Smallville: 2012

. . .

Game of Peril

. . .

The Warehouse was in a particularly dilapidated area of Suicide Slums, there wasn't a single in tact window in the building and from the looks of it nobody had used it in a long time. Dinah had spotted Oliver's calling cards a long way before she found the end of the trail in Suicide Slums, discarded arrows, unconscious guards with symptoms that tallied with having been shocked or knocked out by brute force – he clearly had been serious about the boxing-glove arrows that he'd been developing for a while. She stalked along the roofs of the neighbouring Warehouses keeping an eye on the shadow just a few steps ahead of her before she finally drew level with the same Warehouse as Oliver. He was using binoculars to scan the surrounding horizon as if there might be a huge arrow in the sky pointing down at the ground labelled evil base here, making their job easy.

She approached slowly and drew up just short of him, he was angry – she could tell because he cursed under his breath as soon as he realized she was there, he turned around and she could see he was a mixture of angry and deeply upset, the same little tears were at the edge of his eyes and though not quite shaking with anger he intermittently flexed and clenched his fists as though he wanted to punch someone in the face.

"How long have you known about Chloe?" he probed – so that was the issue then, the disappearance of Chloe – she should've tracked him down and told him sooner. Oliver didn't seem willing to let her process it though, he pressed on, "Because you see I'm sure you didn't know beforehand – because if you did you'd have told me wouldn't you? You wouldn't have let me call Watchtower and here the tone call out and have no answer would you? Because you're my friend Dinah, because I trust you."

Dinah frowned but prepared a Canary cry in case she needed to stop Oliver from actually physically attacking her, "Oliver look – I wanted to tell you while you were focused, I knew what it would do to you, I was trying to protect you-"

"Protect me?" he scoffed, "If you wanted to protect me Dinah you'd have given me the full information as soon as you had it – how many of the others are gone? Did you know about Victor too or the Wonder Twins? Or John Jones? You and Chloe were covering this up weren't you, trying to convince us all that the walls and caving in all around us and leaving us completely defenceless."

"Don't try and turn this around on me," Dinah said, hearing her voice rise defensively, "if Chloe was hiding this then she clearly had an interim plan or she was trying to protect her like I was, don't let your stupid pride get in the way of us finding where the others are being held Oliver – someone is behind this and unless we get our friends out of wherever they're being held then bad things are going to happen, very bad things and we can't stop them if we're divided."

Oliver seemed to debate what she was saying a moment.

"Fine – but I can't work with you, I can't work with anyone I can't trust and right now I can't trust anyway." Oliver fired his grapple onto one of the neighbouring and using his bow as a swing swooped away into the darkening night. Dinah looked after him for a while – he needed to get out of this rut, if he was going solo then he was going to get himself captured or worse – and then it would just be her, Clark and the new girl trying to protect the entire city – and that just wasn't feasible. She turned around pulling out her cell but it had it knocked flying by a kick, by a furry leg. She looked at what she was facing and frowned.

"I recognize you, your that Doctor who couldn't get anyone to listen to her so experimented on herself," she taunted, assuming a defensive position and preparing a Canary cry, "you're Doctor Minerva aren't you? The one who turned herself into a glorified pussycat." She was baiting the woman mostly because she wasn't entirely sure of her abilities – she was fury all over and resembled a humanoid feline, complete with the tan fur and jet black spots, and a completely lithe body – presumably if she was a Cheetah she had a speed ability over Dinah and that reduced the effectiveness of the Canary cry – she would have to get hand-to-hand with this one.

"And I know who you are," she said, in the moonlight Dinah saw a glint of something – of claws she assessed, "though nobody's called me Doctor Minerva in a long time, I prefer Cheetah now, not that you need know that, I'm about to beat you in a Duel." She grinned and lunged toward Dinah, her claws out stretched like a feral beast. Dinah had a worrying image of a Gazelle being attacked by the Lion on the Savannah the moment before she deflected the incoming blow. She ducked and struck out, hitting the woman in the chest – she was feline in body more than human, though she might have maintained the human form the ferocity of her attacks and her overall appearance, down to the small angular ears reflected those of a Cheetah – like her preferred identity. Dinah ducked back now being pressed back and cursed under her breath as she moved a fraction of a second too slowly to miss a swipe from the claws.

. . .

When you worked at the Daily Planet you learned quite quickly when something was fishy and when something wasn't and this warehouse wreaked like a fish-market left out in the sun, it wasn't in Suicide Slums which was the only reason that Lois had driven down the driveway and not turned back – she'd come here to get a big scoop that would make her look good at the Planet and partly because she wanted to know if it related to the disappearances, and though she was slightly unnerved by the appearance there was also a part of her that recognized the sense in it. Nobody would look for a government agent here and it was the perfect low-key location for a meeting like this. She sucked up the courage and ducked out of her car, crossing the carpark and avoiding the widening puddles – the drizzle was getting heavier and harder now: a storm was brewing.

She heaved open one of the doors – they were the heavy industrial kind that only burly men were meant to handle but unfortunately Lois had not been gifted with the same muscles. She strolled into the centre of the vast place – it must have been a vehicle factory of some type at one point or another, the space was too huge for it to have been used for anything else. She strolled along the inside of it, the wooden floor was wearing away in places – the whole building was probably crawling with termites she reflected and then after reaching the midpoint she turned on her heel and stopped dead and then wasn't sure whether to frown or burst out laughing.

A golden-haired Vixen was standing a few paces behind her, wearing a toga complemented by golden wrist gauntlets and a tiara of some type – the entire affair seemed slightly ridiculous considering how opulent the outfit was and how completely it contrasted with the run-down interior of the place. However Lois saw something that sent her fear spiking, the woman had a sword sheathed at her hip and her hand was hovering above it – as though she might pull it from the sheath and run towards Lois, with it raised above her head screaming and then strike her down in cold blood. Lois reflected that scaring herself more was probably not the best course of action.

"Who are you?" the woman demanded, relaxing her hover above the words slightly, "Where is Diana?" She'd dropped the Prince and the tone suggested that the woman – whoever she was – knew Diana well, perhaps she came from the same place.

"I might have taken the call," Lois admitted, bracing herself to try and sprint past the woman and escape, she could see the door, she might be able to outrun the woman – she should have chosen more sensible footwear, her boots were not exactly designed for practicality, "because you said you had information on a conspiracy…in the government – my friends are being taken by those people," there was no sense in hiding information if it offset the women, "I just wanted to find out what I could about them, I'll just go." She said making to walk past the woman but she was having none of it, hovering her hand above her sword again.

"Who are you?" the woman demanded advancing upon her, backing Lois toward the opposite end of the Warehouse from the door. She had not drawn the sword but Lois felt on edge and strangely it was because of the woman's slight physique, it was a deception – somehow Lois understood that she was far more powerful than she appeared, why hadn't she told Clark where she was going? Her pride really got her into trouble a lot of the time.

"I'm…I'm Lois Lane," she said nervously, hearing her voice jump a little, "look…I'm…I'm friends with Diana – I could get her to come her to meet with you."

"You act as if that's a possibility," the woman declared, advancing more swiftly now, "when in fact Lois Lane it is an inevitability," she was now about five metres away from Lois and she was radiating menace into the atmosphere around her, "you know you could run," she suggested playfully, "it would make things more fun for me." Lois didn't care what happened – she had to try, she bolted on the second to last word and sprinted past the woman, she could hear her coming after her a nanosecond after she moved and then somehow she was in front of her. She outstretched a fist and slammed Lois squarely in the chest, hurling her backward across the Warehouse. Lois blinked a few times, clutching at her chest as it screamed out in her head in agony. "I didn't introduce myself properly – I believe that is the custom in this world, I am Aresia, Diana has committed a great crime against Themyscira in coming to the world of man and I am here to rectify it, and you will help me, contact Diana." Lois produced her cell and scrolled through her contacts hitting Diana's number and dialling it; Aresia snatched it out of her hands and allowed it to ring a few times.

"Hello sister," she declared, Lois wasn't entirely sure whether that was code for sister as in friends or sister as in actual blood relation, "I have your friend captive," she held the phone out to Lois and kicked her in the stomach prompting a yell, "meet me at the address I'm about to send you in your armour, alone – bring anyone else and the girl dies." She handed it back to Lois momentarily and then began typing out an address into it using the keyboard, and then handing it back to her captive to send it before crushing it underneath her foot.

. . .

He swivelled around in the chair, his starkly pale features and garish lilac suit unnerving her, his green-hair affording him a hint of insanity and his deeply red lips affording him the added unnerving agent of a maniac. He flexed his white gloved fingers and interlocked them, smiling up at her and gesturing for her to take one of the seats, Waller wavered at the fringes of the Office before reluctantly taking one and being gratified that she wasn't immediately shocked to death or plunged into a pit of beasts somewhere far below them.

"You always seem nervous when you are around me Amanda," he was using her real name, she had considered the possibility that he had seen through her extensive disguise, just as she had seen through his as soon as he had contacted her, this was a relationship of equals, "I would have thought that an Agent of your…experience would be unperturbed by slight disfigurement, something you yourself have experienced to a great degree."

She ignored the comment; there was little point in giving the Joker the satisfaction of showing he had hit her where it hurt. She needed to be resolute and maintain the semblance of being on an equal-standing with him if she was to continue manipulating him, she still needed him and his help – her government funds might be bankrolling the operation but it was he that was keeping everyone in line, without him she doubted she would have gotten nearly as far.

"Cheetah has engaged Black Canary; if all goes to plan she should be in custody within the hour." Waller updated, she had the utmost faith in Cheetah to deliver the quarry, she was as fearsome as her feline real world counterpart and did not give up the chase nor the fight easily, Canary would tire before Cheetah did, and even if she did not Cheetah could play dirty were Canary could not – Waller had injected Cheetah with a serum that gave her claws a sedative effect, after enough swipes enough of the serum would enter Canary's system that she would collapse from exhaustion – it was just a question of whether or not Cheetah was fast enough to avoid a Canary Cry.

"And in regard to Oliver Queen?"

"Vordigan is pursuing him, last time he reported in he had a visual and was following him until he obtained an improved vantage point, I believe he enjoys the thrill of the chase – Vordigan will want a confrontation with Queen before taking him." Waller understood Vordigan too well and despite his proficiency as an archer distrusted his pride – that would be his downfall she understood, assuming Queen would exploit it. His own grief would be such a diminishing factor that she doubted there would be any fun for Vordigan in the kill.

"As Aresia desires with Diana Prince – I suspect that Clark Kent will soon be the only Metahuman facing us and I have already made provision for his downfall," the Joker said and he laughed a little, there was a hint of triumph and a hint of madness to the laugh, it was delivered in the shrill, unhinged fashion that unnerved Waller to the core, the Joker had risen now and was facing away from Waller, looking out of the Warehouse toward the city, "of course I was never really interested in the Metahumans or their friends – this was merely the precursor to the great act – I already have Bruce Wayne in custody, that was after all the primary objective." He heard the safety click behind him and turned around to find Waller levelling a pistol at him. "Miss Waller – how quaint? You believe you can double cross me?"

"I always carry a gun," she fired back fiercely; "you know that by now."

"It also means that I know how to disarm it," in a flash he had produced a device from his wrist and fired an electrical charge at the pistol, melting its insides and rendering it inoperable, "you see Miss Waller as I am sure you have correctly suspected for some time I have merely been exploiting you, you needed someone that could assist you in plotting and I needed someone that could hand me not only Bruce Wayne but also every other Metahuman threat in the Metropolis area. Your idea of bringing together more criminals to help in the kidnappings was rather inspired and on that I must commend you, it is just a shame that they owe their loyalty to me rather than to you.

"Had you done your research Miss Waller you would discover that I and Bruce Wayne have history from Gotham, of course you arranged for me to escape from prison and Wayne discovered that – so for a time I did owe my salvation to you – your beloved bureaucracy has assisted me in eluding him for long enough to prepare a counterattack, of course I needed to lure him here so I had his Ward kidnapped. Wayne views him as a son and that made him angry, and that allowed him to be sloppy. My assassin might have failed at the Charity Gala but they did succeed in giving me the perfect opportunity to capture him.

"You must know Miss Waller that I am not an ordinary criminal – naturally your putting away the only people who could ever stand against me has been a great asset, you have not only left Metropolis open to take over by criminals – but not only Metropolis, soon the entire country – thanks to Toyman I have an army of Toy Soldiers to use to dominate the country, the regular Army will not stand a chance against me, the World Shall be mine Miss Waller, and for giving it to me I must thank you." He bent down beside his desk, opened the draw and then fired his pistol twice into Waller, allowing her to rock backward onto the floor, stone, cold dead.

. . .

Dinah had been elusive when she'd called him, she had seemed to know that Oliver was on a downward spiral, she had somehow known that Oliver would need Clark though at the time Clark hadn't quite understood why, it had only become clearer in light of everything else that was going on – Dinah and Oliver were the only two left, she knew that they would come for her first and she had known who would come after Oliver, she might not have said his name but she had alluded correctly as to who he would be and what that would mean for Oliver. Clark just hoped he was in time.

He had managed to isolate the noise of Oliver and Vordigan a few miles out from where the fight was taking place, it was a new area of high-rise developments – offices and apartments, the glass-steel types that had become so popularized recently – where the two Archers had chosen to face off. Clark had seen evidence of their handiwork neighbourhoods away with discarded Arrows littering the place – the old Master and Apprentice were visible atop one of the Office Buildings. Clark jumped it and landed on the rooftop, he didn't want to approach them too quickly – he might distract either of them and that would mean that someone would die. They had dropped their bows – their quivers lay empty of arrows: discarded to allow them more flexibility as the duel descended hand-to-hand fighting. Oliver's nose was bleeding and Vordigan was sporting an ever-swelling left eye. Vordigan grinned for a moment and then took a hit in the chest from Oliver and then in the face, collapsing to the floor and Oliver pinned him there, Clark approached cautiously – not wishing to spook Oliver. Oliver wrapped his hands around Vordigan's neck in a choke hold, smashing his head against the roof a few times to daze him a little more.

"Oliver don't do this." Clark said quietly, bracing himself in case he needed to intervene to stop it, "Oliver this isn't the way – this isn't what Chloe would want, it isn't what Mia would want – this isn't what any of them would want, Oliver please don't kill him – think what happened when you killed Lex, think what happened to you after that – consumed by guilt? A wreck? Do you want to live like that for ever? I can't believe you do, just keep a hold of him but leave him, he can give us the information we need."

Oliver paused and for a moment Clark thought he might snap Vordigan's neck but his friend relented, easing back on it and then Vordigan grinned and let out a final laugh before it wads drowned out in a yell and he fell silent and slumping against the roof, his head lolling to one side. Oliver punched the roof and let out an anguished yell, Clark dropped to Oliver's side in a crouch and tried to put a comforting arm around his friend's shoulder but found it shaken off.

"This isn't right Clark – we're back to square one Clark, we've lost them all now haven't we? Dinah's gone…and then there's only you and me, and I don't care how super you are but whoever this will have kryptonite, all hope is lost." He said, defeated and dejected, Clark looked out across the city, scanning for a sign and found none.

"We aren't defeated Oliver – we never give up, never. We need to get to Watchtower and find them. And make no mistake, we will find them Oliver."

. . .

Hope you enjoyed 6, Chapter 7 up soon,

Acrobat

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Reviews welcome and appreciated.