up straight and eyed the group. "I held up my part of the bargain," He cocked the gun in his hand. "and seeing how this gun can have all three of you dead on the ground before Ms. Huntress can take out her little toy I suggest you stay true to yours."

"Fine." Helena said calmly. She moved closer to Vic and kissed her daughter on both cheeks. "E 'bambina ve bene, ti amo e lo fa il tuo papa. Ci piace cosi tanto."

Bella nodded. "Ti amo, Mama." She didn't know what was going to be okay or why Mama was telling her that she and Daddy loved her, but she figured the best thing to do was tell her she loved her back.

"Ahem." Coughed Mandragora. "As touching as this is, I have places to be so if you would be so kind..."

"Daddy, you're kidding, right?" Bella asked hopefully. People couldn't really be that mean, could they?

Vic turned to his daughter. "Just get behind us Bella, It'll be okay."

Helena felt a shiver go down her spine at how close this was to when her own father his her in the closet. But whereas most people couldn't even imagine something as horrible as this happening once, she had to live through it twice.

Q gently put their daughter on the ground, "Leave, now."

Isabella looked up at both of her parents before slowly nodding and taking off into a sprint towards the bushes. Helena watched her go, thankful for the small blessing of sparing her daughter to what she had witnessed before casting a look at Vic. Even though his face was hidden by the mask, she knew what he was thinking.

He turned his non-face to her and offered his hand. At least if he was going to die, he'd have Helena by his side. She took it and intertwined her fingers in his, squeezing his hand with hers and feeling him do the same. They turned back to Mandragora. "Well, I see we are now getting somewhere." He roared with delight.

Helenas' eyes flashed with fury, "I should've killed you when I had the chance."

Mandragora shrugged. "I was thinking the same thing." He aimed the gun at the two. "Except I can take that decision back."

Helena braced herself. Hate like she hadn't experienced in years was flooding through her as she faced him. Mandragora smiled as he lifted the gun and lined it up at them. "Goodbye Ms. Bertinelli and Mister Question."

Question took one last look at Helena, taking her in. Even faced with death she still stood defiant and tall; the most beautiful women he'd ever seen. He held her hand tighter, wishing there was a way he could save her.

And, for the first time since he was a boy, Charles Victor Szazs prayed.

Huntress glanced at her Q for what would ultimately be the last time. She noted with pride that he was standing straight and fearless, the strangest man she'd ever known and the one she'd loved more than any of them. She felt him tighten his grip on her hand and gave him a small smile.

Mandragora put his finger on the trigger.

It went off with a loud bang! and the sickening sound of a bullet making contact thundered around the mansion grounds.

Question opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. Not that he wasn't grateful, but why wasn't he dead?

"Hey buddy," Came the cocky voice that could belong to no one else but the ever-so-confident Oliver Queen. "It's not nice to try and kill people who let you live!"

Huntress whirled around to see the smoldering gun lying on the ground with an arrow through the handle, a crumbled statue where the bullet had hit not to far away.

"HI-YAH!" Canary shouted as she kicked the man in the neck. Mandragora groaned and turned towards her, utter fury in his eyes. "You should not have done that, little birdie." He raised his arm and smacked the blond woman away as she flew towards Ollie.

"Canary!" Shouted Huntress as the woman laid still.

"Dinah!" Yelped Ollie in horror as he ran towards his wife.

Helena turned her gaze back to Mandragora with resolve. In one fluent motion grabbed her fallen crossbow and swung it towards her tormentor. "Mandragora!"

"Aw, the little lady has a toy, how precious." Cooed Mandragora as he cocked his head to the side.

Isabella had tumbled from her hiding spot behind the staute after it was blown to pieces, she was currently trying to figure out where the heck to hide. She looked around anxiously, searching for somewhere safe when her eyes locked on to Daddy. Without a second thought, she ran to him.

"Daddy!" She cried throwing an arm around his leg. Vic looked down, started. "What the-I told you to hide!"

"I did, but then the statue blew up and I was scared and sad and kinda hungry so I went to find you!" She explained in one breath.

Vic opened his mouth to answer her when he suddenly spotted his lover shrieking at her childhood tormentor.

"We'll see how little this toy is after I'm done with you." She hissed, taking a step towards him. "You bastard, you sorry son of a bitch. Do you know what you've done to me over the years? How much you've taken from me?"

She felt tears of anger and angst in her eyes, but she was to infuriated to care. First her parents, then her baby, just all of it. It was too much. "Do you know how much I hate you? How many times I've dreamed about killing you?"

Her body shook with emotion. "I hate you, I swear to God you worthless piece of shit I hate you!" She was done, done with it all. She had the opportunity to kill the monster from her childhood, and damn it she was going to. No more little girl hiding in the closet, no more having nightmares to this day of evil men with eyes like a bottomless pit.

No more hiding, no more fear, no more anything. She tore off her mask and dropped it to the side; no longer was she Huntress, no longer was she Helena, she was a woman with a mission and that mission was going to be accomplished.

Vic watched Helena tear off her mask in disbelief. She was really going to do it this time, wasn't she?

"You prick," She whispered. "You worthless piece of slime. I'm going to kill you, got that? No one's going to save you; not your son, not Q, no one." She placed her hand on the trigger. "And now I'm going to take your life like you've done with so much of my family."

Bella stared at Mama in horror, was she really going to kill him? How could Mama, the same lady who kissed her cuts, who held her when she cried; and who tucked her in at night, be a cold-hearted killer?

Helena stole a quick peak at Vic to see what he was thinking of all this. Instead, her gaze fell upon her daughter.

She'd never seen her look so afraid.

She'd never seen her look so afraid of her.

Helena froze in horror. How could she look at her like that? Like she was the monster here? After everything Mandragora had done to them, she chose to look at her own mother like she was the killer.

For a second she realized how it must've looked.

To a six year-old, she was the bad guy. She was the one screaming and swearing with the weapon, and at this very moment her baby was learning a very important fact about her mother.

She was willing to kill.

The thought was terrifying.

Helena wanted to pause everything and hold her daughter tight. She wanted to tell her that she wasn't evil and that Helena loved her and would never hurt her like she was going to hurt him.

But she couldn't, she could only watch as her daughter stared at her in fear and terror.

Was watching a parent murder someone as bad as watching them be killed? Helena gulped, if she did this Isabella would never look at her the same way again. Every look, every action would be shadowed by fear.

As much as she hated Mandragora, she loved her daughter more.

Helena lowered her weapon.

"What is it Ms. Huntress, to much of a coward to make the kill?" Taunted Mandragora.

"No." Helena relpied quietly. "You live and thrive on fear and hate and blood; it makes you happy." She curled her fists. "I hate you, and so help me if things were different then you'd be dead. But as much as I hate you..." She turned away and closed her eyes. "I can't do it."

Huntress once again raised her weapon and fired, hitting him in the leg and causing him to explode in agony.

Helena ignored him and walked to Vic, kissing him and taking Bella out of his arms and into hers.

"Mama, why didn't you kill him?" Her daughter looked at her confused, but Helena didn't want to explain it. She didn't want to destroy a child's, her child's innocence.

"I'll tell you when you're older."

Oliver lifted Dinah into his arms and carried her to the rest of the group.

"She's gonna be alright, but she's gonna have a hell of a headache later."

"Good." Helena nodded walking towards her friend. "Are you alright?"

"I guess." Dinah shrugged.

"Thank you for helping us." Helena replied quietly.

"Consider it a repayment for Metabrawl." Dinah yawned. "And Helena?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry, who you date is your choice and-"

"It's fine." Helena waved her off. "If I were you I'd be upset, too."

Dinah smiled. "That still doesn't mean I approve."

"It wouldn't be the same if you did."

Dinah looked at the moaning Mandragora. "You didn't kill him?" She asked in surprise.

"No." Helena said quietly. "Nobody died tonight."

Deep down, Helena knew not just their lives were spared

A/N I'm toying with the idea of a sequel, would anyone like that?

A/N Read and review, 1 chapter left.