Chapter 53
Thea sat, staring at Roy's prone body. She barely even glanced at Sara, who had followed here abruptly, and she didn't exactly care to. The younger Queen wasn't sure what this all was about, but the more Sara had pleaded for her to leave, the more she had wanted to stay. There was so little she could truly be afraid of at this point; the only people that were a threat to her were the hunters… and Thea already knew she couldn't escape them.
In her pocket, her phone sat untouched. Thea had been hoping and praying for Oliver to call her back; she had sent that text but she hadn't heard a thing yet that told her if he was okay. If he wasn't, she needed to be near Roy to try and deal with what she would be feeling. She needed someone, and the only person she had was in a coma.
When Sara first found Thea, the younger Queen had been leaving the mansion in a hurry, and at first, Lance had tried to convince Thea to go out for a bite. When that didn't work, she had tried bribery, and finally, she had been forced to follow the younger girl to the hospital. Sara was at the end of her rope; the hospital wasn't safe even with the cop outside the door. More than anything, Sara needed to get Thea back to this new base, but she hadn't wanted to outright say it was about Oliver. While Malcolm had admitted that Thea knew his secret, Sara was still unwilling to completely trust the man. She wasn't going to put this ruse past the man, so she had been trying to avoid telling Thea that they needed to go to her brother. However, she was running out of options. The hunters would regroup quickly, and when they couldn't find Oliver, they would go after Thea, no hesitation.
"Thea," Sara said imploringly, and she was glared at in turn.
"You don't have to be here," Thea grudgingly said, her mind drawn to the two people who had been the last few days.
"You're not safe here," she continued, keeping her back to the wall and resisting the urge to touch the younger woman. She didn't think contact would make anything better.
"There's a cop outside the door." Even she doubted that would be of much help against assassins. "Just go."
"I can't," she sighed deeply, not at all thrilled with how this conversation was going. "We were attacked," she finally begrudgingly said. Thea's head snapped up, and she turned to look at Sara, eyes wide. She wasn't sure how to process that as she hadn't thought Sara was part of all of this… then again, Sara had been gone similar to her brother. "I need you to come with me."
"Are they dead?" she whispered.
"No. No they're not." Sara finally stepped forward and held out her hand. "You need to come with me. You're not safe here."
Thea reluctantly released Roy's hand; she wasn't sure if she completely trusted Sara. Everyone lied to her, but she did believe the danger. Viper had made that clear before she had run off to try and kill Ollie. "Is anyone dead?" She wondered about Malcolm for a brief second.
"Viper might be," Sara admitted, and she watched Thea's body reaction, which was odd. Instead of relaxing as someone might expect, Thea tensed and frowned. It looked as though the younger Queen hadn't liked that news.
…
The first thing Viper recognized was pain… which was good since it meant she was alive, and then, it wasn't. Based on the cold feel to her left wrist, she could tell she was handcuffed down to whatever table she was laying on. It'd be better to be dead then with Talia… and the reality of the situation hit the now ex-hunter, and she tried not to cringe with the realization her life was over.
Deciding to simply face her fate, Viper didn't hesitate in snapping open her gaze and adjusting her eyes to the ever brightening light. With a hiss, she glanced around to see she was no longer in the hunter base that she recognized, but then there was always the chance they had moved.
However that thought immediately died when she noticed sitting not too far away was Mr. Merlyn. He was dressed back in his League attire, and she considered how he was sitting. Partially hunched and deep breaths conveyed how much pain he was probably still in. Even with a short period of time, Talia was efficient and skilled with a thin blade.
The pain in her gut reminded her how she had ended up here, and Viper tried to relax enough to try and slip her wrist through the handcuff. As bad as Talia was, the archer knew what to expect from her former teammate, but it hadn't been too long ago that she had threatened Thea. Family meant something, and since she was alive, there were things she could do- exiled or not.
"You're finally awake," Malcolm said as he stood and approached the table. Viper pulled her knees up and turned her head to face him. "It was a bit touch and go there for a while."
"How long have I been unconscious?" she asked, her tone neutral and body defensive. By tightening her body, her wound screamed in protest.
"Not that long," he answered.
"League training," she grumbled. It was just one more thing that had been beaten into League members that whether injured, exhausted, or practically dead; they had to be ready to stay on their feet and thus wake up even in the worst situations.
The ex-hunter tried not to tense when she felt Malcolm's hand come to rest around her throat; instead, she kept eye contact and waited. "You stabbed Thea." His tone practically screamed rage, but his face remained at rest.
"I apologized," Viper responded with a smirk. She felt his hand tighten, and she reacted. She tightened her stomach and swung her legs up to catch Malcolm's neck. With a twist, she sent him stumbling into the table, and his weight caused the table to implode towards the elder Merlyn. Somehow, they crashed into the concrete together.
Raising a foot, she kicked him hard in the sternum, and her wound screamed out causing her to hesitate. Malcolm used that to his advantage and pinned one of Viper's arms into the middle of her back by pressing her hard against the table. With how her wrist was twisted, she was effectively trapped. If she tried to struggle, more pain blossomed in her stomach, and after a few pathetic attempts, she finally had to stop and breathe.
Everything hurt, and she closed her eyes to try and focus past it. However it continued to pulsate, and she groaned as her head fell forward to rest against Malcolm's shoulder. At the moment, she didn't care as long as the pain receded.
"You would have killed her," he growled into her ear.
"I would have," she confirmed with a tiny groan, and she felt him tighten his hold. "But did you not hear Talia? I'm an exile."
"You're a hunter."
"Not anymore," she whispered as her eyes fell close. With a bitter laugh, she continued, "Now I'm no better than you." She pulled her head back to lean against the cold table. "I'm a traitor in the eyes of the League."
"I should kill you," Malcolm said indecisively.
"Go ahead Mr. Merlyn," she said with a shake of her end. "It'll be quicker." His hand went back to her throat and squeezed.
"You wouldn't have given my daughter or me that chance," he snarled, one thumb pressed hard into her trachea.
"You, no," she forced out. "Thea would have gone quickly. I had planned to put an arrow through her heart when Kali and Reese returned." He loosened his grip just enough so they could consider each other.
He snorted, "Blood for blood. You enjoyed getting me on my knees after threatening to kill my daughter." He was livid. "But what would you know about family? All you have is the League." Hunters were almost exclusively born into the position.
"I knew my father," she admitted, and that caught Malcolm's attention. "I was six when I was recruited into the League, and I remember him... as a traitor to the League."
"You killed him." It wasn't a question.
"Blood for blood, Mr. Merlyn." It was not an easy choice, but it had been hers to make at the very least. He had been a traitor, he had run, and done much worse before the League had caught up with him. She sighed deeply, "It's a job Mr. Merlyn. I take pride in only some of my work, not all, but it's all necessary. I do not enjoy every aspect of what I do."
"So what does that mean with my sister?" Oliver asked stepping into the room. Felicity followed behind, and her eyes went wide at the scene. Obviously something was running through her head, and she was working hard to keep it there. "Malcolm…"
The elder archer stood and released the ex-assassin, and she took a deep breath as the pain finally lessened enough. While partially free though, she didn't move from her position on the floor, and when Malcolm offered her a hand, she ignored it. Whatever understanding they had a moment ago faded back to the dislike they shared for each other.
"Viper," Oliver repeated, crossing the room to try and cool the situation. Digg chose that moment to return from the bathroom, and he looked blatantly confused about it all.
"Alec if you would," she interrupted. "Talia exiled me and that effectively disowned me from the League."
"So you lose your name if you're disowned?" Felicity asked. "Well that's not too bad."
"And I'm killed when I'm caught," she explained. "I'm a traitor to the League. Which means your sister is safe from me Mr. Queen but not my ex-brethren."
"You tried to kill her," Digg growled, and Alec found it in her to shrug.
"It's a job," Malcolm said speaking up for the ex-hunter. "She was fired, so it's no longer her job."
"But you're glaring at him looking like he'll hopefully spontaneously combust?" Felicity stated, unsure of where to stand without her computer around to have her back.
"Him?" she asked pointing to Malcolm, and the IT girl nodded. "I just don't like him." Holding up her wrist, she asked, "Can I be released now?" When they hesitated, she growled. "I'm not a threat to you, and I need as much of a head start that I can get."
"You're running?" Felicity asked. "You don't seem like a runner… well I mean someone who gets away from their problems since I'm sure you can run and like it."
"You're odd," Alec laughed. "I didn't notice that last time."
"Well that's because you knocked me out last time… with a poison," she said relatively happy to start until the end.
"And no I'm not running away," she shrugged. Finally after a cue from Oliver, Digg approached and released Viper. She was pulled relatively gently to her feet by the ex-soldier; with a nod that conveyed thank-you, she continued, "I need to get out of Starling and back to Nanda Parbet."
"Ra's Al Ghul will kill you," Malcolm said after a shocked moment of silence. "Actually, he'll do worse to you since you touched his daughter."
"But wait, wasn't she breaking, you know, the 'code'?" Felicity asked, half-way using air quotes but stopping at Alec's glare.
"It's her word against mine," the ex-hunter explained.
"You stepped in knowing it was a death sentence?" Felicity asked.
"It's my job to kill or capture those that break the League's code," Alec said as though it made the most sense in the world. "Either Talia was going to kill me or Ra's would for touching his daughter." It was morbid but true.
"You could run," Oliver stated. "I'm sure you could disappear if you wanted."
"For what?" she asked. "Unlike Mr. Merlyn or Ms. Lance, I was raised singularly to do this. I have no family outside the League, thankfully, and I have nothing besides it. I broke the code knowingly. I will return to Nanda Parbet."
Malcolm snorted, more of a short chuckle then to be obnoxious, "You live and die for the League." To that, Alec nodded curtly.
She caught Oliver's eye and gave him a small smile. "Oliver," and that caught his attention as she rarely, if ever, had used his first name. For Alec to address someone as such, it was a sign of respect. And after everything, she saw the potential if not more in Oliver that Ra's Al Ghul had seen. "Thank-you for saving my life." He wasn't sure how to respond, so he didn't. "So when I return to Ra's Al Ghul, I will try and make him see what his eldest is planning to do here. I will try to get him to send more assassins to help stop her… and Slade. They are working together, and I would not put it past Talia to want and use the mirakuru that he has."
"And the markov device?" he asked.
"I do not know its whereabouts," she sighed. "But given the chance she will use it." She thought back on all the recognizance that the hunters had done to try and share anything else that might be relevant. "I know where Slade is."
"Oh so do we," Felicity smiled happily before quieting.
"And while I do not exactly where he is keeping his fifty soldiers that have been injected successfully with the mirakuru," she continued. "I do know who does. Your man in the skull mask. Your friend, Sebastian Blood."
….
Talia growled and snapped the neck of the pleading man at her feet. When she had made it more than half-way back to their base with no side effects, she realized she had been duped. By the time she had returned to the Foundry, no one was around, and she hadn't hesitated to call Kali and Reese back. There were other issues besides the young Merlyn now.
It was unlikely that her father would believe Alec if she returned to him, but it was a chance she couldn't take. Talia needed Reese and Kali to go after the now ex-hunter and finish the job while she went and checked on her twenty loyalists. In every past fight, Talia had always overcome Alec unless the fight was kept at more than an arm's length; and while Viper hadn't technically "won" the fight, Talia didn't consider it a win either.
As of now, Malcolm Merlyn was of little concern; she had to finish what she was doing and return to Nanda Parbet before her father caught whiff of this anymore. She knew that Nyssa had most likely spouted something already, and with Viper's word… then again, Talia quickly pulled out her phone again and dialed her father. If she could get a message to him first, it would take him longer to confirm Viper's story. It was time for damage control.
Thankfully, her plan was only a few days from fruition. She truly doubted that any real damage could be done to stop her here in Starling, but she had to keep her father on her side for as long as possible. There wouldn't be much of a League if she had to kill many of her brothers and sisters in her attempt to reform the League.
….
Digg silently redid Alec's bandage on her stomach; her roughhousing with Malcolm had torn the stitches. Oliver had at least convinced her to stay long enough to fix that, and she had begrudgingly agreed. It was obvious that Viper wanted as much of a head start that she could get.
Oliver sat close to Felicity, who was hard at work at her new computer, albeit older, set-up. She was pulling up every record they had on Sebastian Blood. Oliver couldn't wrap his mind around… actually, terrifyingly enough he could. Sebastian wanted to clean up the Glades, as did Malcolm. How anyone thought mass murder was the only way to do it was beyond Oliver, but he had to focus past that for now. He needed to know where Slade's army was, and he needed the cure which Felicity was doing all she could to get a hold of. There was apparently a prototype, but they had not done enough tests… but time was running out in Starling.
Nearby, Malcolm sat, and the entire time both him and Viper were glaring the other down. If it wasn't for Viper's injury or the fact she could help them out, they'd be at each other's throats again. While she was no longer a hunter, she did not agree with what he had done, and her love for the League kept her from seeing him in any other light besides traitor.
Sara, on the other hand, was more tolerable. Viper did not like people who ran, but she understood the reasons for it. Also, there was the fact the Canary had been released and thus cleared of her crime… so now the ex-hunter felt indifferent.
"Oliver," Sara said stepping into the Foundry, and her eyes zeroed in on the awake hunter. "You're alive."
"I am," she nodded.
"Not for long," Malcolm said. "She's heading back to Nanda Parbet."
"Ra's will kill you," Sara replied stepping into the room, and Viper simply shrugged. That ended that conversation abruptly, and the female vigilante didn't push it. Instead, she turned to Oliver and said, "Your sister is…"
"It really is true," Thea said appearing in the doorway, eyes wide in both fascination and shock. "I had thought… I hadn't… You really are the Arrow."
"Bringing her here was probably not the best of ideas," Viper muttered as Digg finally finished and pressed new gauze into the wound. The pressure caused her to hiss but otherwise remain unaffected.
"Thea," Oliver said as he stood and moved towards her… however, she shook her head, a new emotion clouding her face as she spotted Malcolm in the room.
"You're with him?" she practically hissed.
Viper sighed, "And here comes the tantrum…"
"After everything, you're working with him? He's a murderer!" Thea snapped, and Malcolm tried to hide his frown. "What does that make you?" Whatever else, she was going to say she instead swallowed and stormed out.
Before anyone could consider following, Viper had already pushed out the door and went after the younger Queen. Sara frowned, "What is going on now?"
Outside, Thea stood in the abandoned parking lot, and she remained there, undecided how she wanted to react still. Her brother she could have accepted, but she couldn't believe he was working with Malcolm. That man had destroyed their lives… and while she couldn't deny that he was her father, she was still uncertain how to take that relationship.
"Are you done being five?" Viper asked stepping into the night air as well. The pain hummed in her side in sync with her heart.
"And what are you doing here?" she growled turning on Viper. "He's why you're here, and you were standing there being civil with him?"
"I'm not exactly a threat at the moment," the ex-hunter explained. "I stepped in to stop Talia, my superior, and I've been exiled from the League."
Thea's gaze softened. "You stopped her?"
"She was breaking our code by torturing Felicity," she explained. "I could not allow that, but I lost the fight." She lifted the small part of her under armor to show off the gauze. Blood was already starting to seep through again. "I am no longer a threat to you."
"So what now then?"
"You will go back inside and be safe with your family, and I will return to Nanda Parbet to try and get help for this city…" Viper decidedly left out how returning would most likely result in her death.
"I want to go with you…"
Immediately, Alec tensed and shook her head. "You cannot. You are not League, and they will kill you for your father's crimes. I am not a threat to you, they still are." She watched as Thea frowned but acquiesced. "Your brother is trying to protect you. He teamed up with Mr. Merlyn to stop us hunters. You might not like him, and neither do I, but both your brother and Merlyn care and love you. At this moment, they are the only people between the League and you."
"Am I supposed to just ignore everything else?" she asked, and Viper reached out and grasped Thea's shoulder… it wasn't just a gesture of comfort but also because the world was tilting for the ex-hunter.
"No, you deal. Not forever, but for now, you need to be smart. You need them to stay safe."
"I can protect myself," she said defiantly which caused Viper to chuckle and nod. From her side pocket, the ex-hunter pulled out a small pouch.
"Then these will help," Viper said holding out the bag to Thea. "They are throwing knives, but be careful. Mine are poisoned, so do not learn to toss with the blade but handle." Most knives were weighted to be thrown the other way around, and Viper did throw hers that way but she was used to not cutting herself. "But just consider when we first met I killed a large chunk of your cliental at your club… that will be who comes for you, and they will be worse."
Thea sighed and accepted the words. "So deal with my brother and traitorous father."
"For now," Viper nodded. She stepped away and considered her location in the city. "I need to go."
"You're barely on your feet!" But Viper wasn't listening, so she tried a different tactic. "Are you coming back..? And please the truth. I'm tired of lies."
"I will try…" And that was all she could say because she wasn't sure that she'd be alive to come back.
…
Sara stood inside near Oliver, all of them waiting for Thea to return. Felicity had pulled up the security camera outside to be certain that the younger Queen was safe, and thus far, the ex-hunter and her only seemed to be talking. It made Oliver uncomfortable, but he watched with an odd fascination in how Thea actually looked to be listening.
"Of course my daughter would pick a hunter to look up to," Malcolm finally muttered.
Note: So Viper will be incognitio for the next 3-5 chapters. Nyssa is coming back in 3-5 as well, as will the Huntress (more like 6-7 though for her) and we're going to start wrapping things up here. Thea and Oliver have a honest to God talk. Blood and Roy in the next chapter; Slade starts phase 1, the cure finally makes an appearance. Coming up on the end.
For those who want a taste of the sequel… you get the title that's it: Valkyrie
Enjoy your weekend.
