The plan was simple enough, put word out that the drive was out in the open, place slightly lax security around it, and wait. Oliver had gone over the entire plan about five times just to be sure, he remembered what had happened when he'd tried to capture Ra's, and he did not want a similar mistake being made here. He took a breath, then spoke. "Everyone in position?"
"Aye." Roy said.
"Affirmative." Thea answered.
"Confirmed." Mia said.
"Aye." Connor said.
"You know I am." Dinah said at his side.
Oliver smiled. "Overwatch, what's the situation?"
He could hear Chloe hammering away at her keys. "There are ten men with Merlyn and they are all advancing toward the drive and the guards."
"Alright, everybody, you know what to do. Wait for the last of the guards to go down before engaging." Oliver said.
"How much are you paying these guys to stand there and take this?" Connor asked.
Oliver said nothing, there were times when he wondered what had compelled him to take Connor in, and other times where he was quite grateful he had. "Enough." He replied simply. He shared a look with Dinah who smirked. The sound of footsteps echoed through the room, and then there he was. Malcolm Merlyn, the Dark Archer, a friend to his father and mother, and Thea's biological father, Tommy's father. Oliver suppressed the urge to shudder at his friend's memory, Dinah briefly touched his arm, Oliver nodded, they focused back on the room before them.
Ten men came and spread themselves out, all dressed in black, with weapons of various sorts on their person. "How quaint, they've got guards. Queen Consolidated no doubt. Oliver really will never learn." There was a pause, then Merlyn said. "Get it."
The next few moments were excruciating, the guards were private military men, but they were no match for the people Merlyn had, magically enhanced people, though he himself did not use magic. The last man went down in five seconds. "Now." Oliver barked. He got up and fired an arrow, it hit a pole next to one of the men drawing his attention.
"Ah, so there you are." Merlyn said. "Kill him." The men advanced, Oliver ducked a blow, twisted to the side, and then pushed one of his attackers to the side, where Connor blasted him with magic, knocking him unconscious.
"So, you brought the magic user. How quaint." Merlyn said. Another man came at Oliver, but was taken down by Thea, an arrow through the eye. Another man came, this one was big, almost as big as Komodo. Oliver ducked, dodged and then weaved into the man's guard and knocked him out. He turned to block a blow, and knocked the man responsible out. Then he came face to face with Merlyn. "So, we fight again."
Oliver launched himself forward, his fist connecting with Merlyn's jaw. Merlyn's face went back then he snapped forward, and started hitting back. Oliver blocked one blow, got hit in the chest, blocked another blow, hit Merlyn in the neck, blocked a blow, got hit in the face, blocked a blow then pushed forward. Merlyn laughed. "Same routine, Oliver, come now."
"You've got five seconds." Overwatch said.
Oliver grunted, pushing Merlyn further and further back, he needed the man as far away from the centre as possible. Merlyn moved forward swinging, Oliver got knocked to the ground from the force of the blow, but managed to force himself up, just as Mia was knocked down and out. "Corp, now is your chance." Connor stepped forward and said something in the old tongue, which had Merlyn's men all down and bleeding, whilst Merlyn himself was stopped, unable to move.
"So, now that this has happened, what are you going to do?" Merlyn asked.
Oliver didn't do anything, instead he said. "Speedy." Thea came forward and smacked Merlyn, causing his face to move sideways. Thea stepped back and stood next to Roy. Oliver looked at Merlyn and asked. "Why? Why are you back?"
He heard Connor grunt, and turned to see him struck by an arrow. "Corp!" Thea cried out. Merlyn broke free and the fight resumed. This time with a lot more intensity. Oliver got knocked a few times, Connor got up, but couldn't use his powers and instead had to rely on his fists, but he was no match for Merlyn. Within three bouts, Connor was down, bleeding badly.
"Green Arrow, you need to move to the right and then hit him. he's favouring his left." Chloe said over the comms.
Roy drew an arrow and unleashed it, only for it to be knocked down by Merlyn's sword. Another arrow, the same thing happened. "Arsenal, pull back." Oliver said. Roy did as commanded, and Oliver advanced, bow drawn, arrow knocked. "What do you want?" He demanded.
"You're going to have to defeat me to find that out." Merlyn replied.
"Fine." Oliver answered, unleashing arrow after arrow at Merlyn, one or two of them were cut down, but the rest hit him, piercing skin, reducing him to a bloodstained mess. He wouldn't die though, no Malcolm Merlyn was immortal. Or so he claimed. After the twentieth arrow, Merlyn threw down his weapon.
"Fine, I'm beaten."
Oliver stopped and asked again. "Why are you back?"
Connor and Mia were up, Roy and Thea were at his side, Dinah also though she was nursing a slight wound to her throat. Merlyn said nothing for a time, then he said. "The drive was here, I knew it was here, I came for it."
"You're lying." Thea said.
"Good." Merlyn said laughing. "At least my lessons weren't in vain."
"Why are you here?" Oliver demanded.
"Because I am not a fool." Merlyn said.
"What do you mean?" Oliver asked.
"Lois Lane is dead. Superman was there when she died, and now he is not. I don't give a rat's arse about who he is, but I do know that now she's dead, he won't be the same." Merlyn said.
"And this prompted you to return to Star City, why?" Thea asked.
"Because there is something happening in the world at large, and it will change everything." Merlyn answered.
"What does that mean?" Connor asked.
"It means that with Lois Lane dead, Superman missing, and the world still reeling from the fact that Kenneth Braverman was killed before a trial, things are not as they used to be. Superman's actions have consequences, and now that he has killed and prevented the trial taking place, things will get even darker. There are forces at work here that are beyond even your comprehension, Oliver, or that of the man bat." Merlyn answered.
"Stop speaking in riddles, and just give us a straight answer." Dinah snarled. "Superman did something terrible and he will face up for that, but that and the death of Lois Lane is not enough for someone like you to come here, and fall for a trap so obvious that even a fool could see it."
"Unless you were always planning on being caught." Roy said.
"Good to know someone within this little group has brains." Merlyn said.
"You wanted to be captured, so that you would have an easy out. Who are you running from Merlyn?" Oliver demanded.
Merlyn snorted. "Who do you think? Darhk and I have committed all sorts of crimes during our years alive on this planet, but even we were not foolish enough to damage our reputations to such a great extent, hence why that drive was created. But recently Damian has changed, it seems he has decided that he would rather play the fool than be smart."
"Why, what's he done, has he gone back to Ra's?" Oliver asked, if that was the case then things were about to get a lot more difficult.
Merlyn laughed. "Oh heavens no, we all know how that would end. No, Ra's and Damian still hate one another. Damian did a lot of travelling whilst I was busy, and it seems he has found someone new to serve. Someone much more powerful than Ra's, and much more powerful than that Apokolips general."
Oliver didn't like the sound of this. "Who?"
"Mallus, the being so powerful that he terrified Darkseid, and the New Gods. Only one person was able to stand against him, and that was his own father." Merlyn said.
"Mallus, if he's so powerful why has no one heard of him?" Connor demanded.
"Because his name was removed from most of the texts on the times of the gods. But Damian found something, something that referred to him and he took it from where he found it. I took it from him, to study, and what I found terrified me." Merlyn said.
"And this thing, where is it now?" Oliver asked.
"It is somewhere safe. Damian won't be able to find it. Nor will you." Merlyn replied.
"So you came here to what, hide? From Darhk, from this Mallus fellow. If so, we're sorry but you can't stay." Dinah said.
"Don't be foolish, we all know that should Darhk come here, I am the only one who can stop him. That's not to mention what Ra's has been doing." Merlyn said.
"What about Ra's?" Oliver asked.
"He has made an alliance with someone, or something. The same thing that was spoken of when last you met him. He has gone mad and made the alliance with the thing that will take control of our world. That is why I came here. I came to warn you, Oliver. The thing you fought as a young man, that thing is back. It is back and is waiting. It will come, and with Superman hiding, the League will need all the help it can get." Merlyn said.
"It can't be back." Oliver answered. "We destroyed it."
"I have heard it is back, or perhaps the thing you faced was another version of it. but it is coming, and it will be here sooner than you think." Merlyn said.
Oliver bit down on the urge to yell, he knew what that thing was, and he feared it. "Connor, Mia keep an eye on Merlyn, we're going back to the cave."
"You're not serious?! You're taking him to the cave?" Connor asked outraged.
Oliver looked at Merlyn as he replied. "He's been there before, he will remain there." He walked away, Dinah following him.
"Do you think he's telling the truth?" Dinah asked.
Oliver sighed. "I do not know. He's lied before, but I don't think he would lie about something like this."
"And could that thing really be back?" Dinah asked.
"I don't know." Oliver said simply.
They arrived back in the Arrow Cave shortly afterwards, Merlyn put behind bars, Connor and Mia had their wounds seen to, and Roy and Dinah talked about something or the other. Oliver sat at the main desk, thinking. If the thing was back, then they would need Clark without question, and if he wasn't then perhaps Merlyn might finally get the death he craved. But this Mallus fellow, that was also troubling.
"You want to know who Mallus is?" Chloe asked, sitting down next to him.
"Yes." Oliver agreed.
"I perused through some archives and found nothing, I only found something in an old text from around the time of Ancient India, before the Vedas. It mentions a being who was worshipped as the God of Life and Death, and that he terrified all who saw him. There was an epic battle, and then he was cast aside, by someone. A being who was half God and half man." Chloe said.
Oliver looked at her. "I see."
"You know what that means." Chloe said.
"I need to talk to Bruce." Oliver said, getting up.
Before he could get very far, Chloe grabbed his hand. "You need to talk to Clark."
Oliver said nothing, he merely kept moving, and then got to the phone and dialled Bruce's number. "Bruce, get the league together, we need to talk."