Chapter 37: The Final Confrontation

"It's over, bro – let him go, yeah?"

AC gently squeezed his friend's shoulder, tears running down his cheeks as he spoke. Oliver didn't react; instead he remained absolutely still, his eyes fixed on Bart's lifeless body. He'd been like this for over a minute now – unmoving, apparently oblivious to everything save for the teenager he still cradled in his arms. For AC and Roy, forced to stand by and watch, it was an almost unbearable scene, their tears mingling with feelings of utter helplessness as they fought to control their emotions. Both had lost a friend, but they knew that their loss was nothing compared to what Oliver was going through. He was the man who had brought them all together, forged them into a team. The bond he felt towards each of them was special, and they knew that at that moment he would have given all he had to exchange places with the boy who had given his life to save his. They could not begin to imagine how he was feeling, how after all they had suffered together it should come to this, when they were so close to freedom…..

Oliver's mind was in turmoil. Anger, despair, rage, guilt – these and a dozen other emotions swirled around inside his head. Bart was dead, but part of him still did not believe it. From the moment he'd started to recruit the guys to his team he'd felt a duty of care towards them, as if their safety was his special responsibility. Of course they'd joined with their eyes open, fully aware of the risks. That didn't matter; what mattered was that they were his team, and he'd promised himself he'd look after them, keep them safe. Now he'd failed, and Bart was dead. He couldn't help thinking that it should have been him lying there, not Bart; he was the leader, after all, the man who'd got them into all of this in the first place. Bart hadn't asked for any of this, but still he'd given his life for another without a second's hesitation. Bart had died a true hero, and that filled him with both pride and shame in equal measure. Pride that the kid had sacrificed himself so selflessly; shame that he had let the teenager down, allowed him to throw away his life so that he might live. Because Bart wasn't coming back – he knew that. This time there would be no last minute miracle, no final twist that saw the hero cheat his maker. Bart really was dead; as Lex had said, life isn't a comic book – sometimes there isn't a happy ending…

Lex…..

The thought of Luthor suddenly filled Oliver with rage. He had done this – he had murdered Bart, killed him like he'd killed so many others before. It was time to stop this, stop it before any more innocent lives were lost. Maybe it was too late for a happy ending, but he could still put an end to Luthor; perhaps then this would all mean something after all, and his fallen friend would not have died in vain….

Slowly, gently, he lowered Bart's body to the ground. He then got to his feet, his tear stained face a picture of grim resolve.

"Take care of them, AC," he said, glancing across at Roy and Chloe. "I'm counting on you – don't let me down."

"But Oliver – what….?"

"I'm going to do what I should have done months ago – I'm finishing this."

AC immediately understood the meaning of his friend's words. "Oliver, you can't – you're hurt, bro," he said, trying vainly to dissuade him. It was pointless, of course; Oliver's mind was made up, and no amount of persuasion was going to change that.

"I'm going after him – I have to," he replied quietly.

"After Lex? But he'll kill you!" said Roy, now understanding what was happening.

"At least let us come with you – even up the odds a little," said AC. He knew nothing could stop Oliver from going after Lex, but he still hoped to protect his injured friend from an encounter where he would very much be at a disadvantage.

"No – I can't lose anyone else," replied Oliver firmly. He looked at AC, imploring his old friend to understand. "I need you to get them to safety – please, will you do that for me?"

AC hesitated. He could see the determination in Oliver's eyes, the hurt that could only be assuaged by the confrontation that he now sought. Both men knew that Oliver might not make it back alive, but at that moment AC understood that he had no alternative but to let his friend go. With Bart dead, facing Lex was something that Oliver had to do, whatever the outcome.

"Please, AC," repeated Oliver.

"Okay, Oliver," replied AC reluctantly. "We'll do it your way."

Oliver nodded, acknowledging his friend's acceptance of his need to act alone. The two embraced, each trying to draw strength from the other for what lay ahead.

"Take care, you hear?" said AC, choking back his emotions.

"You too, big guy," said Oliver, squeezing his friend a little tighter; with Bart dead and Victor's fate still unknown, he was all too aware that AC was the only member of his original team still standing.

The two parted. Nothing more was said – there didn't need to be. Oliver took one last look at Chloe, still lying on unconscious on the ground. His features fixed, he then turned and disappeared into the smoke that billowed all around.

"You're just going to let him go?" asked Roy, staring incredulously at AC.

"He has to do this alone, Roy," replied AC quietly. "Trust me – he knows what he's doing."

He looked down at Bart, his eyes filling with tears at the sight of the teenager's lifeless form. "Come on, kid – let's get you home," he said, scooping up the boy's body into his arms. Roy did the same with Chloe, and together they began to make their way towards the exit, and freedom.

Oliver moved swiftly across the floor of the arena, expertly weaving his way between the fires and the fallen masonry that lay all around. He appeared oblivious to the chunks of stone and brick that continued to fall from the collapsing roof, and to the acrid smoke that filled his lungs and in places reduced visibility to almost zero. All he could think about was Lex. He was determined to find him, even though the odds of locating him appeared slim at best; not only did he have a head start on him, but Oliver had no idea of the direction in which he'd fled after he'd fired the shot that had killed Bart. Despite this Oliver did not doubt for a second that he would find him, just as he knew that when the time came he would have to kill him. Bart was just the latest in a long line of Lex's victims, and the killing would go on unless he, Oliver, finally put a stop to it. Something inside told him that everything had been leading up to this moment. All the years that he and Lex had fought each other, from their time together at Excelsior to their rivalry in business and finally the life or death struggle between the Justice League and LuthorCorp - it had all been building up to this final confrontation, the moment when at last their feud would reach its inevitable climax. The moment of decision had arrived, and only one thing was certain – only one of them was going to leave the arena alive.

"Luthor!" he roared, his voice echoing above the sound of the flames. "You want to kill me, well here I am – take your best shot!"

He jumped on to a piece of fallen masonry, as if he were trying to make himself as easy a target as possible. It was a reckless act, but Oliver didn't care; he needed to smoke Lex out, and Bart's death had momentarily snuffed out his instinct for self-preservation.

"Luthor!" he repeated, daring him to do his worst. "Come out and face me, damnit – or are you really just a coward after all!"

A shot rang out. Instinctively Oliver ducked, just as he felt a sharp pain in his left arm. Looking down, he saw blood oozing from a fresh wound, presumably where the bullet had just nicked him. Ignoring this latest injury, he leapt from the lump of masonry and made a dash for a doorway just off to his right, certain that the bullet had come from there. He threw himself headlong inside, tumbling head over heels so as to catch his attacker off guard and give him as little chance of taking another shot as possible. Coming to rest in a crouching position, he quickly surveyed his surroundings, his senses alert to every danger as his heart pumped furiously in his chest. He was at the foot of a stairwell, still dimly lit by the emergency lighting that had kicked in after the main power supply to the arena had failed. Looking around, Oliver could see that there was no other exit. An access corridor was blocked by fire; if Lex had come this way, he must have headed upwards.

Oliver didn't hesitate. He began to climb the stairs, taking three at a time in an attempt to close the gap on his attacker. It only took him a few seconds to reach the top, where he found himself confronted by a closed door. Driven on by the adrenalin that was now pumping through his veins, he threw himself at it, crashing through into the room beyond. Again Oliver tumbled forwards, all too aware that Lex was almost certainly waiting for him. Another shot rang out, this time missing him by a fraction of an inch. Oliver turned, to find Lex standing just a few feet away. He flew at him, knocking the gun from his hand and sending him careering into a wall.

"You want me, Lex? Do you? Do you want me?" he roared, grabbing Lex by the lapels and thrusting him up against the wall. "Well here I am, you sick fuck – HERE-I-AM!"

He slammed Lex repeatedly against the wall, taking pleasure in the look of terror in the other man's eyes. Robbed of his gun, Lex looked weak, powerless – just like he'd looked at Excelsior all those years ago, when Oliver and his friends had bullied him, picked on him for being different. For a split second the years fell away, and they were both back at the Academy, each cast once again in the roles of bully and victim, roles they both thought they had long since left behind.

"It's over, Lex," he hissed. "It's finished – and this is where you pay!"

He hauled Lex into the air, before flinging him through a plate glass window. The glass shattered into a thousand pieces, but Oliver barely noticed. Like a force of nature he bore down on Lex, grabbing him and pulling him to his feet. The two men were on a balcony now, the same balcony from where Lex had entertained his guests during the fight between Clark and AC. Beneath them the fires continued to rage in the arena, the noise of the flames mixing with the sound of an occasional explosion.

"Please…. Please, don't…" whimpered Lex, seemingly terrified by the man who now held his life in his hands.

"SHUT – THE – FUCK – UP!" roared Oliver, the sound of Lex's voice only serving to enrage him still further. Again he threw Lex against a wall. Lex slumped to the floor, before Oliver grabbed him and began punching him repeatedly in the face.

"This is for Dean – and Bart – and all the others you've killed, you murdering son-of-a-bitch!" he shouted, reigning blows down on his helpless prey. It was a savage, merciless beating – the sort of beating that Oliver himself had been subjected to so many times over the previous five months. Blood spurted from Lex's nose, his mouth. He tried to plead with Oliver, to beg for mercy, but it was no use. After all he had suffered, all he had lost, at that moment Oliver's mind was filled with only one thought: vengeance. Vengeance for Dean Caruso, for Bart Allen, for all the others who had ended up victims of Lex's evil. Well now he would be made to pay – finally, at long last, there would be justice.

"Had enough, Lex? Have you? Have you had enough?" said Oliver finally, his eyes staring wildly as his fist hovered over Lex's bloodied face.

"Go to hell!" replied Lex, blood dribbling obscenely from his mouth.

"Go to hell? You first, Lex – you first!"

He pulled Lex from the floor and dragged him over to the edge of the balcony, thrusting him forwards so that he hung perilously in mid-air. All that stood between Lex and the fires that burned below was Oliver's vice-like grip, a grip that he seemed ready to loosen at any moment….

"Go on, do it!" spat Lex, daring Oliver to do his worst. "Kill me – it's what you want, isn't it?"

"You're a killer, Lex," shouted Oliver, his face contorted with rage. "Dean, Bart – you murdered them!"

"So what are you waiting for?" snarled Lex, goading Oliver on. "Kill me – it's what you want, isn't it? Kill me, and show the world what sort of a hero you really are!"

A hero…..

The word echoed like a warning inside Oliver's head. Suddenly his anger dissipated, to be replaced by an overwhelming sense of fear; fear of the anger that had momentarily consumed him, and fear of what it had almost led him to do. What was he thinking? This wasn't the way – this wasn't the way at all. Killing Lex wouldn't bring Dean or Bart back; all he would achieve would be to dishonour their memory, taint the cause for which they'd given their lives. They'd believed in him, believed in his vision of a team of heroes fighting for justice. Was it justice to kill Lex in cold blood, murder him as he had murdered so many others? Surely that would make him no better than Lex, a killer who believed himself to be above the law…

"Do it, damn you!" growled Lex. "Kill me!"

For a few moments Oliver did nothing, staring at the man whose life he literally held in his hands. Lex stared back at him, his eyes filled with hate. Oliver could see that he wanted him to let him fall, as if he knew that in death he could still achieve some sort of victory, corrupt the cause for which Oliver had already sacrificed so much. He couldn't allow that – he couldn't allow Lex to win, not after all they'd been through, all they'd suffered…..

"No," he said finally, pulling Lex back from the edge. "I won't kill you, Lex. This time you'll face justice for what you've done – the lives you've ruined."

He swung Lex round, before pushing him forwards towards the broken glass door. It was the opportunity that Lex had been waiting for. He pretended to stumble, falling to the floor and clutching his leg. Unaware of the danger, Oliver let his guard down. Suddenly very tired, he reached out to help the other man to his feet. Lex held out his hand, appearing to accept Oliver's offer of assistance, before suddenly grabbing a large piece of glass from the floor and stabbing it with all the force he could muster into Oliver's thigh. Oliver cried out in a mixture of shock and pain, grabbing his leg in agony. Now it was Lex's turn to press home his advantage. He leapt to his feet, grabbing Oliver and throwing him to the floor. Oliver tried to get up, but Lex was too quick for him. He started to kick and stamp on Oliver's head and upper body, raining blows down on him with a ferocity that more than matched the beating Oliver had meted out to him just a minute or so earlier. For what seemed like an eternity the assault continued, until at last Lex desisted, standing in triumph over Oliver's broken body.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance, Oliver," he gasped, breathing heavily. "Well now it's over – now I win."

He staggered over to a cabinet mounted on the wall adjacent to the door. Opening it, he pulled out a small handgun. Checking it was loaded, he then turned to face Oliver.

"Get up," he ordered.

Oliver didn't move.

"I said, get up!"

Slowly, painfully, Oliver hauled himself up from the floor. Turning towards Lex, he drew himself up to his full height, meeting the other man's gaze without a hint of fear. He knew that this was it – he was about to die.

"Any last words before I kill you?" sneered Lex, raising the gun and pointing it directly at Oliver's head.

Oliver said nothing. He lifted his chin slightly, readying himself for the end….

"What, nothing?" asked Lex. "You surprise me, Oliver – you really do. Still, perhaps it's for the best – you always did talk too much."

He hesitated, his finger poised over the trigger. He'd pursued Oliver for so long, had him at his mercy so many times, he couldn't quite believe that this was it. And yet here he was, a split second away from killing Oliver and finally bringing an end to a rivalry that had become an obsession. A minute earlier and he had been the one facing death, but Oliver had blinked, and now the tables were turned. He would not make the same mistake. He would not allow Oliver to slip from his grasp – not this time, not after all that had happened….

"Goodbye, Oliver," he said calmly. "Time for you to die."

He squeezed the trigger. There was a flash of light, and then everything went black.

The final cliffhanger...

If you are still reading, thanks for waiting so patiently for this update. Just one more chapter to go, when (almost) everything will be resolved...