With everybody's lives in the balance, Oliver confronts Lacroix, deciding to end this, once and for all...

Oliver Queen landed on the rooftop of the building on the outskirts of National City, the pebbles on the floor crunching under his boots as he cautiously took steps towards the man in the center of the rooftop. Simon Lacroix, in his Komodo suit, sans the hood and mask, just like Oliver. With only one surrounding, unoccupied building exceeding their height, nobody would be able to witness the events about to take place. Oliver couldn't disguise his anger as he walked towards Lacroix, noting the despicable smile on his face.

"I hope you have what I asked for" said Lacroix, speaking first, "For the sake of your friends." Stopping several meters away from him, Oliver tossed the totem box to Lacroix's feet, refusing to give it to him by hand.

"You have what you want. Now let everyone in the DEO go!" demanded Oliver.

"I can see that patience isn't one of your strong suits" quipped Lacroix, as he knelt down and picked up the box, "First, I have to be sure you're not lying to me."

"Then open the box" replied Oliver.

Lacroix scoffed at Oliver and smiled, before turning his attention to the metal casing he was holding in his hand. He flung his bow around his arm and over his shoulder to free his left hand. Running his fingers across the rivets on the side of the box, he slowly unlatched the locking mechanism, and waited.

Oliver's fingers twitched in anticipation as he watched Lacroix take his sweet time to open the container. He could almost feel the electrical impulses in his right arm telling it to whip back and nock an arrow. Perhaps Lacroix was anticipating a trap…

He was right.

As the lid to the box opened, it erupted, with the cracking sound of the explosion echoing into National City and the flames shooting high up into the air. Oliver quickly nocked an arrow and fired it right to where Lacroix's chest was before he knelt down and turned away, lifting an arm to shield himself from any debris. Several seconds passed, and Oliver looked back to where Lacroix's body would have been. The smoke from the explosion was still obscuring any visuals, but it slowly began to fade away, and Oliver was shocked to his core with the sight that confronted him.

Simon Lacroix, standing without a single scratch on him, holding the arrow that Oliver had shot.

This shouldn't be possible…

He began to laugh, almost out of pity that Oliver had failed to kill him.

"Oh, Oliver" he said mockingly, "Did you really think it would be that easy to kill me?"

As he finished his words, he dropped the arrow and advanced towards Oliver at an immeasurable speed, so fast that Oliver didn't have time to react before he felt his ribs being battered and the entire left side of his face being whacked. His brain rattled in his skull as he fell onto the floor, his face kissing the pebbles that lay beneath him. The speed of the strikes were so rapid that Oliver didn't even have time to register what they were before they connected, and the power behind them was so great that there wasn't even pain at first, it just felt as if his soul had been knocked out of his own body.

"You don't pay much attention, do you?" continued Lacroix, as he began to ominously circle Oliver's fallen body, "Did you think the only reason that I held Supergirl was to torture her? I mean, I did, but I thought you knew that a man like me… I'm a visionary. I see the bigger picture. With Supergirl's blood, I was able to perfect a bio-serum that I had been working on for quite some time. I call it… Venom. Now, I could tell you what it's done for me, but let me rather show you…"

As he finished his words, he knelt down and threw a punch straight into Oliver's abdomen, before picking him up and flinging him across the rooftop. Oliver was sure the punch cracked his ribs, as he groaned in agony while desperately trying to get back to his feet. He managed to rise onto a knee, but quickly felt Lacroix grab him by the collar and throw a left hook which knocked him to the ground once again, concussing him even further.

"Come on, Oliver" he said mockingly, "I gave you the opportunity to bring me what was rightfully mine. And yet, even with your friends' lives in the balance, you tried to be a hero. You should know that the heroes, don't always win."

He grasped Oliver by the collar once again, throwing a contemptuous elbow strike which sliced open Oliver's forehead, causing blood to run down the side of his face while Lacroix forcefully held his head up to look at him.

"Last chance… tell me where the totem is." Oliver could barely make out the words emanating from Lacroix's mouth, with his head spinning and his ears still ringing from the brutal strikes which he had absorbed. Still, no matter how much pain he was in, he would never submit to a man like Lacroix, and he remained silent.

"I tried to be civil, Oliver" continued Lacroix, "You know, I always had a golden rule: To never hurt a lady. Of course, I've had to make exceptions for that rule over the years, but even then, I never enjoyed having to raise a hand to a woman. But I must say, after I'm done with you, I am going to find her again, and I am going to enjoy making her scream for mercy. Supergirl, of course. Or should I say… Kara Danvers."

The mention of her name lit a fire in Oliver, as he despairingly threw punches at Lacroix's head, which barely even moved from the strikes. His hand began to hurt as he continued to throw laboured strikes at what felt like a steel pole. Lacroix retaliated by knocking Oliver to the ground with a right hook, the power of his single blow exceeding all of Oliver's by a multitude. He knew a man like Oliver would never give up, so he waited patiently for him to stand back up. He easily dodging the following laboured, desperate punches from Oliver, countering with another body strike before knocking Oliver back to the floor with another punch. This wasn't even a fight, it was an execution. A slow, painful execution. Oliver did not even have time to even attempt to get back to his feet with his sapped strength, as Lacroix turned him over and grasped his throat, hoisting him up in the air with one hand.

"Unfortunately for Kara, she's not going to have a quick, honourable death like you. I am going to have lots of fun with her…"

As much as Oliver tried, there was nothing he could do to break Lacroix's grip. He was beaten beyond recovery. The numbness in his muscles made his attempts to remove Lacroix's hand from his throat futile, yet he still hoped that he could break free, for Kara's sake. The image of Lacroix's wicked smile burned into his eyes, as his vision began to fade, and he felt his windpipe begin to crush…

Kara was trying her best to contain her emotion, as she attempted to stop the tears flowing from her eyes while sitting on the couch in her apartment. As soon as Oliver left, she had vomited blood once more, but still, her powers refused to manifest. She could do nothing while the man she loved went off on a suicide mission and the threat of death continued to loom over her friends in the DEO. Her loss of Mon-El was almost unbearable. If she were to lose Oliver and everybody in the DEO, then what more did she have to live for?

She asked Rao what she had done to deserve such agony and punishment. Her whole life, she had only tried to protect the innocent and be strong for the weak. What did she do to deserve losing her planet and the two men which she had so dearly loved? For her whole life, she has had to be hopeful in the face of despair, but right now, it was impossible to have any form of hope.

She knew that a hot chocolate could not lift her spirits, but she decided to get up and make a cup of it anyway. Alex always made the best hot chocolate, and Kara thought maybe drinking some now could give her a semblance of warmth. The kettle whistled as she reached out to the plastic sugar bowl on the kitchen island, but with her mind elsewhere, she failed to grip the container properly. It fell from her hands, with the lid separating upon impact on the floor, spilling the sugar.

She took a deep breath before kneeling down to clean it up, trying her best to contain her dread. She despairingly swept up the sugar with her hands, trying to place it back in the bowl. She could not contain her frustration any more as she slammed her first into the floor, hoping that she would punch straight through it, but without her powers, it remained unscathed. She started to tear up once again, closing her eyes as the awful feeling of helplessness started to amplify.

She thought she was going paranoid when she started to hear voices in her head, many of them all forming an incoherent rambling which she could not decipher… but then she realised something about the voices… they weren't in her head. She opened her eyes, focusing on her hands in front of her, which sat amongst the scattered sugar particles on the floor.

Slowly, but noticeably, the particles began to rise…

"Unfortunately for Kara, she's not going to have a quick, honourable death like you. I am going to have lots of fun with her…"

The evil words from Lacroix stung deep into Oliver's core as he continued to fight with the little strength he had left. He couldn't die here. Not for Kara, not for William, not for everybody else in his life. He could not accept that his death would be here, at the hands of someone like Simon Lacroix. However, there was nothing he could do, as the bio-enhanced hand of Lacroix's only continued to tighten around his throat. Just as Oliver's vision began to fade, and his windpipe began to crush…

Crack…

The sound of a massive boom emanated from the sky, echoing multiple times throughout National City. At first thought, one might have believed it to be a gunshot, or thunder, but it wasn't. It was a sonic boom, the sound of something… someone breaking the sound barrier. Lacroix whipped his head to the source of the sound, reacting too late as the red and blue blur thumped him in the chest, sending him flying across the rooftop.

Oliver dropped to the floor, grasping his throat while his vision returned, coughing deeply while he gasped for air. It took a couple of seconds for his blurry vision to clear up, as the image of the blonde woman in a red and blue suit, kneeling down next to him started to become clearer and clearer… Kara.

"It's okay, Oliver. It's me" she said, as she reassuringly placed her hand on his chest. Oliver could not help but smile at the sight of her back to full glory as the Girl of Steel. She almost glowed in front of him as she smiled back, looking beautiful in her Supergirl suit once again.

"Well, well, well. Look who's back!"

Kara's smile immediately disappeared as Lacroix spoke up, as she left Oliver's side to confront the man who caused her so much pain and suffering.

"How was your vacation? Where did you go, Ms Danvers? Bali? Kasnia?" teased Lacroix as he stood back up.

"It's over, Lacroix. You're done hurting innocent people!" replied Kara intensely.

"This isn't over. At least not from where I'm standing."

"Just because you have some super serum in your veins doesn't mean that you can beat me."

"Why don't we find out?" said Lacroix, as raised his hands to invite Kara to the challenge.

She had no intention of making this a long battle as she blasted her heat vision in his direction, hoping to incapacitate him. However, with his enhanced reflexes, he was able to dodge the beams as he ran towards her. Kara had no choice but to stop and engage in a fist fight as he neared her. She sped towards him, hoping to knock him out with a single blow to the face, but he was able to dodge her punch and return with counter-combinations of his own. The power behind his strikes hurt her, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. She had faced foes much more powerful than him before, but his speed and skill were giving her problems.

A skilled fighter herself, she was still nowhere nearly as skilled as Lacroix. This was a man who had twice before almost effortlessly beaten Oliver, who himself had nearly 10 years of training. If she was to win, her best chances would be to stop entertaining a hand to hand duel. She rose to the air, but he grabbed her leg just before she was out of reach, keeping her suspended in the air while he tried to pull her back to the ground. Taking advantage of both his hands being occupied, Kara saw the opportunity strike, and flew back towards him with a concrete-shattering punch right on the chest.

She had aimed for the jaw but Lacroix had shifted back at the last second to avoid taking the impact of the blow on his head. Had that punch connected, he surely would've been unconscious. She had knocked out a White Martian with that punch, Lacroix might not have survived it. She pinned him down before he could get up, and threw several more punches at his head, being driven by her disdain for what he had done to her in his laboratory. She stopped after five punches, fearing that she was about to kill him. However, she was shocked to see him still conscious, smiling back at her while he licked the blood from lips.

"You're not as strong as they say" he said, taunting her while trying to disguise his pain.

"You're a coward without honour" replied Kara.

"Honour is for fools" he scowled back.

"Honour is the only reason why you're not dead right now."

"And my lack of it, is why I'm going to kill you."

"You can't beat me without kryptonite, Lacroix" replied Kara, mockingly.

"I know."

As Lacroix finished his words, Kara moaned in pain as she felt her right leg being pierced. She turned to see a kryptonite flechette embedded in her thigh, and she too felt her strength start to wane as the kryptonite started to curse through her veins. Lacroix stunned her with a punch right to the nose before pushing her off and rising to his feet.

With Kara weakened and balancing on one leg, he was able to pummel her as he did Oliver. Her durability meant she could take more, but all that she appeared to him was a Kryptonian punching bag, as he rattled off combinations of kicks and punches, alternating between her body and head.

With Kara still standing after Lacroix threw almost everything at her, he realised he had to find another way to beat her as he caught a glimpse of his bow, lying just a couple of meters away from him. He grabbed Kara by her hair, pulling her face towards his and forcing her to look at him.

"How ironic. You came here to save him, and now you're both going to die together" said Lacroix, taunting her, "At least you'll once again be able to see that friend of yours who you were hallucinating about at my compound. What was his name again? Mon-El. I'm not sure he'll be glad to see you, given how you'd moan about how you were responsible for his death. Nonetheless, tell him I said hi."

As he finished his words, he threw a bone-breaking punch into Kara's gut, with the sheer force propelling her into the air, sending her flying across the rooftop. With Oliver having regained enough strength to sit up, he watched as Kara's body floated in the air, appearing to be moving in slow-motion. He turned his attention to Lacroix, who he saw pick up his bow and fire an arrow. The glowing, green tip of the arrow caught Oliver's eye, but there was nothing he could do as he watched the arrow travel in the air, edging closer and closer until it pierced through Kara's stomach, just before she dropped to the floor.

"No…"

The words of denial were all that Oliver could mutter before the adrenaline rush of anger rose inside of him again, as he quickly got to his feet and fired a flashbang arrow at Lacroix. Lacroix caught the arrow, but that only worsened the consequences for him as it exploded right in his eyes, blinding him. Oliver fired another arrow, an explosive one, using it to send Lacroix flying away, momentarily incapacitating him with the shockwave of the combustion.

He immediately turned his attention back to Kara, dropping down on a knee next to her, letting go of his bow and instead cradling her face with both of his hands. She was still alive, but Oliver could not shake the fact that the look in her eyes was the same look that Earth-1 Kara had, right before she died.

"Kara… Don't worry, you're going to be fine" he said, as he turned his attention to the arrow lodged in her stomach. She stopped him, placing her hand on his cheek to make him turn back to face her.

"I'm sorry, Oliver…" said Kara, the words whimpering out of her mouth.

"No… Don't apologise…" insisted Oliver, as he fought to keep the tears from running down his face, his mind continuing to fear the worst as the conversation eerily mirrored the one he had with Earth-1 Kara before she died.

"No, you don't understand… My right boot… Inside" she said, not being able to reach for it herself. Oliver quickly turned to the boot, pulling it back slightly before he found what Kara was asking him to look for. The Arrow Totem. She must have retrieved it from the Fortress before she came here. He unfastened the chain strapping it to her leg, grasping it tightly in his hands as he picked it up, "I should have told you that I brought it."

"It's okay, it doesn't matter" replied Oliver, comforting her.

"You…" The words were struggling to come out of her mouth, "You have to use it… To beat him."

"Kara, no… I can't" replied Oliver immediately, "I'm not the man you think I am. If I use it, my darkness will take over."

"It won't. There's so much light inside of you, yet you always fail to see it… I believe in you… Ollie."

Oliver could do nothing but reciprocate the breath-taking smile she gave him. He didn't deserve her. Not one bit, but she was there for him. If there was anybody who could inspire him to rise above his darkness, it was her. He knelt down, kissing her forehead before he turned his attention back to the totem in his right hand. The silver arrowhead pendant began to glow as Oliver closed his eyes, allowing its power to enter him.

Visions of his life began to manifest in front of him… The darkness being the first thing to come to the fore…. Visions of the deaths of everyone he had lost… His parents, Shado, Tommy, Laurel, Earth-1 Kara…

His devilish deeds over the years came back to plunge him further into the shadows of his immorality… Taking Slade's eye, murdering Palmer Cokes, skinning a man…

Adrian Chase, Ra's Al Ghul, Damien Darhk, Malcolm Merlyn… the men who had destroyed his life in so many ways reappearing once again to beat Oliver into acceptance that there was too much darkness inside of him…

"Rise above it, Ollie. Rise above the darkness…"

Kara's voice next to him sparked the change, the snap to the light.

The demonic images began to fade as the greatest parts of his life took over his mind, his fondest memories… Holding baby Thea for the first time, meeting Felicity, meeting William, having drinks with Diggle, game nights on Earth-38, playing darts with Mon-El… Everything good in his life inspiring him to rise above his darkness, ending with his most recent memory… him with Kara, in her loft, sharing a kiss…

The visions dissipated as Oliver was brought back to reality, abruptly opening his eyes. He looked down at his hands, watching the green energy emitting from the totem travel up to his eyes, being absorbed. Having risen above his darkness, he now felt the power of a god surging through every vein in his body as his previous injuries no longer began to ache. He rose back up to his feet, laser-focused and determined to put an end to this madness as he turned to face where Lacroix was.

Simon Lacroix stumbled back to his feet, still rubbing his eyes, trying to recuperate his vision. He stared in disbelief as clear became the image of Oliver Queen, holding the Arrow Totem, whose glowing green eyes piercing into his soul.

"No… No! You don't deserve its power!" he screamed in anger.

Oliver placed the totem in a flechette holster before he and Lacroix began charging at each other, two titans ready to collide. As they neared, Lacroix threw the first punch at Oliver. He could not contain the shock on his face as Oliver caught the punch, staring at Lacroix with a stone-cold expression before throwing a vicious punch of his own, sending him reeling backwards.

Not even the Venom-enhanced Lacroix could keep up with newfound ferocity and power of Oliver Queen, as he savagely began to beat Lacroix with all of his strength. Grabbing him by the neck, Oliver wrapped him in a Thai clinch before battering his mid-section with knees, ending the exchange with an elbow to his head. He attacked almost every part of Lacroix's body, kicking his legs, kneeing his ribs and punching his head. Behind every strike, the karma for what Lacroix had done to Kara. If it were not for the Venom having enhanced his attributes, the power behind these strikes would have ended Lacroix's life. The crack of his ribs were audible as Oliver threw a devastating roundhouse kick to his abdomen, causing Lacroix to drop to a knee, crouching over in agony.

A split-second of hesitation to land the final blow from Oliver was enough for Lacroix to capitalise from the mistake, as he swiftly drew a knife, slashing Oliver's leg before thrusting the knife into his abdomen. Oliver groaned in pain, feeling like was human once again for the first time since having wielded the powers of the totem.

"The Totem is my destiny!" screamed Lacroix, as he stood up and continued the fight, having been bolstered by the sight of Oliver Queen being in a state of affliction once more.

Lacroix threw a vicious kick at the stab wound, having purposely perforated Oliver on the same side where he had broken his ribs earlier. One kick, and another, and another, and another. Despite Oliver's best attempts at blocking the strikes, the tenacity of Lacroix's strikes made it feel as if the power was travelling through his forearms towards his wounds. The combined pain of the puncture and his broken ribs caused him to stagger back, crouching as he moved away from Lacroix. Despite the affliction clouding his thoughts, Oliver managed to concoct a new counter-strategy to his adversary in the moment. With each strike, Lacroix grew bolder and more confident. All Oliver had to do was to rein him in, withstand the pain until Lacroix threw an overzealous, impractical strike which could be countered.

So Oliver waited… groaning as he absorbed the power of another kick to his abdomen, grunting as the cut in his hairline split open further with a left hook to his temple. He didn't have to wait any longer for his opportunity to strike…

There was no technique to Lacroix's attack, as he twisted his whole body to wind the right overhand punch up with enough power to knock out a rhino. He swung with every fibre of power in his being, only to find himself stumble forward when Oliver slipped under the punch at the last millisecond.

Oliver reacted expeditiously as he ducked under the punch, swiftly drawing the Arrow Totem from its holster while Lacroix faltered towards him. Rising up, Oliver grabbed him by the neck, pulling him close, before driving the totem into his chest… straight through his heart. He whipped his head back to throw three vicious head-butts, the final strikes of the fight, being driven purely by anger.

Oliver's glowing green eyes shone brightly as he stared at Lacroix, seeing the face of a broken, defeated, dying man. Oliver twisted the totem slowly, causing Lacroix more agony before pulling it out and letting him drop to the floor. The remorseless expression on Oliver's face let Lacroix know he would have never gotten mercy, for a man like him didn't deserve it. With his abdomen aching greatly, Oliver clutched it as he limped away from Lacroix's twitching body.

He limped back to Kara, who was still lying on the floor. He was relieved to see her having removed the arrow from her stomach, and she smiled at him as he came up next to her.

"You did it" she said.

"No… We did it."

Oliver could not disguise his groans as he knelt down next to her, helping her back to her feet. They turned to look back at Lacroix, the twitching of his hands having now stopped as his lifeless body lay on the floor unceremoniously. Oliver and Kara both turned to look at each other before they placed their heads against each other's affectionately, for they both knew that the war was finally over.