Hey, guys. Back with another chapter.

I'm glad you guys have been enjoying it so far. I've really enjoyed it. And now, we're about to get into the final phase of Chase's plan. There will be a couple of twists here and in the following chapters that I'm sure you will guys will be surprised by, and hopefully will like.

Let's get to it.

Chapter 20- Taken

"Former District Attorney Adrian Chase is facing multiple counts of capital murder, among other charges, following his capture three days ago. SCPD Spokesperson Alison Rou credits the Green Arrow, who has finally returned to our streets, with brining the man known as the Throwing Star Killer to justice."

Bucky, Thea, and Quentin smile as they watch the news report on Chase's capture. Thea turns it off and looks to Bucky. "Well, I feel that this city is gonna be really disappointed when the Green Arrow doesn't show up again. Unless he does," she says, giving Bucky a pointed look.

Bucky chuckles. "Maybe he can make an appearance every once in a while," he says with a grin.

"Well, I gotta get working. I gotta handle all the fallout from this," Quentin says. He then turns and starts to walk out of the room, then stops. He then turns around and looks to Bucky as he says, "Oh. Before I forget. Happy birthday, Bucky." Bucky smiles as Quentin walks out.

Bucky and Thea look at each other. "I better help him out. I'll see you later. And happy birthday from me too," Thea says before she follows Quentin out of the room.

Bucky continues to stand there for another moment before he heads out of the room and heads for the front doors. As he does, he pulls out his phone and calls Felicity. After a few rings, she picks up. As soon as she does, Bucky says, "Hey, call the team to the bunker. Now that Chase is down, I want to discuss our next major target."

(The bunker)

Bucky walks into the bunker to find the team already assembled. "Hey, guys. Thanks for coming," he says. He then looks around, and notices that Rene is missing. "Hey, Where's Rene?" he asks.

"Not sure. He hasn't answered my texts, but Quentin told me he was working on getting his daughter back, and it sounded like his court date was soon. He's probably getting ready for that," Felicity says.

Bucky nods, then looks around at everybody. "So, now that we've got Chase, I think it's time we get working on our next big target," he says.

"Which is who?" Diggle asks.

"HYDRA," Bucky responds simply.

Diggle nods in understanding. Bucky looks around and says, "China White let slip that HYDRA exists in this world, and she knew of them. And Viper is clearly a former member of HYDRA. More than that, she said that HYDRA had their own WInter Soldier. And I'm guessing that Viper's men are former HYDRA agents that probably followed her when she left HYDRA. I don't know what their goals are, but by the looks of it, it's probably exactly the same as on my Earth. I know we're supposed to protect Star City. But I'm not letting HYDRA roam free. On any Earth. So, I'm going after them. Do the rest of you want to help?"

A round of nods answers Bucky's question. "You've helped us take down Chase. Now it's our turn to help you," Diggle responds.

Bucky nods, smiling with gratitude. "Thanks, you guys. Now, I need to go pick up a few things at the store. I'll see you guys later," he says before walking out of the bunker.

(Bucky's apartment)

Bucky smiles and hums to himself as he walks down the hall towards the door to his apartment, carrying a bag with a few groceries in it. As he gets the door, he starts to reach for the doorknob when he notices that the door is just barely open.

Bucky instantly freezes, wondering what could be going on. He slowly lowers his bag to the ground, then steps forward and slowly opens the door. He takes a step in, and then his senses perk up. He whips to his right, grabs the person sneaking up on him, and flips him over his shoulder. He pins him to the ground, ready to deliver a powerful punch from his cybernetic arm until he recognizes the man. Diggle.

Right then, he hears Thea, Felicity, and Lyla cry out, "Surprise!" However, their voices trail off a bit at the end. Laurel cries out, "Surprise!" as well, but also falters at the end.

Diggle looks up at him and says, "Happy birthday. And everything hurts right now," he says before slowly getting to his feet. Bucky looks up at him for a second, then back down sheepishly.

Bucky gets back up, and Diggle leads him over to the table, where a cake decorated in black icing, with a red star in the middle. Bucky smiles as he leans down and blows out the candles.

"Where did you get this?" Diggle asks.

"Lord Mesa Bakery. They were a little confused as to why I wanted this design, but I managed to get it when I said it was for a little kid," Felicity replies.

Bucky chuckes, then looks to Diggle. "Hey. Sorry about that, Diggle," he says.

"It's okay. But, if I had actually been trying to attack you…" Diggle starts, but Bucky turns to him and raises his eyes. "Yes?" he asks.

"I would've...still ended up on the ground. Yeah," Diggle says before turning away.

Bucky chuckles and walks over towards the coffee table, where several presents are waiting. As he does, Felicity reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small device. Lyla walks over and glances down at them. "What are those?" she asks.

"These are sound modulators. Curtis was working on them for Laurel. He gave them to me to run some tests on to make sure they're ready. They'll help focus her cry and help bypass any kind of sonic dampener," Felicity explains.

"Nifty," Lyla says with a smile. After a quick pause, she asks, "Speaking of, where is Curtis?"

"Well, Rene hasn't answered any of his calls, so Curtis went to stop by to tell him to come on over for the party. Hopefully they should be here before long," Felicity says.

Right then, the doorbell rings. Thea walks over and opens the door to reveal Quentin standing there, holding a wrapped gift. He looks at her for a second, then asks, "I'm late, aren't I?"

"You're all good. Didn't miss much. Just Bucky flipping Diggle over his shoulder," Thea says as she stands aside to let Quentin in.

"I told you a surprise party wasn't a good idea," Quentin says.

"Everybody, gather up!" Laurel calls out. Quentin sets down his present on the TV stand and he and Thea walk over to where everyone has gathered for a toast.

"Thank you all for doing this. THis is the first time I've gotten to celebrate my birthday in over 70 years," Bucky says, drawing some laughs from everybody. He waits for a second, then says, "It's been very crazy for me the last two years, but here in Star City, among you guys, I've finally found a home. And I couldn't be more grateful." He then raises his glass, and says, "To friends."

"To friends," everyone echoes before they all take a drink.

After they take a drink, the group starts to disperse, leaving just Bucky and Laurel standing together. Laurel looks to him and says, "You know, it's nice to see you relaxing. With everything we've been going through with Chase, and discovering HYDRA exists, you've been focused so much on being the Winter Soldier. It's nice to see you at ease like this."

Bucky chuckles. "Yeah. You're right. It's nice to feel...well, relaxed," he says.

Laurel smiles back at him. She glances down at her glass, then looks back at him. "You know, I was thinking…" she starts. Suddenly, Bucky's phone rings, cutting her off.

"Sorry," Bucky says as he pulls it out. Seeing it's Curtis, he answers and says, "Hey, Curtis. What's up?"

"Umm, we may have a bit of a problem. Felicity asked me to by Rene's apartment to invite him to your surprise party. I just got here. His apartment has been broken into, and it looks like he's gone," Curtis says in a concerned tone.

"Are you sure?" Bucky asks in concern.

"Yeah, I'm…" Curtis starts, but he suddenly stops, as there's what sounds like a blow, and the sound of a body hitting the ground.

"Curtis? Curtis?!" Bucky calls into his phone loudly, but gets no response.

After a moment, Bucky lowers his phone and looks at Laurel. "That was Curtis," he says in a low voice. He then looks over at Diggle and says, "John. That was Curtis. And I think he got kidnapped mid-call. We gotta go." Diggle nods instantly, and races to find his gun stash. He grabs two and tosses one to Bucky. Bucky cocks the gun, and he and Diggle race out of the apartment, leaving everyone wondering what just happened.

(Rene's apartment)

Bucky and Diggle slowly enter the apartment, guns at the ready. They swivel their heads around, looking for any sign of Rene or Curtis, or whoever may have kidnapped them. Bucky glances down, and sees Curtis' phone. He slowly bends down and picks it up.

"I think it's safe to say my assumption was right," Bucky says.

"Yeah." Diggle says. A moment later, he says, "What's that?"

Bucky looks up, and his blood chills. That familiar symbol of the skull with the tentacles curling out of the bottom, inscribed within a circle.

"That's the symbol of HYDRA. Looks like Viper hasn't given up all ties with HYDRA. Though she may have just left this so we'd know it was her that kidnapped Rene and Curtis," Bucky says.

"What do we do?" Diggle asks.

"Well, it's clear that Chase's lieutenants are still carrying out his plans even though he's in prison. And I know that he's not planning to stop with just Rene and Curtis," Bucky says with relative calm before turning and walking out of the house, pulling out his phone to call Laurel.

(The bunker)

"So, basically, you're saying that catching Chase has done nothing to stop his plans?" Felicity asks.

"I should've expected this. Chase is smarter than this. He would've made contingencies. We should've expected a backlash this quick," Bucky says in irritation.

"Hey, you can't beat yourself up over this. It's not gonna help us stop Chase," Laurel says.

Bucky stands there for a moment, then says, "Alright. We clearly are in trouble. And for the moment, I want us to split up. Thea and Felicity, I want you and Quentin in ARGUS custody.. Lyla, I need you to find them a safe house where Chase can't get them. And, once you have that done, I need you to fly to the ARGUS base where you're keeping Chase. I need you to make sure he can't get out, and arrange greater security. I don't want to take any chances of him getting out."

"Understood," Lyla says.

"Bucky we are not leaving you," Thea says with determination.

"If Lyla can get you to a safe house without arousing suspicion, then Chase's lieutenants will have a much harder time finding you. And I need you away so I can focus on trying to find Chase," Bucky says in a tone that says he will not accept any arguments. Thea stares him down for a moment, then finally sighs and sits down.

Bucky then turns to Diggle and Laurel. "I want you two to stay here with me. We're gonna keep running the search for Chase's lieutenants. And I want to try and draw them out. When we do, you two are gonna help me take them down one by one," he says.

There are several people who look like they do not like this idea, but it is clear that Bucky is not in a mood to argue. Finally, Thea and Felicity stand up and follow Lyla out of the bunker.

(Later that night)

Bucky growls as he throws up his hands and scoots back from the computer, feeling very frustrated at his failure to find any of Chase's followers on facial recognition so far.

"Kinda wishing I'd kept Felicity here," Bucky says.

"Hey, don't worry about it now. There's nothing you can do but make do with what you've got," Laurel says.

Bucky sighs. After a moment, he says, "I can't believe I let this happen. I can't believe I let my guard down."

Laurel walks over to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay Bucky. I don't blame you, and nobody else does. You need to stop focusing on the guilt you're feeling and focus on stopping Chase," she says in a comforting tone.

Bucky looks at her for a moment, then slowly nods. Right then, the computer starts beeping rapidly. Bucky is instantly back at the computer, his fingers on the keys. After typing for a moment, his blood chills. "Oh no," he groans.

"What? What is it?" Diggle asks.

"Spotted White and Cutter. They're only about two blocks away from the safe house," Bucky says.

There's silence for a moment. Then, Bucky turns towards Diggle and says urgently, "Get that safe house on the phone right now!"

(ARGUS safe house)

Thea sighs as she twirls a chess piece in her hand. "Ugh. This is just cruel. I can't even use my phone," she says in frustration.

"I know how you feel," Felicity groans.

Quentin twirls a pen in hand, trying to think of something to do to keep himself busy. An ARGUS agent is standing next to him. Suddenly, the agent's phone rings. The man reaches down for it, and answers it, but the phone quickly cuts out.

Suddenly, there's the sound of a bow firing, and Thea, Felicity, and Quentin's blood chills. Knowing that Chase is in ARGUS custody, there's only one other person who it could be.

"Cutter," Thea says under her breath.

The agent rushes out of the room, only for their to be another sound of a bow firing, and the agent quickly collapses. Quentin leaps back from the door, towards Thea and Felicity.

For a second, there's quiet. Then, Cutter smashes down the door, and she stalks in, bow raised. Right behind her is China White, knives in hand.

"Well, well, well. The three amigos," Cutter says mockingly.

"Enough. We can taunt them later. Take them," White says before rushing at Thea.

Thea jumps at her, and they start fighting fiercely. Quentin races to engage White. For several moments, there are two fights going on. Then, Cutter and White both suddenly duck, right before a scream splits the air and a shockwave knocks Thea and Quentin back. Both of them go flying into a wall, and are knocked out instantly.

Felicity looks at Cutter and White in fear, and the woman behind them. She recognizes her, and says, in a low voice, "Dinah Drake."

Dinah smiles at her. "Yeah. And you're coming with us," she says. Cutter then throws a sedative dart at Felicity, and Felicity is down in a second.

White laughs, and Dinah says, "Let's get them out of here."

And, I'll end there. Sorry it took me a little longer than usual to get this update finished.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And I hope you're excited for the final fight. And yes, I will confirm it now. The final battle will take place on Lian Yu.

I will have the next chapter up soon. Until then, please, please review and give me your feedback. And stay tuned for the next chapter!