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 team, together with Kendra and Carter and Barry, Felicity, Caitlin, Cisco, Ray, Steve, Logan and Steele, Fitz and Jemma got out of the vans as they entered the farm.
"Why a farmhouse?" Jemma asked.
"We need a secure location." Oliver explained.
"What's wrong with S.T.A.R. Labs?" Caitlin asked.
"Asides from the revolving door that basically says 'Bad guys, welcome to S.T.A.R. Labs'?" Matt asked sarcastically.
"Remind me what happened to your old lair and the lair before that." Caitlin shot back.
"The only reason Savage didn't kill us was because he sensed that Kendra had emerged as Hawkgirl." Steve explained as they entered the farmhouse. "It would be smarter to keep our distance from the town."
"We need to find a way to neutralize Savage's advantage." Oliver suggested as he put down on the table his bag. Then he turned to Barry, who just entered. "Barry, you're late."
"Sorry, turns out it's not easy to find the ass end of nowhere." Barry said sarcastically.
"No kidding." Cisco snorted. "The roaming charges alone are gonna bankrupt me."
"A farmhouse hideout. Hope that's not gonna be a recurring theme." Steve quipped.
"We were discussing how to take away Savage's newfound power." Oliver informed Barry.
"Some kind of magic cane or whatever." Logan noted.
"The staff of Horus." Carter corrected.
"Yeah, it's protected by some kind of energy field, I couldn't lay a finger on it." Barry noted.
"What if you wear mittens next time?" Felicity suggested.
"What if we tried making some insulated gauntlets?" Caitlin suggested.
Cisco nodded in realization. "Oh, yeah, the magnetic shielding could disrupt…"
"…staff's magnetic polarity." Fitz and Jemma agreed simultaneously.
"Well, while the geek squad works, we need to know everything there is to know about him." Oliver said.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. might have something on him, they'll send it over soon." Steve said.
"We don't know much about him, either." Steele nodded.
"I'll see if I can track him down." Logan said as he went out.
"I'll check with A.R.G.U.S. See what they have on him." Diggle said as he pulled out his phone.
"Ray and I will check the police reports." Sara said.
"As for your new power…" Matt said, referring to Kendra. "We should learn as much as we can about it."
"My power?" Kendra asked as Oliver nodded.
"Might give us an advantage." Oliver said.
"Whatever you do, don't let him train you." Barry said quickly, earning a glare from Oliver. "I'm sorry but when it rains, I can still feel where you shot me with your arrows."
"I'll handle the training then." Carter offered.
Oliver walked out as Sara noticed the look in his eyes. "Ollie, are you alright?"
"Yeah, there's just something I need to take a look into." Oliver said.
Samantha Clayton's House
Oliver drove down to follow Samantha as her son entered the car and she turned around and stared at him shortly before recognizing him. "Oliver?"
"Hi." Oliver smiled.
"What are you doing here?" She rushed to him.
"Sorry to drop by unannounced but I was in town the other day and I saw you with your son…"
"William."
"William? That's a nice name." Oliver chuckled.
"Oliver, what are you doing at my house?" Samantha asked.
"I saw you and William together and he's what… nine? And you know, we had a thing ten years ago and—"
"OK, let me stop you right there." Samantha interrupted him. "William isn't yours." Oliver nodded. "I told you I lost our baby, Oliver and I met William's father two months after moving to Central City."
"Mom, we'll miss the game!" William called out.
Samantha sighed as she turned to her car. "I'm sorry, I have to go." The boy's cap slipped out of her hand as Oliver picked it up and brushed off the dirt.
"Wish William luck for me, will you?" Oliver asked.
"I will." Samantha nodded as she entered her car and Oliver looked at the hair he had picked from the hat as he could not shake off the dreadful thought from his mind ever since he saw Samantha and William in Jitters the other day.
Central City
"Where do you think he went?" Steve asked as he scoured the city with Steele and Logan.
"If I know Savage, he'll be somewhere remote, where he can watch the city from afar." Steele said as they spotted a symbol with some Egyptian writings on a nearby building.
"Déjà vu, Cap?" Steele asked.
"That's what he did the last time he tried to draw us out." Steve nodded.
"Yeah, back in Salerno. Killed thousands. I remember that one." Logan nodded.
"Thank you for joining me." Savage said as Captain America, Steele, Logan, Green Arrow, Daredevil and the Flash entered.
"What do you want?" Green Arrow asked bluntly.
"What all living things want, not to die." Savage replied.
"I thought that wasn't a problem for you." The Flash said sarcastically.
"Only if I take the life force from Prince Khufu and priestess Chay-Ara."
"Kendra and Carter." The Flash corrected.
"The three of us are locked in a vicious circle played out over thousands of years. None of your concern." Savage warned.
"It is, when you kill innocent people." Captain America said.
Savage laughed. "Always have to be trying to stop me, isn't that right, Captain?"
Green Arrow fired an arrow into Savage's shoulder who grunted briefly and pulled out the arrow with little to no struggle or signs of pain, much to the Flash's shock.
"Robin of Locksley. I taught him how to use a bow and he taught me how to not feel pain." He approached both vigilantes, sneering at the Flash. "The only way for you and yours to live through this is to render onto me what is mine.
Turn over Prince Khufu and Princess Chay-Ara within 24 hours, or I will lay waste to this city, killing everyone that you hold dear." Then he turned to the Green Arrow. "And after that, I will travel to your home, and do the same thing there."
"All right, I'm just curious. Did you rehearse that in the mirror this morning or all this just off the cuff?" The Flash asked as Savage laughed before walking away.
"Why would you risk the lives of your friends and family for two strangers? Two-hundred and six times I have killed them." Savage then turned to them again. "What hubris possesses you to make you think you can prevent me from doing so again?"
"Not hubris. Hope." The Flash corrected.
"Something you'd never understand." Captain America said.
"I came to this meeting out of curiosity, it is now sated." Savage said. "I came to this meeting out of curiosity, it is now sated. Bring Khufu and Chay-Ara to Jurgens Industrial in 24 hours or I will see you dead and buried under the bodies of your loved ones." He walked away and threw the arrow on the floor.
"We're not giving up Kendra and Carter." Green Arrow decided.
"Definitely not. But beating him might not be possible." Steele said. "Even H.I.V.E. and Hydra didn't want to get in his way."
They later returned to the hideout, filling everyone in.
"Twenty-four hours."
"Until what?" Kendra asked.
"Until we are supposed to hand you and Carter over to Savage or…"
"Savage lays waste to Central City." Carter realized as Oliver nodded grimly. "We've been through this before. 1887, the Huang He floods, Savage killed nearly two million people to get to us. And he did."
"We've beaten someone, who thought was immortal before. We can stop him too." Jemma said.
"Jemma's right, we weren't helping you then, we are now." Oliver nodded. "We've got twenty-four hours to come up with a plan."
"No, this is insane!" Kendra disagreed. "My life isn't worth millions of people's lives!" She walked out.
"Kendra!" Carter called out. "I'll talk to her."
"I got this." Cisco volunteered but Carter stepped up.
"I said I'll talk to her!"
Cisco glared at Carter, annoyed as he left the house. "Here's an idea: why don't we just toss him over to Savage!"
"I'm not sure if he's actually helping either." Oliver admitted. "I think you need to talk to her later, too." He turned to Cisco, who laughed humorlessly.
"That guy is a jerk but destiny says that they're supposed to be together and…"
"What Oliver is trying to say is that you know Kendra better than he does." Matt said reasonably. "If anyone can reach her, it is you."
Cisco nodded. "Fine, I'll try if this angel…" He glanced at Carter. "Can't fix her broken wings." After a 10 second argument between Kendra and Carter, he intervened.
Fitz then went out and a moment returned with a package with the information on Vandal Savage.
"Alright, there it is." Jemma said as she handed Oliver the paper with DNA results. "I did a comparison of the hair strand and the blood sample. Mind telling me how is it related to Damien Darhk?"
Oliver stared for a moment at the paper in shock as the realization dawned onto him before composing himself. "Thanks for this, it's a big help."
Oliver walked away.
Samantha Clayton's House
Samantha was reading the newspapers on the front porch while her son was playing with the action figures before she noticed Oliver standing in front of the house, seething, on his face pure anger as she ordered William to go inside while realizing that Oliver knew.
"Can we talk?"
"I don't know what are you trying to accomplish here, Oliver…"
"I know, Samantha." Oliver said bluntly. "I know that William is my son."
"OK…"
"Why didn't you tell me?" He demanded with a forced calm tone.
"Just keep your voice down." Samantha implored. "Your mother told me not to."
"What?" Oliver asked, anger burning up slowly.
"Your mother offered me a million dollars if I told you that I miscarried." She explained.
"My mother was a complicated person but she would never do that." Oliver said in denial.
Samantha let Oliver in as he saw the photos of her and William happy before she handed him an uncashed check signed by Moira Queen. "I never cashed it. I didn't need her money to know I didn't want her anywhere near my child."
"Or me." Oliver realized, his heart being stabbed by an icy dagger and newfound wave of fury that he did not feel even when he had found out about Thea being Malcolm's daughter.
"So what, he could be just like his dad? Punching out paparazzi and getting young girls knocked up?" Samantha argued, walking into the kitchen.
"Samantha, I'm not that person anymore." Oliver reasoned.
"I know." She nodded as she closed the fridge. "The island, the Undertaking, your mother almost being murdered…
You're a different person now but can you really tell me that your life is any less crazy? Can you honestly tell me William isn't better off with your world kept away from his?"
"No, you're right. I'm being selfish." He admitted. "But I want to get an opportunity my son and I think a young boy deserves and opportunity to get to know his father."
"He's happy, he's well adjusted. I don't want to risk that he will get sucked into your orbit." Samantha noted as she put the dishes into the sink. "That means that he can't know you're his father. And nobody else can. I don't care if that sounds harsh, I'm his mother and I will do whatever, whatever I feel I have to do to protect him."
"I understand that." Oliver nodded. "But… don't ask me to lie to Sara. Please. I… I've experienced for myself, what happens, when you keep a secret something from them, that is very deeply personal and it costs greatly. Please. Not to her of all people. Or Laurel or my friends. Lying is what has destroyed my relationship with them before… and don't ask me to go through this again."
Samantha sighed, knowing he had a point and seeing the guilt in his eyes and feeling guilty about sleeping with him, when he was in relationship with Laurel back then.
"Alright. You may tell Laurel and Sara and the people you trust. But nobody else. Please." Samantha nodded, giving in.
Later, the hideout
"We've gone over the gauntlets and I think we know why they didn't work." Jemma said.
"They're missing a critical element." Cisco explained as he entered with Kendra.
"How do you know?" Diggle asked.
"Because I remembered." Kendra explained. "I remembered how Savage killed us the first time, back in Egypt."
"I've never been able to remember our first death." Carter noted.
"These sky rocks, meteors, they fell and they completely destroyed the royal palace." Kendra said.
"Makes sense. Meteorites would fall down all the time in Middle Kingdom Egypt." Jemma said.
"Like that calamity that we saw in the document." Fitz realized.
"Which helps us how exactly?" Steele asked, not following.
"The meteors, they had a glow above them and Savage's staff had two gemstones with the exact same glow." Kendra explained.
"Which means that the gemstones might be of the same element as the meteorites." Barry realized.
"Egyptians could have used those rocks in craftsmanship." Ray noted.
"And the minerals glow in proximity to each other." Caitlin added.
"Like Sankara Stones." Cisco added, snapping his fingers.
"Indiana Jones? Seriously?" Steve raised his brows, just recently catching up with the modern references.
"Seen stranger things." Logan shrugged.
"Two pieces of the same meteorite, like the Nth metal, that is the key to counteracting the staff." Cisco said enthusiastically as Felicity approached the laptop.
"There's a sample from the Middle Kingdom at the Keystone City Museum…"
Barry quickly sped out and returned with a small rock in his hand.
"…of History." Felicity finished, a bit freaked out.
"Hopefully I got the right one." Barry said, handing Cisco the rock.
"We can synthesize a compatible isotope out of it and coat the gauntlets with it." Cisco said.
"Do it, we're running out of time." Oliver ordered as Cisco, Felicity, Ray, Klein, Jemma and Fitz went to work.
Jurgens Industrial
"Wonderful to see you again my love." Savage told Kendra as she and Carter were in chains, dressed as Hawkman and Hawkgirl.
"I will never be your love." Kendra told him.
"I know. It always makes this…easier." Savage said as he pulled out a dagger. "Chay-Ara…" He eyed Kendra with lust. "Parting is such a sweet sorrow."
Suddenly, the Green Arrow fired the arrow, shooting the restraints Kendra and Carter had as the latter engaged Savage who knocked him on the floor.
"Now, Kendra!" Green Arrow yelled as Kendra extended her wings and flew at Savage who fell down as a black van drove in and Green Arrow and the Flash dodged the staff's blast and Savage turned around, firing at the van as Captain America, Steele, Logan, Atom, Spartan and Daredevil went out.
Green Arrow, Steele, Atom and Spartan fired at Savage, while Captain America threw his shield but Savage created an energy shield with his staff, defending himself before he fired another energy blast as they all dodged.
They all tried to engage Savage in close combat but he took them all down effortlessly with his thousands of years of experience before the Flash snatched the staff.
"Get clear!" The Flash yelled as everyone except for the archer fled the warehouse. "The gauntlets are working!"
Green Arrow helped the Flash hold the staff and putting all their strength into it, they evaporated Savage into a pile of ashes as the staff vanished in a glow of blue light.
"Did we do it? Is he gone?" Kendra asked.
"Looks like it." Spartan said.
Later, City Hall, Star City
"Wow. I can't believe your Mom would do something like this." Sara said.
"Thea's parentage I could understand but this…" Oliver took a breath as he entered Moira's office.
"Oliver. Is everything alright?" Moira asked.
Oliver took a breath, trying to rein in his temper. "Were you ever going to tell me?"
"About what?" Moira asked, not understanding.
"About my child." Oliver said and Moira paled. "I know what you did, Mom. Samantha told me. She told me everything. How could you not tell me?!" The last sentence came out louder than he had intended as Oliver took a breath, trying to restrain himself.
"Oliver, I… I swear, it was for your own good… I was trying to protect you…" Moira tried but Oliver scoffed.
"Protect me? By sending away the mother of my child and making her lie to me that she had lost my baby?" Oliver demanded.
"Oliver, I know you're mad and I'm not asking for your forgiveness but I just want you to understand." Moira pleaded, holding his hand.
"Understand what? That you didn't think I was ready to be a father because back then I was a stupid, reckless, irresponsible playboy, you decide to send away Samantha with my baby and brush it all away like any other mess I had made?" Oliver scoffed before sighing. "I get why you didn't want to tell me back then but you could have told me after the Undertaking. You promised that there would be no more secrets between us. And I'm a different man now. Maybe I could have done better now. So, why didn't you come clean after the jury pardoned you? Or about Malcolm being Thea's father?" The color drained from Moira's face as Oliver glared.
"Oliver, I… please, believe me, it was all for your own good." Moira pleaded.
"Maybe." Oliver scoffed. "I can understand, why you would ask Samantha to send William away. But you robbed me of being there for my own son for the first nine years of his life and him of growing up with a father and you lied to me and Thea about her true parenthood when she deserved that much for nineteen years. That I can't forgive. Ever."
Moira's heart shattered, the relationship she had been rebuilding with Oliver since the Siege, once again, starting to crumble down as Oliver turned around before giving her one more unforgiving glance as he walked away as Moira stared, her mouth open but no sound came out, too shocked and heartbroken to say anything.
"Oliver…" Matt paused, not sure what to say. "I—"
"I know you both want to help but… there's nothing you can say that can make this any easier." Oliver said.
Being tactful, Sara and Matt kept their thoughts to themselves as they accompanied Oliver.
"Are you mad?" Oliver asked Sara.
"Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't knock up anyone else." Sara said. "At least we've all come a long way. It's OK, Ollie. Really. We'll figure out how things are gonna go down with William."
Frankly, I never liked how Samantha had the stick up her ass in the episode regarding forcing Oliver to lie about William, since that was mainly to make her unlikable and Felicity more likable, * scoffs *. Her reasons were explained a bit more in 4x15 and 5x23 but too little, too late.
And the whole time travel thing probably could have been avoided, if Felicity had not freaked out on Oliver regarding William, although I heard an argument that Oliver had lost enough focus already with the shock from dealing with the revelation, although with Cap and the rest around, no time travelling happened.
BTW, Malcolm taking Savage's ashes at the end of the crossover makes no sense, considering that in Pilot of LoT Rip said that only Kendra and Carter could deliver the killing blow to Savage and that Savage could regenerate even from a single cell.
I considered involving Rip and the Legends but considering that LoT has become too dull and stupid, IMO, I have little desire to involve them and Aragorn II Elessar also did not mention the Legends at the epilogue of his story "The Devil and the Arrow". But the Legends still might make an appearance in my version of "Invasion" in the sequel or when I get to "Avengers: Age of Ultron" with Rip recruiting a little different team roster but in here, Sara and Ray are obviously sticking around.
Hope I handled the confrontation with Moira well.
Also, something I just felt like sharing, today I officially graduated from college with Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance and Accounting, so that made my day. Now, just to look for a decent job as an accountant to continue my journey throughout life.
So, what do you guys think?
Please review and let me know if you have been enjoying this and want for me to continue.