Namaskar, everyone. And on we go with chapter 2 of the big grand crossover between the immortals of 'The Old Guard' and 'Highlander' and the heroes of Central and Star Cities, and of course thank ya's, brother Aragorn II Elessar and buddy Bl4ckHunter, for your reviews. So, without further ado, let's go go go and see what lies in store with the remainder of 'Flash' 2x08 for our cast in the battle to come against Vandal Savage. Hope you enjoy.
I do not own 'Flash', 'Arrow', 'The Old Guard', 'Highlander' or any of the characters within either show, film or comics combined, I only own OCs
"Vandal Savage? Never heard of him at all," Laurel said.
"Who is he?" Barry asked the five immortals.
"I believe a full explaination about everything is needed, by all of you," Oliver added, looking between each and every one of them with a steady hard eyed gaze.
Andy nodded. "The story of Vandal Savage, or Hath-Set as was and still very much is his actual proper name to this very day, comes from the time of the Ancient Eygptian Pharoah Ramesses II," she began, "To whom Savage served as the advisor and priest, his job being to make offerings to the Egyptian god Horus and spare the land of the Middle Kingdom of his wrath from meteors that often fell down on it. But secretly, Savage hated Ramesses and longed for his power." Andy turned to Kendra, "When you were your real self, Chay-Ara, and served as the Priestess to Ramesses, Savage fell in love with you, but you were actually in love with the Pharaoh's son Prince Khufu."
Kendra shook her head, one hand coming up to rest on her forehead. "Gee, this is all giving me such a headache..." she muttered in a disbelief filled whisper of a voice.
"Hence why, one day, after witnessing you and Khufu kissing..." Joe took up the story, looking to Kendra but everyone else very much hearing the words, "Savage became consumed with rage towards you both. And next day, he walked into your bed chambers, seeing you and Khufu together, and attacked yo both, fatally stabbing Khufu first before doing the same to you. But as you both lay dying, another storm of meteors fell from the sky and began laying waste to the Middle Kingdom. But one meteor, which originated from the planet Thanagar, possessed a special radiation, which affected all three of you, giving you your own forms of immortality, Savage via cellular regeneration, you and Khufu via reincarnation."
Everyone on Teams Flash and Arrow and Sara all shook their heads, totally unable to believe to the full just what they were all hearing. "OK. So what happened after this guy, Savage, and Kendra and this 'Prince Khufu' became immortal?" Thea demanded.
This time, Connor was the one who answered. "Some time in the next two decades that followed, young Thea, Savage discovered that Chay-Ara had reincarnated but retained no memory of her previous life, her lover Khufu, or even her real name," he said, disgust coming upon his face and into his voice, his Scottish accent seeming to thicken from it, "Much to Savage's joy, this version of Chay-Ara fell in love with him and they lived happily together for years, without her knowing he was the very man who killed her. However, Savage eventually discovered that Khufu had also reincarnated and found Chay-Ara, helping her to remember who she really was. Following this, Chay-Ara left Savage and returned to Khufu's side. Enraged, Savage murdered them both again."
Cisco snorted. "As I assume he probably did," he said.
"Upon their deaths, Savage discovered their life force transferred to him, maintaining his youth," Connor went on, "And after realizing that upon their deaths, Khufu and Chay-Ara would reincarnate in new lives in a never-ending cycle, Savage began hunting them in order to maintain his immortality." He looked to Kendra, "And for 4,000 years, the bastard has hunted down and killed you and Khufu every time, Chay-Ara, no matter what reincarnation you've both taken up every time you return to life, and has successfully achieved this 206 times now."
"But that's not the only thing this delusionist has wanted ever since he's been an immortal son-of-a-bitch," Nile now spoke up, "Cos thanks to Andy, Joe and Nicky sharing with and filling in all the facts to me this day, Savage grew ambitious and has desired dominion over the entire planet. But way back then at the beginning, the current resources of his time were insufficient to achieve such a goal, so over 4000 years he has secretly influenced various history famous figures of authority into war to further the development of weapons and scientific technologies and prime the world for his eventual rule.
Apart from Kendra, whose expression was still one of utter disbelief as she struggled to keep up with everything the immortals were sharing, shock came over everyone else's faces. "What individuals do you refer to exactly?" Roy asked.
"During the Gallic Wars waged between 58 BC and 50 BC, Savage served as an assistant to Julius Caesar, and guided him through the eight years of conflict," Nicky himself finally spoke, "Then when Genghis Khan rose to power as leader of the Monghol people, Savage would go on to serve as his most trusted advisor."
"My old adversary, a truly monstrous, cruel, ruthless, megalomaniacal, brutal, remorseless savage and psychopath of an individual known as the Kurgan, who was also an immortal like us five..." Connor said, gesturing himself, Andy, Joe, Nicky and Nile, "...and Savage, also served in Genghis's army for a number of years, becoming one of his most ruthless warriors. Before he then left the Mongol army in 1226 to return to the Game, this millennia-long forced conflict between us immortals, or least those to whom I myself belong, which is basically a series of elimination duels fought free-form between us."
Joe looked over to Oliver. "Savage also taught the famous legend Robin of Locksley from which you, Mr Queen, and everyone who knows all about archery to this day how to use a bow in the first place, while in return Robin taught him how to not feel pain," he said, before then turning once again to Kendra, "He was the one who caused one of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded in the form of the 1887 Yellow River flood in China, killing one million civilians just in order to kill you and Prince Khufu, Priestess Chay-Ara."
"Savage was who the famous Victorian London White Chapel murderer known as Jack the Ripper taught how to dissect a human body," Andy herself spoke again, "And Harry Houdini learned what he did in way of his various sensational escape arts and tricks for his career of a stuntman and performer from none other than Savage himself, as he was who Houdini gained his training from."
"The reason you mortal humans lost entire generations of men in the mud and trenches of Europe during the Great War of 1914-18 is because Savage was the one who instigated it when he manipulated Gavrilo Princip into killing Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria," Nicky continued, "And in the 1950s, he became a close friend of the tyrannical monster who ruled the Soviet Union at the time Joseph Stalin, who taught Savage how to successfully torture a person and giving him a unique torture device as a gift in exchange for the immortal son-of-a-bitch's tactical knowledge."
"And from what Andy, Joe and Nicky have shared with me about also, Savage was very likely the one who brought about the assassination, and all the theories and guesses surrounding it these last five decades since then, of JFK in Dallas in '63," Nile said.
"And also in '63, the Kurgan himself got into a partnership with Nikita Khruschev's government, overseeing the military training of a group of genetically-engineered Russian super-soldiers called the Temnotiye, intending to use them for his own intended personal gains by wiping out other Immortals and gain the Prize," Connor furthered.
"Until me, Joe and Andy together aided Connor in putting a stop to that a year later when, with help from the man who helped bring about the creation of the Temnotiye in the first place Dr Arman Volkov, we successfully infiltrated the Kurgan's base in East Berlin," Nicky went on, "And engaged him and the Temnotiye in an intense and bloody battle. At the end of which, the majority of the super-soldiers lay dead, courtesy of us and Connor, and Volkov helped with destroying the base, the few remaining Temnoyite survivors then being either arrested or shot dead by the Russian authorities, and the Kurgan himself fleeing before we could make a move on him, but not before he slaughtered Volkor's wife and daughter as punishment for his betrayal."
Nicky finished, and total silence followed, no one on Teams Flash and Arrow making a move or word of response everyone as they all still tried so hard to take onboard all of everything that had just been shared with them both about Vandal Savage, as well the individual the three men and two women had called 'the Kurgan'.
At last, Kendra laughed humourlessly. "OK, we really have stepped way beyond the simple borders of crazy town now," she said.
"This makes sense though," Thea realized, "This would certainly explain why Savage looks the same as he does in that picture from 1975," She turned to the computer screen upon which the black and white photograph of Savage was displayed, before then looking back to the five immortals, "And if you lot are every bit as you've said you are..."
"There is no lies and deception here one bit, I assure you, my dear Thea, and on behalf of Andromache, Yusuf, Nicolò and young Nile here themselves too," Connor said with the utmost seriousness, looking between her and the rest of Teams Flash and Arrow's members, "As Sara herself has helpfully provided you with already, I am Connor Macleod of the Clan Macleod, born 1518 in Glenfinnan, Scotland, near the shores of Loch Shiel, my first death being in a battle between my own Clan the Macleods and the Clan Fraser, to whom the Kurgan had allied himself with. The monster sought to take my head..." he noted with a small smirk grin the utmost horror on the faces of the humans, "...which is the only way an immortal can well and truly be permanently killed, before I learned of who I truly was and became an experienced fighter, as back then I wasn't the man I am now and have been for over 400 years. He delivered a fatal wound, but was attacked and driven off by others of my Clan before he could finish the job."
"Unfortunately, which was always something the various peoples way way back in the centuries of long old always thought before the more modern ways of life came upon us all, after he fully recovered fully healed and so becoming an immortal in the process Connor's family and lover accused him of witchcraft and demand he be burned at the stake," Nicky said, "But Clan chieftain Angus MacLeod decided to spare Connor of said fate by banishing him. After which, he roamed the Highlands, eventually becoming a blacksmith and marrying the human woman Heather MacDonald in 1539."
"Then two years later, in 1541, I met the man who would, for the course of over a year, teach me absolutely everything," Connor took over again, pride coming to his voice, "Discipline, physical conditioning, advanced sword fighting, the way of Immortals, and The Game itself and its Rules, so making me into the man I am now and have been ever since, and would go from being a teacher to the brother I needed in my newfound immortal life." He smiled, "Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez."
"That was the name though that Ramírez had taken up for himself to help with the role he was living under at the time as the Chief Metallurgist to King Charles V," Andy said, "His real name and person however was Tak-Ne, born in Ancient Egypt in 896 BCE during the Third Intermediate Period. And who me and Quynh, a fellow immortal who was lost to me and my group several hundred years ago..." she paused as sadness came over her face at the always to be with her forever memories of Quynh, but a reassuring touch on the arm and encouraging nod from Nile gave Andy the confidence to continue, "...would encounter and help out with whatever a few times over the centuries that followed, especially when it came to battling the likes of Vandal Savage and the Kurgan themselves."
"Until Ramírez was lost to me and us forever in 1542," Connor spoke again, sadness now overcoming him briefly, "When the Kurgan found him and Heather at where we lived at the time back in Scotland, looking for me, but I was away hunting that night. Ramírez and him engaged each other in mortal combat until Ramírez was slain by the bastard, but not before Ramírez damaged the Kurgan's voice box and the Kurgan bearing it and the scar for the remainder of his immortal life." His usual look now returned, blue eyes as piercing as ever, "That being until I slew him myself back in 1985, finally ending his centuries long tyranny and monstrous killer ways forever."
"And just how old are you then, Andy, and Joe, Nicky and Nile too?" Helena asked.
"Like I've said before, Miss Bertinelli, I am the last one of the Scythians, born in 4500 BCE," Andy answered, "And for a time, after my first death and return to the land of the living, I was the only immortal, wandering the land until I met first Quynh, followed by Tak-Ne/Ramírez, and then of course Hath-Set himself and Prince Khufu and Priestess Chay-Ara all came along."
"Me and Nicky, as you know also, both come from the Crusades," Joe went next, "Me the last of the Saracens and he the final Genovese Knight, both of us on opposite sides during that conflict, our first deaths, done by ourselves as the enemies we were at the time, being in 1099, I at thirty three years of age, Nicky at thirty exactly."
"I myself, '94 being my own birth year, which makes me the youngest of us, wasn't anything to do with the world of immortals until only just over a month ago," Nile said, "Serving as a soldier in the US Marines, and with a love of art history too, until a Taliban scumbag my unit and I were sent to detain slit my throat with a knife he drew from his pants and killed me, before dying himself. Which brought about my own first death, and being found and retrieved by Andy and brought into the world she, Joe, Nicky, our exiled comrade, Booker, Connor and now I myself have been a part of for thousands of lifetimes."
"Booker himself, or Sebastian Le Livre as is his real name, born in May 1770, was a soldier in the armies of Napoleon, having chosen to join to avoid life in prison which his old life as a criminal and forger was leading him to," Nicky concluded with, "He fought in the 1812 French invasion of Russia, but soon afterwards, along with other soldiers, deserted, only to be captured and hanged. And that act was his first death, and how me, Joe and Andy first learned of his presence as the newest immortal to join our world, until of course Nile took that place."
He fell silent, and again a long silence followed as Teams Flash and Arrow again took all of this incredibleness in, digesting it as much as possible. Eventually, Kendra held up her left hand. "I-I just need some air," she said, "I'm sorry, I need to get away from all this," and she hurried out of the Arrow Lair, Cisco following after her after a quick look to Barry and the Flash man giving a nod of approval.
At last, he turned to the five immortals. "Listen, I don't care for the moment how old each of you lot are, or that most of you have fought Vandal Savage yourselves," he said defiantly as he approached them, unfazed by Connor's unblinking steady gaze, "But we're gonna do whatever it takes to keep Kendra safe from him. And we'll find a way to take him down."
Connor shook his head. "Not without us you're not, Mr Allen," he said.
"Like it not, you need us," Andy agreed, looking to Team Arrow, "All of us."
But just then, Barry's phone rang, and digging his hand into his trousers he brought it out and answered it. "Yeah," he said, then a new stunned expression came over his face, "Woah, Cisco, slow down, what do you mean 'a man with wings took Kendra'?"
At that, Andy, Joe, Nicky, Nile and Connor all turned as one to look at each other, jaw dropped shock now overcoming them. "Andy..." Nile began.
Andy nodded. "Prince Khufu," she answered with.
"It has to be," Connor agreed further.
"Can't be anyone else," Joe added.
(I'll leave out the pursuit and capture of Carter by Oliver and Barry, cos I don't feel in the mood to do it, so just imagine it happening exactly as it does in the episode)
Later, the Arrow Lair
With help from the five immortals, they restrained the winged man to a post with chains wrapped tightly around him, holding him there securely, until he eventually came round and attempted to break free of the chains, but to no avail. "Where is she?"
"Greetings, Prince Khufu," Andy, arms folded across her chest like some of everyone else who surrounded him, "We meet once again."
The man's eyes widened upon seeing Andy. "Andromache?" he gasped, then noticed the other three men. "Connor Macleod? Yusuf? Nicolò?" he exclaimed further.
Connor nodded. "The very same as I have been for almost 500 years now, Khufu," he acknowledged.
Oliver turned to them. "This is Prince Khufu?" he asked, nodding to their captive.
"Yes, Oliver," Joe confirmed, "It is him."
"You're putting her in danger and I'm the only capable of saving her," the man, Prince Khufu as Andy and her group had all called him, said as he tried again to break the chains.
"You've a very interesting perspective on what the word 'saving' means," Nile quipped sarcastically, and when Khufu turned to her she nodded and answered the question she knew he would ask eventually, "The name's Nile. Nile Freeman. And yes, I'm now an immortal too, part of Andy's group."
"She's the love of my lifetime, Miss Freeman, I was not gonna hurt her," Khufu replied, again struggling against the chains, "You need to let me go." Then he stared in shock as Kendra emerged, "Chay-Ara."
"My name is Kendra Saunders," she said insistently.
"In this life," Khufu admitted, "And I am...was Carter Hall, but that is not who we are."
"Carter Hall, huh?" Nicky said, "I take it that's the new name you gave yourself after your latest reincarnation."
"And you can forget about the history lesson," Sara said, speaking to Khufu, or Carter Hall as he had just called himself, "We know everything."
"Everything," Helena said, "You and Miss Saunders' past with Savage, your first deaths back in Ancient Egypt and you and him being made immortal by meteor radiation, Savage's pursuit and killing of you both down through the ages of 4000 years, and him also being responsible for many events we're all familiar with thanks to the history books." She turned to the five immortals, "All thanks to Andy and her band here filling us in on all the details."
At hearing this, Carter stared in utter shock at Andy. "You told them?" he demanded to her.
Andy shrugged. "Full story counts for here, I'm afraid, Prince Khufu," she said simply.
"You're 0-206 in way of deaths and you still think you're Kendra's best bet?" Cisco scoffed.
"OK, so all we need to do is find Savage and get rid of him," Barry said, trying to be optimistic.
Connor rolled his eyes. "And I've told you before, Mr Allen, you won't get rid of Hath-Set the human or metahuman way," he said.
"Oh yeah?" Barry challenged, "Watch us."
"We're gonna protect Kendra no matter what happens and what the cost is," Cisco put in.
"It won't be as easy as you believe," a new woman's voice said, and as everyone turned in the direction of it Scandal Savage herself entered the room.
"Scandal!" Nicky exclaimed, he and a totally surprised Joe, Andy and Nile having not expected to see the daughter of Vandal Savage here after their meeting with her and Knockout and Liana in Rio the previous day.
"Oh great, another unknown," Cisco groaned.
"I thought you would be staying away from all this in Rio with your two wives and son, Scandal," Andy said.
Scandal shrugged. "Nothing wrong with at least lending a bit of a helping hand if it means ending my father for good, Andromache," she replied, "Hence why we decided in the end to head over to help you."
"Father?!" several voices, those of Teams Flash and Arrow and Sara, all chorused as one. Kendra and Carter though remained silent.
"Yes. I am Hath-Set's daughter, Scandal Savage," Scandal answered in confirmation, "And the one who hired Andromache, Yusuf, Nicolò and young Nile for the task at hand in the first place." Now she noticed Connor and nodded, "Greetings once more, Connor Macleod of the Clan Macleod."
Connor nodded himself. "And you too, Scandal," he acknowledged.
Scandal looked to Andy, Joe, Nicky and Nile again, "And in case you're no doubt wondering, my beloveds are with our son in a flat we've rented here until we're ready to join you on the next step of the chase." She smirk grinned, her eyes gleaming as she looked between the humans in the room, "Which will be sooner than you lot are probably thinking between yourselves, cos my father left Star City a few hours ago."
"For where?" Roy asked.
"Not sure," Scandal admitted, before turning to Kendra and Carter, "But as you yourselves well and truly a part of all this once again, Prince Khufu and Priestess Chay-Ara, I believe I know exactly what it is he aims to locate." She looked between everyone now, "A weapon with which he will be able to defeat all of you, and which he told me about himself when I was a child. The Staff of Horus."
"And, uh, what is that when it's at home?" Thea asked.
"It's a relic from our past, an ancient and powerful weapon," Carter explained, looking around at everyone, "If Savage gets his hands on it, it's gonna be nearly impossible to stop him."
"Not if we have anything to say about that," Andy said in even more defiance than ever.
"Before me and Nicky came into their lives, it was Andy and Quynh who battled Savage, as well as the Kurgan, alongside Ramírez in whichever conflict wherever," Joe said, his face and voice determined, "And since we and Booker joined, the fight has continued, and it will be that way until Savage goes only one way."
"And that way is dead. Permanently," Nicky finished with.
Connor nodded, proud of his fellow immortals. "I have fought Savage a number of times myself ever since I first became an immortal," he said, "Both when I've crossed paths whenever and wherever with Andy and her band and joined in the fight with them, and when I've worked alone cos that's how I've prefered it for most of my immortal decades, a solo way of living." His ever piercing blue eyed gaze swept over everyone, Scandal Savage included, "I ended the Kurgan and his monstrous reign of terror throughout the centuries for good in our last battle in 1985 via the removal of his head, and I will see the end of Hath-Set himself too if it's the last thing I do on top of hell and Earth."
"Since when did our lives suddenly become an Indiana Jones movie?" Cisco groaned.
Andy now addressed Scandal. "You need to search for this Staff immediately, Scandal," she said before looking between her two brothers and sister in arms, "You three go with her. It's imperative we locate this thing's whereabouts as well as Hath-Set himself as fast as humanly possible. The moment you do, get in touch."
"You got it, Andy," Nile agreed uncomplainingly, and together she, Joe and Nicky departed with Scandal.
Carter turned to Kendra. "You need to emerge now," he told her as everyone turned to her, "Come on! What's it gonna take for you to believe me? You saw my wings. I know you know this is true. And Andy and her bunch and Connor have filled you and all their friends here in on all the facts about us and Savage too. Please just let me show you how."
(And again, I'm skipping a little of this next part of the episode cos I'm not in the mood to do it all, so hope no one minds)
"What the hell was that?!" an outraged Barry demanded of Carter, having just whizzed Kendra back up onto the roof after Carter had literally pushed her off the roof of the building in some mad way to try and get her real personage to emerge again.
"You really do have such a problem with yourself, Khufu," Andy said, her voice just as icy.
"Saving her life," Carter said simply, "You should've emerged, something is blocking you. Well, we can just try again and see-"
"No!" Barry and Cisco shouted in unison.
"Right, that's enough," Connor said as he marched up to Carter, grabbing him by the jacket with both hands and pulling him towards him, his angry blue eyes going right through Carter's brown ones. "We tried your insane little game of a method, and it hasn't worked as you can see," Connor told the bird winged prince, his Scottish accent dripping anger, "You try that again, I won't hesitate to end you as much as I did the Kurgan. You understand me?"
"It'll take more than the likes of you or your human friends to destroy me," Carter said arrogantly.
Standing next to Barry, Oliver perked up, realizing something. "Destroys," he said, everyone turning to him.
"What is it, Oliver?" Barry asked curiously, but Oliver didn't answer as he walked past and they all followed him back into the lift, which took them back down to the Lair.
"We need to check Central City for the Staff," Oliver explained as they emerged from the lift and approached where Felicity and the rest waited in front of the computers, "Kendra, you said you were drawn there."
"Yeah," Kendra nodded.
"I think you're drawn to things that can destroy you the same way you're drawn to each other," Oliver went on, gesturing between Kendra and Carter.
At that moment, Andy's phone rang and she brought it out, checked the screen to see who it was, then raised to her ear. "Please give me the good news, Nile," she said.
"We've found the Staff, Andy," Nile answered from the other end of the line, "Apparently, it was consecrated eight months ago in Central City at St. Mark's Church."
Andy nodded. "Good job, the four of you," she said approvingly, "We'll meet you there," and she rung off.
"I take it that means the Staff's been located?" Connor asked.
Again, Andy nodded. "It has," she confirmed, then looked to Oliver. "Don't even think about asking me and Connor to sit this one out, Oliver," she addressed him in a hard tone voice, "Like we've said twice or so this night, you and your team mates need us and Joe, Nicky and Nile if you want to end Hath-Set for good."
Oliver nodded. "Let's go," he said, turning to Barry, "You as well, Barry," the Flash man nodding. "The rest of you, hold the fort here," Oliver then addressed the rest of Team Arrow and Sara, nods following from them all, then Helena stepped forward and took Oliver's hand.
"Please come back in one piece, won't you?" she said as they kissed.
"I will," Oliver assured her after they'd come apart.
Later, St. Mark's Church, Central City
"So where d'you think we'll find this thing? I haven't been in one of these for quite a while," Oliver said as he, Barry, Andy, Joe, Nicky, Nile, Connor and Scandal all entered the church and walked down the aisle, Connor now having swapped his brown leather jacket for his light grey coloured trench coat on the way over.
"Uh... there perhaps?" Nile said, gesturing to the broken coffin which stood before them.
"Shit. We're too late," Joe cursed.
"Well well well," Savage's voice spoke as he emerged from the shadows on the right, the Staff of Horus in his hand, "If it isn't my own darling daughter, and my other centuries long old adversary Andromache of the Scythians, together with her fellows Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Nicolò di Genov and the mighty Connor Macleod of the Clan Macleod."
"Save it, Hath-Set," Connor snapped menacingly.
"You and the Kurgan sure fought one hell of a final battle up there in the Big Apple of New York City, didn't you, Macleod," Savage said, unfazed by the immortal Scotsman's anger, "Quite impressive, I must admit. At least after you ended him for good, I was able to acquire this." With his free left hand, he reached across his front to his right, and from that side of his belt he drew a sword from beneath his own blue trench coat, no doubt from the sheath it was kept in, and held it up for them all to see.
"My god," Nicky gasped, he and Joe and Andy's faces dissolving into shock, Connor's teeth clenching very tightly as his own anger rocketed up, as they looked upon the very same two-handed Claymore sword that the Kurgan himself had once owned, right down to the black leather-wrapped grip and the two diagonally positioned spikes on the metal guard on either side of the massive blade.
"Such a fine weapon," Savage commented with some degree of satisfaction, "Just what I, the great Vandal Savage, could need to add to my collection..." positioning his hands so that both the Staff and sword were held between thumb and forefinger, he used his other fingers to open up his coat so that they could all see the large amount of knifes concealed on both sides of the inside lining.
"How the hell did you come in possession of it?" Connor snarled.
Savage gave the sly smile of a fox as he returned the sword to its sheath, his grip on the Staff itself returning to normal. "You thought I wouldn't keep an eye on the Macleod Clan member who's caused me just as much trouble as Andromache and her group on the occassions we've crossed paths with each other?" he answered Connor, "Because that's exactly what I've done." He looked between a now just as furious Andy, Joe and Nicky, "To every one of you." Now he seemed to notice Nile and addressed her, "Except you, being as I've never met you before."
"The name's Freeman. Nile Freeman," Nile answered bluntly.
"Enough of this, father," Scandal spat, her face dark with hatred.
"Your days of immortal perversion are over, Hath-Set," Nicky added in a growl.
"You're gonna leave Kendra alone," Barry warned.
"I can't do that," Savage said, "While my destiny is to live forever, Chay-Ara's is to die. As is yours now." He looked again to Andy, "Just as it has been these last few hundred years for your beloved fellow comrade Quynh, Andromache, ever since she was sentence to die and return to life over and over again day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year for hundreds of years while buried in an iron coffin on the bottom of the ocean."
"Don't you even dare to mention about Quynh," Andy snarled, her own hatred now beginning to show itself.
"You don't know?" Savage asked, sounding very mocking.
"Know what?" Nile put in, just as curious as the rest of them.
"Have you ever wondered just why you and Quynh were separated from each other after being accused of witchcraft back in the land of England during the witch trials?" Savage continued, still speaking directly to Andy. No one spoke, so he went on, an expression of smug glee appearing over his face, smile and all, "That was because of me. I was the one who successfully convinced the religion faithful men to separate you from your beloved fellow immortal soldier and have her be locked in an iron maiden and thrown into the sea to suffer for all eternity afterwards."
At hearing this, a horrified Nile and Connor turned to Andy, Joe and Nicky, the three of them and Scandal Savage herself now struggling to hold themselves back even more than ever, their rage having rocketed even more skywards than it already was.
At last, it was Andy who said the inevitable. "YOU DID THAT TO QUYNH?!" she roared, her face now ablaze with so much hatred that her eyes were on fire with it, her teeth clenched so tightly it was a miracle they didn't break. On either side of her, Joe and Nicky had exactly the same amount of expression plain to see on them both, their fists clenched so tightly that their nails were digging into their palms.
Savage nodded, his own glee having not faded one bit. "My own special payback on you for the countless times you, Quynh, Yusuf and Nicolò, as well as the man known as Tak-Ne or Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez, had constantly interfered in a number of my plans for my eventual world dominion," he responded with, "So when I heard you and Quynh had been captured whilst freeing heretics and accused of witchcraft, well..." he shrugged, "It was the most perfect opportunity I had ever had in quite a long time."
Andy gave a loud cry and started forward towards Savage, but just then the Staff glowed blue as Savage charged it up. Immediately, Joe, Nicky, Nile, Scandal and Connor all moved as one to restrain Andy, grabbing her by the arms and waist and dragging her back down the aisle as she struggled violently against their combined efforts, Barry himself speeding round the church, as Savage fired blasts of blue energy from the Staff at them. Oliver fired several of his arrows as he too retreated back with the five immortals and Scandal, but Savage deflected them all with the Staff as they all took cover behind the benches, Oliver and the immortals and Scandal on the right side and Barry on the left, part of one shattering in a shower of wood splinters as Savage fired another blast.
"Let me get at him," Andy screamed, the hatred over what had just been revealed to her and her group members still consuming her so much.
"No, Andy," Nile told her, hating to be firm with her leader and older sister in arms but knowing it was the right thing to do, "We can't afford to lose you."
"Any ideas?" Oliver asked his speedster friend.
"Oh, so now you'll listen to me?" Barry asked sarcastically.
"It's your city!" Oliver snapped remindingly, he, Barry and the immortal group all ducking again to avoid another blast from the Staff fired by Savage, more wood splinters flying as a bench was hit.
"Let's just try to get the Staff," Barry said.
"Alright. On my mark," Oliver nodded.
"How many times do we have to tell you both for god's sake? It won't work," Connor said frustratingly.
Oliver and Barry either didn't hear the Scotsman's words or they took no notice anyway, as Oliver stood up from his position and fired an arrow, distracting Savage as Barry sped forward and tried to take the Staff, but the blue energy surrounding it sent him flying back and crashing down onto the bench behind which Oliver, Scandal, Connor and Andy's group stood. At once, Andy drew her double-bladed axe, and before anyone could stop her, holding it in her right hand, charged out and started again up the aisle intent on getting at Savage, only to be sent flying back herself by the same energy and crashing down onto the floor.
"Andy!" Joe, Nicky and Nile all shouted together and hurried to their leader, helping her back onto her feet, Joe retrieving Andy's axe as the others joined them. Savage himself spoke in a foreign language and then laughed, clearly impressed.
"In all my countless years, I've locked arms with Andromache and her comrades and Macleod many times, but I've never encountered anyone with your capabilities, Flash and Green Arrow. Astonishing!" Savage said, then raised the Staff once again, a great amount of blue energy gathering as he charged it up. But then suddenly, he froze and lowered it, awe now appearing on his face. "Chay-Ara," he whispered, then turned his attention back to the Central and Star City guardians, Scandal, Andy, Joe, Nicky, Connor and Nile as he stepped off the podium, "I used to enjoy slow deaths. Now, I just find them boring."
Upon realizing what he meant by those words, and with a shout of "Everyone out. Now" from Nile, they all turned and fled as Savage raised the Staff and slammed it down on the ground, the object glowing brightly. Barry grabbed everyone and sped them back outside as the inside of the church was consumed by an explosion, all the windows shattering and the glass showering down like fragments of ice.
"Thanks," Oliver said as he and Barry stood up again. Next to them, Andy slumped to her knees and buried her face in her hands as great sobs overcame her, the revelation of Savage having been directly involved in her and her group's loss with Quynh for hundreds of years too much for her to not hold back. Immediately, Nile, Joe, Nicky and Connor were by her sides, Nile pulling her into a tight embrace which Andy didn't even try to fight, Nile's eyes stinging with her own tears as she too started crying at seeing her leader in this way, Joe and Nicky and Connor all gently rubbing Andy's back sympathetically, the two lover's faces also overcome with great sadness at what they had learned. Scandal watched them, choosing not to interfere herself out of respect for them.
"Any chance he blew himself up in there?" Barry asked.
"Not a fucking hope, Mr Allen," Scandal answered the question herself bitterly.
"I agree," Oliver said.
Later, the Arrow Lair
"That was Oliver," Thea said as she approached where Laurel, Sara, Helena, Roy, Kendra, Carter and Felicity sat or stood at the table, "Savage has the Staff of Horus. He needs us all in Central City as soon as possible."
Sara nodded, her lips forming a smile. "Well, mom lives over there of course, so you can bet your ass we're not gonna sit this one out," she said.
Laurel nodded. "You got that right," she agreed, not wanting to miss out on seeing her mum again after a while with her fellow Canary sister.
"If Savage is in Central City, why are we going back there?" Kendra asked.
"So we can end this," Cisco answered as he put on his jacket, "And if anybody's ever gonna be capable of taking down Savage,-"
"It's not Barry and Ollie," Sara cut in, everyone turning to her in astonishment. "You've all heard the stories about Andy and her band and Connor, as well as Savage himself," she went on, "And like I've said, Connor himself is the one man who Ra's Al Ghul has encountered and lost to in a fight, even if it was just one time, plus he is the one who slew the Kurgan. If anyone's gonna bring about the end of this bastard Savage, it's him, and Andy and her group."
Roy nodded. "I agree with you there completely," he said.
"Plus, you've emerged," Carter added, speaking to Kendra, "So it's gonna be harder for him, and together all of us, along with Andromache and Macleod and the others, have the best chance ever of taking him down, once and for all."
"Well then, what're we waiting for?" Helena demanded, "Let's go."
"I'll call Lyla," Roy said, pulling out his phone, "She might be able to arrange a flight there for us."
Star City flat
Liana's phone rang. "Who is it?" Knockout groaned from her position on top of her, the two women naked and sweaty underneath the blanket of which they had just finished an intense but wonderful make out between them on the sofa of the flat they and their main lover Scandal had purchased upon their arrival in Star City earlier that afternoon. Baby Luciano was asleep in the second of the two bedrooms.
Liana reached out and retrieved her phone from amongst their shed clothes, smiling upon seeing whose name it was on the screen and answered it, bringing it to her ear. "Hey, love," she said as Knockout began roaming over her neck and chest with her mouth, kissing or rolling her tongue about.
"My father's in Central City," Scandal Savage answered from the other end of the line, "And has retrieved the Staff of Horus. I need you two to get over here right away. Bring everything, Luciano included."
"You got it. See you there," Liana said and rang off.
"What's going on?" Knockout asked, looking up from her position between Liana's breasts.
"We'd better get dressed and packed," Liana said, "Scandal needs us in Central City. The situation's just got much bigger than we imagined it would."
Jitters, Central City, next morning
"OK, the others should be here in an hour, maybe less," Oliver told Barry, who nodded.
"We still need to get Savage," Barry said quietly.
"We will," Oliver assured him.
"What about them though?" Barry pointed out, looking over to where the immortals and Scandal Savage sat together at a table, talking quietly amongst themselves. "You think Andy's back in her full state of mind to be a part of all this?" Barry asked further, he and Oliver having of course witnessed Andy's breakdown the night before after their close escape from the church.
Oliver nodded. "If you still remember all of what they revealed to us last night about themselves and Savage, and what was revealed to us in the church before the son-of-a-bitch blew it up, then you can be damn sure that Andy's not gonna be sitting on the side in a depressed state whatsoever over this," he said firmly.
Suddenly, their attention was brought elsewhere as a little boy bumped into them, dropping an action figure of the Flash on the floor and Oliver knelt down to pick it up. "Watch yourself, buddy," Oliver said as he straightened up, he and Barry smiling at the resemblance to the actual hero. "Don't wanna lose this guy," Oliver added as he handed it back to the boy.
"Thanks, mister," the boy said as he ran to his mum. Oliver frowned, his eyes widening in recognition- it was Samantha Clayton, his and Laurel's former classmate from college. And suddenly, a dreadful thought occurred to him. The boy's age and height...it couldn't be...could it?
And hey presto, the first episode of 'Heroes Join Forces' and the included universes of 'Highlander' and 'The Old Guard' amongst it all completed. Hope it lived up to everyone's expectations in terms of plot improvements and enjoyment.
So yep, Andy, Joe, Nicky, Nile and Connor have all revealed absolutely everything to our Flash and Arrow heroes: the life history of Savage and Prince Khufu and Priestess Chay-Ara/Kendra and Carter and their centuries long connection to each other; Savage's influence on the history that we all know from the history books and documentaries; and their own encounters with him, plus their own life histories, the Kurgan and our old Sean Connery played friend Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez. I wasn't gonna leave all that out very easily, was I, not when the Wikia pages were all available to hand.
The big reveal in the church by Savage to Andy and her group that he was responsible for her and Joe and Nicky losing Quynh in 'The Old Guard' movie's flashbacks, and Quynh being imprisoned in her iron coffin tomb of a prison on the bottom of the sea for hundreds of years, drowning and returning to life over and over and over again, is my own personally thought of twist, and is what I've been unable to resist wanting to do and include for over a week now ever since my brains first came up with it, hence why it's now officially done, and hope everyone else enjoyed said reveal. And Savage being in possession of the Kurgan's great sword was something else I just couldn't hold back from wanting to do so much, say that he did so shortly after the big final battle between Connor and the Kurgan in their movie back in 1985, and it will so play a big part in the final battle to come in this story.
And yup, Scandal Savage is back again, along with lovers Knockout and Liana, as someone was needed to tell the rest about the Staff of Horus, and after some thought on who I could do for it, who better than Scandal herself?
So, chapter 2 and 'Flash' 2x08 all done- what lies in store next for our big gang, humans, metahuman speedster and immortals all combined in the second HJF episode of 'Arrow' 4x08? Well, we shall see in chapter 3, which will hopefully be along very soon if persona life doesn't get in my way as it always tends to be. Until then though, adios amigos, from Flashraven