Park Row 'Crime Alley', Gotham.

The night was at its end, dawn was minutes approaching. Crime Alley was the equivalent of the Glades in Starling, sucking the soul of the city it occupied like a parasite, never leaving but always draining its life force.

Gotham could have been her home in another life, since it was her mother's home town. In her childhood she often visited it for training outside of Nanda Parbat's cliffs.

Returning to Gotham brought unwanted nostalgia; the familiar smell of kebab wafting from pavement vendors, the crows that huddled on the electric lines, the seedy pickpocket ring in the subway station she waited in; the gargoyles grinning nightmarishly from the rafters of the Gothic early twentieth century buildings.

But what was more unsolicited was the Bat-signal in the sky. Tattooing the night's heavens when the city called for its dark knight. His presence and justice had grown more prominent these past few years; they have a goddamn two-hundred watt light for him. The people must have really lost their faith in Gotham, else why turn to vigilantes?

She could say the exact same for Starling City.

Aiding the drug lord's narcotic's business had certainly stirred an awakening in that metropolitan. Crime had been on a lull when she arrived, criminals of every profession pissing their pants at the sight of the Arrow. She found no joy in causing fear or disturbing the city's hard-forged peace, but if it gives Oliver Queen aka the Arrow a run for his money, so be it.

The HIVE enforcer arrived on time, he did not bring any back-up, but he did bring what he promised. They were both masked. Without so much as a hello he dumped a black body bag at her feet, he unzipped it partially to show Komodo unconscious within it. If Sara was with her, they might have laughed about it after the trade was done. But Sara had chosen her side, and it was not with her.

Artemis kept her word. "Verdant, the Glades, Starling City." She may have owed Oliver Queen a blood debt for saving her life from Cyrus Gold, but if Talia took over the League, it would wipe the slate clean of all debts.

His eyes twinkled with a smile she could not see. "Until next time, princess."

"I'm not too fond of these meetings but I guess it works out in the end." Al-Sayad bent and attached a carabineer to the handles of the body bag to make propelling Komodo to the roof easier, she attached another to her belt and readied a grappling arrow.

"Artemis-" only a handful of outsiders knew her birth name; she threw him a dirty look. "We can both pretend to be something we're not; I do my part for HIVE and the Council without asking any questions and you can be Talia Al Ghul's lapdog, but truth is we don't have a shred honour in our bodies. We're not so different, little girl."

Artemis shot the hook and tugged it to secure it. They stared at each other with matching grey eyes. She said stonily, "That's where you're wrong, dad. If I didn't have a shred of honour, I would've killed you by now."

Closed down STAR Labs facility, Starling City

The thrill and adrenaline of running was still pumping through him when the Central City speedster slowed down in front of STAR Labs. It was smaller than its Central City counterpart but if he remembered correctly it had the correct components to synthesize a formula such as mirakuru. He was confident Caitlin could accomplish what Talia wanted of her, which made saving her that much direr.

To his astonishment the doors were unbarred; he ran inside, it was nearly pitch black darkness, except for the sliver of light from the doors. His footsteps echoed in what was an empty laboratory space, there's nothing here; it's all gone.

Barry heard the creak of old piping and spun on his heel towards the eaves, there was a shifting shape.

"Far from home aren't we?"

It was a man's voice. Barry ran to it, but when he got onto the catwalk there was no one there, a shiver ran down his spine.

He fought that feeling with anger. "Where's Talia? Where's Dr. Snow?" But the night was so still it seemed like he was shouting at the air.

And then from behind someone whistled.

He whirled and ran…and slipped. He was floored by something cold and wet beneath him. Before he could grasp it, there was bright blue beam, and Barry had never been so cold in his life.

…

When Oliver arrived, he was gripped in panic; he hoped he wasn't too late to prevent whatever snare Talia had set for them, in all likelihood it was aimed directly at Barry. He was inside just in time to see a blue-hooded man leave in a van in the alley. But he could not chase him, for then he heard a weak moan from the rafters.

He found Barry lying on the ground, pale as snow and shivering so violently it was as if he meant to break his own bones. When he grabbed his arm, Oliver had to release it when a biting coldness made him hiss. What was even more troubling was the way Barry's feet moved; twitching, convulsing in unseen distortions as if he were a broken toy that malfunctioned at high-speed.

The Foundry

Felicity swarmed Oliver and Barry when they arrived, the latter was walking normally now. Barry was resting most of his weight on Oliver. He looked as if he was sweating, but then she noticed the droplets of water on the front of his costume, felt the coolness of his skin when she helped him lie down, and realized that he was not sweating but defrosting.

"What the hell…?" Roy wondered, handing a blanket for her to drape over Barry.

"I'm getting a hold of Cisco."

Over phone and video conference-most of which Oliver ludicrously spent hiding on the balcony at risk his identity could be accidentally revealed-Cisco told them Barry was experiencing third degree frostbite. But thanks to his cells ability to regenerate abnormally fast he had survived Snart's cold gun. From his and Harrison Wells' calculations the effects of the gun had been drastically enhanced.

In conclusion; Allen had taken a debilitating hit and would not be running for at least 24 hours.

Oliver descended from the balcony to check on Allen. He was not very good at comforting others, but in this case, his lack of empathy was more because Barry had done something incredibly stupid.

"I did tell you we were doing things my way, Barry."

Roy gave him an incredulous look. He was fully aware he must be acting like a robot-jerk, considering Allen nearly froze to death.

Barry pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders. "I cuh-could w-work with you when I dih-didn't have p-powers," but there wasn't much fight in him with his teeth still audibly clattering together.

"The last encounter you had with Snart ended up in a train derailing," he deadpanned.

"Hey, I saved everyone," Barry said through gritted teeth.

He sighed and sat on the stool beside him, he handed him a hot bottle to put on his chest. 'Keep him warm' were the specific instructions Dr. Wells gave.

"I have been doing this much longer than you have, Barry. You cannot simply rely on your powers. You need to case the scene, the environment, you have the time too. With this kind of enemy, they've planned for every possible outcome, how are you going to defeat them if you're the guy with good intentions who's constantly running in blind? You end up putting yourself and others in danger."

Barry swallowed before answering, staring off in the distance as he mulled over Oliver's slice of wisdom. "Okay. Lesson learnt chief. I guess…with all the meta's we've dealt with, their superpowers made what they were doing seem less…real."

"Aw c'mon guys at least give me a tour. Not even a virtual one? I'm practically inside the place already!" Cisco complained. Felicity angled him away from the inner view of the Foundry and instead focused on her face, which was the last thing he wanted to see. "Can't the Arrow make an exception?"

"Sorry Cisco, the Arrow would prefer it if I didn't do that, I'm not looking to get on the guy's bad side."

"At least show me the toys."

"'Toys?'" Oliver mouthed.

She titled the tablet to whisper to him, "Just your quiver and bow and your suit."

He stabbed a finger at his chest, "I'm still wearing my suit!"

"Uggh, just your bow and quiver then!"

"No."

"Come on Oliver!" She said in a shouted whisper.

"No."

"Don't be a spoil sport!"

"Fine..."

Quite impressively, just from viewing the arrows through the video cam Cisco could describe their inner mechanisms. "Cool…" Cisco said in awe, which put a small secret smile on Oliver's face.

"You know what? I've got a few ideas for improvement."

And the smile was gone.

Dr. Wells cut the fun and said, "Ms. Smoak, show me Barry." Allen gave Harrison a tiny, sheepish, wave. "Mr. Allen. I see we had another rendezvous with Mr. Snart, an unwise decision."

"You don't have to rub it in Dr. Wells."

He sighed, "I'm s-sorry guys; it was my f-fault for running in there buh-blindly. I really gotta stop doing that."

"Ya think?" Cisco chimed in.

Felicity filled them in on what they had so far. Talia, the League, mirakuru, and the fact that she hired Leonard Snart aka Captain Cold to disable Barry in order to execute her plans without interruption. They still couldn't pinpoint Talia's location and Sara and Laurel's inquiry into the equipment used by the Church of Blood was a dead-end.

"Keep us posted on the search for Caitlin. I sincerely hope you put an end to the manufacture of this mirakuru drug. Ms. Smoak, may I speak with you privately?"

Felicity switched off the speaker and video call. "What's up doc?"

"I would like to thank you for your help, it is very much appreciated. Though I must be blunt with you… it is hard for me to put the life of my colleague in the hands of a man whose name I don't even know."

She was taken aback, Cisco and Barry trusted Oliver, and the former did not know him either. Frankly, she shouldn't be surprised, but she didn't like his tone either, knowing what he was asking of her. Not once was she ever tempted to spill the Arrow's identity and she definitely wasn't about to break her streak because Well's asked her too.

"I'm sorry; it's not my secret to tell."

"You have to understand my trepidation, his reputation is known in Central City too. And most of us remember him as the killer he was two years ago, a dangerous man who took no mercy on anyone who crossed him."

"Not anymore, he's changed," she said defensively. Sometimes, she didn't know why she was never truly bothered by the killing. I believed in his crusade, in Oliver Queen, from start to finish I never gave up on him. So far, her stubborn belief in him had not failed her, why should it now?

"I see I am unable to convince you otherwise. Very well, I'll figure out the Arrow's identity myself. Cisco will be live with you for the duration of the search. I hope this does not impede your progress."

"Of course not."

…

Roy rested his crutches on the table and poured Barry a mug of hot chocolate Felicity made, "Why is there some guy in a winter jacket, with a gun that zaps people with ice?" He shook his head, "man; the stuff on the streets these days."

The speedster took the mug from him and blew the steam away. "That was Captain Cold."

"'Captain Cold'?"

He took a grateful sip of the beverage, "yeah, he's partnered with Heat Wave."

"Heat Wave?" Oliver guffawed, crossing his arms, "You give your bad guys cute nicknames?"

Barry cleared his throat, "Should we pour Deathstroke and Huntress a cup of hot coco, and invite them to this conversation?"

Oliver stopped laughing, "Touché," he said blankly.

"By the way," Barry said, "I've thought about what I want call myself, how does 'The Flash' sound?"

Central City

Later that evening…

On the top floor of a swanky five star restaurant he had booked out— Adeline Kane lowered herself into the chair opposite him. He had made the trip to the obnoxiously bright and sunny Central City specifically for this meeting. She got comfortable and ordered herself a scotch, Malcolm needed his wits about him so stayed with his diluted liquor.

"I thought the war in Corto Maltese swallowed you whole," she delicately balanced her chin on the tips of her manicured fingers, directing a charming smile at him. "I am pleased to see you are still in one piece."

"You mean the war you started. Were you indirectly trying to kill me?"

HIVE was fanning the flames of war on both sides. This was not their first rodeo. Throwing their weight to opposing factions within a country, manipulating the outcome and bringing whole nations under their command; it was just another day at the office at HIVE HQ.

She snickered, "This may come as a surprise to you Malcolm, but the world does not revolve around you. We chose the island because it was being led by an ineffectual monarchy. Turn on any news channel and you can see it was rather easy to bring it under our control."

If he had other options he would have avoided throwing his bets in with HIVE. But they were the only organization he had any stake in that could possibly have a chance at toppling the League of Assassins and Ra's Al Ghul. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

"I merit the success that you, Lex, and the Council have accomplished. What are Mr. Armitage's further plans?"

Kane studied him whilst playing with the rim of her glass. "What do you know about Mr. Armitage?"

He caged his fingers on the table and leaned forward, saying quietly, "I know that you pretend to be the one leading HIVE, when you're merely his proxy."

"Our leader desires to remain discreet, he has many enemies," she said carefully. It showed the power the mysterious man had over his council members if his pseudonym was revered and said with caution. "Am I correct to assume that you want back in?"

"Possibly the only correct judgement you've made in years."

Kane glowered at him, she looked ready to get up and leave. "I did not interrupt my work in Central City to listen to your impertinence."

A small smile played on Merlyn's lips, "But you have been inconsistent following your own vendetta, now your position is precarious at best," he said giving glaring hints that he was taunting her.

As Commander, Kane was in charge of HIVE's armed forces. Taking her seat on the table could give him a gold mine of resources to dismantle the League.

For a long time after the failed assassin attempt, she was never the same. It was in some measure Malcolm's fault, being the one who directed the assassins to her. None of her HIVE colleagues had utilized this untapped volatility within her, but he was willing to bend her like a straw if it got him what he wanted.

The HIVE enforcer, Lawrence Crock came to their table; he was a giant—the only word for it, broadly muscular, with not a single percent of body fat. He had crew cut blonde hair and grey eyes. Crock interrupted their repartee. They briefly discussed Gotham City before he said, "It's important, commander." He showed his boss something on a tablet. "Verdant, it's a club in the Starling's Glades, possible lair of the Arrow."

Cold foreboding congealed in his throat. Merlyn felt for the dagger he kept on his belt. It was the sole weapon he had on his person, a quiver would have been too inconspicuous, and he personally hated guns.

Adeline arched a brow; she gave him a playful smile, but he could see the savage gleam in her ice blue eyes; eyes that were always ungentle no matter how beautiful the rest of her was.

"Well Mr. Merlyn, did you hear that? We can finally settle the score."

Malcolm Merlyn was unsmiling. A part of him wanted to laugh until his sides hurt, because for two years he'd known the exact locale of Oliver's Queen's base of operations. Beneath the Verdant in the Glades, hiding in plain sight, even he could agree it was clever. After the Undertaking failed, busting into the Foundry and smiting Queen sounded like just what he needed to quench his thirst for revenge.

But alas, he had bigger fish to fry and left the boy to his own devices.

"And where did you obtain this information?" He asked the enforcer, showing no outward interest of his own.

"A source from the League."

"One of our leader's greatest enemies," she remarked, "But you trust this source?"

"Does it matter? I can nuke the target and we can wash our hands clean of the Starling vigilante."

Kane leveled herself in her seat, which reflected her strict military training in ASIS. "No, go for a more subtle approach, take twenty men and scout it. If the Arrow is there; kill everyone else, but I want him alive."

A warning from her brother and father would not stop Thea from entering the Glades. If Kane busted down the Arrow's front door and found Oliver Queen beneath the mask, it would take the speed of thought to connect Thea to it.

Malcolm knew then it was now or never.

"Ms. Kane. I would retract that order if I were you."

She glared at him, "excuse me?"

He could sense her guards circling him as if he were easy prey, each one of them reaching for their holsters. Lawrence was shifting his gaze between his boss and Merlyn unable to predict the outcome of the situation.

"You heard me," he said through bared teeth, "Back. Off."

Adeline grasped the scotch glass with her fingers; he heard it crack. "I don't think you understand the level of your authority here, Merlyn."

"Oh I do." He watched the ice in the brown liquid chink against each other as it reverberated with the force of her ire.

"I have him, Kane." A frantic panic splashed across her features. "You know exactly who I'm referring too."

A tense silence followed. "Leave us," she ordered her guards.

"Commander we—"

She lost it. The glass shattered in her clutch, and her corner of the table caved in beneath her elbow, splinters flying, it flapped ajar and then broke off. Malcolm tried hard not to look too startled.

She stood, the chair toppling behind her. "Get out! All of you! Get out now!" Glaring at them, they were quicker to obey. Once they scuttled out and shut the door she snapped her head back to Merlyn.

He could not explain what he witnessed; the uncanny strength she had, the iron beneath the porcelain. Not to mention how she felt no pain when a glass shard skewered her hand and was still lodged there.

"You will not leave this place. I will flay the skin from your bones until my son is—"

"You're not a very pleasant hostess are you?" Her glare deepened and he pushed his chair back.

"I will leave this place; when I want too, how I want too. And you're not going to harm a single hair on my head, because anything you to do to me; I'll make sure Joe gets the same treatment. So you better be hospitable." Malcolm stood, fully intending to leave the restaurant unscathed.

Blood squeezed out of the injured fist she curled. "You're bluffing," she said, voice low, giving him one last chance to deny everything. But Merlyn was on a roll.

"You want to bet?"

Unblinking, he picked a fork and threw it at the guard who tried to sneak up on him, it went into his eye. Adeline swallowed whatever threat she had, watching her man howling, rolling on the floor as blood spurted out of his maimed socket. "You're lucky your pet missed."

She exhaled shakily, and her puppy dog eyes watered. "Please, you must understand... you had a son once. He's my only child, Slade Wilson stole him from me when the siege failed as payback."

You mean the Siege you funded? The one where my daughter was nearly killed? Even monsters can plead for the safety of their children.

"I miss him," a tear rolled down her cheek, "I just want to see him again... D-do you want me to beg?"

"And what good would that do, other than bore me?" Merlyn could tell the difference between real and crocodile tears. As long as he had Joe, he had her. He stepped over the fallen bodyguard, as he came closer, she stopped crying.

"Are we done here?" He was met with rebellious silence; the blood from her hand dripped onto the ground, her mouth was a thin red line. Malcolm buttoned his suit jacket.

"Oh yeah, we're done here."

The Foundry

A few hours later...

Barry glanced appreciatively around the lair, "I like the upgrades to the Arrow cave."

"We don't call it that." Felicity and Oliver said simultaneously.

"Ever," she added.

The speedster was healing faster than predicted, which was a good sign. Currently his only concerns were what else Talia Al Ghul had up her sleeve to surprise them and where the hell Sara was when they needed her.

Oliver's phone rang then, it was an unknown caller. He got out of earshot of the others and answered.

"Hello Oliver…"

His breathing hitched. He knew that voice. He felt as if he had been jolted awake. Every fiber of his being was alight, with vengeance, rage, it took everything he had to pull back and control it.

"Malcolm..."

"We need to talk."

Oliver let some of his control slip, and said with a barely concealed growl; "Tell me why I shouldn't sic the League on you right now?"

"Yes Taer-Al-Asfar has returned home," Malcolm said, quite patiently. "And she's been persistent in her search for me. But my business is not with her. You and I, we have enemies in common."

"And why would you want to help me?"

"You would be wise to hear me out. The safety of those you care for depends on it, and that includes Thea." Oliver stayed quiet, "do finally I have your attention?" Malcolm said.

He shouldn't even be considering this offer for parley; he should know any offer of help from Malcolm would be poisonous. But with every Tom, Dick and Harry of evil villains out to get his head, he was running out of options.

After some anxious, difficult deliberation, he had to make a compromise if he wanted to protect his sister. He looked over his shoulder at the rest of his team, he knew Malcolm would never set foot in the foundry; he was liable to get shot at by literally everyone in the room.

"We do this on neutral ground," Oliver said hating himself a little bit with every word.

Malcolm sounded pleased, "Excellent. Nelson plaza at Coldwater and 5th, bottom of the stairs, it is a very public place; you'll want to leave your mask behind. I think this should remain between the two of us, so if I even see one of your associates; I promise you, you will not see me."

A dangerous, stupid thing he'd done: giving Malcolm the power to dictate the situation.

Oliver pocketed his phone and prayed he was not making the biggest mistake of his life.

Mercury Labs

Caitlin Snow usually loved a challenge; the pressure of an impending deadline and scientific query that needed to be solved always managed to spark a fire inside her, though outside was always the same, severe, cold Dr. Snow.

That was until she had a threat hanging over her head. Which made everything much, much more difficult.

She thought of Ronnie throughout her confinement and slavery in Mercury Labs, under the watchful eyes of David and Azura. He gave her strength while she felt hapless to do anything except obey.

When they chained her ankles and thrust her towards the industrial centrifuge with both vials to do what she was an expert at, she was still in a state of abject panic. Her mind blanked.

At first she considered destroying the mirakuru and venom samples, but then the crazed idea of building a bomb entered her mind. If they were all burnt to a crisp, Talia (she figured out she was not called Nyssa) would not be able to use her or harm her friends.

But the leader wasn't with them, and she had other conspirators too, who could fulfill the threat. And if it wasn't Caitlin making it for her, she would find another poor sap scientist to synthesize the super drug.

Caitlin was not selfish. For the survival of Cisco, Barry, Dr. Wells, and everyone that mattered she had to keep going. Her friends have to be looking for her, at least at the end of this, when Talia got what she wanted, only Caitlin herself would have to die, and there could be a chance to stop her from utilizing it.

She had made five batches of ten; Talia was content with this figure before she left the labs.

While she configured the biochemical testing machine in front of her she observed her surroundings. Four exits; two southeast, two west.

David, a six-foot-four, grim-faced, thickly muscled assassin with a shock of light grey hair was attaching something to the doors. She recognized the devices, Cisco had raved about them ages ago. It was a latest design, new to the market.

Explosives, she recalled, sensory-activated.

Her eyes widened. Anyone who entered the facility from the outside would blow themselves and the entire place to kingdom come. She titled her head to the catwalk that framed the labs. The windows were safe. Talia and her people will escape from there, with or without me.

If Barry or the Arrow tried to save her, no one would win.

Except Talia…

If she was Barry, she would have contacted Felicity Smoak. There was one working computer in the facility to monitor the machines, it was disconnected to wifi but she knew how to curtail the firewall of any router within a three mile radius and piggy back onto their connection. If she could get on it and send an SOS…

No one except Caitlin knew what the stuff in the room could actually do, and this was her advantage. She spied Azura who had been put on watch duty over her. She lounged beside the industrial centrifuge. On the other side of it was the computer.

Dr. Snow stood in front of an incubator for bacterial culture. She flipped the switches she knew would cause it to short circuit. The fan in the incubator sparked and rumbled. Azura frowned as she was distracted from the sword she was sharpening.

Caitlin said, "Um…a little help? This machine needs two operators. One here and one at the desktop."

She scowled, "you help yourself—"

"Azura," Talia called sternly from the window she entered from, "sa'a daha."

If she did not listen to her, the disgruntled assassin definitely obeyed their leader and followed Caitlin's 'instructions'. While she was busy trying to adjust the incubator fan she quickly went to the computer and typed as fast as she could.

Nelson Plaza

He felt faceless in a crowd of a thousand faces. Merlyn had chosen the perfect place to meet. It was not easy to leave the Foundry; Oliver had lied to everyone to come here.

But he knew he was juggling too many balls then; finding Dr. Snow was the mission, but there were other players working in the background that he needed to get in line too. He had seen the HIVE chart, the enemies they were up against.

He labelled this meet in the square as an opportunity to collect intel, nothing more, nothing less. He didn't know what Malcolm's motivations were, or what enemies they shared, but bottom line; he could not be trusted.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he circled, searching for Malcolm. He felt defenseless but then again, that was probably what the Dark Archer wanted. There was no sign this was an ambush. Several of the world's deadliest assassins were in town too, each one of them willing to kill Merlyn, he wouldn't want to draw attention to himself by putting on a show.

"Hello Oliver."

He turned and Merlyn was there. He descended towards him, very much alive, holding his hands out, greeting him as if they were old friends. Years ago they were, in the way you were nice to your best friend's dad, but that was before Tommy died.

"How are you?" Merlyn asked, "You've accomplished a lot with this city, I see." He had taken the fastest jet to get to Starling and join the action, there were even rumors Talia was in town. He simply could not miss this.

"I'm not here to discuss Starling."

Merlyn gave a neutral smile, but the gesture did not reach his eyes. "I understand you're not killing people these days."

"I'm considering making an exception," his fist clenched and he resisted the urge to strike.

"Ra's Al Ghul has placed a blood bounty on my head."

"And from what Sara told me it still stands."

"And from what I'm told her position with the eldest Al Ghul in Nanda Parbat is precarious at best." Malcolm enjoyed the irony of it, "So you see Ms. Lance and I are in the same boat. Unfortunately, the League is a lesser evil. HIVE is where our primary concern should be."

Oliver looked at him warily, he had inkling they could have been involved in the Undertaking but he couldn't confirm it. "How do you know about them?"

Merlyn rolled his eyes and pointed at his chest, "These streets were mine long before you laid claim to them. This is still my city. I entered a partnership with HIVE long ago."

That set his teeth on edge. "You're one of them."

"Hold your accusatory tone, Mr. Queen," he raised placating hands, "My failure in the Undertaking lowered my rank in the Council. I have no power with them."

Like hell he was going to fall for that. "How do I know you haven't come back to Starling to destroy it again with your new friends?"

Malcolm actually looked offended, "I came back for the simplest and noblest of reasons. Thea. Six months ago during the Siege, she was almost killed by one of Slade Wilson's mirakuru soldiers; I protected her."

He shook his head, "You're lying. She told me what happened."

"Then she's lying," Merlyn countered with a hiss, the truth of it stung a little. "She didn't make it out, but you wouldn't know that because you were out being—what are you calling yourself these days? The 'Arrow,'" he mocked. "That was the night I realized that Thea needs me. Don't worry, I've kept my distance." He sighed thoughtfully, eyes trailing off, "the world is a dangerous place-" then Malcolm glared at him with that same disregard and pure loathing he had the night they discovered each other's secrets in Merlyn Global, "-and you're too distracted to protect her."

He wanted to say he was trying his best, but his best would not be enough for Malcolm, who had not forgiven him for ruining his plans. His best was not enough for him either. But god damn it, he was going to try and try until it took the last breath right out of him. That's how far he would go for his sister. And there was no use, wasting those breaths on a fallen opponent like Malcolm Merlyn.

"HIVE, Ra's Al Ghul, the League; they're all the same to me," he said coolly, he could not let anything he said hasten his resolve, he made a promise, he had a duty. "I will destroy them before they can hurt my family or my home."

Malcolm raised a skeptical brow, "such high goals you've set for yourself. You need to learn how to walk first before you can run. I can teach you. These enemies we share; you think you can take on all of them at once all on your own?" He barked a scornful laugh, "You'll die before you can even nock your bow, and your friends and your city will die with you. I have the influence and the knowledge to eliminate these foes; together we could make a formidable team."

He leveled his gaze with Oliver's, no more taunts left, only the gravity of what they were both facing. "You need me."

A hand in HIVE and a hand in the League, what more could he ask for? It was tempting. But the end cannot justify the means. The voice of reason in his head sounded a lot like Diggle, and if his friend was here with him, he would tell him it was wrong, and Oliver knew it too, in his heart.

"I'd rather take on all of them than partner with you," he said with cold resolution.

Malcolm mouth was set in a grim line, eyes dead, unforgiving.

"Then I hope you enjoy losing, Oliver."

Mercury Labs

Soon after she sent the email to Felicity's account, she moved between the familiar cabinets and machines, the final serum being heated in batches. There was the chance she had gotten the coding wrong, or that Felicity did not check her email, or something terrible had happened to Barry. But it was the only hope she had to hold on too.

Azura tugged at the chain between her ankles as if she was some dog on a leash. It amused her to see her stumble, and Caitlin was getting tired of this one-sided game. The assassin was young enough to be Caitlin's sister, but she had never met a teenager who was also a sadistic killer. They must start young, wherever they're from.

"Could you please refrain from doing that?" Caitlin asked her as calmly as she could. She must have displayed a bit too much attitude because she snarled viciously, tugged at the chain even harder making her fall on her butt.

"Enough!" Talia shoved Azura's shoulder and gave her a look that made her glad not to be in her shoes. "I don't care if you're bored; don't play with what's not yours, or I'll gut you."

"Apologies, my lady," she humbled herself before her master. Talia's attention was directed at her now. Caitlin gulped and hastily got to her feet.

"Is it done?" She asked, and she could tell her answer would be weighted with life or death itself.

Caitlin nodded subserviently, "Yes. It should be ready any moment now."

"Show me."

Before Caitlin could awkwardly walk with two chained legs towards the oven, Talia roughly pushed Azura forward. Caitlin had to back away a bit so that she didn't crash into her.

"And here's your first test subject; for the sake of your friend's lives, she better not die, Dr. Snow."

She gulped and nodded mutely. She put on a heat-protection glove to remove a sample from the batch. It was an aqua color due to the Kobra venom and the additives she combined to prevent heart failure and bleeding from the eyes.

Azura was stone-faced as she watched Caitlin inject it into her arm, whether her lack of emotion was due to loyalty, fear, or both, she didn't know. She didn't understand the rules these people lived by, didn't want to believe that anyone could have evil like this in them, and they don't even need superpowers.

Once the last drop of the serum was inside her, Talia had retreated from her colleague as if she was a bomb, Caitlin too. David observed apathetically from the catwalk. Chancing a side glance, she saw the explosives lit with their red sensors, please check your email Felicity, she prayed, and for the love of God, Barry, don't run in, don't run in...

One minute passed… She didn't know what to expect, likely an instantaneous build of muscle mass, rage, for Azura to go into neurotic fit of some sort. It's not like she had been given enough time to build a proper hypothesis.

They watched, they waited, and after two minutes…nothing happened.

Talia suspicions immediately fell on her. Azura shrugged and sat on a stool, looking perfectly normal. The Al Ghul drew closer, fingers brushing over the hilt of her sword.

She held her hands out, "No, no, no, I-I don't understand—the mirakuru and venom are known to be fast-acting."

"Did you sabotage it on purpose?"

"No! I ran the tests, even made use of the lab rats, I—"

Talia backhanded her across the face. She gasped; the shock and pain of it rendered Caitlin speechless; she touched her stinging red cheek.

She grabbed a hold of her hair and yanked painfully, "Try again," she growled into her ear.

The Foundry

"You're back already?" Felicity said to Oliver as he rested a brown bag on the table. Out of nowhere, he had offered to purchase food to fuel their bellies in the all-night search.

"Uh…yeah," he replied, his mind elsewhere.

Barry kept the blanket around himself and rifled through the bag, "Hey did you forget my pecan pie?"

Oliver gave a small shrug, "Oh…must have slipped my mind, sorry."

Roy was disappointed too, holding up the tuna sandwich he got, "I asked for bacon."

"You did?" But he was not paying attention to anything in particular anymore.

Roy's sniffed the tuna unhappily, and grunted as he fixed his crutches beneath his underarms, "That's the last time we ask you to buy snacks," he muttered under his breath.

Oliver didn't eat with them, but instead went off and triple-checked his quiver. It made her wonder if he ever ate, or slept, or did anything but be the Arrow.

"You okay?" Felicity asked him. But he looked like he was a million miles away. Did a snack-run drain his determination to find Caitlin and leave them with this brooding vigilante?

Truthfully, Oliver was not okay. You'll die... your friends and your city will die with you. He would be lying if he said his words were not getting to him. Every step he took in the opposite direction from Malcolm Merlyn had diminished his resolve to fight this alone.

"Yeah," he lied, "where are we?"

She sipped the latte he got for her, at least he got her order correct. "STAR Labs transferred equipment to multiple storage units and research labs across the state—"

Her head followed the ping sound of her phone on the desk; it lit with the LED light to tell her she received an email. Oliver cocked his head expectantly, ignoring it she continued, "—looks like another dead-end to be honest. I could not locate her phone either."

"Do you always get emails with the subject line 'BOMB', Felicity?" Barry asked her, holding up her phone.

She was too confused by his remark to scold him for peeping at her screen. The guys surrounded her as she unlocked the phone.

BOMB.

–C.S.

"'C.S.'…Caitlin Snow!"

"No way," Barry got to his feet and shuffled to lean next to her, "she's warning us."

"Get Sara," Oliver instructed Roy as he grabbed his costume to get changed in the back.

"I can trace this easily!" She dived into her chair, the momentum rolling her to the keyboard. "Got it! West Starling, she's in…a pet shop?" Felicity double-checked the coordinates to be sure.

Barry went behind her, putting his arm around her, he gently nudged her hand off the mouse to use it. "The neighborhood, the address…I think I recognize it."

Oliver came out just in time to see the close proximity of Barry and Felicity. She had gone to Central City to check on him a few weeks prior, if she had not told him of Allen's super-speed, what other details did she purposefully miss out? He cleared his throat loud and deliberately, and that broke their positioning.

"There, Mercury Labs! Dr. Wells must have sold the equipment to a subsidiary and they resold it to them," suggested Barry.

In routine, he slung his bow over his shoulder, the quiver on the other, and reached for his mask last, "I'll check it out."

"Whoa, don't you want back-up?" He gestured to himself, "hero and hero; partners?"

He pressed his lips together, unsure of how to put it to him, "Barry…you're not exactly…nimble on your feet."

He looked surprised, "What do you mean? I'm way nimble on my feet, and look…" he showed the blurred vibration of his hand, "I've got forty percent of my speed back, the Flash is back in action baby!"

Like an energetic puppy he ran around the foundry, causing a red tornado of paper and plastic to whoosh into the air.

Oliver titled his head to the ceiling, exhaling in annoyance, waiting for him to stop.

"Yesss! Let's get Caitlin back!" He exclaimed when he was done. Felicity adjusted her askew glasses; Roy wiped the tuna salad off his face, after it had been flung all over him due to the wind.

"Alright…and what's your plan?"

Barry frowned at him like the answer was obvious, "I run in there and save her."

"We could do that," absolutely not, not in a million years he thought, "but she didn't risk her life to send Felicity a meaningless email, with the subject 'BOMB'."

He slapped his forehead and then snapped his fingers, "Oh, right. Right. Okay. So…first we case the scene?" He stated but the insecurity in his words made it sound more like a question.

"Good."

To Felicity, Oliver said, "Get Cisco we might need his help."

"I'll you see there," Barry zoomed out of the foundry with a streak of red lightning.

A/N: flashbacks should be back after next chapter where I will try to wrap up this crossover. Kept the conversation between Malcolm and Oliver fairly similar to the episode. Sorry for the gaps between updates, I'm on holiday now, I promise I'll get back to writing ASAP.