Disclaimer: I do not own anything in Arrowverse or Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC Comics, Marvel Comics or any characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises or anything else you may recognize.
The Green Arrow, Spartan, Daredevil and the Canary were chasing the Ghosts in the lumber mill as Spartan jumped on a log but was forced to roll down as the Ghosts opened fire at him before Spartan drew his gun as the Ghosts took cover.
Spartan looked around before one of the Ghosts knocked him down and aimed his rifle at Spartan but seemed to hesitate to shoot him before the Ghost ran, much to Spartan's confusion.
"Is everything OK, John?" Klein asked.
"Where did he go, Rising Tide?" Spartan said.
"Can't see him. Green Arrow and Daredevil are on their way though." Klein said as Green Arrow drove on bike, with Daredevil holding onto him, chasing the Ghost as the Canary jumped from one pile of logs to another. The Ghost threw a grenade, causing for them to fall down as it exploded.
"Where did he go?" Green Arrow demanded.
"I got him!" Daredevil jumped on a log and knocked the Ghost down and removed the cyanide capsule from his jaw.
"You're not checking out without a few questions first." Diggle growled as he neared the Ghost and grabbed him. "Where can I find H.I.V.E.? Who's behind the Ghosts? Answer me!"
"Get back!" Daredevil ordered, pulling Diggle away as the Ghost pulled out a Taser, incapacitating Diggle and knocking him and Matt down.
"You OK?" Oliver asked as he jumped down, helping them both back up on their feet.
"I told you Darhk shouldn't be underestimated." Sara said as they all sighed in frustration.
Later, the Lair
"A cyanide capsule in tooth?" Klein asked as Diggle showed him the tooth.
"Can you find anything from it?" Oliver asked.
"Honestly, not really, I mean this isn't exactly my area of expertise but I might know someone, who can help. They used to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. Good people. I trust them." Klein said.
"Call them." Matt ordered.
Later, A.R.G.U.S.
"What is it, Lyla?" Diggle asked as he entered her office and she showed him a file.
"I found the woman, who hired Lawton to kill your brother." Lyla said. "Mina Fayad. TSA flagged her last night arriving to Star City."
The Lair
"We're here." A young man with a thick Scottish accent said as he and a girl with long brunette hair and an English accent entered.
"Hey, Cameron." Jemma Simmons said as she and Leo Fitz hugged Klein.
"How you're doing, guys?" Klein smiled.
"It's been… bloody. Bloody messy." Fitz said.
"What happened?" Klein asked. "I mean, I know there are some… leadership issues in S.H.I.E.L.D. and something about metahuman community?"
"Inhuman actually." Jemma corrected.
"Oliver Queen, Matthew Murdock, this is Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons. Good people." Klein introduced them.
"Great fan." Fitz said as he and Jemma shook their hands with Matt and Oliver.
"So, what's this problem you need help with?"
"This." Klein said as he showed them the tooth with a cyanide capsule under the microscope as Jemma took a closer look.
"What is that?" Jemma said.
"That's what we've been hoping you could tell us. It's one of the cyanide capsules that H.I.V.E. uses." Oliver said.
"Apparently they took a page from Hydra's playbook." Jemma pointed out as Oliver, Matt and Klein nodded.
"It looks like that tooth's DNA has half of the genetic markers than it should have." Fitz said as he turned to the computer.
"Which shouldn't be possible, right?" Oliver nodded.
"He should be a pile of goo by now." Jemma conceded as an alert pinged.
"What is that?" Fitz asked.
"Robbery in a car shop on Litchfield Avenue." Klein read.
"Isn't that a job for the police?" Jemma questioned.
"This is your first time in Star City, isn't it?" Oliver questioned. "We got this."
Oliver, Sara and Matt left.
Later, Star City
Daredevil, the Canary and Green Arrow entered before Daredevil sensed someone behind them and they both turned around as Green Arrow notched an arrow.
"Get on the ground." Green Arrow said as the man with tattooed playing cards on his arms and another man, a tall muscular man with short haircut, who was unshaved, smiled.
Daredevil wasn't sure what but there was something familiar about him.
"Thanks for coming, by the way." The tattooed man said. "Miss Fayad wasn't sure it would work but I knew neither of you could turn down a good old-fashioned robbery." He peeled off a playing card from the tattoo in his arm and threw it as the Green Arrow fired. The playing card sliced through the arrow as both projectiles fell down.
"This is gonna be fun." The other man smiled as he pulled out a gun and fired, causing for Green Arrow, the Canary and Daredevil to take cover. Daredevil threw a billy club as the other man dodged, while Green Arrow switched covers as the tattooed man threw the cards at the archer and destroyed car windows.
Daredevil engaged the man and blocked as the man attempted to punch and kick him. Daredevil hit him in the face with his billy club and kicked him as the man staggered but he grabbed Daredevil's leg and threw him down as Daredevil recognized the fighting style. He was S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra.
"You ready to call this yet?" The metahuman called out as the Green Arrow and the Canary were hiding behind a shelf of tools. Green Arrow went out and fired an arrow as the metahuman dodged. The arrow hit a light as it exploded in sparks.
Daredevil blocked the man's punches but the man headbutted Daredevil and groaned upon hitting the metal plate on Daredevil's mask.
"Metal plates." Daredevil smirked, kicking the man back and hitting him in the leg, causing for him to kneel. The man picked a wrench and Daredevil used his billy clubs to block as the man attacked him with the wrench as he and Daredevil exchanged strikes, attempting to land a hit. The man certainly was skilled, that much Matt could tell.
"Is that all you got?" The man taunted.
Green Arrow and the Canary rushed at the metahuman and knocked him down. "Now you can call it." Green Arrow said.
"The game's not over yet." The metahuman sneered, reaching for his back and throwing more cards that the Green Arrow deflected with his bow and the Canary blocked them with her batons.
The metahuman threw more cards at Daredevil, who rolled away as he sensed them before the man pulled out his gun. Daredevil rolled back as the man fired and threw another billy club, disarming the man. The man used his wrench and swung. Daredevil dodged but the wrench hit a metal stand and the clanging overloaded Daredevil's enhanced hearing, dazing him as the man knocked him down.
Realizing they were in over their heads, Green Arrow threw a flashbang pellet that exploded, blinding both hitmen as Green Arrow, the Canary and Daredevil retreated.
Later, the Lair
"Can't believe a bloody metahuman did this." Fitz said as he and Jemma tended to Matt's, Sara's and Oliver's injuries.
"Who was able to pull out playing cards from his arm." Sara nodded.
"We called your friend Cisco. He says we should call him "Double Down". I wonder where he comes up with these nicknames." Klein quipped.
"And there was another hitman but his training was… familiar. A rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. operative, I think." Matt said.
"How did he look like?" Jemma asked.
"Tall, muscular, dark hair, unshaved chin. He was… relentless, that much I can tell." Oliver said and Fitz and Jemma looked at each other, staring.
"You don't think that…" Jemma trailed off.
"Oh, bollocks." Fitz said.
"You know him?" Matt asked, sensing how agitated they were before Fitz pulled out a photo on the screen.
"That's him." Oliver nodded.
"Oh, no." Jemma sighed as Fitz and Klein groaned.
"He used to work with us until it turned out he was actually Hydra. His name is Grant Ward. He was a good friend, or at least pretended to be until Hydra was outed. After that, he became a freelancer and then he betrayed us and tried to kill us, many times he almost succeeded." Fitz said.
"Last month, he kidnapped Bobbi and tortured her and almost killed her. We tried to catch him but he escaped." Jemma said. "Don't underestimate him, Ward is very dangerous."
"Looks like I missed a lot, what happened?" Diggle asked.
"Where have you been?" Oliver asked, a little annoyed.
"I was looking into a lead on H.I.V.E. I found the woman that hired Deadshot to kill my brother but she got away." Diggle said and Oliver, Sara and Matt nodded, calming down a bit.
"Short version, apparently, someone hired a meta and a former Hydra operative to take us out." Matt summed up.
"And you think they're connected to Darhk?" Diggle asked.
"I'm not sure." Oliver said. "The man said that he was hired by Mina Fayad."
Diggle's eyes widened.
Later, Diggle's apartment
Diggle pulled out a notebook and showed it to Matt, Sara and Oliver. "This is everything I've collected on H.I.V.E. in the past two years." Then he showed Oliver a photo. "That woman hired Lawton to kill my brother and I'm betting she hired those hitmen to take you both out. Her name is Mina Fayad."
"When did you find out?" Oliver asked.
"Today. I was following her tonight." Diggle said as Oliver's phone rang as he picked it up.
"Yeah, Fitz?"
Later
Green Arrow, the Canary, Daredevil and Spartan entered an area to see Fayad dead, with a card in her mouth, restrained to the chair as Diggle sighed in frustration.
"I'm sorry, John." Oliver said.
"Don't be. It's my fault, not yours. I should've told you about this, when I got the lead. If I had, maybe she would be alive enough to give me some answers." Diggle said.
"You'll get them." Sara assured him.
"Matt, I haven't been able to get answers for two years now!" Diggle exploded.
"Because you've been doing it alone. Now you have us to help. Us, Klein, Nat and anyone else." Oliver said.
Palmer Tech
Fitz, Jemma and Klein were working on the card but were forced to dodge as Double Down and Ward showed up.
"Fitz. Simmons. Long time, no see." Ward smirked.
"First one to tell us where to find the Green Arrow and Daredevil, gets to live." Double Down said.
"As if we'd trust you again!" Jemma sneered as Fitz, Jemma and Klein started to run, while Ward fired from his gun and Double Down threw cards again. Fitz pulled out an ICER gun and fired as Ward and Double Down took cover before Fitz, Jemma and Klein entered the secret elevator to the lair and took cover.
"What are we going to do?" Klein wondered.
"Can you use a gun?" Jemma asked as she handed Klein an ICER.
"Well, I used it only in shooting range!" Klein argued.
Double Down entered but Fitz shot him down, knocking him out, while Ward took cover.
"Well, not as cozy as S.H.I.E.L.D. but it works." Ward said. "I guess the offer is off the table. For what it's worth, I'm truly sorry things will go down this way. Fitz. Simmons. Come on out and I'll make it painless."
"Go to hell, Ward!" Jemma shouted and Fitz and Klein went out from the cover, trying to shoot Ward, who took cover.
"Hey!" Diggle yelled as he, Sara, Matt and Oliver entered. Ward pulled out a gun but Oliver threw a fletchette, disarming Ward, while Matt knocked him out.
"You guys OK?" Oliver asked and Klein, Fitz and Jemma nodded.
Later, A.R.G.U.S.
"Here they'll be much safer than in S.H.I.E.L.D." Lyla assured Oliver, Diggle and Matt as Double Down and Ward were put in their cells. "We'll see if we can make them talk about H.I.V.E. and Hydra."
"Ward is trained to endure torture. He won't break easily." Jemma pointed out.
"Well, it looks like Darhk isn't messing around." Oliver said.
Later
"You ready?" Steve asked as Steele put on his parachute.
"You and me, Cap. Like old times." Steele said as he, Logan and Steve jumped out from the plane.
Now, I considered whether I would make the first fight with Double Down the same as in the show and I wasn't sure whether Ward could beat Matt. My guess is Ward would eventually get beaten but Sara, Matt and Oliver already were busy with Double Down, so hope my explanation makes sense.
For the sake of the story, Oliver, Matt and Diggle came in earlier to help the geek squad.
The next chapter is going to be more of a filler with Steve, John Steele and Logan and I'm skipping the rogue cops plot and since Sara never died and wasn't brought back by the pit, Constantine is not going to appear. Yet. I have plans for him later.
So, what do you guys think?
Please review and let me know if you have been enjoying this and want for me to continue.