Disclaimer: Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The characters of the Green Arrow and the Justice League is owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.
Chapter 50: Streets of Fire
To CG: if you want me to respond, log in. I like hearing your thoughts on things, but I am not going to keep responding at the end of the story. At the very least, head over to Archive of Our Own (AO3) and find this story posted under AnakinFlair. At least there I can respond in the comments section.
The memory set picked up where the last left off. In the tunnel, Oliver's ears were wringing as he dug himself out from the rubble. "Laurel." He groaned, pulling free of the concrete. "Laurel?" he looked around, but didn't see her anywhere. "Laurel!"
On the street, Diggle was waiting to hear from Oliver before he blew the charges. "Oliver, where the hell are you?!" he whispered into the radio. Not receiving an answer, Diggle primed the detonator-
Then was knocked over by a powerful blow. He landed hard on his back, and he looked up in stunned disbelief.
Isabel Rochev, in leather armor and a partial mask that mirrored Slade's, drew two swords from sheaths on her back. "You killed me," she said with a twisted grin, "Let me return the favor." She attacked, and it took everything Dig had to block her powerful blows. "You can't kill me." She said confidently.
"You're not invincible." Diggle growled, pulling out a telescoping asp.
"Close enough." She said. Isabel moved in again, and Diggle frantically blocked the swords with the asp.
"That mask looks fucking ridiculous." Moira snapped, causing heads to turn.
"Well, apparently even with Slade she still needed to use her mouth, so…" Felicity started.
"Felicity!" Thea exclaimed, the remark snapping her out of her funk momentarily.
"Damn. Maybe you should be fighting her." Diggle remarked.
Roy grinned. "Wait for it…"
In the tunnels, Oliver was still searching. "Laurel!"
Finally he heard her voice. "Oliver!" it was coming from the other side of the rubble.
"Are you ok?" he yelled.
"The tunnel collapsed." She said. "I'm trapped. I just… it's getting really," she coughed. "Hard to breathe!"
Tommy reached over and grasped Laurel's hand, all the while thinking 'Man, not another collapsed ceiling…'
"You are going to be ok." Oliver assured her. "I need you to tell me everything that you see."
She started looking around. "Rocks, and water, and—" then she spotted something that could be useful. "And your bow."
"Do you see my quiver?!" he yelled back, hopeful.
She searched frantically. "Wait! Yeah, yes, I have it! I have it." She called out, picking up the quiver still filled with arrows.
"Oh boy…" Laurel said worriedly.
"How many arrows are in it?" Oliver asked.
"There's a bunch of them."
"There should be one with a metallic head that's bigger than the rest of them." He described. Laurel looked through the arrows, finally pulling out the right one. "Do you see it?"
"Why do I need this?" she asked nervously.
Oliver sighed. "Because it's an explosive arrow." He told her. "And you're going to fire it."
"Oh, I can't wait to see this." Sara said with a grin.
"I can wait. I can wait my whole life." Quentin argued.
"Relax, Dad. She survives." Sara reminded him.
On the street, Diggle was holding his own against Isabel, but in the end she was just too powerful with the Mirakuru in her system. She tagged him on the chest with one blade, and then swiftly swept his feet out from under him with the other. Diggle landed on his back hard, gasping for breath.
Felicity gasped in worry.
"Do you want to save me some time and energy?" Isabel asked, stalking towards him. "Then tell me where I can find Felicity Smoak. I have been aching to put a bullet in her smug little face ever since the day—"
She never finished her thought as the van slammed into her, sending her flying. From the driver's seat, Felicity looked down at the steering wheel in surprise.
"Oh, I really thought the airbags were going to go off." She said.
Felicity blinked in surprise, then looked over at Moira and saw the gleeful expression on her face. "Please don't kiss me!" she exclaimed quickly, causing everyone to burst out laughing. Even Moira smiled, though she looked slightly chagrined.
Dig groaned as he quickly jumped into the passenger seat. "Thanks for the help." He said. "Any word from Oliver?"
"Dig…" she said tremulously. Outside, the two watched in horror as Isabel slowly got back to her feat. "What do you think, hit her again?" she asked.
"YES." Moira and Felicity both said.
"Go, go, go, go, go, go, go!" Dig ordered. Felicity put the van into reverse and backed away, spinning it around and taking off as Isabelle watched, furious.
The scene changed to the SCPD, where the criminal was making quick work of the police. Lance was thrown across the room, sliding and hitting a doorframe as other cops rushed the crazed man. One cop pulled his gun and started firing, but the soldier just shrugged off the bullet hits even as he continued to kill cops with his bare hands. Lance watched from the floor helplessly, then noted where he had been thrown and looked up, seeing a very welcome sign-
Weapons and Ordinance
-Storage-
Authorized Personnel Only
He staggered to his feet and ran into the room. Moments later he came back out and jumped on the back of the soldier, pulling him off the cop he was beating while at the same time dropping a few things into the collar of his jacket. The soldier threw Lance once again, and he hit another doorframe hard and collapsed out of the room. "Get out!" he yelled to the cops still in the squad room as he looked at the pins in his hand. "Get out! Get out!"
The soldier heard several thunking sounds and looked down at his feet as the three grenades fell from his jacket to the floor. He cocked his head curiously-
And then the grenades exploded, killing him and shattering every window on the floor. Lance sighed in relief even as glass rained down upon him.
"Uh… not that I'm not glad you do, but why the hell do the police have grenades?" Tommy asked.
"We get a lot of military surplus." Lance said with a shrug.
"Yeah, but GRENADES?"
"This should make you appreciate my restraint with you and my daughter all the more." Quentin said pointedly.
"He says to the guy whose father is a trained assassin." Tommy quipped back. Malcolm and Sara shared a look, and then turned back to the screen.
The scene changed to City Hall, as Blood's staff was in full crisis mode.
"Reports are coming in from all over the city." One man was telling him. "Starling General is preparing for possible casualties."
"Power is out south of Harbor Boulevard." Another reported.
Blood nodded distractedly and turned his attention back to his own phone call. "Governor. Governor. Sending in the National Guard at this point will only cause mass hysteria. Trust me and my police force. We have this situation under control." He said placating, hanging up and watching the news coverage on his office TV.
"This would sure be a good time for the Governor to tell him to fuck off." Diggle noted.
"Mr. Mayor." A new voice called out to him.
Blood turned and smiled at the new arrival. "D.A. Spencer." He said in greeting.
"What is going on? There are men in masks tearing through the city." She said gesturing at the news.
"Yes, I know." Blood said seriously. "And we're doing everything we can. The SCPD have already mobilized."
"No, the police force, they're not equipped to handle this." Spencer argued. "You don't understand. I have never seen anything like this before. These-the men in masks, it-it's like they're not human." She said.
"Not human? Kate, do you even hear yourself?" Blood asked incredulously. "Look, I know you're scared, but you need to pull yourself together. Starling City needs both of us thinking clearly right now." He told her.
"How are you so calm?" she asked nervously.
"Because this is all part of the plan." Laurel said with disgust.
"He just hasn't realized yet it isn't his plan." Roy noted.
"Because I know we're going to get through this." Blood said with all sincerity. "And when we do, Starling City will be stronger and better for it. Can I count on you? I need you with me on this." He told her.
After a moment, Spencer nodded subtly. "Mm-hmm."
Blood smiled. "Good. Then let's save the city. Together."
"I'd say I was disappointed in her, but then I fell for the same act." Laurel sighed.
"Men like that can be very convincing." Malcolm said.
The scene changed to the tunnel, where Oliver was coaching Laurel on how to use his bow. "Are you far enough away from the debris to avoid the blast?" he asked her.
"I don't know!" she called out. "What if I can't shoot that far?"
"The bow's a hybrid compound, Laurel." Oliver explained. "It's going to do all the work for you. All I need you to do… just aim at the middle of the debris. Take a deep breath." He told her. "Center your feet. Left hand on the bow. Place the arrow on the drawstring."
"Ok, ok, ok, ok, ok." She muttered to herself. Carefully she put the arrow on the drawstring, and the explosive head was activated.
"All right, I want you to pull back on the drawstring. And keep your left arm straight. Ok?" Oliver called out. Laurel lifted the bow and shakily pulled back the drawstring. "You count to three and then you just let go. You can do this." He encouraged her, moving off to the side. "1, 2…3!"
Laurel fired the arrow. It hit dead center in the debris and exploded, blowing a hole just big enough for Oliver to fit through. Laurel was on the ground, coughing but otherwise unharmed. He helped her up and smiled.
"Nice shootin', Tex." Sara drawled with a smile.
"Nice shot." He told her. He took his bow from her, grabbed his quiver, and led her back out, hitting his com as they went. "Diggle, you there?"
"Yeah, Oliver, we hear you." Dig replied from the van.
"We're coming up." He told them as he led Laurel out of the tunnel.
FIVE YEARS AGO
Oliver climbed back down the conning tower into the submarine. "Sara's gone." He told Anatoly. He tossed the broken remains of her radio down onto the navigator's table. "Slade must have taken her." He growled, frustrated.
"So much for being safe." Quentin growled.
"Ollie couldn't know Slade would come back for me." Sara reasoned. "Hell, he had no way of knowing Slade wasn't on the ship."
"Chert." Anatoly cursed.
A sudden pinging noise drew Oliver's attention. "What's that?" he asked.
"It's sonar. I was monitoring the 'Amazo'." Anatoly said, checking the sonar. "She's moving." He reported.
Oliver growled in frustration. "We have one torpedo left, right?" he asked suddenly.
"Da." Anatoly said nervously.
"Could you rig it to fire in a straight line?" Oliver asked.
"I'm discovering capacity to do many things I never thought I would do." The Russian replied dryly.
Oliver grabbed his backpack. "I need you to get the sub close enough to the freighter so that I can swim over." He said, grabbing some supplies.
"Well, then, what do you need torpedo for?" Anatoly asked cautiously.
Oliver sighed and looked at the man. "If Sara and I aren't back in an hour, you're going to sink the 'Amazo'." He told his dismayed friend.
Moira gasped. Then gasped again as the next scene began playing out.
PRESENT
The scene changed to the train station, where the masked soldier was throwing around people like ragdolls. One hapless man was thrown into the departure sigh, which fell over sparking. Thea, as panicked as the others, started running for the exits as the soldier's rampage continued.
"Freeze!" A uniformed cop shouted, drawing his gun. He fired several times, but the soldier speared him into the floor, crushing his ribs. Looking up, he spied Thea pulling helplessly at the locked doors, trying to escape. Seeing an easy target, he stalked over to the girl and grabbed her around the throat, choking her as he lifted her two feet into the air.
Malcolm bolted forward in his chair, scared for his daughter. Moira, similarly terrified, grasped onto Thea's hand. She was so engrossed in the scene, though, she didn't hear Thea's near silent pleas that she was whispering under her breath.
"Please kill me, please kill me…."
Roy looked at the girl sharply, but she paid him no heed. 'When this memory ended, they'd' need to have a conversation.' He decided.
Suddenly, he was struck by two arrows in the back. The surprise more than the pain caused him to drop her, and Thea landed on the ground, gasping for air. The man turned around to see a man in a dark uniform of some sort, wearing a black hood. Contemptuously he yanked out one of the arrows, looking at the small blue ring under the arrow head that was glowing. "Who are you?" he demanded-
And then the arrow exploded, sending the man crashing to the ground.
Malcolm Merlyn ripped off his hood. "I'm her father." He said as Thea looked on in shock.
Moira sagged in relief. "I never thought I'd say this twice, but thank you, Malcolm, for saving our daughter."
"I'd like to second that thank you." Tommy added shakily.
Thea remained silent.
In the SCPD, more cops had arrived to sort through the mess and regroup. Lance was sifting through the rubble when his phone rang. He answered it with a sigh of relief.
'Dad!' Laurel said from the other end.
"Laurel, thank God. Are you safe?" he asked.
Out on the streets, Laurel was walking next to The Arrow as they moved to regroup with the rest of the team. "I am now. I'm with the Arrow." She told him, glancing at Oliver.
"Well, that's- that's good." Lance said, surprising himself. "Now listen, something tells me he's got work to do." He continued "I want you off the streets."
"Yeah." She agreed.
"I don't know what's stranger- Dad agreeing that you're safe with the vigilante, or you agreeing with him to get out of danger." Sara remarked.
"Very funny." Laurel replied dryly.
"Laurel, please, keep low, keep out of sight, all right?" he begged worriedly.
"Dad, I know, you don't have to worry… about me." She trailed off as they hit a crest in the hill that allowed them to overlook Starling City. The city was burning as Slade's men ran wild, and sirens could be heard wailing all over the city. A helicopter flew overhead just as the van pulled up next to them.
"Sweet mother of God." Lance breathed.
"I think God's sitting this one out." Tommy remarked, stunned.
"This is madness." Moira said in a hushed tone.
"You ok?" Dig asked as he climbed out.
"Yeah." Oliver replied. "You?"
"Isabel attacked Dig so I hit her with the van." Felicity said nonchalantly.
Oliver looked out over the city. "Slade's army. He has at least 50 men out there, all like him." Oliver said.
"They're everywhere." Dig growled.
"We need to stop them." Oliver said.
"We might have a way." Felicity said. "S.T.A.R. Labs called. They have a cure. There's a courier en route." She revealed.
"Where is it?" Oliver demanded.
Felicity pulled out her phone and dialed the number Cisco had given her. After a few rings, a man's gasping voice answered. 'Hello?'
"Hey, it's Felicity Smoak." She said, putting him on speaker. "Where are you?"
"Fourth Street, I think." The man said as he crawled out of his overturned car. "I don't know what happened. A guy in a hockey mask came out of nowhere and attacked my truck. Please help me." He begged.
"Stay where you are." Oliver ordered.
'I can't move even if I wanted to.' The man said. 'I think my leg's broken.'
"You should go." Laurel told Oliver.
He shook his head. "Laurel, I'm not leaving you out here in the middle of this." He protested.
"The precinct, it's in the other direction." She reminded him. "I'll be fine." She moved to leave, but he grabbed her arm.
"No." he said stubbornly.
"I don't need you right now." Laurel told him. "Everyone else does. So go. Go save the city." Oliver nodded and let her go, and the three climbed into the van.
"I'm both extremely proud and terrified right now." Quentin told his daughter.
"I'm with you on the terrified part." Laurel agreed.
'Hey! You still there?' the courier asked.
"Yeah, I'm here." Felicity said. "I pinged your phone. On our way." She promised.
From Oliver's office at Queen Consolidated, Slade and Isabel listened in on the call thanks to their bugs in Oliver's system. 'Please hurry.'
Felicity hissed in shock. "How the hell—"
"One of the drawbacks about being the smartest person in the room, Miss Smoak," Malcolm began, "is that most times you can't fathom that there is someone even more clever than you."
"I hardly think—"
"You put a virus into my computer system, thinking it would give you an edge. Instead, my people detected that virus and that caused me to move the Markov devices." Malcolm reminded her. "I'm not saying this to insult you, Miss Smoak. I'm saying this to educate you."
"He's right." Roy said reluctantly. "This wouldn't even be the last time our system was penetrated."
"Something to keep in mind for when we return." Malcolm said.
Felicity sighed in defeat. "Fine. You're right; I'll have to look into my system's security."
Slade looked over at one of his soldiers. "Find him." He ordered. The man put on his mask and left to obey.
The scene changed to follow the van as Dig drove across the bridge into the city. He had to dodge wrecked and burning cars as he did so, sending the occupants tilting left and right. "In the last five minutes, SCPD has had over 200 reports of masked men attacking the city." Felicity reported as Oliver refilled his quiver.
"Should have gone with Laurel and made sure she got to the precinct." Oliver said, distracted.
"She'll be with her father, she'll be fine." Felicity assured him. "She will, Oliver."
"She'll have to make it to me, first." Quentin said worriedly. He glanced at Sara. "Well, at least you got out before all of this started." He turned back to the screen, not noticing her shifting uncomfortably in her seat.
FIVE YEARS AGO
On board the sub, Anatoly looked out through the periscope at their target. "All right. We are 10 meters away from the freighter." He told Oliver. "But still, this is sumasshedshiy - crazy. Crazy!" he repeated. "You cannot even be certain that Wilson has her."
"Who else would have her?" Tommy asked.
Oliver clapped a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "You're a good man, Anatoly." He told him. "If this is good-bye, be safe."
"I will see you soon." Anatoly countered. "You and Sara."
"I meant what I said." Oliver said, heading to the ladder. "If we're not back in an hour, you sink the freighter and get yourself home."
"I think maybe I prefer Bahamas." He joked, and then more seriously he added, "Oliver. I don't know if we will see each other again. But know that you have made friend for life. If there is anything you need, it does not matter what… you have only to ask." He stated.
"And that's how he got into the Bratva." Sara proclaimed. "Pays to have people owe you favors in high places."
Oliver nodded and held out his hand, but Anatoly pulled him in for a hug. "Prochnost, my friend." He said as they parted.
"Proch-prochnost." Oliver repeated badly.
"Prochnost-proch- I also teach you to speak Russian." Anatoly said finally with a grin. Oliver grinned in return as he climbed the ladder.
"I udivitel'no , on sdelal. A potom Oliver nauchil menya ." Roy said in a flawless St. Petersburg accent.
"Now you're just showing off." Diggle said with a grin.
PRESENT
In the SCPD, Lance was taking control of the situation. As the officers loaded up, he brought out a map of Starling City and laid it on an undamaged desk. "Listen up." He said. "We're going to establish a perimeter with check-points at 5th and Adams, a safe zone, you hear me?"
"Who the hell are these guys?" one of the cops asked.
"These guys are the enemy." Lance stated.
Pike walked up to the table, still in shock. "They're attacking innocents at random, creating mayhem and chaos." He said. "We need to put them down!"
"Lieutenant—"
"Now!"
Lance got in his face. "Listen to me, these guys, have you seen them? Huh?" he picked up the burnt, shattered remains of the mask and held it up for him to see. "You seen these guys? They do not go down!" he shouted. "We got to call in the National Guard."
"That's a call for the mayor." Pike said. "And he hasn't made that yet."
"And he won't. Mayor Blood let this happen." Lance revealed.
Pike looked at him incredulously. "What?"
"Trust me. Blood's behind this." Lance stated.
"Look, even if I believe you I don't have that kind of authority." Pike said.
"Well, in an emergency, the chief of police does, so get him on the line." Lance pointed out.
"Chief's dead." Pike said, shocking the cops in the room.
Lance sighed. "Son of a bitch…"
Lance sighed. "Well, then," he began. "There's only one more guy we can call." He looked at Pike. "You're not going to like it."
"The Vigilante." He said shortly.
"The Arrow." Lance corrected. He moved closer to Pike. "Lieutenant, I know he's breaking the law. But what we're up against, it's not about the law. It's about survival." He said. "We got masks tearing our city to pieces, and we're going to need a mask to stop 'em."
Pike stared at him for a long moment. Finally he sighed. "Make the call." He ordered.
Lance nodded. "Ok, let's do it."
"One more thing," Pike said as the other cops got to work gearing up. "You know more about what's going on over everyone else I got. I need you making decisions and leading these men," he slapped a gold shield into his hand. "Detective." Lance stared down at the badge with a bittersweet smile.
Lance chuckled. "Only took the city going to hell to get me promoted back to Detective."
"He should have done it a long time ago." Laurel said crossly.
"Pikes a politician, and most times I can't stand the man; but he's still good police." Lance argued.
The scene changed to the streets of Starling, as Laurel was making her way through the panicked people towards the SCPD. As she looked behind her, she was horrified to discover she had picked up a tail- a man in a mask.
"Oh, shit." Laurel said worriedly.
"Took the words out of my mouth." Quentin agreed.
Laurel ran to the nearest alleyway, hoping to lose him in the maze of side streets, but it was blocked by a locked gate. She pulled at the gate, desperate to get away…
Suddenly the lock was broken, and Laurel spun as the gate was opened to see The Canary. "Follow me. I can get you to safety." She said through her voice changer. The two took off into the alley.
Quentin shot Sara a look, but she just shrugged. "I DID get out before all of this," she pointed out, "but that was because I needed to get backup."
"This is when you rejoined the League?" Thea asked. Sara nodded.
They turned a few corners, getting away from the soldier, and The Canary paused to allow Laurel to catch her breath. The two women stared at each other for several moments, and the Canary had activated her voice changer to direct her out of the danger zone, when Laurel stunned her by pulling her into a hug.
"Sara." Laurel said, happy to see her sister. She pulled back, taking a moment to enjoy her stunned reaction, when a noise startled them both into running again.
"You did that on purpose, you bitch." Sara said to Laurel. There was no heat in her voice, and a smile graced her lips.
Laurel shrugged. "It'd be nice to surprise you for once."
The scene changed to City Hall. Blood and Spencer were in his office, watching the news coverage of the siege as Blood tried calling Slade for an update.
'We lost contact with our reporter on the streets, but we have over two dozen confirmed sightings of masked men attacking numerous municipal locations. Officials are asking that you stay indoors—" suddenly the power went out. In the darkened office, the two could see flashes of light outside as security opened fire on a masked soldier to no effect. They listened in horror as one by one the people were killed outside, until a body was flung through the doors. Kate screamed in terror as the masked man stormed into the room right at her.
"Stop!" Blood ordered as he grabbed her around the neck.
"No, no, no!" Kate cried in terror.
"Enough!" Blood roared. "This isn't part of the plan!"
Kate stared at him, stunned. "Sebastian?!"
"I am mayor of Starling City, and I order you to let her go." He said firmly.
The man in the mask stared at him for a moment, and then casually broke Kate's neck.
Laurel gasped in shock.
Blood could feel the contempt in the soldier's stare as he dropped the DA's body to the floor. "I don't take orders from you." He snarled, before turning and walking back out, leaving Blood alone with the dead.
And the sinking suspicion that Olive Queen had been right after all.
"I do believe this is where Sebastian realizes this isn't his plan anymore." Tommy remarked.
The scene changed to the streets of Starling, where Dig was carefully navigating the van towards the courier.
"Any word from Thea? Is she safe?" Dig asked.
"Depends on your definition of the word 'Safe'." Thea said darkly.
"She decided to leave Starling before the attacks started." Oliver said from the back of the van.
"Just under two miles to the bridge." Felicity reported. "And the courier." Her phone rang, and she looked at the screen- it read Lance. "It's for you." She told Oliver, handing him the phone.
Oliver activated his voice changer, and then answered the call. "What is it, Detective?" he asked,
"How can we help you?" Lance said without preamble.
Oliver paused. "We?"
"The Starling City police force is standing with you on this one." He revealed.
"And now for something completely different." Felicity quipped.
"We need help containing the soldiers." Oliver said at once. "We're working something and it may stop them but we need more time."
"We can do that." Lance assured him. "Whatever you're doing, good luck. For all our sakes." He hung up, and Oliver handed Felicity the phone, still a bit stunned.
"This is the only street that feeds into the bridge." Felicity said glumly as they hit another pothole. She screamed suddenly as a masked man ran right at the van. Dig hung a hard right down a side street to escape.
"Floor it!" Oliver yelled. Dig did just that, speeding down the narrow corridor on the road not filled with abandoned cars. The Mirakuru soldier managed to keep pace. Up ahead, another soldier pushed a car directly into Dig's path. He saw it, but with all the cars blocking him, there was nothing he could do.
"Hold on!" he yelled. He tried swinging around it, but there just wasn't any room. The van hit the front of the car and flipped onto its side as the two soldiers looked on. They slowly started making their way to the van.
Dig shook his head. "Should have rammed it head on." He said. "Then the van wouldn't have flipped."
"But the airbag would have most definitely went off." Felicity pointed out.
In the back, Oliver groaned. "Dig?" he called out. "Diggle!"
"Yeah, yeah." Dig groaned in reply. He was at an odd angle, half on his seat and half on the door, and Felicity had fallen halfway onto his lap.
Oliver noted that she wasn't moaning, or crying, or saying anything. "Is she breathing?" he asked, dreading the answer.
"Felicity!" Diggle felt for a pulse, and found it immediately. "Yeah, yeah." He assured Oliver.
"Then we have to get out of here." Oliver said, looking out the back window at the two soldiers slowly approaching them.
"Yeah, I'm on it." Dig said, kicking out the shattered windshield. He crawled out, dragging the unconscious Felicity behind him. Oliver grabbed his bow and made his way out last, drawing an explosive arrow and aiming it back into the van. Just as the two soldiers arrived at the back doors, he fired, embedding the arrow into the door. As they opened it, the arrow exploded, knocking them both unconscious. Oliver handed Diggle his bow and picked up Felicity bridal style, and the three continued on to the courier.
"That's one way to sweep you off of your feet." Tommy quipped. Felicity groaned.
The scene changed to the train station, where a terrified Thea didn't know who she wanted to escape from more- the first masked lunatic, or the second masked lunatic. She ran down the platform, ducking behind a pillar next to a dead cop. She eyed his gun, but froze when she heard another set of footsteps running towards her.
"Thea!" Malcolm called out. "I'm not here to hurt you."
Great. It was the second masked lunatic. "Why should I believe you? You're a murderer, terrorist, and psychopath!"
"But he's also a swell dancer, and has a wonderful singing voice." Sara joked, earning her a glare from Thea.
"Swell? People still use the word swell?" Laurel said, shaking her head.
"I don't expect you to understand what I've done." Malcolm said calmly. "Not now. Not without more time to explain."
"How are you even alive?" she asked. There had been a body found. "Why are you here?"
"I heard what happened to your mother." He said. "I needed to make sure you were all right. I needed to see my daughter."
Enraged, Thea came out from behind the column and glared at the man. "I am not your daughter!" she shouted. "You're nothing to me! And I want nothing from you. Do you understand?"
"Yes." He said, coming closer. "But right now, you need my help. My protection. You have no idea, Thea, how dangerous it is out there. The city is falling. At least let me take you to safety." He pleaded, holding out his hand to her as she looked on, conflicted.
"You really cared." Thea remarked, looking at Malcolm.
He stared back at her with an earnest expression. "Of course I do." He said. "You're my daughter."
"But you already threatened to kill me, once." She reminded him. "Me and Mom."
Malcolm sighed. "I was angry and in pain when I told your brother that." He said. "I doubt I would have done it- I do care for your mother, Thea. I think I said that just to taunt Oliver more than anything else." Thea nodded fractionally, then turned her attention back to the screen.
The scene changed to Queen Consolidated. Slade stood in front of the windows, looking out over the city as it burned around him. "They say Nero sang as he watched Rome burn." He said. "Now I understand why. If only Shado were here to witness this."
Isabel looked at Slade. "Who's Shado?" she asked.
"The woman you never will be to him, no matter how hard you try." Sara said.
"What the hell is going on?" Isabel turned to see Blood storming into the office. "One of your juiced-up jack boots just killed my entire office staff, and snapped the district attorney's neck!" he said hotly.
"If he's not careful, Slade will snap his neck." Quentin pointed out.
"And?" Slade said, still looking out of the window.
"And?" Blood said. "And I never agreed to this! You were supposed to call off your dogs."
Slade glanced at him. "That was your plan, Mr. Blood, not mine." He said coldly.
"We had a deal." Blood spat.
"I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further." Tommy joked.
"Nerd." Laurel said, shaking her head.
Slade turned fully towards him. "And do you feel that I've not lived up to my end of it?" he asked threateningly.
"Wow. Called it." Felicity said, giving Tommy a high five."
"Remember dear sister; nerds built this place." Sara told Laurel with a wink.
"Those are innocent people." Blood said nervously, intimidated by the man's presence. "Dying out there. You do not need to kill them." He said.
"Yes, I do!" Slade roared, causing Blood to jump. "I made a promise to someone once, and I will uphold it."
"So this really is all about you just trying to hurt Oliver Queen." Blood said in realization. Oliver had been right.
"I vowed to him that I would take away everything and everyone he loves." Slade said. "And he loves this city."
"But this city… it's mine, too." Blood argued.
"Not anymore." Slade said quietly. "As of tomorrow night, it'll be nothing but rubble, ash, and death. A land only good for one thing." He turned back to the window. "Graves." He whispered.
"And Mia thought she could reason with that guy?" Quentin asked Roy, incredulity dripping from his voice.
Roy sighed. "He was a good man, once. She thought she could reach that part of him."
"She was wrong." Malcolm noted darkly.
"I'm more surprised that Blood seems so upset." Laurel said.
"That's because he is." Roy replied. "I don't know if he thought that the super soldiers would just confine themselves to property damage, or if he knew that some people would die and accepted that. But in his sick, delusional way, all he ever wanted to do was help the city. So is he a bad man, or is he just delusional?" Roy asked, and then shrugged. "We never really knew."
The scene changed to the streets. Laurel and Sara were walking now through the alley when they came upon a patrol car. Laurel rushed up to it, feeling for a pulse from the officer that had been thrown partway through the windshield. She sighed when she didn't find one. She turned back to her sister, who had sat wearily on an overturned crate.
"Sara," she began, moving back towards her slowly. "Where have you been?"
"Rejoining the death cult." Roy joked, causing Sara to snicker.
"Doesn't matter." She said.
"Why did you come back?" Laurel asked.
"I don't know." She admitted, looking at her sister. "There isn't anything here for me."
"Your family's here." Laurel pointed out.
"Exactly." Quentin said pointedly to Sara.
Sara sighed. She pulled off her mask, then her wig and looked at Laurel wearily. "You don't know, Laurel, about me." She began. "About who I am and who I've become."
"I know you're a hero." Laurel stated.
"I'm not a hero Laurel." Sara argued. "I am the furthest thing from it. I am 'Ta-er al-Sahfer'. That was my new name. Because the woman that I was… the girl that I was, was gone."
Laurel knelt down in front of her. "I'm not going to pretend that I've been through anything that you have. One thing that I've learned in the past year is that these things- they don't break us. They make us who we are." She told her.
"And what I am is irredeemable." Sara said.
"What was that word you said before?" she asked.
"Ta-er al-Sahfer."
"What does that mean?" Laurel asked
"It means 'The Canary'." Sara said.
"If you're so far gone and so irredeemable," she asked, standing. "Then why would they know you by such a beautiful name?" she held out her hand, and Sara took it. Laurel pulled her up into a hug, which Sara returned gratefully.
"I never did thank you for that." Sara said to Laurel.
"You'll never have to." She replied.
FIVE YEARS AGO
Oliver made his way silently through the 'Amazo'- as silently as he could dripping water everywhere he went. He made his way into the cell block, dodging the guards and quickly locating Sara's cell. He used a knife to bust open the lock, and as the door swung open, Sara looked over at him in surprise.
"Ollie!" she cried repeatedly in relief, jumping into his arms. "Thank God! Ollie!"
"All right, come with me." He said, leading her out of the cell block.
"The sub is right alongside the freighter." He told her. "You just need to swim, ok?"
"Ok." She stopped as he pulled away. "Ok, what are you doing?" she asked worriedly.
Oliver sighed. "I can't leave yet." He said.
Moira sighed. "Of course he can't."
"Despite his faults, he was a good man." Roy said. "If he could save his friend, he had to try."
"Ollie, come on." Sara began, but he shook his head.
"The cure." He stated. She shook her head no, but he plowed on. "I can't-I can't leave Slade behind." He said. "I'm not just going to- I'm not just going to write him off. We injected him with the Mirakuru. But it was me! I chose you over Shado." He said.
"Ollie, I-I just-I just want to go home.' She stammered out tearfully. "I just want to see my family, Ollie. Come on, please!" she begged, pulling him into a desperate hug.
"I need to do this." He said. "I need to save my friend. I need to at least try." He kissed her. "Get to the sub. Get safe."
"She WAS safe on the sub. YOU told her to get off." Quentin groused.
"Dad…" Sara warned.
"Not without you." Sara decided after a moment.
Oliver sighed. "Sara…"
"Come on." She said, pulling him back into the ship towards the cure.
Quentin sighed. "Why do both of you have to be so damned noble?" he asked.
"We weren't noble, Dad." Sara said. "We had to be dragged kicking and screaming to become noble."
"Then what do you call that?" he asked, pointing at the screen.
"Naivety." She replied.
PRESENT
On the streets of Starling City, Sara was still leading Laurel towards safety when Laurel's phone rang. She pulled it out and looked at it. "It's Dad." She said, answering the call. "Hello?"
"Laurel, baby, where are you?" he asked from the precinct.
"55th and Alfred. There were a few roadblocks." Laurel understated.
"But you're ok?" he asked.
"Yeah. Sara's with me." She revealed.
"Right. Ok. Listen, stay there, both of you. I'm on my way." He told her, hanging up and rushing out of the station.
"Probably not the best idea to be standing in once place with those guys out there." Tommy said nervously.
"The police station wasn't any safer." Sara pointed out.
"Plus, I got a bad-ass assassin looking out for me." Laurel added.
Across town, The Arrow and company were still headed for the courier.
"I can walk." Felicity told Oliver. He gently put her down as she checked her phone.
"Where is he?" Oliver asked.
"The cell phone GPS says he should be within a 500-foot radius." She said. "I'll call him." She quickly dialed the number, and after a moment he answered.
"Hey, where are you?" he gasped in pain.
"We're here, where are you?" she asked. "Honk your horn."
"No. Bad idea!" Felicity argued.
"Cool. Hold on." He reached in and honked the horn a few times. He stopped and sighed in relief. "Wait! I can see your feet." He said with a relived smile. "You're standing right outside my car." His smile turned to terror when he saw the masked men round the car.
On the other end of the call, Felicity paled. "That's not us." She said, and then she heard screaming- both over the phone, and somewhere nearby. The three took off at a run, and in moments they had found the car, the dead courier-
And no cure.
"Oh, no!" Felicity breathed.
"Oh, frack!" Felicity said.
"It's gone." Oliver growled.
"I really do need to revamp my security." Felicity said, shaking her head. "The fact that Slade could tap into my phone—"
"Not just Slade." Roy said. "I know for a fact Malcolm tapped your system in the Foundry."
Felicity sighed. "Wonderful."
The scene changed to Queen Consolidated, where Blood was watching the news in despair with Slade and Isabel. 'The situation has intensified as officials struggle to contain this historic assault gripping our city.'
"Mr. Wilson." A soldier, sans mask, approached the desk with a S.T.A.R. Labs briefcase. "Is this what you're looking for?" he put the case on the desk, and Slade opened it.
"Yes, it is." Slade said as Blood looked helplessly out onto his city.
Malcolm smiled. "Now I think that Slade may have overplayed his hand." He said.
"You think Blood will take the cure?" Diggle guessed. Malcolm nodded.
The scene changed to the Clock Tower, where Oliver, Diggle and Felicity had taken shelter to come up with another plan.
"I just got off the phone with Cisco at S.T.A.R. Labs." Felicity started as Oliver looked out of the broken clock face onto the burning city beyond.
"The cure they sent us was all they had." Diggle continued. "And they used all the Mirakuru that we gave them, so they can't make more."
"We better HOPE that Blood gives them the cure." Tommy said.
"We can't stop Slade's men without the cure." Oliver said despondently.
"We'll find another way." Diggle started.
Oliver cut him off. "There is no other way!" he shouted. He took a moment to control his emotions before continuing. "Diggle, the foundry's been compromised and we need to get Roy out of there." He said.
"I'm on it." Dig replied, heading out.
Oliver turned to Felicity as she watched Diggle leave. "I didn't know, Felicity." He said suddenly. "Five years ago, I was a completely different person. And I had no idea that something like this was even… possible. I couldn't have imagined. When you and Diggle brought me back to Starling City, I made a vow to myself that I would never let anything like the Undertaking happen again."
"What's happening now is not your fault." She said tearfully.
"Yes, it is." He replied. "I have failed this city. Yao Fei. Shado. Tommy. My father, my mother. All that I have ever wanted to do is honor those people." He said tiredly.
"Oh Oliver, you are…" Moira said quietly.
"You honor the dead by fighting." She replied, glaring at him. "And you are not done fighting! Malcolm Merlyn, the Count, the Clock King, the Triad-everyone who is trying to hurt this city, you stopped them." She said, crying as she walked towards him. "And you will stop Slade."
"I don't know how." Oliver said.
"Neither do I." she replied. "But I do know two things. You are not alone. And I believe in you." She reached out and pulled him into a fierce hug. After a moments indecision, he returned it, though he stared off into space, a plan forming in his mind.
"I seem to keep thanking you for being there for my son, Felicity." Moira told the hacker warmly.
Felicity smiled in return. "I'm just glad I can help."
The scene changed to the streets, where Laurel and Sara were waiting for Lance.
"Where's Dad?" Laurel wondered. "He should be here by now." Absurdly, she was taken back to several school functions that he had picked the two up from, and even then he had been late.
"We should get to a better vantage point." Sara noted absently.
"Somebody help!" they looked over at a burning building, hearing a woman screaming. "Please, help! Please!"
"Stay here." Sara told Laurel, quickly donning her mask and wig. Laurel, being Laurel, followed soon after.
"You never listen." Sara complained with a smile.
"I'm told its one of my more endearing qualities." She replied with a wink.
"Quentin snorted. "By who? I want to arrest them."
She ran up to the smoking building as a mother, still dressed in her night clothes, led her son away from the building.
"Someone help! Please help! Someone help! Please!" she was shouting. "My daughter is still inside, I couldn't get to her!" Suddenly there was an explosion, driving them all back.
Laurel reached out and grabbed the mother. "Don't, it's too dangerous!"
At that moment Lance pulled up. "Laurel!" he yelled, jumping out of the cruiser and running over to his daughter.
"Dad!" she said, hugging him.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, looking her over.
"No, I'm fine. I'm ok." She assured him.
"My daughter's still inside, I couldn't get to her!" the mother cried. Lance approached the door, but another explosion drove him backwards.
"Delta Charlie 52 to Central, copy!" he said into his radio. "Delta Charlie 52 to Central, copy! Delta Charlie 52 to Central, please copy me, now!" he cried out. "Delta Charlie 52 to Central—"
"Dad." Laurel said, getting his attention. He looked up, and through the smoke walked the Canary, a small girl wrapped in a blanket in her arms. He rushed up the stairs to take the girl and surreptitiously check his youngest daughter for injuries, giving her a small smile she led her down the stairs before rushing over to the mother and handing her her child.
"My baby, my baby!" she cried, holding the coughing little girl tightly. Sara watched the reunion with a satisfaction she had not felt in a long time, but quickly fled out of sight.
"Oh, my baby." The mother cooed. She looked up to thank the blonde, but she was gone. "Who was that?" she wondered.
"Who was that masked woman?" Laurel asked in a deep voice, causing her sister to laugh.
"That's the Canary." Laurel said proudly.
The scene changed to the train station, where Malcolm was still trying to convince Thea to let him save her.
"And now we're back here." Laurel said in concern.
"Thea, please, come with me." He urged.
"I don't want anything to do with you." Thea said emotionally. "I don't want to even see you!" suddenly she spied a figure climbing out of the train, and her eyes widened in terror.
"For once, I wish you would actually listen to him and let the crazy assassin lead you out of the combat zone." Tommy said worriedly.
Malcolm noticed. "Stay behind me." He told her quietly. In an instant he had spun and fired, planting an arrow in the soldiers gut. The Mirakuru-enhanced man contemptuously swept the arrow off of his chest and attacked, which Malcolm expertly dodged. The assassin went on the offensive, wielding his bow like a staff and beating him with it. A hard kick to the gut pushed the soldier back, but he rushed forward, spearing Malcolm into a nearby support column. The impact caused him to drop his bow and his quiver to dislodge, sending his arrows clattering to the ground. The soldier pulled him back into a bear hug and squeezed, shaking him like a ragdoll, and Malcolm cried out in pain.
"Christ, he'll break your spine!" Quentin exclaimed.
"As long as Thea gets out." Malcolm said doggedly.
"You know, it never occurred to me," Roy began, "But I wouldn't put it past Slade to have shown these guys Thea's picture, and ordered her death." He looked carefully at Thea for her reaction, and was worried when he saw none.
"You're out of arrows." The soldier snarled as Thea looked on, helpless.
"You're not!" Malcolm ground out, reaching out and yanking one of the arrows he had shot into him earlier out of his back and jamming into the base of his neck, severing his spinal cord. The soldier collapsed, dead, and Malcolm gasped before passing out. Thea looked on, unsure of what to do now.
"Well, I didn't see THAT coming." Tommy said. "Now, run." He added to the Thea on screen.
Roy noticed the slight look of disappointment on her face.
The scene changed to the Clock Tower, where a ringing phone drew Felicity' attention. She picked it up and stared at it in disbelief. "Oliver- this is your phone." She said, meaning his personal phone. She handed it to him, and he saw it was Sebastian Blood calling.
Oliver stared at the phone for a moment before answering. "What do you want?" he asked shortly.
"Same thing you do, Oliver." Blood said from Queen Consolidated as he waited for an elevator. "To save this city before it's too late."
"It's already too late." Oliver said bitterly.
"You were right about Slade Wilson." Blood admitted. "I should have listened to you. But I'm here now and I can help you."
"Why should I trust you?" Oliver demanded,
Blood stepped into the elevator. "Because, Oliver- I have the Mirakuru cure." He revealed as the doors closed. In the clock tower, Oliver looked at Felicity with hope in his eyes.
"Thank god." Moira said with a relieved sigh.
"Oliver doesn't have it yet." Diggle pointed out.
A short time later Diggle returned with Roy and his venom IV. He gently laid him down onto a makeshift table.
"How much venom do we have to keep him under?" Oliver asked.
"Two hours, maybe." Dig replied.
Oliver grabbed his bow. "Let's go. He said, before stopping in front of Felicity, "Hey." He started. "I need you to stay with Roy."
"As long as he doesn't wake up." Felicity murmured, earning a chuckle from Roy.
"Ok." She agreed reluctantly. "Oliver, John—" he called out, stopping them. "Um, maybe this is obvious, but are we sure this isn't a trap?"
"No." he admitted.
"I'm just saying, if you guys don't come back alive, I'm going to be really pissed." She said. Diggle chuckled in amusement, and Oliver smiled, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder before turning and leaving.
The scene changed to City Hall. The Arrow and Diggle walked through the darkened halls, carefully stepping over bodies until they reached Blood's office. Oliver switched his bow to his left hand as he entered, absently noting Kate Spencer's body on the floor before seeing Blood standing by the window.
"As a young boy, I was plagued by nightmares." Blood began. "Every night, I would wake up in a cold sweat, frightened and alone. It was my father's face that haunted me." He revealed. He turned, holding the leather skull mask in his hands. "And this is how I saw him. The embodiment of desperation and despair. I made this mask to conquer my fears." He told them, desperate for them to understand. "And remind myself why I fight, every day, to give this city's most desperate a chance. All I ever wanted to do was help people, Oliver."
"He's not evil." Malcolm decided. "He's damaged. He wants to do right, but—" Malcolm paused, then gave out a tired chuckle.
"But he thinks the only way to help the city is by committing an evil act of his own." Sara finished. "Ironic, no?"
"Then help me believe." Oliver said. "Where is the cure?"
"Slade Wilson will not rest until he honors the promise that he made you." Blood said, walking up to his desk and setting the mask down.
"I won't be so easy to kill once we level the playing field." Oliver growled.
"He's not interested in killing you." Blood revealed. "Not until he's taken away everything and everyone you love."
"After he murdered my mother, he said one more person had to die." Oliver stated.
"Whoever you love the most." Blood replied. He walked around his desk and reached down. Dig tensed, but then relaxed as he stood back up, the case in his hands. "I hope you can beat him with this." Blood said, walking back around the desk and handing it to Oliver. "For all our sakes." Oliver took the case. "And when this is over, I promise you I will do everything in my power to rebuild Starling City." Blood continued. "And I won't just make it what it was. I will make it better. Like I always planned."
Oliver looked at him in disbelief. "You really think," he started, "After everything that's happened, after what you've done, that they'll still let you be mayor?" he asked.
"Why not? No one knows that I've done anything except try to save this city. And if you tell anyone about my mask, I will tell them about yours." Blood warned.
"He does have a point." Malcolm noted. "But I have no doubt that Oliver would risk himself being arrested if it got Blood put behind bars."
"Besides, I'd be more worried about what Slade will do to him when he finds out Blood gave the cure to Oliver." Diggle added.
"Do what you have to, Sebastian." Oliver growled, before turning and walking out of the office.
The scene changed to the SCPD. Lance had brought Laurel back to the station for protection before going back out on the streets. "I got to get back to it." He told her, reluctantly moving to leave.
"Hey." They looked up to see Sara, now in civilian clothes, rushing into the station. "Are you guys ok?" she asked.
"Yeah." Laurel said, hugging her. "Are you ok?"
Before she could reply, two officers walked past them. "You wouldn't believe it- a blonde in a mask ran out of a burning building with a kid in her arms." The first officer was telling the second. "It was the bravest thing I've ever seen. That woman's a hero." She stated. Laurel gave Sara a small smile, and Sara once more felt a tremendous sense of pride. Maybe she wasn't damned after all.
"You believe it yet?" Laurel asked Sara.
"I started to, at that point." Sara admitted.
"You should." Quentin added simply.
The scene changed to City Hall. Blood was pouring himself a drink when Isabel walked into his office.
"You gave it to him, didn't you?" she asked.
Blood took a sip of the scotch. "I did what I thought was necessary." He replied. "Don't worry, I'll tell Slade."
Instead of replying, Isabel walked over to his desk and hit the autodial on his phone. It rang once, and then Slade answered.
"Does he still have the cure?" he asked from his desk at Queen Consolidated.
"No." Isabel replied.
Blood took a breath. "Slade, you betrayed—" he began, but Slade cut him off.
"Good-bye, Mr. Blood." He said.
The sounds of swords unsheathing caused him to turn around- and that was when Isabel shoved both blades through his chest. He gasped in surprise and pain. "I loved this city." He gasped. Isabel sneered at him and shoved him off of her blades back onto his desk, knocking the skull mask to the floor. Isabel turned and walked out, leaving the Mayor dead on the desk.
Moira shook her head. "I really hate that woman."
"Is it weird that I feel kind of bad for Sebastian?" Laurel wondered.
"No, I don't think so." Tommy replied. "The guy needed therapy, not execution."
"I tend to disagree with that, but then I'm biased." Roy noted blithely.
The scene changed to the clock tower. Felicity opened the case and stared at the multiple glass vials filled with blue liquid.
"Why does every secret formula have to be a color?" she asked absently. "Whatever happened to good, old-fashioned clear?"
"But if everything were clear, you wouldn't know what anything was." Tommy pointed out.
Felicity nodded. "Good point."
"All right, so if we inject one of Slade's soldiers with this—" Diggle started.
"According to S. T.A.R. Labs, it will counteract the effects." Felicity finished.
"Assuming they got the recipe right." Dig noted.
Oliver took the case and headed over to Roy. He pulled out a vial and considered it for a moment. "We need to test it." He said.
"We can't." Felicity responded at once, alarmed. "Treat Roy like some kind of lab rat?"
"Felicity—"
"What if it doesn't work? What if it kills him? What if he wakes up and kills us?" she asked frantically.
"I'd rather be dead than out of control." Roy said firmly. "I believe that now, and I believed that back then. I just had no way of letting you all know."
"We need to know." Oliver told her firmly. "One way or the other."
FIVE YEARS AGO
On the 'Amazo', Sara and Oliver entered Ivo's lab. Oliver secured the door, and then turned to Sara. "Go lock the other door." He told her.
"Ok." She replied. She ran across the room to secure the other hatch, and that was when Oliver noticed something in the corner. Walking over, he picked up his bow and quiver. He turned to Sara. "Sara, where does Ivo keep his safe?" he asked.
"It's, uh, by his books." She replied. Oliver walked over to his desk and spotted the safe. His heart sank when he saw the door of the safe had been forced open already. He opened it and found the safe empty.
"Crap." Felicity said with a sinking feeling.
"Oliver…" Sara said in alarm. Oliver turned to see two men with guns enter the room from a third doorway, followed closely by Slade.
"What are you looking for, kid?" he asked, and then held up a syringe filled with blue liquid. "This?" he asked with a smirk.
"Yeah, 'crap' about sums it up." Sara said.
PRESENT
The scene changed to the SCPD. As Lance talked with his daughters, Pike was watching the news with interest. "Detective Lance." He called out finally, drawing Lance and his girls over to him.
"Yeah? What's going on?" Lance asked. Then he saw the picture on the screen of troops moving over the bridges towards Starling City. "What is it?" he wondered. 'You're watching live footage of an army convoy arriving on the outskirts of the city to restore order.' The reporter was saying. Lance sighed in relief. "Looks like the cavalry's here, finally."
"Maybe." Pike said warily.
Lance looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"
Pike gestured at the screen. "Well, they're taking up positions in the bridges and tunnels."
Diggle frowned. "They're sealing off the city."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Felicity asked. "They have to make sure none of those super soldiers get out."
"I think it depends on who ordered the troops there in the first place." Quentin said.
"Well, those are the only ways into the city." Quentin noted.
"Yeah, and the only ways out." Sara pointed out.
"A buddy of mine in military intelligence once told me the army isn't always the army." Pike said thoughtfully.
"But it's clearly the military." Laurel stated. "The trucks, the uniforms."
"Except the nearest army base is at Monument Point, which is 300 miles from here." Pike pointed out.
"So how could they mobilize to Starling City so fast?" Sara asked.
"Ok. So if that isn't the army, who the hell are they?" Lance wondered.
"A.R.G.U.S." Malcolm realized in horror. He looked at Roy. "She wouldn't!"
"Sure she would." He replied seriously.
The scene changed to the clock tower. Oliver loaded a syringe with the cure and approached Roy, who had been disconnected from his venom IV. Felicity and Diggle watched on worriedly as Oliver leaned over the boy. "I'm sorry." He brought the needle up to his shoulder to inject him as Felicity closed her eyes…
But after a few moments of hesitation, he sighed. "I can't." he said, setting the syringe down on the table.
Suddenly Felicity's phone rang. She fumbled for it, and pulling it out she glanced at the screen. "It's Lance." She said, answering the call. "Detective."
"Are you near him?" Lance asked.
"Yes." She replied.
"Are you near a TV?"
"Yes."
"Turn it on." He ordered. Felicity ran over and grabbed her tablet, quickly opening the TV app, and saw the convoy of troops on the screen. 'You're watching live footage of an army convoy arriving on the outskirts of the city to restore order.' The reporter was saying.
Oliver pulled out his own phone and quickly dialed a number. In the A.R.G.U.S. command center, Amanda Waller pulled out her phone and frowned. "How did you get this number?" she demanded.
"Amanda. What are you doing?" he demanded in return.
"I'm not sure what you mean." She hedged coolly.
"Amanda, the troops taking up position at the city's exits- they're not army, they're A.R.G.U.S." Oliver stated. "Those are your men. So you tell me what you're up to." At her silence, Oliver lost his temper. "Amanda!" he roared.
Waller sighed. "Slade's followers are a clear and present danger." She stated. "I cannot allow them to escape the city. They need to be contained… by any means necessary."
Oliver's heart sank. "You can't." he said.
"There's a drone en route carrying six GBU/43-B bombs; enough fire power to level the city." She told him.
"Amanda Waller, ladies and gentlemen." Roy said sarcastically to the horrified group. "Never met a drone she didn't like."
"What exactly is a GBU/43 bomb?" Felicity asked timidly.
"It's a non-nuclear, high-yield explosive." Diggle explained. "It's the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in the US arsenal. They call it the MOAB- Mother Of All Bombs."
"And what would six of those do, Mr. Diggle?" Moira asked.
"They'd wipe out the Glades, downtown, midtown, and the suburbs closest to the city." He replied.
"There are over half a million people in this city." Oliver stated.
"576,000." She replied. "None of whom deserve to die. But I have to think about the people in every city. You once told me that Mirakuru made a man virtually unstoppable. What could happen to this country, this world, if I don't end this here and now?" she asked.
"Listen to me. I have the cure." He told her. "I can stop Slade and his men."
"I can't take the chance you'll fail, Oliver." Waller said.
"Amanda, I just need more time." He pleaded.
"I'm sorry." She replied, looking down at her threat board. "You have until dawn. And then Starling City is a crater."
Oliver hung up the phone, grabbed the syringe, and jabbed it into Roy's shoulder. The time for half-measures and doubts was over.
Malcolm nodded approvingly.
"Nothing like the threat of imminent death to steel your resolve." Roy noted wryly.
The scene changed to the train station. Malcolm groaned in pain as he slowly started to climb back to his feet. A short distance away, Thea bent down and picked up the dead cop's gun. As Malcolm stood, he turned to face Thea, who had the gun pointed right at him. "If you're going to use that, you'll want to click the safety off." He advised with a groan.
"Stop helping me." Thea ground out.
Thea did just that. "I'll shoot you." She warned. "I will!"
Malcolm nodded. "I can see it in your eyes. My eyes. They're just like mine." He said. "Both of them filled with pain and anger, because those we loved were ripped from us. "I lost my name, my wife… Tommy."
"Let's not get started on THAT." Tommy said bitterly, causing Malcolm to wince.
"Shut up!" she shouted, the gun trembling slightly in her hands.
"You're all I have left in this world, and you've lost everything, too." Malcolm said. "Thea. But you still have a father. You still have—"
Thea fired three times. There was a thud, and then there was blackness.
Thea closed her eyes tightly, disgusted with herself.
Tommy was shocked. "Well, you did what I couldn't do." He said after a moment. "Good on you." He shot her a grin.
"Shut up!" Thea snapped back, causing the grin to fall off of his face. There was an awkward silence in the room for a few moments before Roy finally cleared his throat.
"Well, only one more to go." He announced. "But before we start that," Roy continued, rising from his seat. "Thea, would you please join me outside?" without waiting for an answer, Roy walked out of the room. Thea sighed, but rose and followed.
TBC
Author's Notes:
Question: was Isabel doing Slade? Were they a couple? When he mentioned Shado, she suddenly looked at him like 'who's that bitch?'
Know what drives me crazy? Sara, like Oliver and Roy (and now Thea), wear black eye liner around their eyes when they wear their masks. It always drives me nuts, then, when they pull off their masks and their eyes are perfectly clean! I think that's why I dig Laurel's mask the most now- she doesn't put the black stuff on, and frankly I think that looks better.
Also, this was the episode that redeemed Pike in my mind. Here he was clearly a good cop who cared about the city, and would do what was necessary- including working with a vigilante or two- to protect it.
So, how about that premier, eh? Happy Oliver! Angsty Diggle! Crazy Thea (yay!)! Evil... Lance?! Da fuq...
Translation:
I udivitel'no , on sdelal. A potom Oliver nauchil menya .- And amazingly, he did. And then Oliver taught me.