Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this.

AN: Thank you for all the great reviews, comments, and kudos on this story. Glad you returned to see what's happened with Roy.

Warning: Possible triggers of mention/threat of rape.

Previously:

"Yesterday's beating was all about teaching young Mr. Harper a lesson. Today's beating is all about teaching your brother a lesson." Slade proceeded to punch Roy several times in the abdomen, accompanied by a grunt from Roy.

Thea alternated trying to keep her eyes closed, not screaming and attempting to stop the maniac in front of her beating up Roy. None of it mattered. Slade continued to punch and kick Roy until the young man was covered in blood and was unconscious.

Thea watched, her eyes wide, holding her breath, and a scream, as Slade finally stopped and bent over Roy, checking his neck for a pulse.

Standing, Slade met Thea's worried eyes with a smile. "Don't worry, Princess, I didn't kill him. Yet."

Thea let out her held breath in a sob. "Can you just tell me why you're doing this? All of this because of some fight between you and my brother?"

"Not just 'some' fight, Ms. Queen. Your brother took away the woman I loved. I promised him, five years ago, I would make him pay. And I intend to make him pay. With everything he holds dear."

"How? By beating up on his family and friends? Just because he doesn't have a girlfriend you can take vengeance upon?"

Slade shook his head. "Oh, you innocent girl. Again, I don't know why the Kid has kept it quiet whatever is between him and Ms. Smoak. But don't worry, my dear. I did indeed take my sweet revenge upon the woman he loves, Ms. Smoak." At Thea showed her confusion, he continued. "I guess you still do not understand." Slade bent down to look Thea in the eye. "I forced myself on her. Because your brother hasn't made a move on her yet. Pity him for that. I'm sure it drove him crazy thinking I had his sweet Felicity first before he did."

Thea pulled away in disgust. She didn't know which feeling was prevalent, fear for her own safety, pity for the poor blonde assistant who didn't deserve such treatment, or disgust with her captor's vulgar behavior and talk.

"You really are one sick bastard, aren't you?"

Slade wiggled his eyebrows, smiling lasciviously. "Would you like to find out?" As Thea, in spite of herself, let out a little scream and shrank back into the chair, Slade let out a loud, raucous laugh as he straightened. "Don't worry, love. I wouldn't do that to you. It isn't my usual cup of tea anyway. I only did it to show up your brother. Taking away his happiness bit by bit." Brushing off his hands, Slade said, "There's really no reason for me to attack you. When I have so many other ways in which to torture your brother."

As he walked away from her and towards the room's exit, Slade said, "Don't miss me too much, for I'm not going to be gone long. I simply have other details to set up in the other room."

Thea's lower lip curled in disgust as the man left. A shiver went down her back as she recalled Slade's face in hers. She didn't know whether she believed his insistence that he wouldn't rape her. Suddenly remembering Roy, her eyes flew to take in her boyfriend's still form. With his vulgar threat, Slade had gotten her mind off of Roy, at least temporarily. Her eyes flew to his chest. She breathed easier when she observed Roy's chest rising and falling without difficulty.

Taking the opportunity, Thea screamed Roy's name several times, only to realize it didn't seem to wake him up. She wished she go to him and see how badly injured he was, but the ropes were binding her to the chair. To get her mind off of Roy, she scanned the room, It was simply a room, four walls, with a window about seven feet from the ground. With one of the chairs, her arms could reach it. But it appeared as though it didn't open. Just their luck. Maybe she could break it. If she got untied first. Not knowing how long before Slade returned, Thea hurriedly turned her attention to trying to get loose from her bonds.

In a shorter amount of time than she would have liked, Slade returned before Thea was able to loosen her bonds at all. Thea knew her face involuntarily showed her disappointment before she remembered to hide it. Slade only laughed. "Sorry to disappoint you, darling, but I've returned. But only for a short time." He walked over to Roy, and, picking him up like he was a sack of flour, threw her boyfriend over his shoulders. Thea didn't know whether to cry out in relief in response to the groan she heard from him or to yell at their abductor for his cruelty towards the wounded man.

"Where are you taking him? What are you going to do?" Thea asked, in spite of herself. She wanted to play it cool with Slade, thinking he would tell her more if she didn't ask him questions, but her fear for Roy and herself overruled common sense.

"Wouldn't you like to know? Don't worry, dear, I wouldn't hurt him further. He'll be in good hands tonight, unlike you." Allowing those words to possibly terrify her, Slade left the room. She almost began to cry when she heard the key turn in the lock, and Slade's heavy footsteps fade away.

As she attempted to loosen her bonds, Thea let her mind wander over her situation. What was he going to do with Roy? It was possible he was going to return Roy to Oliver, since Slade had made it clear he couldn't wait to see Oliver's reaction to Roy being beaten so viciously. Could that be it? Thea could only hope so, since Slade said Roy would be in good hands. Hopefully, he meant out of captivity and amongst friends.

Her thoughts then returned to her own situation. What would he do with her? He did say she wasn't going to be in good hands, tonight. Hopefully it meant he was planning on letting her go sometime soon. Instead of what she had thought, that his hands weren't 'good', and she'd be in them tonight. Literally. She shivered again and turned her attention back to loosening her bonds, instead of thinking about it some more.

~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~

Meanwhile, Oliver had experienced a restless night. His nightmares had been a combination of the ones from the island as well as all sorts of scenarios of being beaten by Slade. After experiencing a repeated cycle of nightmares, he was finally able to rouse himself out of the altered reality at 3 am. He then spent the next several hours attempting to clear his mind and rest, with little success. After tossing and turning for two hours, he gave up, rising from his bed at 5 am, leaving the mansion for the lair shortly after.

Beginning his usual routine of calisthenics to warm up, he lost himself in the routineness of it. He then did a turn on the salmon ladder, and then he took the rest of his aggression out on the fighting dummy. As part of his cool-down, he jumped rope for an indeterminate amount of time as well, to help release tension. Realizing two hours had somehow passed, he decided he better shower and eat breakfast.

Since it was daylight, and it was dealing with 'Oliver Queen' problems, Oliver had decided he and the team not wear their vigilante outfits for their meeting with Slade. Hopefully, he wouldn't live to regret that decision, but he seriously doubted they'd run into anyone he didn't want to show their fighting abilities in front of.

The plan was for Diggle and Sara to be in the van parked a block away, listening via a hidden microphone Oliver would be wearing. If there were trouble, they could respond. Before going to the meeting place, they would drop off Felicity at the counseling center. They would then head directly to the meeting place and get set up.

As he approached the building, everything within Oliver screamed for him not to enter the building. Something seemed off when there weren't any guards outside. Oliver wondered why but figured it might be Slade's way of playing more mind games with him. As if he'd be led into a false sense of security. He opened the door, and finding it unobstructed, walked down the hallway. "All clear for now," he told his team via the hidden microphone.

Turning a corner, Oliver came upon a closed door with a small window at the top of it. He approached it from the side, and planting himself flat against the wall, he slowly peered into the room. He saw one figure lying on the floor, frightfully still, but the small amount of sunlight coming through the dirty windows at the top of the walls showed what looked like blood on the floor beside the figure. Oliver quickly scanned the rest of the room visible from his position, took one last look around him, and barged into the room, his bow with an arrow notched and ready. When no targets appeared, he couldn't hold in his frustration any long, lowering the bow and simply ran to the motionless figure.

It was Roy. Two black eyes, a split lip, bruises covering his face and the part of Roy's upper chest he could see under his half-buttoned shirt. Oliver quickly checked the young man's pulse. It was irregular, and his breathing was shallow, probably indicating several cracked or broken ribs. He scanned the rest of Roy, and noticed one of his legs was bent at an unnatural angle.

Swearing under his breath, Oliver quickly went to Roy's head. "Roy, Roy! Can you hear me? It's Oliver. Please tell me what happened. Tell me where Thea is!"

"'Li-ver? Is that you?" Oliver could tell it took a lot of effort for Roy to speak. "Slade...Thea…."

"What? Did Slade hurt Thea?"

"No…I don't…think…so. He said, he said…I was to suffer…for what…you…did."

Oliver lowered his head and bit back a reply. Focusing on Thea, he asked, "Does he still have Thea?"

"Yes."

Suddenly Oliver heard a cell phone ringing. Noticing a lump in Roy's shirt pocket, he took out Roy's cell phone, which indeed was receiving an incoming call. Opening it, he sighed as he read 'blocked call'. He answered it with a curt hello.

"You receive my gift, I assume?" Slade's voice came across the wires loud and clear.

"Slade, damn you! You didn't have to beat Roy almost to death."

"I better let you go so you can get him to the hospital then…."

"No, Slade, wait! What are you doing? Where is Thea? If you've hurt her…."

"Tsk, tsk Oliver. I wouldn't hurt your darling baby sister. At least, not without you as a witness."

"You said you were going to exchange both of them for me. I am here, why aren't you and Thea?"

"I changed the deal. I need you to meet me tomorrow at the old Anderson building in Pennytown. 9 am."

"Enough, Slade. No more games. I want Thea and I want her now."

"Of course you do. But you wouldn't get her until tomorrow."

"Slade!" Oliver screamed into the phone as a dial tone occurred. He slammed the phone shut. Trying to get his breathing under control, he quickly called 911 to get an ambulance there, then slipped Roy's phone into his pocket for safekeeping.

Diggle and Sara burst in through the same door Oliver had entered. They stopped, taking in the scene, then rushed to Oliver's side. Diggle asked, "Oliver! What the hell is going on?"

Oliver looked up from his crouched position next to Roy. "Slade continues to play his little games. Another way to torture me."

"By almost killing Roy?" Diggle asked, shaking his head in disgust.

"But Oliver….?" Sara begins to ask, "How could Slade almost beat him to death? Why isn't Roy healing?"

The three of them looked down at Roy. Oliver had been so preoccupied with Thea and everything else, that fact hadn't made an impression on his mind. He bent over the young man again.

"Roy! How you're doing? The ambulance is on its way."

"I don't feel…feel so good."

"Yes, I know. Did Slade give you the antidote? Is that why he could beat you up so badly?"

Roy nodded slightly. Oliver looked up at Dig and Sara. "It explains it then."

"We better get him to the hospital. I worry about possible internal injuries to his organs, or cracked ribs. Where's that ambulance?" Dig asked.

To the relief of everyone sirens were heard then. Dig asked, "What's our story for the police and hospital?"

Oliver massaged his forehead with his right hand. "I don't want the police involved with this, but I guess we've no other choice. Roy needs to be hospitalized. There'll be questions." Looking around the building, Oliver said, "Maybe I should say I've been thinking about opening another club, and Roy took it upon himself to scout for new locations."

"And he disturbed a gang of kids in here? Do we really want to go that route?" Sara asked.

"It has to be a group of attackers. No regular human can inflict this much damage alone."

"Roy could say they had masks on and he didn't see who they were," suggested Dig.

"Yes, that sounds good." Oliver stood up, having to get some air. He walked towards the door. "I'll go meet the paramedics and lead them in here."

AN: Yep, another chapter ending. Thank you for reading this, and hope you'll let me know what you thought. If something touched you, or struck you, or anything you want to comment on, sure hope you will take the time to write it. Always appreciated.