Chapter 12

STAR CITY

9:58 PM

As a certain great philosopher had put it, it was déjà vu all over again. The difference being that this time, Mulder would be a lot closer to the action.

After Kara had brought the cell phone back to the DEO, Winn had started going through the last five calls. It would've been nice if any of them had led to Amanda Waller, but even if they had she was smart enough to be at a completely different base of operations by now. More importantly, they had pinned down a couple of calls from a location on the outskirts of the city. Which made sense. If they were going to make the trade, William had to be close in order for it to happen.

John and Rene had stormed the location, but it was already deserted with not so much as a pipe in the foredeck. No doubt Waller had ordered William moved the moment that her previous contacts had been burned. Felicity and Winn had then started doing satellite imaging to start tracking the vehicles that had been there in the hours previous. To their surprise, the vehicles they had found were not leaving Star City, but actually back to it. With William in tow.

"I don't get this at all," Scully said. "Waller knows this maneuver has failed. Why is she still playing this out?"

"Because she thinks I'm soft," Oliver told them.

"Oliver Queen, soft. That doesn't even come close to what I've seen." Quentin told them.

"I care about people." Oliver said. "I've spent a lot of the last four years shutting people out, but she knows there are still people that matter to me. To her that's a weakness, and any weakness can be exploited."

"They always seem to think that way," Mulder told them. "Even Smokey cared about people. Of course, his version of caring meant shooting his son in the chest and spending the next two years turning him into a lab rat. If you can think that way, any one is fair game to you."

"Didn't Supergirl's message pretty much preclude any possibility of negotiation?" Felicity asked.

"For her and the DEO. I'm a separate case. And there's no way she's going to risk the same move twice." Oliver said. "She still thinks she can win. How I don't know."

And then Mulder had his idea. He knew it was dangerous, but he also knew it was the only play that might elicit a response. "We give her what she wants." He turned to Felicity. "I want you to send a message to Amanda Waller."

"And how exactly do I do that?"

"Lyla told us she has several back channels throughout ARGUS. I want you to send a message on all of them. I have a feeling she's still monitoring them."

It took Felicity about four minutes to figure out and find what Lyla had been talking about. "All right. What are you going to say to her?"

"This is Fox Mulder. I suggest you listen very carefully to what I'm about to say."

"Oliver Queen will move heaven and earth to get his son back. What he will not do is give in to your demands. He thinks he can beat you at your own game. The thing is he hasn't been playing it nearly as long as you or me or Scully have. We all know that people like you have every step planned out ten moves in advance with backup plans for your backup plans. You'll get what you want one way or another. The difference is he will lose his son.

As you are aware, Scully and I had a child many years ago, a boy also named William, also about the same age. When he was very young, we did something unforgivable to protect him from the evils of the world. Because that's what parents do. Our son is lost to us, and it pains us every day. Oliver Queen is capable of many things, but losing his son maybe the one blow he can never recover from. And the world needs Oliver Queen far more than it needs two middle-aged FBI agents.

So, we're going to take the decision out of his hands. We will be waiting on the bridge leading out of Star City at 11:00 P.M. tonight. We will be alone and unaccompanied. When William Clayton is returned, we will surrender to your people. You can do your worst to us; I can assure you, it can't possibly be as bad as the things our government has already done in the name of protecting itself. This conspiracy didn't begin with us, and it sure as hell won't end with our deaths, but no one else is going to die because of us. "

"Be seeing you."

If nothing else, Mulder and Scully still believed that a person's word meant something, and so here they were, five minutes from the deadline. Perhaps in more ways than one.

"You really think that she'll be here?" Scully asked him.

"Amanda Waller, no. But someone representing her will be, and that person will have the boy." He just couldn't use the name William in any other context, even now.

"So which scenario is it going to be?" Scully asked. "You for the alien fetus, or me for your sister? Because I have to tell you, neither scenario ends well."

"They worked out fine for us. The people making the trade, not so much." Mulder admitted.

"I think we've burned through most of our nine lives already," Scully reminded him. "I'm a little surprised you let me come on this trade."

"The days of my ditching you are over," Mulder said with a small smile. "Given how badly it turned out for one of us every time it happened before, I think we have to play this out as far as we can."

"They could just kill us here, and dump our bodies overboard," Scully reminded us.

"That's probably the most pleasant outcome for us."

"You know, you seem awfully cheerful considering that we're probably facing the end right now." Scully said slowly. "Makes me wonder if you've always had this death wish about you."

"I remember what Bruckman told me all those years ago," Mulder said with a smile. "It may be a more embarrassing way to die, but somehow I don't think the conspiracy has that planned out for me. As long as they don't come out here with a necktie and this month's centerfold I think I'm good."

Scully shook her head. "You really think he was telling the truth about you? You know that what he said about me is impossible."

"Maybe. But how many times did you turn to it for comfort when you were undergoing treatment?" Mulder reminded her.

"You really think that's how it's going to happen? That our lives are preordained?" Scully said. "Bruckman killed himself because he knew he killed himself. But he died not knowing that your life could be saved."

"That's not why he died," Mulder said firmly. "He died because he was an old man who was tired of seeing nothing but how other people were going to die. You were right about that much. Thinking he knew how the future was going to turn out took all the joy out of his life. There are some things we are better off not knowing."

And at that moment, high beams appeared at the other end of the bridge.

"I don't know how this'll turn out," Mulder said calmly. "But as long as you're here, I have nothing to fear."

"Oh, I'd think you'd know better than that by now, Mulder," Scully said fondly.

The car stopped about twenty feet away from them. Despite everything that had happened, Mulder half expected one of the passengers to come out and light a cigarette. That didn't happen, but it was no one he recognized either.

"I'm guessing you speak for Amanda Waller," Mulder said slowly.

"She had no intention of coming to this meeting," the man said. "To be blunt, she didn't believe you'd be dumb enough to show yourself."

"She's read the files. She knew damn well what kind of idiots we were." Mulder reached for his weapon.

"Oliver Queen actually let you come here by yourselves," the man said.

"He's just being a good parent," Scully said quietly. "Something that I know for certain no one on your side believes in."

"Lower your weapons."

"Did you bring Oliver's son?" Mulder demanded. "Because if you didn't, there's nothing stopping me from shooting you right here and walking away."

"I've read your file too, Agent Mulder. You are many things, but a cold-blooded killer isn't one of them."

"Since I'm not sold that you have blood at all, I think I'd sleep just fine putting one between your eyes." Mulder said calmly. "And Scully's a better shot that I am."

"Did you bring William Clayton or not?" Scully repeated.

There was another long pause. The man made a gesture to someone inside the car.

A boy came out, and it clearly looked like William. But Scully and Mulder had done this kind of dance too many times to be fooled by look-alikes.

"William, walk out to the center of the bridge." Scully said softly.

William hesitated for a moment. It was clear that he had not been told any details about this exchange.

"It's all right, son." Mulder said in the same kind of parental tone.

William slowly walked towards Mulder and Scully. Scully walked towards him, and they met in the middle. She took out a pin, and poked William's left hand. He winced, and there was a dot of red.

"It's him." Scully said.

"Where's my father?" William seemed remarkably calm considering he'd been held prisoner for the last day or so. Maybe he really was the Arrow's son.

"He's on the other side. Just start walking." Mulder said.

"Don't trust them," William whispered to Scully.

"Don't worry. We don't."

William started moving slowly. By the time he passed Mulder, he'd started walking towards the car. He knew that there was a trap in store.

So he wasn't that shocked that by the time he was within a foot of the car, Tobias Church emerged from the back seat.

"Just as I thought," Mulder said to himself. "Not an original thought in the Syndicate's body."

"You gonna do this easy or hard?" Church asked.

"Does that mean you tear my head off or just throw our bodies over the bridge?" Mulder asked. "Because if I have a choice in the matter…"

Church actually sighed. "You know, for all the trouble you're causing I'd figure you'd at least take this seriously."

Mulder nodded. Then he started running.

To the side of the bridge.

This actually flummoxed Church and the driver for a moment. By the time Church started running after him, Mulder had made it to the curb.

And jumped over it.

"Guess he didn't like the alternatives," Church said slowly.

"I didn't hear a splash, "the driver said.

Church ran over to where Mulder had jumped off. Somehow, he wasn't quite surprised that when he got there, Mulder was slowly hovering back to the top – carried by Supergirl, of course.

"What can I say? Beautiful women have always been drawn to me," Mulder said smugly.

"Trust me, you're not my type," Supergirl said gently.

"We've been through this before," Church said. "Twice, in fact. And I'm pretty sure that you remember how it ended for you both times."

"Maybe." Supergirl said softly. "But I'm not the magician in this particular trick. I'm the assistant."

By now, Church and the others looked around and saw that Scully and Clayton had made it to the other side of the bridge.

"Now I'm pretty sure your bosses will be really pissed when they find out you've lost what they have rightfully stolen," Mulder reminded him.

Church actually had to think a moment about his course of action before he nodded, and started running after Scully.

The other man started moving towards the car.

"Uh, uh." By now, Mulder was back on solid ground and had his gun trained on the driver. "The last few days have been really stressful. So, please give me a reason to shoot you."

Church was as fast as he'd ever been. But he still hadn't caught up as to just how well this had been planned. Because by the time he reached the other side of the bridge, Scully and William had disappeared, and a very pissed off Arrow was on the other side.

"You're lucky that you didn't lay a hand on my son," he snarled in a voice that was at least an octave deeper than his usual tone.

Church didn't show any level of concern. "This is gonna be fun," he told him. "'Cause I still haven't gotten a chance to properly thank for messing with my plans for this city."

"And you never will," Oliver shot one of the arrows that Felicity and Curtis had prepared dead center.

In the few seconds before the magnetite began to take its full effect on Church, the former kingpin really seemed to think he still had a chance. He was actually about to pull the arrow out before the same thing that had happened to Shannon McMahon began to happen on a much stronger scale on him.

Normally, it took a minute for the full effects of the ore to be felt. Church had just absorbed five times the usual dosage right into his bloodstream. In a matter of seconds, it seemed all of his pigmentation had been blanched out of him. He held his head in his hands. And then, he more or less exploded. That was the only word that fit, even though there were no slabs of skin or shards of bone anywhere around.

"Whoa," William walked out of the shadows. "What was that?"

"Depends on who you ask," Oliver said in his normal voice.

"Do you do things like that all the time?"

"Recently? Yes." Oliver said.

William took this in. "That was awesome!"

Despite everything that had happened the past day, Oliver couldn't help but take a little joy in this.

"Mulder's got the driver locked up," By now, Supergirl had reached the other end of the bridge.

William looked at his father. "You know Supergirl too?"

"Past few days, yes."

"Are all your friends' superheroes?" William asked.

"Well, technically speaking, I have superpowers and The Flash has powers, but your father doesn't," Kara said, bending down. "You know what that means?"

William shook his head.

"It means your father is the bravest and the boldest of us all," Kara said quietly.

Oliver had never been prouder to know Kara Danvers than that moment. "We need to call your mother," he said softly.

"Would you mind terribly if we made this call?" Scully said softly. "When you work for the Bureau, most of the times you make calls are to deliver bad news. I don't think Mulder and I really made a pleasant phone call in our entire career. Just once, I'd like to make a call and give good news for a change."

Oliver knew there was more behind Scully's motivation than that, but it's not like he was in any position to call them on it. He'd been an absentee father his entire life.

By now Mulder had made it to the other side of the bridge. "Thanks for going along with this," he told them.

"Why? Your plan worked perfectly," Oliver said.

"You've read the files. You know how rarely something we planned out actually worked according to plan?" Scully asked.

"Almost every time I make a plan it goes haywire. You think I'm in any position to protest?" Oliver countered.

Mulder shook his head. "I guess we were meant to work together."

"That said, could I have a few minutes alone with your prisoner?" Oliver asked.

"Much as I'd personally like to see you work out your aggressions on this guy, it would be a waste of time," Mulder pointed out. "I know the way these operations work. He might be able to give you a couple of mid-level guys, but they'll be nothing here to connect us to Amanda Waller or anyone else in the Syndicate."

"I know. I can't even lie to you and say it would make me feel better," Oliver admitted in a lower voice. He turned to Kara. "Have you talked with Cat Grant?"

Kara knew what this was about. "We've been working on it. An hour ago, Lena Luthor sent a message to her mother, saying that she was willing to sign on with Cadmus. Lillian Luthor hasn't reached out yet; no doubt the League of Sinister Women is deciding what their next move will be."

A shadow crossed over Oliver's face. "Have the police reported the arrest of the driver and Church's death yet?" he asked Mulder.

"Usual bureaucracy. It's going to take a couple of hours to go public." Mulder seemed to be reading Oliver's thoughts. "You serious?"

"If I were the bloodthirsty vigilante half the world thinks I am – hell, if this had happened when I was still just the Hood – I wouldn't hesitate before considering it," Oliver said doubtfully. "From the most bloodthirsty perspective, it is the easiest way to assure we get what we need. But I'm beyond the point where I can think of my family and friends as bait."

"Twenty years ago, a woman claiming to be my sister emerged. In order to obtain her, the alien I called the Bounty Hunter kidnapped Scully and demanded my sister in exchange for Scully's life." Mulder said quietly. "The trade took place on a bridge much like this one. I did everything I could to game the system and make sure everyone came out alive. It didn't work. The fact that the woman wasn't actually my sister didn't make it any less horrific. Or the fact that I had to tell my parents – who'd had less than a day to accept the fact that their daughter was back with them – was gone again."

"If this is supposed to buck me up…" Oliver began.

"We ultimately do this job to protect the people we love," Mulder told him. "We may say it's for some higher ideal or a greater good, but ultimately that's why we do it. I didn't realize that until I started working with Scully. Of course, they may tell you that they're fighting for their own reasons. So, speaking from the perspective of a man who lost everything but the woman he loved, all I can say is, do what you think is right…for them."

Oliver paused. Then he looked at Scully. "Let her tell his mother that William is alive and unharmed. Then I want you tell the authorities to hold off on making their report for a few more hours. And then bring that driver over. Tell him what he needs to do if he wants to stay whole."

NATIONAL CITY

4:15 AM

Despite everything that had happened, Lena Luthor was positive that her mother had some sixth sense that would allow her to know when she was being played, even by her own daughter. Lex had always been good at ferreting out liars, and Lena knew very well the apple didn't fall from this particular tree.

What's more, her mother was always extraordinary when it came to her own survival. The plan that the DEO had put in place was a good one, but Lena knew that Lillian had people in every branch of the government. The fact that Cat Grant said there were none only meant that they hadn't found them yet, something that even her friend seems willing to admit. The question was whether she would put her own wellbeing over the idea of her daughter's fealty.

She'd chosen a place for them to meet, but she had insisted that she go in with no backup or any technological presence. She had a card to play – she was a Luthor, after all – but she had no intention of giving her mother anything resembling an edge.

Headlights appeared on the horizon. Even now, she wasn't entirely sure that there wasn't going to be someone waiting with a gun. Would she arrange all this just to kill her only child? Lena had a feeling there were far worse sins in her family tree.

She only breathed the slightest bit easier when her mother got out of the car. "You're driving yourself these days?" she said slowly.

"Good help is getting harder and harder to find," Lillian said.

"Is that why you agreed to meet with me?"

"I was surprised to hear about your apparent change of heart," her mother admitted.

"I changed my mind. We're Luthors; we don't have hearts."

"I never said that Lena. I merely said that indulging it too often was a sign of weakness. We can't afford to be weak, especially now."

Lena shook her head. "I've always admired your flexibility, but this is contorted even for us. One minute, you're railing against the dangers of alien life; and in the next breath, you're collaborating with them to subjugate this planet."

"There's always been something critical to the Luthor creed: power. " Lillian was lecturing her daughter, as if she and Lex hadn't heard some variation on this a hundred times before growing up. "At the moment, the best course towards power is survival. The people who ran this organization, this 'Syndicate', never seemed to have a true plan. Did they want to save their families? Did they want to save the world? I think by the end, all they wanted was to save themselves. They're all gone now, so it's time for new blood to step in and do what needs to be done."

"I've read the files, Mother."

"Those files are only one version of the story. Told by people who never got even a glimpse of the full picture." Lillian reminded her. "They think if they gather enough forces, enough 'heroes" – again Lena could almost see the quotation marks – "they can stop what's coming. But no one person – not even those led by Supergirl – can stop it."

"Not even a Luthor?"

"You flatter me. There are things that can be done. But you can't stop an invasion with vigilantes or metahumans or, hell, even other aliens. You need resources and governments and the will to do what it is necessary. "

This was a wrinkle that Cat Grant had left out, maybe it was because this was her mother's version of events. Luthors could always be persuasive. "And you and your new allies have found a way to fight back?"

"I've read Mulder's files. If it weren't for his misguided idealism, he would've been a worthy ally. But he believes exposure and the truth are the answers to the problem when all they do is make the fight even harder." There was a tone of something resembling admiration in her mother's tone. "He thinks that because he and his allies are in the public eye, he's made himself invincible. All he's done is paint a bigger target on his back."

If Mulder had actually been there, he wouldn't have been surprised by the lines that Lillian Luthor was using to defend herself – he'd heard variations on the theme from the old Syndicate for years. Had Lena, who'd heard her mother use similar lines to degrade her rivals for her entire life, known that she would've been severely disappointed – Luthors were supposed to be creative with their justifications for what they did. The fact that was using lines that had been parroted for decades wouldn't have gone over well.

"We'll play their game for awhile. And when we know their secrets, we will grind them into the dirt."

"To save the world or to rule it by ourselves?" Lena asked.

"Milton was wrong. It's always better to rule than to serve, no matter the climate." Lillian actually smiled a little. "I preferred Twain. You go to heaven for the weather, but hell for the company."

Lena had heard enough. She twisted a ring. "Well, I'm glad you feel that way, mother. Because you will be meeting a lot of interesting people. Maybe some of them will be your equal – psychologically, at least."

Something changed in Lillian's expression. She must've known who was coming even before the sirens started to blare. "I guess you really did pick a side."

"You've always misjudged me. Being a Luthor doesn't divorce you from being a human being."

Lillian didn't bother to run. "You really think they'll be able to hold me?"

"No. But I'll be intrigued to see what excuse you use to get out of it." Lena said smugly. "Look on the bright side. Even if things go wrong, you can always room with Lex."

MAYORS OFFICE OF STAR CITY

11:57 A.M.

Even for a city where the underworld and costumed vigilante seemed to consume every news cycle, no one was quite sure what Oliver Queen was going to say now. There had been a lot going on in the city and in the world at large, and no one knew who exactly what he was going to say next.

"Good afternoon," Oliver said. "Understandably, half the country wants to know about the statements that have been made in the press by my friend Lyla Diggle. So let's get to the guts of it. For the last four years, there has been much speculation in the media that I have withheld details as to what happened in the five years between the sinking of the Queen's Gambit and my recovery. "

The room went dead still.

"Much of that speculation has been correct."

There was a roar and fingers readied to start sending out bulletins.

"Two years after being shipwrecked on the island of Lian Yu, I managed to escape, only to find myself in the clutches of Amanda Waller. She threatened to harm my remaining family unless I agreed to work with her on several illegal black ops." Oliver paused. "These ops took place on foreign soil, involved incidents of torture, bioengineering, the kidnapping and murder of foreign nationals, intervening in mercenary activities, and crimes to numerous to mention her. All were done under Waller's supervision and in many cases were initiated by her."

Another long roar.

"I accept responsibility for my part in these actions, but let me be perfectly clear. All I wanted from the moment Waller took me into custody was to return home to my family and try to begin my life again. Waller knew this, and used it against me." Oliver was actually surprised to find that the façade he'd put up was on the verge of cracking. "Amanda Waller, as the world knows by now, has always operated under the belief that the end always justified the means. The question as to whether the end itself was worth pursuing in the first place never seemed to cross her mind. It has always struck me as horrific the idea that people in our government would think we needed a person like Amanda Waller in power."

There was now a storm of questions from the press. "Isn't it convenient to lay your actions on a dead woman?" a reporter from Gotham asked.

"I don't find anything convenient about the situation I find myself in." Oliver took a deep breath. "And as for laying it on a dead woman, it came as a shock to me when I learnt from the FBI earlier this week that Amanda Waller is still alive."

The sound wasn't quite as loud as it had been when Lyla had evoked Oliver's name at the hearing yesterday morning, but it was close.

And the roar wasn't just there. It was all over the world, in smoke filled rooms where the shadow government had been making its plans for decades. If this had been the only story to come out of Star City, it would've been enough to send all of the scrambling.

What they didn't know was that an hour later, Fox Mulder was going to deliver another gut punch.

STAR CITY PD

1:01 pm

After the bombshells that Oliver Queen had dropped just an hour before, everybody figured the joint press conference that the police and the FBI were going to give about the dispatching of the people for the attacks on Star City were going to come as a distinct anticlimax.

They couldn't have been more wrong.

Quentin Lance, who'd been noticeably absent from the Mayor's press conference, handled himself well when he related that the man responsible had been dispatched and there was, at the moment, no threat to Star City. He was actually ready for the first question.

"Deputy Mayor Lance, is there any connection between the attacks of the past few days to Amanda Waller?"

Quentin paused. "I believe I'll let Special Agent Mulder handle this one." He stepped back. "Knock 'em dead," he whispered.

Mulder just stood for a moment. "I realize that I was rather hostile to most of you a few days ago," he said slowly. "But you've all read my files over the last few months. Trust has never been a big part of my belief system. In fact, I've been reminded throughout my career to trust no one. And that credo was proven accurate, time after time after time. But if this is going to work, I have trust some people. So I'm going to give you part of the truth."

There was a small crowd, but it was capable of making some noise.

"My team and I came to Star City to do something that would've been considered madness even a few months ago. We knew you see, that many of the so-called vigilantes that have been protecting the streets of the city faced a threat that they couldn't withstand." He took a deep breath. "People within our government have been studying these so-called threats since they began to emerge. Some are mere number-crunchers, trying to calculate just how much danger these people are actually putting their cities in."

Nice one, Mulder, Quentin thought.

"Others believe they should be simply removed from the picture entirely, whether through exposure or out and out murder." Mulder took a deep breath. "They want heroes like the Green Arrow and Supergirl to be erased. I came to warn them of these threats. And since a lot of them can't be found on in the National City 411, I'm going to get the message out through you."

He had them now.

"This story actually predates the arrival of these heroes." Here we go, Mulder thought to himself. "Many years ago, an organization know by the name of the Millennium Group existed. Some of you who worked the police beat in some cities may have even met them. They were former law enforcement, US Marshals, retired detectives, and even a few ex-FBI field agents. But even the people who worked with them had a lot of trouble considering their actions trustworthy." Mulder paused. "With good reason. In May of 1998, there was a release of a chemical agent known as the blood plague released on the West Coast. Nearly a hundred people died with no known terrorist group taking credit for the attack."

"Are you saying this Millennium group was responsible for the attack?" one brave reporter asked.

"I'm afraid it's worse than that. The plan was to mass produce it and release it worldwide. Only members of the group would be given the vaccine for this disease. We are fortunate that it never got beyond Seattle and Portland."

"I was in the Bureau at the time the Millennium Group was active," Mulder continued. "I never had time to take a look into their actions, which I will admit might have crossed the X-Files desks on numerous occasions. By the time I learned of their activities, it was 2000, and the group had officially dissolved. "He paused. "Or so the world thought."

There was a low rumble. "Agent Mulder, are you saying that the Millennium Group is still active?"

"To be honest, I didn't know," Mulder admitted. "This is one of the few organizations I never had cause to investigate. Fortunately, now working for the Bureau is someone who is qualified. And we're fortunate to have her with us today."

He hesitated. "We have more in common than I would've thought. She just graduated Quantico and is considered a very promising profiler. Some have called her Spooky as well. When I asked her if she was willing to come her today, and answer questions about this group, I honestly didn't think she'd say yes. I'm grateful she did. Here to continue the briefing is Special Agent Jordan Black."

A woman who couldn't be much older than twenty-five walked out on to the podium. The people who had been working the police beat today were sure as hell getting their money's worth.

"Good afternoon," Jordan Black began. "I realize many of you will be doing Google searches the second this briefing is over. So I'll save you the trouble. My father is Frank Black, he was a former profiler, and for two years he consulted with the Millennium Group and after the outbreak in Seattle" she hesitated "which my mother was one of the victims of, he tried to bring them down. He didn't want me to join the Bureau, and he's certainly not wild about be openly moving in opposition of this organization, but he knows too much to try and stop me. We've both lost too much to just stand back and do nothing."

"The Millennium Group has been shadowed in mystery for awhile, but at their core, they are much like the Syndicate that Agent Mulder and Scully have spent so much trying to bring down. They are an insidious organization that wants power and control. The last known sighting of the Group was on December 31, 1999. However, they've merely been underground all that time, wrapping their tentacles into powerful organization around the world. They've never been that involved in politics to be a shadow government, but they have interests in making sure the world works a certain way."

"Agent Black, is the Millennium Group behind this conspiracy?"

Jordan gave a small smile that reminded Mulder of the girl he'd seen briefly sixteen years ago. "The Millennium Group's symbol is that of a snake swallowing its tail, which is appropriate. Often it can be hard to find where it begins and where other organizations end. What we do know is that there are certain members of the group have been deep within law enforcement agencies for awhile, and it is very clear that some of them are still there, waiting for their orders."

"Not that I mind this mess being planted at someone else's door, but is there any real connection between this group and our current problem?" Lance whispered to Mulder.

"This plague that was supposed to wipe out the planet, it was originally developed in laboratories in the former Soviet Union," Mulder said. "Very early in her career, Amanda Waller spent time in the bioterrorism department in Eastern Europe. She was in Vladivostok the day before large doses of the blood plague were stolen."

"Could be a coincidence."

"She also did a stint in Quantico. One of her instructors was a man named Peter Watts. Jordan Black confirmed that he was one of their higher echelon members until May of 1999, when he mysteriously disappeared after a home invasion." Mulder told him. "I don't believe in coincidences that big."

Mulder and Lance backed up a little. "How much of this did you know before you came here?" Quentin asked.

"Knew, nothing. Scully and I have been suspicious ever since Waller showed up on that video." Mulder told him. "Frank Black understandably wasn't wild about helping us, but he did owe use one. He went back through some of his old files, and found some contacts linking to her."

"You ready for what comes next?" Quentin asked.

"Are you ready?" Mulder asked. "This isn't just one evil man or organization; this will be the force of everything the shadow government has. And I don't believe for a second that exposure or even arrest will slow the conspiracy down. This plan has been in motion for decades, and they don't intend to let little details like costumed heroes or even rogue aliens stop them. This is going take everything we can throw at them."

"In that case, you came to the right city," Quentin said. "He may deny it, but the Green Arrow has been a source of inspiration to millions for the last few years. He will do everything in his power to keep the people he loves safe, and if that threat happens to be extraterrestrial, he'll find a way to adapt to it. He's always said to save this city he has to become something more. He's already done that, he's just going to have to modify it to save the world."

Mulder considered this. "Then we'd better be ready," he finally said. "Because even after everything that's happened already, this is where the fight truly begins."