Chapter V
Present day: Starling City
Deathstroke had Regina held captive in his clutches with a knife to her throat, while Clock King held a blade to an unconscious Canary's throat.
"So what's it gonna be, kid?" Deathstroke asked.
"You've only got time to save one of them," Clock King said, "better make your choice quickly."
"Slade, stop this!" Arrow said. "They don't deserve this!"
"You're right," Regina said, "we don't!"
She could feel energy building up inside her and then suddenly it blasted out in a burst of light magic, sending Deathstroke flying.
Arrow and Clock King both expressed shocked expressions, along with Regina herself.
While Clock King was caught off-guard from Regina's surprising display of her powers, Canary regained consciousness and attacked Tockman's henchman.
"Surprised, boys?" she asked, "I was playing possum. It's over!"
"I believe it's high time we depart," Clock King said, as he climbed up onto the roof of a nearby building.
"You're not going anywhere!" Arrow growled, as he and Canary ran after him.
"Sorry," Clock King said, "but you fail to realize that the Eastbound 10:30 train headed for Gotham is always seven minutes early! Adieu!"
He jumped off the roof, and onto the top of a speeding train by the railroad below.
Arrow and Canary were shocked at his escape.
"Are you ok, Ms. Mills?" Arrow asked.
"Fine," Regina said, "though it looks like your enemy, my captor, got away."
"We'll find Slade," Arrow said, "and stop him."
"That's what you keep saying," Regina said.
"Well, it's true," Arrow said, "we need to get you somewhere safe. Felicity?"
"On our way," Felicity said, as she and Diggle drove the van towards them.
"Where are you taking me?" Regina asked.
"To my secret lair," Arrow said, "We call it the loft."
"More like the Arrow-cave" Diggle said, coming up to them, as he and Felicity arrived.
"It's not exactly a cave," Felicity said. "Plus, there's much better Wifi than there would be in an actual cave."
"That was some impressive lightshow back there!" Arrow said to Regina.
"It's called light magic," Regina said, "lately I've been changing. Perhaps dark magic may not work here, but Iight magic functions on a different level."
"I've heard stories about an ancient mystic who lives in Salem," Canary said, "his name is Dr. Fate. Perhaps he can help you control your power."
"I don't need help," Regina said, "I've been using magic my whole life," Regina said, "by my guess, if my half-sister were to have gone there, they'd burn her at the stake soon as look at her. By the way, I don't think we've been formerly introduced. Who are you, anyway, Black Canary?"
"Just the Canary," Canary said.
"Good," Regina said, "because black is my color."
"Technically, black's not really an actual color," Felicity piped up.
"Whatever," Regina said, "let's go."
Island flashback:
Ariel and Knyazev woke up, dazed and confused, captive in Slade's ship.
"Wh-Where are we?" Knyazev asked groggily.
"The wench and the commie are awake, sir!" a guard called out to Slade.
"Excellent," Slade said, coming forward, "Now you two are going to tell me everything you know!"
"Never!" Knyazev protested.
"Interesting," Slade said to Ariel, "I've never seen you before, beautiful. What's your name?"
"She can't speak!" Knyazev said, "and even if she could, she wouldn't tell you a thing!"
"Don't be so sure," Slade said, "I have a way with women. Don't worry, sweetheart, everything's going to be fine. Now, tell me where Oliver Queen and his friend Sara are and what they are planning."
A look of confusion washed over the Little Mermaid's face. She had no idea what he was talking about.
"Don't play coy, dear," Slade said, "now I'm going to give you one last chance."
Ariel's confusion turned to fear.
"The silent treatment, eh?" Slade asked.
"I told you, she can't speak!" Knyazev said.
"Be that as it may," Slade said, as he pulled out a blade. He grabbed her and put the blade to her throat. "We'll try this another way. Tell me where Oliver and Sara are now and what they're planning, or she dies."
BACK IN THE PRESENT…
Starling City—the Loft:
"This is our base of operations, Ms. Mills," Arrow said.
"Quite an impressive setup you have here," Regina commented.
"Now that you're here, I think it's best we let you know who we really are," Arrow said, "I don't do this for just anyone, but I sense a kindred spirit in you."
He removed his mask.
"Oliver?" Regina asked, "Oliver Queen?"
"Yes," Oliver confirmed.
"Well," Regina said, "looks like I have more in common with you than I thought. Not only are we both Queens, but I now have two tall, dark, and green-clad archers in my life."
"I guess so," Ollie said.
Canary cleared her throat.
"And who are you really?" Regina asked.
Sara took off her mask and removed her wig.
"My name is Sara," Sara said, "with no 'h' 'cause h's are ew!"
Everyone stared at her in bewilderment, raising their eyebrows.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly, "I've been watching too much Jimmy Fallon."
"You would trust me with a secret like this?" Regina asked, "Even after I admitted to all the harm I've caused in the past?"
"Why not?" came a voice, "he trusted me, didn't he?"
Laurel came forward.
"Laurel!" Regina said, "You knew about this too?"
"Yes," Laurel said, "but it wasn't my place to tell you."
"I understand." Regina said. "Who else knows about this?"
"We like to keep the circle small," Oliver said, "only the people in this room know, plus Amanda Waller and a few of our enemies like Deathstroke."
"And don't forget me!" came a voice.
Isabel Rochev aka Ravager leapt out of the shadows.
"Isabel?!" Oliver said with surprise.
"The name's Ravager now," she replied, "and it's time for my revenge!"
FLASHBACK TO THE ISLAND:
Slade had Ariel at knifepoint while Anatoli Knyazev watched in horror.
"Tell me their whereabouts, now!" Slade yelled.
"Alright, alright," Knyazev pleaded, "I'll tell you, just let her and promise not to harm her!"
"You have my word," Slade said, "now, do I have yours?"
"Da," he said, "Comrades Queen & Lance are preparing a counter-attack against you on the other side of the island."
"They'll soon realize, they've made a grave mistake!" Slade said. "Men, get to the other side of the island! Find me Oliver Queen and Sara Lance, and bring them to me, unharmed! I want to see Oliver suffer myself! As for you two…"
He went over to Knyazev and Ariel.
"Men, see that our guests have a comfortable, cozy little spot to sleep in," Slade said, "as they sink to the bottom of the ocean!"
They grabbed the defenseless Ariel & Knyazev.
"Izverg!" he shouted in Russian, "Liar! You promised no harm would come to us!"
"And it won't," Slade said, "that is, if you're good swimmers. Farewell, Mr. Knyazev. Do svidaniya!"
They put the two captives in a small, metal, vacuum-sealed pod. Slade opened a trap door that plunged them down into the ocean as Knyazev pleaded for mercy.
Back in the present, at the Loft.
Isabel Rochev stood before them, outfitted in her Deathstroke-esque apparel, and brandishing her sword.
"Isabel?" Oliver asked, "How are you—"
"Alive?" Isabel finished, addressing the shocked onlookers.
"Yes, we saw Nyssa snap your neck," Sara said, "and believe me, Nyssa always finishes a job."
"Let me explain, pretty bird," Isabel scoffed, "y'see, Slade's mirakuru formula wasn't entirely out of my system. My body regenerated itself shortly following Slade's defeat at your hands, and I went into hiding until I felt the time was right. Now, I'm back to exact my revenge."
"If you should be going after anyone, it's Nyssa, not us," Oliver said, "by the way, are you aware that your boyfriend's escaped?"
"Who, Slade?" Isabel chuckled, "oh, I'm quite aware. I plan to join him and that clock creep later. When I bring him your head, he will make me his queen, and then I will rule this city, starting with your financial holdings."
"The only Queen around here is me!" Regina said, coming forward.
"And who are you supposed to be?" Isabel jeered.
"My name is Regina Mills, formerly known as the Evil Queen," Regina said, "you have no idea who you're dealing with."
"I think you have that backwards, 'your majesty'," Rochev said, "you have no idea who you're dealing with, and the only queen in this city is me!"
She took out her sword and started attacking Regina with her martial arts skills.
Regina blasted her against the wall with light magic.
"You were saying?" Regina asked smugly.
Regina plunged her hand into Isabel's chest and pulled out her heart.
"Well, what do you know?" Regina said, "Dark magic works here, too!"
She started squeezing Isabel's heart as she writhed in pain and the others watched in horror.
"Regina, stop!" Oliver shouted.
"Why should I?" Regina retorted, "She's your enemy, isn't she? You want her dead, don't you? Let me finish it!"
"This isn't the way!" Oliver said, "an…acquaintance once told me that once you let darkness into your life, it never comes out. Prove her wrong! I know you can do this! Be strong, like the hero your son knows you are! Besides, right now she's of better use to us alive than dead anyway!"
"Fine," Regina sighed, releasing her grip on the heart as Isabel gasped for breath, "you've made your point. Just let me use her heart to lead us to Slade."
"How do you propose to do that?" Oliver asked.
"Watch and learn!" Regina replied.
Regina squeezed the heart and spoke into it, toward Isabel's direction.
"Find Slade," Regina said, "and lead us to him."
"Even if you send Isabel out as your heart-controlled puppet," Felicity said, "how do we know she's headed the right way? We have no idea where Slade's hiding, or even if he's still in Starling. For all we know, he could be miles away from here by now."
"When Clock King escaped, he mentioned they were headed for Gotham," Arrow said, "that means they'd have to contend with that bat-detective guy."
"I don't think so," Felicity said, "it was heading to Gotham, but along the way it made a stop in Central City. I think Tockman and Slade got off there."
"What makes you so sure?" Arrow asked.
"Well, for one thing, I picked up reports of train passengers discovering they were missing priceless pocket watches at the station," Felicity said, "Plus, I got a phone call from Caitlin. She spotted some of Deathstroke's men in the city."
"Alright," Arrow said, "looks like we're headed to Central City,"
"No, Isabel's headed there," Regina said, "we'll follow later. If you have something of Slade's, it'd be easier to track him with a locator spell."
"No need," Arrow said, "I put a tracking device on Isabel. She'll lead us right to them."
"That she will," Regina said.
"Good luck, Ollie." Laurel said, as he hugged him goodbye.
Flashback to the island:
Ariel & Knyazev were sinking to the ocean floor.
"Don't worry…" Knyazev gasped, "we'll be…all right. We're going to…get out of here."
He promptly passed out from lack of oxygen.
Now's my chance! Ariel thought. She grabbed the magical vial she stole from the Queen's castle, and used it to transform her legs back into fins once again. Now to get out of here!
She swatted her tail at the glass window, but it was no use. She decided to dig through Knyazev's jacket to see if he was carrying any useful items that could aid their escape.
She found several sharp objects and threw them at the window as hard as she could. The window cracked, but did not break. She then swatted her tail at the glass with full force. After several tries, she finally shattered it, and the water came rushing in. She grabbed the unconscious Knyazev and swam to the surface. She swam back to the island with him, and placed him on the sand, as she swam away.
Central City, present day.
Isabel Rochev lurked in the warehouse district of the city, where Slade and Clock King were believed to be hiding.
Inside the warehouse, Clock King and Slade were indeed hiding, whilst scheming their next diabolical move.
"By my calculations, Mr. Wilson," Clock King said, "The Arrow should've figured out our ruse by now."
"Then let him come," Slade said, "I have unfinished business with the Arrow, and need to settle a long overdue score."
They heard a noise and the sound of fisticuffs and sword-fighting from outside.
"Judging from noise of the battle," Clock King said, "I'd say we have precisely 2 minutes and 36 seconds before our unnamed visitor defeats our men and makes their way inside."
The fighting sounds suddenly stopped, and Isabel burst through the vent in the ceiling.
"Better than that, Tockman!" she shouted.
"Isabel?" Slade questioned.
She kicked Clock King into his computer monitor, knocking him unconscious.
"It's over, Slade!" Isabel shouted, while Regina was controlling her heart and speaking for her from outside.
"Come now, Ms. Rochev," Slade said, "despite my curiosity as to how you managed to come back to the land of the living, you don't really expect me to believe you'd switch sides so easily, do you?"
"I didn't," she said.
Suddenly, there was an explosion, and in the wake of the rubble came the Arrow, the Canary, and Regina Mills.
"She was merely a pawn," Regina said, holding her heart.
"Checkmate, Slade." Arrow said.
"I know a little thing or two about chess myself," Slade said, "mainly, you've got to capture the Queen to get to the king!"
He lunged for Regina with his sword, but she flung him back with light magic.
She put back Isabel's heart, and then promptly magically tossed her into Slade, knocking her unconscious. Slade, however, was not fazed and was still ready to battle.
"I think it's high time we forego the theatrics, and pull out our ace in the hole, wouldn't you say, Mr. Tockman?" Slade said, addressing his fallen comrade, who had regained consciousness.
"Indeed, Mr. Slade," Clock King said, his lip bleeding from the impact. "Time to speed up our timetable."
He pressed a button.
Suddenly, a beep was heard, and the heroes realized a time bomb had been activated.
The countdown clock was on 10:00 and counting down.
"It seems you've got bigger problems on your hands now," Clock King said, "in precisely ten minutes, a time bomb that I have planted somewhere in this city will explode, destroying everything within a twenty mile radius. That may also include Starling, Keystone, and even some of Gotham. By my count, you have nearly nine minutes and thirty-two seconds to find it and defuse it before it blows, at which point, we'll be long gone. Adieu, and happy hunting!"