The Foundry, Starling City, 22:14 PM PST

He sustained the glare and backed away towards the computer tech, they'd have time to talk later. Felicity touched his back and looked up at him anxiously, "Oliver, are you—?"

"I'm fine. I'm sorry you had to see that." To his relief she wasn't afraid; her gaze shifted slightly to Artemis then laid on him again.

"I get it. You had too. And I'm not complaining. Just be careful, she has a way of getting under your skin". You noticed that too.

Roy crossed his arms in a huff, "I think she deserved it" he said remembering when she chased him across ten blocks and through Queen Consolidated with murderous intent. Felicity ushered them over her shoulder and showed them what she had found. Oliver gave a fleeting glance at Artemis, she was staring at him. His face showed nothing. The IT tech pulled up several tabs on the screen.

"When you suggested the mirakuru soldier, I thought it was worth looking into." She pointed to a case file from Gotham. "In Gotham there've been suspicious murders where victim's skulls were literally squashed like a melon, nail marks were found on the tissue left behind. In the most recent one, there was a partial print. Now the GCPD couldn't get a suspect on their database, so I borrowed their evidence and cross referenced it with the SCPD database." The next tab showed a mug shot of someone he knew was a dead-man.

"Cyrus Gold? He's dead."

Felicity turned to him, "I know my whole resurrection suggestion was very science fiction-y but this makes sense. Gold died in a chemical explosion and then you collapsed a building on him and that was the end of it. But maybe it wasn't. All the mirakuru subjects and deceased test subjects have been accounted for since last year, including the prisoners Slade released and whoever Blood picked up off the street" she showed him the list, "…except for Gold."

"Why wasn't he in the siege with the other soldiers?" Roy asked. Oliver didn't like entertaining feelings of doubt but they were prevalent then.

"Cyrus Gold was old pals with Sebastian Blood when they were orphans; it's likely he's loyal to him, like he is someone he would never hurt. Like how Slade saw Shado" she construed.

"Sebastian led the army, but Slade was their true commander. They weren't loyal to Blood like Cyrus was" Oliver agreed. It was a logical explanation. The Church of Blood has very big plans for the city indeed. But the imposter would need a few things before he starts to make more super soldiers.

"I reckon that when Gold made contact with this imposter, he thought the man in the skull mask was Blood alive and well again" Felicity went on. "I've already got a search working on sieving through any thefts of industrial centrifuges and the sedatives Slade used."

"If this is true and the church was able to imitate the procedure—" Roy went on but didn't need to finish. It was left unsaid; we'll be at war again. The city was nearly smashed to smithereens during the siege; if there was another onslaught mere months after the last one, it would take a far more grievous toll.

Starling City wouldn't able to survive.

2009

Hong Kong

He dusted his pants and picked up the dead man's briefcase off the ground as instructed, it had stab mark in the centre where his knife had caught in it. Oliver had no clue how they disposed of the bodies afterwards, but they did, and it was never found again. It was broad daylight and with no other orders, he left the alleyway and headed home.

Before he walked inside the apartment he rummaged through the bag, he felt invasive and like a thief. Why ask him to retrieve a target's briefcase unless they wanted something inside it? There were hard copy files that he couldn't make sense of, but he doubted ARGUS would ever leave a paper trail. Alas he found what he was looking for, a flash drive. Oliver pocketed it, zipped the briefcase back, and walked in.

Maseo's son strolled out of the dining room as he closed the front door. "Good morning Akio" he said. It was a mistake; Tatsu came out immediately after him and glared daggers at Oliver.

"Don't talk to my son" she ordered and stalked off.

"I was just—" He gave up trying to explain himself since no one was listening, and continued into the sitting room where Maseo was waiting.

"The briefcase" he announced and rested it on the coffee table. "She doesn't like me" he mentioned referring to Maseo's wife.

"Actually she hates you, but can you blame her?" No I can't.

There was another thought that had stuck with him. "By the way, the man I killed, he told me he'd be doing me a favour by killing me."

"Why is that?"

"Something about a war that I could get in the middle of" he said and sat down across from the ARGUS agent.

Maseo didn't appear moved by his statement, or maybe he's hiding something. "There is no need to ponder on his remark, ARGUS is always at war. This is not news" he said disregarding him. He reached for the briefcase, but Oliver interjected.

"I have a question."

"You know I don't like those" he sighed exasperatedly. "Go on."

"Why did you leave Japan? Why are you working for her?" Oliver figured that no one could fall into Amanda Waller's employ without a riveting accompanying story behind it.

"Dangerous people were after my family" answered Maseo.

"But are you any safer here?"

At the second he made the suggestion Tatsu walked past the door, having heard what he said. "We will be when you leave". She sent him a scorching scowl, and left.

Despite the antagonism of the exchange it did give him a small ball of hope. "Do you really think Amanda will let me go?" He asked Maseo. Mum, Thea, Tommy, Laurel, is it possible to even dream of it?

"Once you mend your mistake I suppose."

"Oh yeah, I remember. Edward Fyers was on Lian Yu to destabilize China's economy. I stopped that".

"Actually, he wasn't." The agent took out a file from the adjacent cabinet and placed it front of him for his personal perusing. "The man you killed today was Fyers handler" Oliver lifted the file and turned the page, a passport photo of his now-dead target was attached on the top right-hand corner. There was various personal information on the report beneath it, and a huge red TERMINATED stamp across it, I did that, I terminated him.

"Amanda Waller is in Hong Kong to take down the Chinese Triad. And from now on, this will be our target, Chien Na Wei." Maseo slipped another picture of a Chinese woman with white hair to him. "She was on the Ferris Air flight; your interference let her slip out of Waller's fingers."

The truth behind the scheme made him hate Amanda even more, if it was even possible, so this is how she chooses to save the world? "There were over 200 passengers on that plane. Amanda would allow that much collateral damage just to kill one person?"

"You've met her, what do you think?"

He read the Chinese triad's woman's name aloud. "China White."

"Chien Na Wei" Maseo corrected. "She's a leading figure in the Triad."

"So I killed Fyers' handler huh?" He mulled over the fact for a while. "He said something else to me you know, before he died. He said, 'I knew she'd come for me eventually'. I've been thinking about it ever since, how it relates to my situation, our situation…"

Maseo frowned and waited for him to continue with expectancy. "Are you arriving to a point, Oliver?"

"You and Tatsu are my handlers. Haven't you considered that one day, Amanda Waller will come for you too?"

He was instantaneously irate, grabbing the front of Oliver's shirt and hauling him to his feet with a threatening glare. Oliver help up placating hands, he hadn't meant anything by the comment just that it was something for all of them to be concerned about. Amanda Waller has shit for honour; no one can trust her, not even you. Tatsu obviously wanted the whole nightmare to be put to an end, but what if it wasn't?

"Not if you fail" he hissed "and not if you meddle" Maseo used his free hand and found the flash drive he had pocketed in his jacket. Oliver's shoulders slumped in defeat; he had planned to find incriminating information on it and take it to Waller, demanding his release. The agent released his hold and stepped back. "ARGUS has its secrets and its enemies, best if you didn't pry any further."

The Foundry, Starling City, 23:15 PM PST

Hosting a killer in his home was not his brightest idea. He didn't sleep much anyway, so that wasn't an issue. But once Felicity and Roy left to grab a late night bite after spending most of it trying to deduce who the Blood imposter was, the Foundry suddenly felt very crowded.

A crocodile was what her eyes reminded him of. They had watched him and the others carefully with a permanent scowl to match it. Roy had gotten so uncomfortable that he stumbled on his words, more than once. Felicity only had to pretend she was part of the wall to get on.

Now they were both gone, Oliver lowered himself into a chair facing her, and offered her a bottle of water. She did nothing, only held her head high and dignified.

He rested his elbows on his knees and steepled his fingers. "You've had plenty of time to think. Will you cooperate?"

Her stare was as cold as ice. "You haven't thought this through have you, Oliver? You're not going to hurt me" she said it with confidence.

"You underestimate me". He wanted to hit her, he did, but it was his damn honour getting in the way. Not because she was female, that was hardly ever his concern with past adversaries who shared her gender. But because she reminded him of Thea, the two couldn't be more different, but there was a particular aspect about her that reminded him of his little sister, maybe it was the cheekbones or the cool eyes, he didn't know. What would Artemis' life have led too if she had not been born into the League?

She wasn't buying his interrogating techniques in the slightest. "No, I've got you keyed to a note. I know exactly what you can do."

"When you poisoned me with Vertigo, I thought you looked familiar. You were in Hong Kong weren't you?"

"What are you talking about? I've never been to Hong Kong" she replied with confusion that was very convincing. He nearly believed her.

"You lie very well".

"Except I'm telling you the truth". It was inane to go on about a past, when she was going to deny it all anyway, he changed the subject to more present topics.

"Why does Sara take care of you?"

"None of your business". She lowered her voice to a barely concealed growl, "I'll tell you one thing though, if the roles were reversed you'd have no more secrets, and you'd be begging me to kill you. The difference between you and I is not experience, it's your humanity."

If he wasn't going to strike her, he knew he could get it out of her by talking. His five years taught him more than just how to torture his captives for information and use a bow and arrow, he also learnt how to read people and manipulate them. How else was he to be a successful liar? She had folded like a beach chair for Sara during the fight in QC, he only needed to push the right buttons and she would spit it out.

"Now I know you're lying. If you had no humanity, you would've killed me no matter what the costs, instead of letting Sara disarm you." He said to bait her with the notion she had thrown the fight.

She frowned in offense. "I didn't let her disarm me; Taer-Al-Asfar won fair and square."

He pursed his lips and shrugged as if they were disagreeing over the weather over coffee. "I don't think you were fighting her at all. Maybe you're upset by her. And you're hurt because she threatened you, to protect me. You're mad."

"If you're trying to anger me, it's not working".

Oliver went on with the concepts he had come up with, he had had time to think over the League's code and analyse the entire case. "I'm not wrong then am I? You and her were close, close like sisters?"

She ignored the question. "Your attempts are futile; you won't harm or kill me and I'll remain in these restraints. Once the League realizes I am gone, they will rain hell fire on you". She was all vengeance and hatred but he was calm as a stream.

"But why would they look for you? Aren't you a traitor in their eyes? You allied yourself with one. I'm surprised you're still alive."

He saw a ripple of something across her eyes. "The Master chose to let me live" Artemis answered monotonously as if reading a script.

"Out of mercy?" He barked a sharp laugh. "Ra's Al Ghul is many things, but he is not merciful. Simon needed to face the League's justice, and you stopped that from happening." The puzzle solved itself for him then. "Ra's didn't know you were here. That's why you're alive." Silence from the assassin, he was on a roll. "And this business with Vertigo, impressive but it is not the League of Assassins dogma to invest in substances harmful to the human population. It does make me wonder…" He tapped his chin in mock thoughtfulness.

"Who am I to know the League's investments? I am a soldier, I don't ask questions either."

"But why prevent Sara from capturing Lacroix? That is what puzzles me. Surely you must want to see him beheaded too?"

I have her. That struck the first chord of fear, it was light, but the beat was mounting. He had chosen the right melody to play her with. "You're putting words in my mouth" she said with false indifference.

"Am I?" He leaned closer. "Ra's didn't send you here, someone else did." Artemis pressed her mouth shut until it was thin line, she looked down at him.

"Are you a traitor Artemis?"

"What?" She mumbled as if she hadn't heard him properly. Her muscles were rigid.

"Are you betraying the League of Assassins?!" He yelled so suddenly; she had not expected the increase volume, neither had he.

"No! Never!"

He stood his chair falling over behind his legs, and stabbed an accusatory finger at her, "Yes you are!"

She swallowed her rage with effort. "You want to discuss treachery?" She hissed. "Sara Lance! She is rife with it! For so long I never saw it. Until she showed me—"

"Who showed you?"

"Talia Al Ghul".

"Nyssa has a sister?"

"Of course you've never heard of her" she shouted like he was the world's most oblivious idiot. "She doesn't reveal her identity to the unworthy, not like her fool of a little sister". He saw something else now in her eyes, it was not quite as prominent to what he saw in Blood's followers, but it was there, loyalty. A curse and a blessing. The League of Assassins is an organisation with dark honour, Sara respects it. But all this pointless scheming makes me question the stability of the place.

"All this was for Talia Al Ghul to prove a point? It's madness!"

"You forget that Sara and I are cut from the same cloth. Everything we do is in the name of the League!"

"Everything you do is wrong. You're mercenaries" it was like his argument with Sara all over again. There is darkness within her too, but why save someone who doesn't want to be saved?

"Don't pretend like you understand anything! We replace evil with death".

"And killing me?! Would my death have replaced the evil in this world?"

She paused, her face frozen in contemplation of his rational words, and then returned to scowling at him.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see".

The Church of Blood, Starling City, 23:20 PM PST

The artist came within reach of Brother Blood, she was trembling in awe of him.

"Do you have the descriptions I requested?" Hogue asked beneath the mask.

She nodded and handed both sketches to him. One was of a black security guard who had knocked him out in the elevator; another was of the blonde IT technician with the glasses and tablet. They had associations with the Arrow and he intended to use them to draw him out.

"Thank you for your contribution to the church miss. I won't forget this" he dismissed her and gestured for Gerard to come forward.

"Fetch me the keys to Cyrus Cold's chains. It's time to let our prophet roam free."

The Foundry, Starling City, 23: 25 PM PST

Artemis turned her head away to tell him that she was done chatting for the night. He heard Felicity and Roy coming down the stairs then, and bent down to pick up the chair he had pushed over.

"There was an attack at an SCPD station. I think its Blood" said Felicity, jogging to her computers. Good, I needed to take my mind off the assassin. Adrenaline rushed through the team; they could never remain without work for long.

"Pull up security cam footage."

"Got it." They watched, cold dread filling their bodies as a man akin to a mirakuru super soldier, wearing the half-orange half-black mask, barrelled into the station and threw, punched, and kicked men like rag dolls, bullets hitting him uselessly. "Oh my God" Felicity clasped her mouth. "What are we going to do?"

"Was it Cyrus Gold?"

"I think so" she nodded stiffly. "Lance called the Arrow just now; a survivor described the man's movements and strength like that of the mirakuru soldiers. Three dead, four severely injured." She replayed the footage for herself, hand closed over mouth in silent shock.

"Do we know why he was there?"

"I have to look into the back log of every computer, give me a sec."

Roy stepped closer to a conspiratorial distance, "did you get anything?" He whispered, glancing briefly at the blonde assassin, who was watching them plot like before; wary and highly alert.

"Yes."

"Are you going to kill her?"

I haven't even thought that far, but that's the last thing I want to do, clearly she's misguided. "I don't know" was all he said. "Anything?" He asked Felicity, one enemy at a time please.

"Yeah, see here he grabbed this guy and dragged him here to this desktop" he followed her index finger on the screen. "He isn't a cop but a researcher. They used facial recognition and made two inquiries into the citizenship database of Starling. They use that for getting phone numbers, known relatives and home addresses." The IT tech tapped away on the keyboard.

"Okay, let's see who Mr. Gold was planning a visit too. 540 Riverside Road and—no. No. There has to be a mistake."

"What? What is it?"

"That's my address. And Diggle's."

Oliver turned harshly to Roy, "call him." Brother Blood's plan for the Arrow became pretty clear then. It hurt him to hear the tremble in Felicity's voice, the fear. He felt himself turn on, taking charge of the room, ready to fight. He leaned over her and clasped her shoulder tightly in a way he hoped was comforting, even though he was shaking a little at the fact that someone knew the identities of two of his most important and trusted allies, and where they live, everything.

He swivelled her chair around to look at him. "How could this have happened? Why does Cyrus Gold have your name?"

"Brother Blood must know who we are. He must have seen our faces, somehow."

"Try to remember; is there anyone you and Digg made physical contact with before the siege? Anyone who had anything to do with Sebastian Blood?"

"Yes. There was; Clinton Hogue, he was Blood's body guard. Digg and I questioned him in person; I threatened to donate all his savings and ruin his parent's retirement plans with bad investments." She laughed humourlessly, "how about that huh? Karma. So much for being the bitch with Wi-Fi."

"He's not answering" said Roy.

"I'll go." He held Felicity tenderly, needing to reach and caress her cheek, the urge was powerful, but he refrained from it. I can't, not with Roy and a League assassin watching. "Don't leave the foundry, promise me."

She gulped, "I won't."

He let go of her to get his bow, she got up and snatched his wrist, "Oliver we don't have the cure."

"He's threatening Diggle and you. The last thing I want to do is cure him." A flush came over her cheeks and she sat back down, hugging herself, probably thinking about how her house was being ransacked, and how if she had gone home, she would've been killed. Felicity stabbed through the heart, Felicity with her neck snapped he could not bear the images that came to mind, for the pain it wrought; they angered and scared him all at once.

Artemis watched him leave. He weighed both scenarios in his mind, a mirakuru soldier after my best friend and his child, or the woman I love and my partner with a deadly assassin? Both were equally destructive options. He pulled Roy over. "Don't let her out of your sight." He slapped the remote to turn off the sensors that he had strapped around their captive in Roy's hand.

He ran to his bike and thinking; am I going towards the danger or leaving it behind?

Diggle's Apartment, Starling City, 00:29 PM PST

He patted Rose's soft pink blanket, her eyes were squeezed shut, precious little hands curled into tiny fists as she dozed. John smiled to himself happily and padded quietly out the room.

"Is she asleep?" Lyla asked, glancing up from the pages of her book.

"Yes, for the next four hours, and then she'll wake up again." She was about to chuckle but stopped short when they heard a scream coming from outside the door.

"Did you hear that?" She asked standing, moving towards the mantle where the guns were kept. John felt all his military training and two years of crusading with Oliver rush through him. Lyla handed him one of two guns, he loaded his and unclasped the safety, cautiously walking to the front door.

He counted and turned the door handle, each click of the locks as loud as a church bell. Diggle threw the door open and aimed—there was no one there. He frowned and ventured out to the landing, looking down the stairs at the apartment below him. His heart stopped.

A masked man stared back, black and orange face, hulking shoulders, standing over the dead body of his neighbour, neck twisted 360 degrees. John sprinted back in and slammed the door shut; turning every lock, as if it would hold it back. Loud footsteps clambered up the lone flight of stairs to their home, doom, doom, doom.

"GO! Take Rose, leave through the back!" He ran to Lyla. Doom, doom, doom.

"Johnny what's—" His front door turned to splinters. John flattened himself on the ground; Lyla acted without thought and loosed three rounds. She didn't need to be told twice. She spun on her heel and dashed to Rose's room, bundling the crying baby in her arms and making for the fire escape.

Diggle leapt upright, his gun was not in his hand. The mirakuru soldier did not feel Lyla's bullets. He ran, the soldier chasing him. He spotted his gun beneath the sofa and lunged at it. He clawed for it; he wasn't even sure if he was holding it correctly, but he shot it in time as the soldier grabbed his ankle and tossed him across floor.

He hit the mantle with such force that picture frames fell over and smashed on the floorboards. The solider came after him, he straightened, rolling over the sofa, the masked man, climbed over after him the bullet taking no effect. The only thing to do was to run. This time, the masked man fell onto Diggle like a thousand tonnes; he felt his head spilt open with white light, his arm crashing into the coffee table that cracked in two beneath him.

He drew back his fist and punched as hard as he could, this one was stronger than the others ever were, as he felt the skin on his knuckles break. As the soldier's head was thrown to the left by the force of his punch, Digg kicked his chin upwards and managed to scurry away a good six feet as he recovered instantaneously from the blows.

He heard the bow string first. The soldier acted quickly and threw up the broken coffee table as a shield as two arrows twanged onto the wood. Heightened reflexes were another advantage of mirakuru.

Digg and Oliver looked at each other; he didn't need to be told that they had to get out of there ASAP.

Once they put seven blocks and two rooftops between them and the super soldier-then he could start demanding answers.

"What the hell was that?! And why was it in my home?!"

"It's a long story" Queen breathed, waving his bow through the air like it was not a big deal.

He narrowed his eyes and rolled them, "oh no, then you shouldn't tell me. Clearly, I'm too busy for that".

Oliver harrumphed at his dry humour, and then went on to explain a summarized version of their latest case. It was more than enough to get him primed to return to the action.

"Alright, that's it! I'm back on the team! No one threatens my family and gets away with it".

The Foundry, Starling City, 00:34 PM PST

They listened to the mission over the comms. He understood how Felicity felt, with almost no visual to what was going on during a mission, and the fact they did not answer her calls was just as frustrating. Diggle, Lyla and the baby were safe; Oliver and Digg had decided to go to the Church of Blood planning to arrest Hogue and collapse the cellars on top of Cyrus Gold to kill him as he had done before. Though Oliver promised do to more than that this time around, to make sure Gold didn't rise again, he didn't specify what though. But I have a feeling it involves an arrow through the brain.

Roy felt a prickly sensation on his nape. He glanced over his shoulder, as expected, Artemis was staring at him. She didn't look very intimidating then, her skin was pale, her lips dehydrated because she refused any refreshment, but she did look afraid. Roy strode towards her, arms folded. It was emasculating to still be fearful of her, but he decided to conquer his fear.

Nearer he went to the tied up assassin like a child would approach a lion in cage. He felt like the food. She watched him, though she couldn't do anything to harm him.

"Are you sure you don't want something to drink?" Ideally that was not what he wanted to say to her. But he still had a lot to learn about interrogation, yet he doubted Oliver would ever let him touch that field in its whole. It was always his mentor who did the heavy questioning; he didn't ask why Oliver wouldn't teach him, but he got the gist that he did not want him to venture too far into torture methods.

He was met with silence. Felicity looked at them, "don't bother talking to her, Roy, she won't say anything."

Roy only noticed the microscopic upturn of her mouth, before it was too late.

Artemis leaned forward slightly then pushed against her tiptoes. Her chair fell backwards, taking her down with it with a bang. The sensors lit like Christmas lights and an electric current pulsed through her. She went into a seizure, her face twisted in agony, the veins on her neck stuck out, taught like a spring. Roy fumbled for the remote in a panic and punched the off button.

Gasping for breath, he bent down to pick her off the floor once the buzzing subsided.

That was his first mistake.

The restraints sagged off of her and she head butted him. He fell backwards clutching his bleeding nose. The assassin up righted herself in the fallen chair and brandished a small knife that they hadn't found on her during the first search and cut the cords that tied her feet together. She kicked his chest away when he tried to grab her, whacking the breath out of him. He had dropped the remote in the confusion; she gladly crushed it underneath her boot.

She pushed him onto his back and straddled him and stuffed her hand into his shirt grabbing his shoulder wound; there was a horrid squelching noise. The stitches tore like fabric and Roy cried out. He pulled up his legs and locked them around her neck, then threw her off him. She rolled across the floor and came up in a crouching pose.

Felicity gagged at sight of blood, she had sprawled into action when everything went to hell, but her side of the foundry was a dead-end. For the first time in two years she had to fight, she pulled open the cabinet drawer for the gun; she clocked it, trying to steady her hands, thanking God Digg had shown her how to use one.

Artemis snapped her neck around and saw the blonde tech. Great, the last thing I need is someone scared shitless and holding a gun. She dashed to the side as a bullet sailed over her head. Reaching, her hands wrapped around the salmon ladder bar, she climbed up a rung, dodging the next. She might as well be shooting a target the size of an elephant with that God-awful aim.

She landed, using the ladder bar in her hand as a staff. One bullet cracked the computer screen, the next she deflected. She dropped the bar and ran to the red archer's arrow case. Artemis ducked another bullet, one more to go. The bent over position made her bruised side scream, she suppressed a groan. The one called Roy had recovered enough to stand with a handful of flechettes, blood dripping down his left arm from his shoulder.

She got her hand around Roy's bow and slid around the back of the glass case that held his quiver as the flechette struck the glass. Artemis ran behind to the next case over and the next as bullet and fletchette were shot and thrown at her. The computer girl had managed to reload.

"There's another bow on the bottom drawer!" Roy sprinted to cabinet at the back of the room but it was too late.

"STOP!"

His back was to her. But he knew she had reached Oliver's quiver and nocked, an arrow aimed at his back.

"Turn Around."

He held his hands up in surrender and turned, awaiting death. Felicity still had the gun pointed at the assassin, who looked sidelong at the IT tech.

"Drop the gun. Tie him up."

Felicity wavered between Roy and Artemis. The assassin had a clean kill shot at Roy, and she had a shot at the assassin, but she was likely to miss. She didn't want to give up the only chance they had of surviving.

"Are you deaf? Do it now!"

Roy nodded at Felicity; she held her right palm up as a sign of capitulation and crouched putting the gun on the ground reluctantly. Artemis cocked her head sideways and Felicity kicked it to her. Her palms were sweating and she felt like collapsing out of fear. Roy knelt on the ground, waiting for her to restrain him.

She picked up the cords Artemis had freed herself out of. She moved subconsciously hoping this was all a terrible nightmare she would wake up out of. She struggled as best as she could, there was no strength in her to do anything else but obey. Artemis watched like a hawk and Felicity did not disappoint in her task, as she finished with Roy's ankles the assassin gave her another order, Felicity couldn't bear to look at her.

"Get up. Sit down." She mutely sat down in her computer chair. She was seized by a sudden impulse to run. She looked over her shoulder, but there was no escape that way. There would be no point, the assassin would only need to nock and loose and she would be dead. She was finished. This was all there was, she would die in the cold, dark, damp Foundry, a prisoner, utterly powerless. She had never imagined her death like this.

She managed to dig out a final shred of anger. "Kill either of us and he will kill you. I swear it."

"No, I doubt don't it. He's sweet on you." Felicity watched Artemis take Roy's quiver and load it. She pointed her thumb at Roy, "though that one over there, honestly I don't see his usefulness, there is nothing more frustrating than fighting battle with a burden like him on your shoulders. Such meekness is not accepted within the League. You have to keep an eye on him or he'll shoot himself in the knee. Or the shoulder." She added as an afterthought, glancing at him bleeding on the floor, a wicked smirk on her lips.

Artemis went to use the computers on the other side of the room. That was enough to put Felicity on edge to the point of breaking. She was beside her comm but there was no way to send a message to Oliver without the assassin hearing, neither would Oliver reach them in time before…well she had no idea what was coming next.

"Are you going to kill us?" Roy growled. The assassin ignored him, whistling tunelessly for several long, dragging moments. The suspense was literally killing Felicity and Roy.

"No." She finally answered and picked up the cords off the ground and walked over to Felicity. "That may come as a surprise."

"Why?" Felicity demanded. Her eyes wet with tears but resilient. It made no sense for her to leave them alive.

Artemis frowned, "you're very ungrateful aren't you? Consider your lives a gift from me to you." It didn't answer the question. She swiftly tied Felicity to the chair. When she finished, they looked at each other, the assassin's grey eyes savouring the victory of how she had turned the tables on them. She grinned and patted Felicity's cheek jovially; it was all she could do not to burst into sobs.

Artemis walked to the centre of the room, picking her mask off the table and wearing it across the bottom half of her face. Just like that, she became a League assassin again.

"Well I got to run. Goodnight". She scooped down in a graceful bow. "Thank you for your hospitality."

A/N: phew okay, we're nearly done here. Up next: Digg and Oliver vs The Church of Blood.