Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow.
Highway between Iron Heights and Star City
Night
"Who the hell is Tommy?" Prometheus demanded, blue eyes narrowed as the face of Tommy Merlyn scowled.
Green Arrow had no response, too stunned to think. Prometheus suddenly jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding bullets and an arrow. Prometheus looked up at the higher section of the highway, giving the rest of Team Arrow a good look at him. Spartan nearly dropped his gun, Speedy lowered her bow in shock, and Black Canary gasped.
"Tommy?" Black Canary asked stunned.
Hearing the loud noise of helicopter blades running, Team Arrow looks up to see a chopper coming near them. A sniper then shot at them, forming them to take cover. Green Arrow picked the sword back up and threw it at the chopper but it bounced off the chopper harmlessly. The sniper stopped firing and the chopper went on its way. As Team Arrow emerged unharmed, Green Arrow looked over at Prometheus. But the other archer was gone.
Arrow Lair
Later
"I wasn't the only one who saw that, right? That was Tommy down there?" Laurel asked as she paced back and forth.
"Yeah, it was him alright." Thea said shaken.
"Did you know about this Ollie? Is this Sara all over again?!" Laurel whirled on Oliver.
"I had no idea Laurel. I'm as shocked and confused as you." Oliver sighed as he ran a hand over his face.
"How is it possible that Tommy Merlyn is still alive?" Diggle wondered.
"It's not…or at least it shouldn't be. Tommy had a stick rebar go through his chest, he died right in front of me. Which makes this all the more confusing." Oliver said frustrated.
A beeping from the computer interrupted the discussion. Oliver walked over and frowned at what popped up on the screen.
"Ollie, what is it?" Thea asked.
"It's blueprints…of Malcolm's old house. But there's something strange about them." Oliver noted.
"Define strange?" Laurel asked as she walked up to the computers.
"Look, it's showing an elevator that doesn't show up on any other set of blueprints." Oliver pointed it out.
"Yeah, but why is this popping up?" Diggle wondered.
"Malcolm must have sent it someway. She's bugged us before." Laurel reminded him.
"But why not just come tell us himself?" Diggle wondered.
"Either he can't or he's…" Oliver trailed off as he looked over at Thea.
"Or he's dead, you can say it Ollie." Thea said bluntly.
"Thea-"
"He's dead to me. The moment he took William, he was dead to me. We should focus on what this means." Thea said and the others slowly nodded.
"Let's go check it out." Oliver ordered.
Merlyn mansion
Later
"This place is a dump." Speedy noted as they moved down stairs.
"No one wants the house of a psychotic mass murderer." Black Canary said and Speedy nodded.
"Hey, this is where the elevator should be." Spartan pointed out and the talking stopped.
Green Arrow walked over and started feeling along the wall carefully. Feeling part of the wall that had a different feel to it that the rest, Green Arrow pressed down. It went it and part of the wall opened up to reveal an elevator. Exchanging glances, Team Arrow walked inside. After a short ride, the elevators opened. Team Arrow stepped out if the elevator and looked around as the lights came on.
The room was the size of a large locker room. It had a desk, various monitors, and a glass case with Malcolm's Dark Archer suit surrounded by various weapons.
"Malcolm had his own lair at home." Spartan realized.
Suddenly, the monitors came to life. Team Arrow whirled around as the largest one displayed Malcolm, like a video feed.
"Hello Oliver. If you're seeing this, then I haven't checked the alert that stops the blueprints from being sent to the computer in your lair. Which means I'm most likely dead," Malcolm sighed, "if that is the case, I'd like to take this opportunity to tell the truth."
"Well that's a first." Black Canary muttered.
"Hive has a secret weapon that they haven't used yet: a mercenary named Prometheus. But his true identity is Tommy. After The Undertaking, when I realized Tommy was dead, I took him to a Lazarus Pit I had discovered years earlier, brought him back to life. But he came back…wrong, his mind was damaged. I tried to piece him back together but then…they came," Malcolm ran a hand through his hair before continuing, "Hive knocked me out and took Tommy. I spent months searching for him but by time I found him, they had turned him into a weapon they could use, into Prometheus. Make no mistake Oliver, there is no trace of Tommy left in Prometheus, Tommy died in The Undertaking. Prometheus is a loyal soldier that is completely devoted to Hive and has been trained by Hive's top agents and even by Darhk in the ways of the League. If you hesitate, he will kill you Oliver. But Prometheus is not the worst you will have to deal with."
"What could possibly be worse than this?" Speedy muttered.
"There's a reason that the city is so corrupt: Hive. It's a plan that goes back decades. City officials, lawyers, judges, police, they've all been Hive agents. And they're still among us, hiding in plain sight. Hive has secretly spread corruption throughout the city over the course of forty years to the point that the city is ready to die. And the plan is nearing its final phase," Malcolm sighed as he looked at them grimly, "there will be an activation signal that will tell all hidden Hive agents it's time to act. Hive has a final weapon: Three Arial weapons the size of jets, Hive calls them Helicarriers. Darhk calls them the Genesis fleet. One of them has enough power to wipe out the city in a single blast; three is enough to conquer the world. And Hive is going to start with Star City. The date for the final phase of the plan is May 5th. Good luck Oliver, you'll need it."
The monitors went black as Team Arrow stared in shock. They were too stunned to say anything, too stunned to think. Then, the shock wore off and gave way to horror.
"My god." Speedy said in a barely audible voice.
"This….this can't be happening." Black Canary said.
"Maybe it's not," Spartan said and they all turned to him, "I mean, this is Malcolm Merlyn, the guy who brainwashed Thea into killing Sara, forced Oliver into fighting Ra's al Ghul, kidnapped William, and got in bed with Darhk and Hive. Maybe it's all a lie to distract us from Hive's real plan."
"There's only one way to find out." Green Arrow said.
Star City Cemetery
Later
"I can't believe we're doing this." Thea said as Oliver put the shovel into the ground and removed another pile of dirt.
"Digging up Tommy's grave? Yeah, I know how you feel." Laurel muttered.
"I don't like it either you two but it's the only way we'll know for sure," Oliver said as he stood before the casket, "I'm gonna open this. If Tommy is in there, then it's a lie and it's just someone who looks like Tommy under that mask. But if he's not…"
Oliver trailed off before putting the shovel's end in between the opening. Applying the right pressure, they all heard a loud banging sound, meaning the lock was broken. Oliver leaned down and opened it. Laurel and Thea stepped back, Oliver stood up with a grim look on his face and Diggle gasped.
"I-I don't believe it." Diggle said stunned.
"Believe it John…it's true." Oliver said as he stared at the empty casket.
Hive Headquarters
Same time
"Thank you for breaking me out of prison my friend," Darhk said as he and Prometheus walked down the hall, "without you, I would still be there and our plan would be down the drain. Forty years of work, lost. Now, our plan can move ahead as envisioned."
Prometheus did not respond. Feeling a splitting headache, he closed his eyed. Almost immediately, he was assaulted by memories.
"I was angry and jealous. I am my father." Prometheus told the green archer, who was unmasked.
"No, you're not." The green archer insisted.
"Did you kill him?" Prometheus asked.
"No." The green archer said after pausing.
"Thank you." Prometheus said before everything went black.
Prometheus awoke in a hot body of water. He jumped out of it and was tackled by a man who looked very similar to himself.
"Tommy, Tommy! Calm down, I'm here son." The man told him, though Prometheus didn't know who Tommy was.
Prometheus and the man were in a cabin, Prometheus wrapped in blanket. Suddenly, the doors burst open and men in black uniforms and masks burst in and fired with assault rifles. The man jumped in front of Prometheus, taking the hits and falling to the ground, losing consciousness almost immediately.
Prometheus stood in front of his master, who walked back and forth in front of him.
"In Greek mythology, there a man, Prometheus, who was punished by the gods for giving fire to the humans, "his master told him, "but it was humans who destroyed the world with fire, he just gave it to them. You will be the one to give them fire. From this day forward, you have no home, no friends, no family. Hive is your home and your family. You are Prometheus.
"I have no home, no friends, no family. Hive is my home and my family. I am Prometheus." Prometheus declared.
"Is everything all right my friend?" Darhk asked as Prometheus opened his eyes.
"The green archer….who is he?" Prometheus asked.
"The Green Arrow. He has been a threat to us since he arrived in town, interfering in much of my plans. Thankfully, he hasn't stopped us." Darhk said as he faced Prometheus.
"…he knew me…his team, they knew me to." Prometheus said as he recalled their reactions after he was unmasked.
"No. You bear a striking resemblance to someone they once knew, someone dead. They were shocked, that is all. Now that it has passed, they will kill you on sight. You must kill them first. Do you understand?" Darhk told him.
"Yes master." Prometheus nodded.
Argus base
Later
"Hive has three Helicarriers? Where did they get their hands on those?" Lyla asked as she and Team Arrow walked down the hall.
"You know about Helicarriers?" Diggle demanded.
"They were developed by Argus ten years ago, intended to combat terrorist groups in the event that they tried to take out the capital or do a nine-eleven repeat. Now they're being used as a terrorist's weapon. How on earth did three go missing?" Lyla grumbled.
"How do we stop them?" Oliver asked her.
"We'll get to that but first, there's something, someone, you need to see." Lyla said as she led them into a room.
Team Arrow followed her inside and promptly froze. The room was a private room, with a med table at the center of the room. But it was who was on it that caused them to freeze.
"You four look like you've seen a ghost." Quentin quipped.
So, what do you think? Please leave any thoughts or comments you may have in a review, feedback is greatly appreciated.
