Oliver huffed as he glanced down at his watch, knowing that, chances were, Stiles would be fighting for his life at that very moment, trying to protect his friends…and Roy, from execution at the hands of the league.

Surrounding him, on board the private plane that Oliver had chartered, were Diggle and Sara. Sara was looking out the plane window, her gaze distant, while Diggle was watching Oliver sympathetically.

"You guys ok?" he asked gently. Oliver and Sara both looked at Diggle. Sara lifted her eyebrows.

'Seriously…Stiles might already be dead, Roy too, and you're asking us if we're ok?"

"They might be fine. It might already be all over, they might have one," Diggle replied, although Oliver couldn't help but note that Diggle wasn't overly convincing.

"Ra's sent an entire team, plus two of his most elite soldiers, and is probably already in Beacon Hills already himself," Sara scoffed, "and who knows how many of his personal guard he's brought along. Stiles is alone against at least twelve, probably more, of the league. Stiles, who although he's good in training hasn't been in a real combat situation since he and I got taken in by the league."

"Sara's right," Oliver sighed, as much as it hurt to admit it, "Chances are he's already dead…we just have to hope that maybe Ra's will be lenient and let the others go…and maybe Roy will have survived."

Diggle looked from Oliver to Sara sadly, and Oliver decided to keep talking, as much as he would rather stayed silent, "But at the same time…I'm not giving up on him. Stiles had surprised us before…surprised me before. He's resourceful, a quick thinker, and he's stubborn. He'll keep fighting until there is no hope left, and even then he'll keep going until his last breath. He didn't survive whatever hell he went through before he got on the Queen's Gambit, and then life on the island, and then training with the league just to give up in a fight because the odd weren't in his favour. When we first washed up on Lian Yu I was convinced that I was going to have to bury Stiles…that he wouldn't last…but he handled the island better than I did. Yeah, he had his demons…he had nightmares that left him screaming, but he never gave up. He could have gotten out of it in so many different ways, but he never did. He kept fighting…and we've got to think that he'll continue with that trend and that he's still fighting."

Sara blinked, her eyes shining with her tears, "Oliver's right," she agreed, "The league went after the thing that Stiles cares the most about…his family, and his friends back in Beacon Hills. He never forgot about them…he wouldn't let himself…he got the tattoos to make sure of it. He's not going to let anything happen to them, not while his heart is still beating. The league…I think that they're going to be surprised by what Stiles is capable of when those he cares the most about are threatened."

Nodding, John gripped his hands together, his general body language becoming more positive as Oliver and Sara's words increased his confidence that they would find Stiles and Roy, as well as their friends, alive.

TW/A

Stiles quickly disarmed his opponent by bringing the flat edge of his sword down on the man's unprotected hand, wincing at the sound of bones breaking as the man screamed, before he punched the man in the face, sending him sprawling down to the ground, unconscious. Stiles glanced around and ducked behind a stack of large crates as bullets flew through the air towards him, sliding his sword back in its sheath and grabbing his bow from its holder across his back, notching an arrow to his bowstring.

Rising from his hiding place Stiles fired off an arrow, before dropping back down safely. A loud yell of pain told him that is arrow had found it's mark, and he drew another arrow, taking a steadying breath before repeating the action.

When he ducked out to fire, he could see Kate and her little group of cronies. Stiles could see the anger in her eyes, and it reminded him of the night of the lacrosse final…of the anger in Gerard Argent's eyes when Stiles refused to reveal Derek's hiding place, the look of derangement in the old man's eyes as he'd beaten Stiles in front of Erica and Boyd, trying to get Stiles to talk.

Stiles' hadn't said a word to betray his friends that night, and despite what he was up against, he wasn't going to let anything happen to them tonight either.

"Hey, assholes…where did you learn to shoot? The storm trooper training academy? That would explain why you can't hit anything."

Stiles ducked as the amount of gunfire aimed at him increased, although it had achieved what he wanted it to achieve. The league's attention was solely on him…not on the pack, locked within the cage, or Melissa, edging her way along the wall towards the cage, ignored by the league, dismissed as not a threat.

Not compared to Stiles.

Still, there was still too many members of the league left for Stiles to fight off, especially now that they knew that Stiles wasn't giving up without a fight. They certainly wouldn't be holding back, although Stiles doubted that any of the league members would be holding back at all. It was time to be a little more ruthless, and speed was going to be essential.

Stiles slung his bow over his shoulder, he was running low on arrows anyway, drawing his guns and checking them, before he exhaled, ducking out from behind his cover, firing rapidly with both weapons, before he ducked behind a thick, concrete support, moving a little closer to Kate.

"Kill him," Kate roared over the sound of the guns going off. Stiles heard a growl, and whirled around, staggering back a step when he saw one of the members of the league shift into a werewolf, although it looked like something gone wrong…like Peter had back when he'd bitten Scott, and begin to run towards him, leaping over a stack of crates in a single bound. Stiles fired three times, and the wolf fell to the ground at his feet, the three shots to his head killing him instantaneously, before Stiles whirled around and shot another assassin who had been charging towards his exposed back, sword raised over his head, in the abdomen.

"Hey Katie," Stiles goaded, "Why don't you face me yourself, or are you too scared of the pathetic little human? I'm the one who is responsible for Allison's death, don't you want to kill me yourself?"

"Enough!" Kate screeched, "Shut up, you pathetic little shit."

"Ah, you see, I've never been very good at shutting up, anyone will tell you that. Why don't you come and make me." Stiles retorted with a smirk. He heard Melissa groan and glanced towards her in alarm, only to see her roll her eyes and bury her face in her hands in exasperation at his taunting. Stiles would have laughed, had the situation not been so serious.

"Come on, Katie…you too scared? Scared that I'm going to beat you in front of all of your friends. I wonder, do they know what you did…how you killed the Hales…how they were innocent…that you killed children? And I know the Hale pack were not the only ones you did it to…you and your old man. The way I see it, you two aren't much better than Malcolm Merlyn. Hell, your combined kill count with daddy dearest is probably pushing Merlyn's by now."

There were murmured voices amongst the members of the League. Stiles knew how those high up in the organisation had been uneasy about Malcolm Merlyn's actions in Starling City, the attack on the Glades being openly condemned by those with power within the League. The killing of innocents, especially children, was widely frowned upon.

"Don't you dare lecture me on kill counts, boy," Kate spat, "You're the reason Allison is dead."

"I don't deny it," Stiles replied, "but, cone on, are you seriously going to let one of these assholes kill me as part of your revenge…let one of them rob you of the glory of avenging Allison."

Kate scoffed loudly, "everybody get back…if anyone tires to get involved I'll kill them myself. The boy is mine."

Stiles exhaled and let his head fall backwards into the concrete column he was using as shelter as he let out a shaky exhale. This is what he wanted, for Kate to want a one on one fight with him, but now that Stiles had goaded Kate into challenging him one on one, he was more than a little nervous about facing Kate. A look sideways, towards the cage the pack had been trapped within, however, was enough to strengthen Stiles' nerves, and he slipped his guns back in his holsters, and drew his short sword, his breath misting over the blade as he held it close to his face, before he moved out from the column he had been sheltering behind.

The members of the league still standing had all retreated against the walls, their weapons all stowed away, although Stiles knew at the slightest provocation they all would be ready to kill him within seconds. Kate stood in the same place she had been when Stiles had first arrived, the body of the man who had attacked Melissa still lying at her feet.

"Aww, look at you, Stiles…all grown up," Kate sneered, "You know, I was really quite worried we would never get this opportunity. I was so disappointed to hear that you were dead, drowned somewhere in the South China Sea. They say that drowning is one of the worst ways to die, but I had so much more planned for you. I was so happy when I was told about how you had been found and brought to the league…how you were going to be trained. I was so, so tempted to get involved then, organize some tragic training accident, but no, that would be too good for you. I wanted to make you suffer, and I knew the best way to make you suffer was to drag your pathetic little pack into things. And so I waited, watching from a distance as you and your little friend the Canary endeared yourselves to Ras' daughter, gaining her protection. When Ra's named you the Fox I laughed at the irony, while at the same time I plotted my revenge."

Kate paused, and looked towards the cage thoughtfully, before she reached nto the pocket of her jacket and pulled out a remote. She pressed some buttons, and Stiles heard the faint sound of electricity humming, just as the werewolves in the cage cried out. Stiles inhaled sharply as he spotted the wires coiled around the chains holding the werewolves' armed above their heads. He was taken back to the night in the Argent's basement. When he'd been kidnapped and found Boyd and Erica trussed up in exactly the same position, being electrocuted to limit their ability to escape. Now Kate was doing the same to the surviving werewolf members of the pack, although from muffled noises Stiles could hear the pack making, he would guess that Kate had upped the voltage, and the wolves were now in considerable pain.

"You're going to be responsible for the death of everyone you've ever cared about," Kate told him, calmly putting the remote back away, as if she wasn't torturing multiple people at once.

"How are you even still alive" Stiles questioned, tearing his gaze from the pack, trying to focus on Kate, "I though Peter killed you."

"He did," Kate nodded, "and let me tell you, I was very disappointed when I came back and learned that he was already dead. I would have enjoyed taking my revenge on him too."

"So…how did you come back?"

"My father. As I'm sure you've figured out, we Argents have a long history with the League, at least one of use has been a member of the league for over 300 years. After my death, my father knew that Chris would never be able to continue the family tradition of being a member of the league, and Allison wasn't ready, although he was planning to lead her down that path. He buried an empty casket, and sent my body back to Nanda Parbat…"

"And they used a Lazarus Pit," Stiles filled in.

Kate smiled and nodded, "Such a smart boy," she cooed, "but yes, I was returned to life using a Lazarus Pit. It is a pity that Chris was unaware of my resurrection, and of our families involvement with the league, I am sure that Allison would have been given the same honour, when her time came. Sadly, it was not to be, although I must confess, I am tempted to pick her up before we leave, just to see how she turns out. They say it's not a good idea to try and bring back people so long after their death, but I'm willing to risk it."

Stiles stared in shock at Kate. He knew about the Lazarus pit, and Nyssa had told he and Sara about how much it hurt…about how it changed people. Stiles wanted Allison back from the dead, but after all these years, would it really still be Allison?

"Ah, but you got me performing my Monologue," Kate laughed, "I guess that makes you James Bond, and myself the super villain?"

Stiles shrugged, "you said it, not me. The pit is dangerous though, it would be careless not to heed the words of others who know more about it."

Kate nodded, and removed her leather jacket, tossing it to aside carelessly, "You don't have to warn me of the dangers of the pit, boy," she told him, "I know, more than most, what it does. I know how much it hurts…but what surprised me the most was how it changed me. I don't know if it was how I died that made the change happen, and for a time I hated it…but now…now I like it."

Kate shifted her shoulders and shifted, and Stiles startled as Kate's skin changed color, darkening to a dusky shade of purple, with darker splotches. Her eyes changed to a bright green, and her teeth changed and elongated into curved fangs. Stiles glanced at Kate's hand, and spotted the sharp claws she had grown instead of her human fingernails. Kate's fangs and claws were different from those of Scott and the other werewolves, more cat like than anything. Stiles frowned as he remembered Kate's code name within the league.

"The Jaguar."

"It was a name I already went by," Kate moved into a crouch, "but it's funny how our names reflect who we inside, isn't it, little fox."

With that, Kate lunged forward. Stiles dodged sideways, rolling and rising to his feet in a single motion that would have brought Coach Finstock to tears of happiness. Kate snarled and Stiles brought up his sword defensively. Kate drew her own weapons, a pair of Chinese ring daggers, much like those that Allison had once favoured. For a moment Stiles wondered if it had been Kate who had taught Allison how to use them, before Kate was moving towards him, slashing with the knives. Stiles blocked the blows with his sword, immediately noticing how much harder it was fighting against Kate, compared to the other League assassins he had battled, both tonight, and during his training. It made sense, however, considering that Kate was now a supernatural creature, a were-Jaguar. Of course she would be stronger and faster than a normal human.

Still, it meant it was going to be a lot harder to defeat her than Stiles had initially thought.

Stiles continued to block Kate's blows, and occasionally trying an offensive move with his sword, rather than simply defending. Kate's claws seemed to hamper, rather than help, her use the finger daggers, which Stiles tried to capitalise on, and he felt a thrill of excitement go through him when he managed to knock one of them off her finger, and he kicked it across the floor, leaving Kate with only one blade.

Along with her claws, and those teeth.

Back and forward they traded blows. Sweat trickled down Stiles' back, and blood still sluggishly trickled down Stiles' arm from the bullet graze, as Stiles kept blocking Kate's attempts to kill him. They moved around the main floor space of the factory, with the remaining League members keeping their distance, not wanting to get involved in the deadly dance going on between the pair.

Stiles cursed as he misjudged a step and fell, and Kate, smiling delightedly, kicked him in the ribs before he could move to protect himself. Swinging his sword to force her backwards, Stiles scrambled to his feet again, and the fight continued.

It didn't take long, however, for Stiles' sword to be swiped from his hand and sent flying across the floor, landing with a noisy clatter by a particular quick move from Kate. Stiles backed up, doing a mental catalogue of his remaining weapons. He still had both guns, although he doubted his knives would do much good against Kate.

Kate smirked as she advanced towards Stiles, tossing her remaining knife away, "I'm going to do this with my own bare hands," she proclaimed, her words garbled by her fangs. The malice behind them, however, was unmistakable.

Sties threw himself sideways, but not quickly enough to avoid Kate's claws as he felt them tear into his right side, sending pain shooting through his body as blood immediately flowed from the five cuts in his skin. Stiles pressed his hand to the injury as he shakily got back to his feet, glancing down and noting how quickly his hand became soaked with blood. It wasn't a fatal injury, but left untreated it was going to cause issues…notably to do with blood loss and a high risk of infection…who knew where Kate's claws had been after all.

"Stiles!" Melissa shouted fearfully, and Stiles turned and ran, climbing up onto some wooden crates and running across the top, Kate close at his heels. Looking ahead, Stiles could see a chain hanging from the ceiling, and gritting his teeth against the pain, he threw himself into the air, leaping off the crates, and snagging the chain on the way down. The chain swung from the impact of his body, and Stiles held on tightly, not wanting to fall, ignoring the pain his body was feeling.

Stiles looked back over his shoulder as Kate stood at the edge of the crates, watching him with a wry smirk, before she calmly jumped down to the ground, walking across the floor until she was directly beneath him. Then she jumped into the air, catching the bottom of the chain and beginning to climb up. Stiles swallowed and began to climb further up himself, although as he looked up, he realised that there was nowhere for him to go one he reached the top of the chain. He was trapped.

Feeling something grip onto his ankle, Stiles looked down and saw Kate had grabbed onto his leg, a victorious smile on her face as she looked up at him, the chain still swinging gently from the movements. Stiles

"It's time to give up, Fox," she spat.

Stiles shook his head, "I won't, not until I know my pack are safe from the likes of you."

Kate's fingers tightened around Stiles' ankle as she pulled on him, her long claws digging into his skin, cutting him and drawing blood, which trickled over her hand and down her arm.

"In so many ways, Stiles, you're just like me," Kate crooned with a smile. Stiles swallowed, vividly reminded of a similar situation…the day that he'd killed the man…Donovan…on Lian Yu. It was an eerily similar scenario, with Stiles trapped and higher than someone who wanted him dead.

"You're wrong, Kate," Stiles replied, looking down at Kate, holding onto the chain tightly with his right hand, his various injuries screaming in pain at the position, and reaching for his holster with his left hand, glad that he'd decided to load the weapon with wolfsbane bullets.

"If I could, I would go back in time and save Allison, and Aidan, and everyone else the Nogitsune killed, even if it meant killing myself. I would gladly give my life for any of my family…my pack. I am nothing without them, and I don't pretend to be. I would have left the league in a heartbeat if it meant I could have safely gone back to Beacon Hills, hugged my dad, joked around with Scott, argued with Derek, been told off by Melissa…run in the woods. I would have given up on the training in less than a heartbeat. I don't kill unless it's to protect those I care about. I follow Allison's code. Not like you. You're the monster, not those you hunt. Not the Hales, and not for Scott's pack. We protect those who cannot protect themselves."

"Is that so?" Kate growled dangerously, her grip on Stiles' ankle tightening. Stiles fought the urge to flinch at the pain.

"Yeah, that's right," Stiles' fingers closed around the grip of his gun and he pulled it free of its holster just as Kate pulled on his leg, trying to pull him from the chain. Stiles leveled his gun at Kate, knowing that there was no way Kate would ever let him go…that she would never leave the Pack to live peacefully.

"I'm sorry, Allison," Stiles whispered, before he pulled the trigger.