Alright. Here we go with another chapter. I finished my final exams this morning, so I now I can write more.
Hope you enjoy it. And sorry the chapter title is so bad.
Chapter 23- The Pieces are Moving
As soon as it's clear that Harkness and Viper are gone, Slade, Bucky, and Vincent hurry to break the locks on the cages. It only takes a few moments before they are able to let the prisoners out.
Malcolm hurries up to Thea's cage as Thea is climbing out. "Are you okay?" he asks worriedly.
"Go to hell," Thea responds.
"I'll take that as a yes," Malcolm says sarcastically.
Vincent and Roy help the others out of their cages as Slade grabs Evelyn, pulls her over to the cages and puts her in one of them. As he locks the door, he says smugly,"You've been left behind. You should choose your friends more wisely."
After Slade locks Evelyn up, he joins the circle that has formed. Bucky looks around at everybody and asks, "Where is everyone else?"
"I don't know. Chase split us up into groups when we got here," Curtis explains.
Felicity takes a step forward, points to Slade, and asks Bucky fiercely, "We are gonna talk about that, right?"
"Maybe later. My choices in allies should be the least of your concerns right now," Bucky says before he turns around to face Evelyn. "Where are they?" he demands.
"I wish I knew. So I could tell you to go screw yourselves," Evelyn responds snidely.
"Why did Chase split up the hostages?" Vincent demands harshly.
"Why does Chase do anything? So far, he hasn't laid out a single hoop any of you could keep yourselves from jumping through. Maybe leaving me here was part of the plan," Evelyn responds. Vincent grips his gun tightly, very tempted to blow her brains out.
Bucky turns back to the group and asks, "How'd Chase get you here? Was it a plane?" Curtis nods in response.
"Do you think you could find your way back to it?" he asks.
"Yeah, probably, but…" Curtis replies, but Bucky cuts him off as he turns to Malcolm and asks, "Malcolm, can you fly a plane?"
"If it's anything like the 3 Gulfstreams I used to have, yes," Malcolm replies as if he's been insulted.
"Get them to the mainland and then come back for the rest of us," Bucky orders. Malcolm nods, but the rest of the group doesn't agree with that statement.
"We are not leaving you here," Felicity protests.
"I need you all off this island since I can focus," Bucky replies. He then turns to Evelyn and says, "And despite my better instincts, when this is all over, I will come back for you."
"When this is all over, you'll all be dead," Evelyn snaps.
Right then, Thea walks up to Bucky and asks, "Can I talk to you for a moment?" Bucky sighs, but walks a short distance away with you
As they get away from the group, Thea demands, "Ok, what the h*** are you doing?"
"What?" Bucky asks in a confused tone, though he has a pretty good idea what this is about.
"I mean Malcolm Merlyn and Slade Wilson! Me and my brother are orphans because of those two. And you're working with Vigilante? We've been fighting against him for months!" Thea responds angrily.
"I need as many allies as I can get. I know working with those three is less than ideal. But Malcolm wouldn't give up anyway, I think Slade can be trusted now, and Vigilante has a connection one of Chase's lieutenants. Like it or not, we need them, Thea. And before you protest me sending you and Curtis away, I need you to make sure Felicity and Samantha are safe, and make sure Samantha gets off this island," Bucky says.
Thea just stands there, looking like she wants to argue. FInally, she just sighs and nods. Bucky lays a comforting hand on her shoulder and says, "Don't worry. This will all work out." He then leads her back to the group.
As they approach the group, Vincent speaks up and says, "Viper and Harkness ran off into the forest. I think my visor's systems may be able to track their trail."
"They might lead us back to the rest of the hostages," Slade adds.
"They're our friends, and we don't need your help," Felicity says angrily to Slade.
"That's my call to make, Felicity, not yours. I'm in command here, and Slade is coming with us," Bucky says sharply. Felicity looks like she wants to argue, but knows that, unlike Oliver, Bucky is not someone she can win an argument with.
Bucky then hands a comm unit to Curtis, and a tablet to Felicity. "Just in case you need them," he says calmly, before turning to Slade, Vincent, and Roy, and says, "Let's move out."
The two groups separate and move off in separate directions. However, before he follows Bucky, Roy runs over to Thea. "Thea," he calls to get her attention.
She turns to him as he runs up to her. "Thea, I know I don't really have time to talk right now. But, I just want you to know I still love you," Roy says. He then gives her a quick kiss before running off to join Bucky. Thea just stares after him before she turns to follow Curtis and the others into the jungle.
(The monastery)
Laurel and Quentin struggle against their bonds as Dinah and some of Viper's men lead them down a passage in the monastery.
"Nice place," Quentin snidely comments.
"Before the Chinese turned Lian Yu into a prison, it was a holy retreat. This monastery is one of the places that monks left behind," Dinah says.
"Now you're using for a guy you barely know on a guy you barely know. You, a former cop," Laurel says snidely.
"Adrian Chase helped me see who I was, and finally get revenge on my partner's killer. I don't owe Oliver Queen a thing, and I think he's the true menace here," DInah says.
She leads them around a corner and into a room, where they can see Rene and Diggle struggling against their chains.
"Laurel! Quentin!" Diggle calls to them as he spots them.
"Hoss, you OK?" Rene asks Quentin.
"Alright, everyone. Calm down. The four of you will have plenty of time to catch up with each other," DInah says before smirking at them and walking away while Viper's men chain them to the ring on the floor and follow Dinah.
"I'm assuming you can't use your cry?" Diggle asks.
"They had a sonic dampener trained on me on the walk in. And I'm guessing that's another one," Laurel says, gesturing to a device hanging on the wall out of reach.
"Well, we got to get out of here," Rene says.
"Don't worry. Bucky will find us. I know it," Laurel says confidently.
(The forest)
Bucky follows behind Vincent, Slade and Roy bringing up the rear. It turns out that Vincent was right about his visor. The advanced systems he had built into it were able to pick up on the trail that Viper and Harkness left behind as they fled.
As Bucky follows behind Vincent, Slade slowly walks up beside him. "So, Barnes. You told me you're a friend of Oliver's and his friends. You never told me how."
Bucky keeps walking for a moment, then says, "I don't know if you've ever heard of the multiverse theory. But it's not a theory. It's fact. There are multiple different versions of Earth. They exist in the same place in space, but vibrate at a different frequency, so they can't see each other. I come from one of those other Earths. I came to this Earth months ago, and I found a home in Star City. I befriended Oliver's family and friends, but by then, Oliver had disappeared. So, I'm sorry that I lied about being Oliver's friend, but I am trying to fill his shoes as Star City's protector. And I refuse to let Adrian Chase destroy Oliver and his reputation."
Bucky half expects Slade to turn on him then and there, or to just leave them. However, Slade just examines him for a few moments. Then, he says, "I don't blame you. Your situation is a desperate one. But, your confession isn't going to sway me. I already betrayed Oliver once. And this is one way I can begin to atone for that mistake."
Bucky looks at Slade for a moment, then smiles a bit. "Thank you, Slade.," he says.
Right then, Vincent stops and turns around to face the other three. "I think I know where they're going," he says, holding out a pair of binoculars. Bucky walks up, takes the binoculars, and looks in the direction Vincent is pointing. After looking around a second, he finally spots what Vincent was talking about. An old monastery built on the side of a hill.
"There we go," Bucky whispers to himself. He then looks at everyone else. "That's where they're gonna be. Unfortunately, that's where Chase is gonna have all his followers," he says.
"How are we gonna get in there with just the four of us?" Roy asks.
"Well, our first goal is to free our friends. Then, it'll be the eight of us," Bucky says. Right then, his phone rings. He quickly answers it and asks, "Hey, Lyla. What's up?" After a moment, he smiles and says, "Alright. Thanks." He quickly hangs up and looks back at his three allies.
"That was Lyla. We have some reinforcements on the way. In the meantime, let's go rescue my friends," Bucky says. Slade, Vincent, and Roy all nod.
"Alright. Let's go," Bucky says before dashing off into the forest.
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the island, the others are all headed towards the spot where the plane is, with Curtis leading the way. As they do, Malcolm sidles up next to Thea. "You know, I'd think that coming halfway across the world to rescue you would at least entitle me to a conversation."
"Yeah, well, it doesn't," Thea snaps.
"Has it ever occured to you that I do the things I do because I'm your father?" Malcolm asks.
"No, you're not. We are nothing to each other. Don't you ever understand that?" Thea demands angrily, but is quickly cut off by the sound of a click as she sets her foot down.
Everyone goes still, then whips around to look at Thea. After a few moments, Curtis asks, "Thea, are you okay?"
"No, she's not. She just activated a landmine," Malcolm says. After another moments, he drops to his knees,saying in a low voice, "Stay still." He bends down lower and starts digging away at the dirt under Thea's foot.
After a few moments, Malcolm looks back up at her and says, "The trigger's rusted over."
Thea gulps slightly before hesitantly asking, "That-that's good, right?"
"No, that's really bad news. It means we can't disarm it," Curtis says grimly.
"Well, someone needs to do something fast," Samantha says.
"Thea, on the count of three, take your foot off the mine," Malcolm orders.
"No, that'll blow us all up!" Felicity protests.
"I'm gonna take her place," Malcolm says reassuringly. It is not reassuring in the slightest.
"That's crazy!" Samantha protests.
"Yeah, you're not the first person to call him that," Felicity adds.
"I'll just find a boulder around here or something," Curtis suggests.
"No! We don't have that kind of time!" Malcolm says loudly before he turns to Thea and says, "Thea, you need to do it."
"No! No one is doing this, okay!" Thea insists.
"Okay! Okay!" Malcolm says in a placating tone. "It's okay. I forgot how stubborn you could be," he says with a chuckle. Then, he surges forward and shoves Thea off the mine, planting his foot on the trigger to stop it going off.
Malcolm takes a few deep breaths before looking at Thea and saying, "Thank you for reminding me."
"What the h*** are you doing?" Thea demands.
"I'm gonna take care of the guys following us, disarm the mine, and then I'll catch up with you," Malcolm says.
"Yeah, and how are you gonna do that with one foot planted on the mine?" Felicity demands.
"He's not going to," Thea says in realization.
There's a moment of silence before Thea says, "Look, if you're trying to prove something to me, you don't need to. Okay. You proved it!"
"I'm not trying to prove anything. From the moment you were born, all I ever wanted was to protect you," Malcolm replies.
Thea stares at him for a few moments before saying, "Don't do this, okay?"
Malcolm looks at Thea for another moment before saying, "You may not think of me as your father, Thea. But you'll always be my daughter."
There is silence for a moment. Then, the sound of gunshots breaks the silence. They all turn to see a squad of Viper's men racing towards them.
"Go, now. Go!" Malcolm shouts. Thea tries to protest, but Curtis grabs her and pulls her away.
Malcolm stands completely still as the fallen HYDRA agents approach. One jogs up to him and chuckles. "Well, you're stupid just standing there out in the open," he says.
Malcolm chuckles, then says,"Let me show you why."
Suddenly, before Malcolm can even do anything, there's a flash of lightning, and Viper's men all collapse. Then, there's another flash of lightning, and suddenly Malcolm is standing right in front of Thea and the others as they are running away. Right at that moment, the mine goes off. Thea and the others are shocked to see Malcolm standing in front of them.
"Malcolm? How did-" Felicity starts to ask, but she's cut off when Barry suddenly flashes into the middle of them.
"Hey, guys," he says cheerfully.
"Barry!" Felicity says in surprise.
"Yup, it's me. Bucky called for reinforcements. I came to get you guys to the plane, and Kid Flash is searching the island for William," Barry says, careful not to reveal Wally's identity as Kid Flash to Malcolm Merlyn.
"Alright. Let's get to the plane," Malcolm says, having recovered from his first experience being run somewhere by a speedster.
"I'll cover you guys," Barry says, speeding off into the forest to check for any more of Viper's men, while Curtis continues to lead them in the direction of the plane.
(The monastery)
Bucky slowly walks into the monastery, Vincent, Slade, and Roy following him close behind.
"Alright. Is it working, Vincent?" Bucky asks.
"Yeah. I'm finally picking up the trackers you put in Laurel and Diggle. They're in the east wing of the monastery," he says.
"Should we split up?" Slade asks.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Roy says, in part because he still doesn't trust Slade.
"You're probably right about that." The voice catches them all off guard, and they whip to their right just in time to see Harkness step out from behind a pillar, a boomerang in each hand. Two of Viper's men come out right behind him.
"You're not going anywhere," he says arrogantly.
There's a moment of silence, then Vincent steps forward. "Go," he says calmly.
"Are you sure?" Bucky asks.
"Don't worry. I've got this," Vincent replies as he draws two large fighting knives.
"I'll help him. You two go," Roy says as he steps forward, ready to fight.
"Alright. See you guys later," Bucky says before he and Slade duck away to go find Laurel and the others.
"That was a stupid move. Now, you die," Harkness says before he throws his boomerangs. Vincent deflects them with his knives and rushes Harkness as Roy rushes to meet Viper's two guys.
(Elsewhere on the island, same time)
As the battle in the monastery begins, Thea and the others have finally found the plane.
"Alright. Everybody got on board, and once I've figured this out, we'll get out of here," Malcolm says confidently, knowing he'll need a few minutes to familiarize himself with a C-130.
Then, there's the familiar lightning sound, and they hear Barry call out from behind some crates, "Guys, we've got a problem!"
Everyone rushes over to where Barry's voice came from, and find him digging up some dirt with his hands. "What is it?" Curtis asks.
"Antennas," Barry says as he keeps digging. A second later, he uncovers something that is familiar to all of them.
"And that's C-4," Thea identifies the block under the antennas.
"Those are way too many antennas for a remote trigger. They must be networked," Curtis says as Felicity types furiously on her tablet.
"Great, so there's more than one," Thea groans.
"Yeah, you could say that," Felicity says with dread as her screen shows that the island is covered in similar charges.
"Wait, there's hundreds of them," Samantha gasps.
"That's way too many to defuse," Barry says. Everyone looks around at each other.
"Malcolm, get that plane ready. Felicity, try and contact Bucky," Barry says. Malcolm nods and rushes towards the C-130 as Felicity tries to contact Bucky, knowing right now that every second counts.
And, I'll end there.
I hope this chapter was okay. I know some of you may be upset I didn't kill Malcolm. But, I may yet use him, and I figured it would be a good time to introduce Barry into this fight.
The outcome of the fight between Vigilante and Captain Boomerang will be shown during the next chapter, though I'm sure you can guess how it ends.
Now that my finals are done, I have a lot more free time. So, I will try and get the next chapter up by tomorrow. I want to try and finish this story before I see Endgame (which I'm currently planning for Saturday, and am beyond excited for!)
I'll say no more now, except to ask you to please review and tell me your thoughts on this chapter, and stay tuned!