Chapter 40: The Sigil of Justice
The Hood entered the penthouse of Merlyn Global silently, observing the leftover carnage. Bullet holes riddled the furniture, bodies strewn everywhere. He circled around, making sure to take everything in. Noticing Tommy's still body and the faint stench of blood on him, the Hood kneeled down, taking the pulse of his friend. Feeling warmth and the beat of his heart, he felt relief within him – Tommy was still alive.
He stood up once more, noticing the slight protrusion of the wall to the side. Soft light pierced through the razor thin opening. Keeping his steps silent, he walked to the secret door, leaning against it. He heard nothing.
Then, with a flourish, he slid it open, using the opportunity to spin and fire.
Malcolm Merlyn fired back, knocking down the arrow with his own. They exchanged a few more shots, until the older man fled to the roof. The Hood followed, using the door to block another shot. Merlyn used the distraction to place his own mask on. With that, the transformation was complete.
"Al Sa-Her." The Hood rumbled. "You've lost."
"Have I?" Al Sa-Her shot back, careful to keep the desperation out of his voice. "I assume you have a partner searching for the Markov device right now."
"Both devices, actually." The Hood corrected, pleased at how his enemy's eyes widened. "You've lost, Al Sa-Her. The Undertaking will fail, and the League knows of what you've tried to do – the entire world does. Even if you manage to kill me here, they will all hunt you down. It's over."
"Perhaps." Al Sa-Her snarled, readying his bow. "But if I can have your head, that alone will be enough. Tell me, who are you?"
The Hood paused. Should he? It was eerily tempting, revealing the poetic justice of the entire situation. Revealing to his godfather that he has no one to blame but himself for the ruination of his life and the failure of his plans. But no – as satisfying as that would be, allowing an enemy as cunning as Al Sa-Her his identity, no matter how short they had to live, would only end badly. Besides, if Tommy's disapproval was not enough to sway him from continuing his plans, he highly doubted that his would do any better.
"It doesn't matter who I am." The vigilante said after a long moment of muteness. "Just know that I am one of the many you have wronged."
Al Sa-Her snorted bitterly. "You won't even give me that much, will you? Expected of someone trained by the League. Very well then." He reached backed into his quiver and notched his bow with an arrow. "Come."
Knowing words were useless now, the Hood mirrored him, and they fired in unison. Barrages of arrows countered and countered one another, until both quivers were empty. The battle quickly turned to hand-to-hand as the distance between them grew shorter; the Hood flipped Al Sa-Her over, trying to twist the limb into an arm bar. Al Sa-Her quickly locked his hands together, then bridged his body upwards, forcing the Hood to let go. They stood once more and began to strike at one another.
Al Sa-Her's anger clouded both his vision and his thoughts, and his blows were powerful but sloppy. The Hood dodged them with ease, shifting side-to-side, allowing them to just barely miss, before grabbing another arm. Just like in their previous fight, he straightened the appendage and brought his elbow in a downward arc. Before he could connect, however, Al Sa-Her pulled back, causing the Hood to spin outward in a grim mockery of a dance. It seemed his anger hadn't dulled his instincts.
A brief stare-off ensued, before they went charging at each other again. The Hood landed a powerful straight kick to Al Sa-Her's midsection, folding him over, then followed with kicks to the knees, forcing the older man backwards. He then followed up with a spinning flip, landing a powerful strike to the head with his feet. The other assassin fell to the ground, landing on his hands and knees. The Hood reach downwards to pick him up by the scruff of his neck, but the Magician was too quick, and punched the younger man right in the chin with an uppercut.
The Hood staggered back slightly, caught off guard, and Al Sa-Her saw his chance. He picked up one of the arrows laying about the roof, and attacked, aiming the makeshift assault weapon right at the Hood's face. The Hood sensed him, however, and quickly blocked with both his forearms, struggling to keep the arrow away from his eyes. Another kick to the midsection loosened Al Sa-Her's hold, and the Hood took advantage, bringing both pairs of limbs down and disarming his opponent of his weapon. Then, with a flourish, he released one of the fletchettes hidden beneath his sleeves, aiming them straight at specific points of Al Sa-Her's body. They pierced through the armor, and the Magician collapsed, his limbs now useless.
The Hood watched him struggle for a brief moment before taking out a beacon and clicking on it. A few moments later, the Streak appeared in a flash of yellow lightning. Al Sa-Her stopped his writhing to stare at the metahuman at disbelief, only now beginning to realize how truly out of his depth he was, before a gush of wind surrounded him and he found himself back in his business suit, his face exposed. He was now once again Malcolm Merlyn. The Hood and the Streak exchanged looks before nodding, and a moment later, all three of them were gone.
Near CNRI, people began to scream as the ground began to shake. Laurel and Quentin, outside the building to help load the cars, hugged each other tight in anticipation for the pain, and likely death.
However, death did not come. Instead, it seemed the shaking was emanating from a specific spot in the street. People watched in awe as part of the street burst outwards, debris flying everywhere. The Lances opened their eyes and gazed in amazement; the Girl in Blue was floating above them, and in each of her hands were two identical machines.
The mysterious woman in the black and brown spandex suit appeared atop of one the trucks sitting at the side of the road, the glowing blue outline of a falcon surrounding her. People were torn between staring at her and staring at the Girl in Blue, until a streak of lightning changed their minds. They took a moment to marvel at the Streak and the Hood…until they noticed him.
"MONSTER!"
"BASTARD!"
"WHAT DID ANY OF US EVER DO TO YOU?"
The residents of the Glades hurled obscenities at the man that caused them so much misery: Malcolm Merlyn. Merlyn, for his part, had enough composure not to return the favor and run his voice hoarse. Instead, he just settled for glaring at them all. The vigilantes allowed the civilians this chance to unleash all their anger on a deserving target, only allowing their attention to divert when the Markov devices started beeping. The Girl in Blue flew high into the sky above, almost above the clouds, before she threw her cargo upwards. The two collided, creating a massive shockwave, sparking white.
As she descended downwards, near the street, the men, women, and children watched the lightshow in disbelief, effectively silenced. The Hood kept an eye on the Girl in Blue, then turned to see news vans driving into the vicinity – Amanda's doing, no doubt. Reporters poured out of the vehicles, followed by their camera men. The people, still stunned, did nothing to dissuade them, barely reacting to their presences. The Hood allowed them to set up shop, and once most of them were done, once again pressed one of the buttons hidden beneath the suit, using it to amplify his voice.
"When I first started this crusade," he began, knowing he had everyone's attention, "it was to help the people of this city. Those who were disenfranchised by the more fortunate, abused by those who were supposed to help them, protect them. I knew that my methods would not be condoned by many, that I would be criminalized, rightfully or not. Hero, vigilante – I didn't care about what people called me, as long as they could continue to live their lives peacefully."
"When I first heard of your plans, Malcolm Merlyn, I realized that I didn't need to be any of those things to know that what you were doing was wrong, and that someone needed to stop you. I was willing to do what needed to be done, but I knew I couldn't do it alone." At that, the Hood gazed at his compatriots, who all move to stand or float close to him, "Thankfully, I was not the only one who thought the same. I was joined by people who thought the same as me. That, regardless of their extraordinary abilities, wanted to help people any way they could."
"Vixen." The Hood gestured to the mysterious woman, who allowed the faint images of several animals to surround her, only to fade away in wisps of mists.
"The Flash." The former Streak held up his hand, vibrating it and allowing trace amounts of lightning to flicker off him.
"Supergirl." The Girl in Blue gave a small twirl in the sky, releasing a soft gust of wind.
"…And I, Green Arrow, joined together to stop your Undertaking. And now, with our job complete, I have this to say…"
"MALCOLM MERLYN!" He roared. "YOU HAVE FAILED THIS CITY!"
At that, the surrounding crowd lent their voices, a wild and piercing cheer breaking out. Even Quentin couldn't help but give a small smirk.
"Your punishment will not be to face death from my hand, or from their hands." The newly christened Green Arrow continued after the noise died down, indicating his fellow vigilantes. "No, your punishment will be to face the justice of the people you tried to wrong, and to expose your misdeeds to the world. Detective Quentin Lance." He suddenly barked out, and Quentin blinked at being called out. Nonetheless, he stepped forward, in full view of the cameras. Green Arrow marched up to him, holding Merlyn up front, and gave the other man a short nod.
Quentin returned it and took out the spare cuffs he kept in his pocket, thankful for being prepared. "Malcolm Merlyn, you're under arrest for suspicion of obstruction of justice, murder, and terrorism. You have the right to remain silent…" In front of the entire world and to the full approval of the residents of the Glades, Quentin restrained and arrested his now former friend. The people watched him march off with his new arrestee, some of the camera operators and reporters following them while others stayed behind to keep filming the vigilantes.
"People of Starling City – no, people of the world! We are the Justice League! Heroes, vigilantes, criminals, call us whatever you wish. Just know that we will always be here to protect you from evil, wherever it may fester! As long as those like Malcolm Merlyn exist, those who seek to commit injustice; we will always be there to correct it!" With that, Green Arrow held one of his hands upwards, allowing Supergirl to pick him up and fly him away. The Flash followed them, picking Vixen up and speeding them away from the applauding crowd.
As she watched the Justice League go, Laurel Lance felt a smile grace her face.
Next chapter is the last chapter of Arc II, in which we deal with the immediate aftermath. As for this, sorry if the speech sounds a little cheesy. I tried my best to make it sound inspirational, but that's not really my strong suit. As for the names – despite the trio's disdain for how silly they are, they do help to soften their public images until they can firmly establish their hero cred. It's like the Joker – a name like that wouldn't make people fear it by itself. It was his actions that did that.
You'll notice that Oliver disregarded telling his identity to Malcolm, and for good reason. Barry and Kara's respective villains already knew who they were, which is why they didn't bother trying to hide their identities from them – no point. Not to mention, thanks to how dangerous they both were, and the secretiveness of their own plans/identities, they were going nowhere but A.R.G.U.S. lockup. Malcolm, however, doesn't know Oliver's identity and has no reason to believe Oliver is Green Arrow anyway, thanks to Oliver creating the Hood identity months in advance, prior to his arrival, and the lack of Robert's presence on the boat. Plus, he's a public figure who will be getting a public trial. No reason to give him somewhere to leverage and out it.
As for Oliver's assumption that Malcolm wouldn't stop, even for him – the truth of that is ambiguous. Oliver is, naturally, operating under the belief that he is just Malcolm's godson, and not his biological son like Tommy. While Malcolm won't hesitate for Tommy, he will hesitate for Oliver. With Tommy, the most he's guilty of at this point in time is neglect and emotional abuse, and even then, they've made strides in the relationship over the years. With Oliver, however, things are different. Malcolm would still be operating under the emotional shock of learning Oliver is his son. Not to mention, out of his two children, Oliver is the one he has wronged the most, far more so than Tommy. Every misfortune (and there is quite a lot of them) that Oliver has suffered ever since that boat sunk is ultimately Malcolm's fault, as Oliver wouldn't have washed up Lian Yu if it weren't for him. Whether Malcolm would've stopped for him, however, I left unclear. You're welcome to make your own conclusions for that.