Disclaimer: Based on characters and references created by DC Universe and the CW, which I do not own. Enjoy!

Episode 1: Legacy

Alone with his thoughts, Roy sat in the small, antiquated apartment that John called a safe house. The surroundings reminded him of his old home, in the poorer parts of the Glades. He was reminded of what he considered the fateful day he met Thea, snagging her purse unawares and nearly getting away with it. He remembered her forgiveness, kindness, and pity.

Her love.

As Roy was about to crack a smile, the front door opened. In came William, peculiarly without John or Zoe Ramirez.

Still, Roy kept a blank stare at the mirror across from him, not looking towards the son of his mentor and friend.

"Have you even eaten?"

Roy did not respond to William's inquiry.

William did not press the issue further, continuing, "We may have a lead on Felicity. Zoe is heading to the Glades to meet up with her father and John is checking out a couple of sites for clues. I was hoping you would come with, meet an old friend."

"I'll pass."

A moment went by. Roy did not demand that William leave, hoping that waiting it out would work.

It didn't. Instead, William walked right in front of the mirror and stared Roy down.

"What exactly is your problem?"

Again, Roy did nothing, hoping that William would eventually get tired of the conversation and leave.

"You have done nothing but try and deter us from our mission and exclude yourself from everything else! Why even leave the island with me? Huh? What was it about the Mark of Four that sprang you into action?"

The mention of it took Roy by surprise, finally lifting his head to meet William's eyes.

"John told you?"

"I already knew. Not what the mark was, but it was what you found on the paper inside my father's bow."

Roy remembered only one instance where he mentioned that event, and that was to John, privately. He sprang up from his chair.

"You eavesdropped on us."

"Because you have done NOTHING but give me vague answers, ESPECIALLY when it came to Auth Thea."

Roy remained silent when her name dropped. He did his best not to let his anger get the best of him, though his fingers do curl into a fist without his permission.

"Does this have anything to do with her? Are you trying to make up for something she asked of you to do?"

"Get out."

"You know, after I restarted Queen Industries, I've been tracking her for years, seeing if I could at least find some hint of her, if I could at LEAST have some sort of conclusion. Find her, her grave. Something!"

Roy found it hard to keep himself in check anymore. "GET OUT!"

"What happened on that journey to destroy those pits? Is she alive or dead? Tell me that, at least, and I'll let this go!"

Roy backed away and turned around for a moment, gripping the top of his head, indecisive. The painful memories start to flood back in all at once, too many to filter. They annoy him to no end, robbing him the ability to coherently put into words what happened that day.

So, turning back around, Roy just said the first question from his brain, "Do you know what it's like to fail to save someone you love?"

Thea feels lightheaded, almost out of touch with reality. She can see Roy struggling to break free from the Thanatos Guild members that pin him to the floor. He screams her name, but it feels distant to her ears. Nyssa tries to fight her way through, but their numbers prove too great, even if their skill just almost match her's.

"Do you know how it feels to be powerless to stop something that was happening right in front of you?"

"Let the child of our founder, Malcolm Merlyn, be bathed in the waters of resurrection once again! Let her become the successor she was meant to be and lead our guild to GREATNESS!"

Thea wants to flip her way out of her enemies' grips, to trip them up and start kicking their butts. But whatever poison was in the dart that hit her on the way inside the temple makes her feel like she is in a strange form of paralysis. She still feels her connection to her limbs, but she cannot move them at all.

"Let our guild's ascension…BEGIN!"

Already, Thea feels herself being wounded up, ready to be thrown in. She closes her eyes and gasps for breath, ready for what is about to happen. As she feels herself being thrown into the air, she remembers her struggle to control the Pit's side effects, the rage that forced her to lash out at her friends and family, how she had to kill in order to quell her bloodlust, and how she almost died when trying to deny said bloodlust. All of that was cured with the red lotus, the last bottle, of which, was destroyed moments ago by Athena.

However, landing back-first, Thea does not feel a splash. Rather, she feels the rough bindings of rope behind her. Surprised, she opens her eyes quickly and looks above her head. With what little vision she has, Thea sees the top of the net connected to an arrow. A red arrow.

As her eyes look forward, she catches sight of a dark-hooded figure jumping down from the old rafters. He lands with a strong thud in between the ninjas that threw her, kicking up a bit of gray dust. As the two of them regain composure and draw their swords, the figure's gauntlet came apart, revealing some kind of weird device in the knuckles. The device sends out a kinetic wave, forcing the two of them and Athena back. The dust's bitter taste and rough texture force Thea to close her eyes. Yet, blinking it away, she can somewhat make out the dark figure, particularly the mask, which sends shivers down her spine. It might be the dust messing with her vision, but what she sees right now is some armored version of Prometheus.

Roy couldn't believe his eyes. One minute, he sees Thea being thrown into the pit, feeling himself roar out a "NO!" instinctually. Somehow, he hears no splash at all. He didn't know whether to be scared or relieved.

The next thing he knows, some hooded guy jumps down from the rafters and somehow blows the two ninja and Athena a safe distance away before they charge at him. Whoever this guy is, even with three ninja assassins, he is beating them back with almost no effort. He parries nearly every sword attack with his gauntlet or compound bow, dodges others in quick succession and then manages to find openings to knock them out in just one or two quick strikes, except Athena whom he pushes to the floor with a side kick.

Observing what is going on, the assassins on top of Roy draw their swords quickly and were about to plunge their weapons into him. Suddenly, what can only be described as a laser beam appears out of nowhere and hits one of the ninjas, stunning her for a moment. Then, to make things just a bit weirder, a bunch of metal balls fly around them, sending beams that either stun or annoy them. They try slicing the balls in half, but they adapt to the directions of the swings.

Two more balls appear, this time saving Nyssa from a couple of ninjas taken off guard by the initial waves. Just as she throws one down to the ground, she ducks under a slice and swings her bow at the perpetrator's legs. The ninja goes down and clutches her shins in agony. Nyssa then turns to Roy and shoots a couple of arrows at the shoulders of a couple of unaware guild ninja.

Seeing his opportunity, Roy quickly grabs his bow from one of the fallen ninjas. He turns and swings at the ninja above him, who quickly dodges it and goes for a quick stab to his chest. However, before the blow could pierce him, the sound of gunfire fills the air, the bullet flying and penetrating the ninja's sword. Rushing in after the bullet is a man with an intimidating armored outfit and black visor, pushing her sword hand away and knocking her on the back of the head with the hammer end of his gun.

As the ninja goes down, the man relaxes himself in front of Roy, leaving the gun by his side in one hand. With the other, he presses a button on his helmet, raising the visor up into the helmet he is wearing.

The face it reveals both surprises Roy and puts a half smile on his face.

"John?"

"Roy."

John Diggle, an old friend he has not seen in months, extends a hand to help Roy. He happily takes it, though he does feel a bit of bruising on his body as he gets up.

"How did you find us?"

"It's a long story." John readies his gun once again. "But there's no time to explain."

"John!"

Roy looks over to where the deep voice echoed, seeing the dark hooded figure running towards them. He was carrying Thea, her eyes open but just barely breathing.

Nyssa joins him, checking on Thea. "Is she alive?"

"She is, but she was hit by some sort of nerve poison. She can't move."

Roy examines her body, looking for any indication of Lazarus liquid. "Did she fall into the pit?"

"No."

The familiar voice of Athena, lying face first on the floor shouts something in a foreign language. Afterwards, a bunch of Thanatos ninja, most likely the upper-level patrols they avoided to get in here, make their way down from the stairs near the Lazarus pit. Some jump down to save themselves time.

The dark-hooded figure quickly hands Thea over to John. "Get outside. Get her an anesthetic and some anti-toxins. I'll cover your escape. Go!"

John, leading the way, yells to Roy and Nyssa, "Come on!"

Not thinking of any other option, Roy catches up with John. Nyssa, however, stays behind.

John looks back, yelling, "Nyssa!"

She does not move from the hooded guy's side, but John and Roy barely have time to go back.

Roy looks at John. "Is that guy going to be okay?"

"Knowing Red Arrow…he's always quick to form a plan."

As Red Arrow stands ready for the oncoming hoard, he notices Nyssa Al Ghul standing next to him, bow and arrow at the ready.

"You were supposed to retreat with John."

"I am in the practice of not leaving behind those who have aided me."

"I was planning a route out!"

"Well, now's the time to create it."

The hoard of ninjas is making its way towards the stairway in front of the pit. Acting quickly, Red Arrow takes note of his immediate surroundings.

Besides the large doorway, the only other ways out are the two windows above. The pillars in front of them could make for an acrobatic escape. However, they could still follow us if the doorway is left unchecked. So maybe…

His plan finalized, Red Arrow takes out a couple of explosive arrows and fires them at the base of each pillar. He interacts with the gauntlet for a quick second before looking up to the ninjas that surround them with bows and arrows.

"STOP!"

Red Arrow's finger being close to the gauntlet's interface halts their advance, but they still keep aim.

"One false move and I'll bury all of us in rubble."

Athena, the leader of the group, confidently walks to the front of her troop's front line. She keeps her eyes on both Red Arrow and Nyssa with a glare.

"You are depriving us of our founder's heir."

"You won't lay a FINGER on her."

Red Arrow slowly starts to step back. Nyssa follows his lead. As they take just a couple of steps, the ninjas take a large one, their hands tensing on their bow strings.

Athena smirks. "Is that so? Will you truly take your own life just to delay the inevitable?"

"If that's what it takes."

"There are many things Master Merlyn has taught me. One of them is to know when one is bluffing…Mr. Queen."

The mention of his last name stops him in his tracks. His eyes widen under his mask and his trigger finger twitches a bit.

Nyssa looks at him with a curious look, mouthing, "Oliver?"

"Dante has told me much about you. You are lucky he wants you alive."

Red Arrow does a little shuffle with his feet, hoping the Thanatos ninjas won't notice. "What does he promise you? Riches?"

"A secure position within his organization, along with the heir you are depriving us of, in exchange for the recruitment of my ninja. Take her away and we will hunt you down. Hide her from us, and we will simply scour the earth for her, or we will use you and your family as leverage."

"You so much as TOUCH them—"

"You'll kill us?" Athena chuckles. "From what Dante says, that is not what you prefer."

Athena takes a few steps forward. "Surrender now…and you may live to serve this guild under her guidance. Side by side, like family."

Knowing that Athena is seeing through most of the illusion, Red Arrow slowly lowers his hands to his sides.

"You were right."

As the timer on his gauntlet drops to zero, an explosive arrowhead dispenses in his hand.

"Mostly."

Quickly, Red Arrow throws the arrowhead at the top of the doorway's arch. After a quick beep, he grabs Nyssa and pulls her through. He can hear the loud explosion above along with the faint sound of arrows flinging behind them. However, the rubble comes down just in time to block them.

As flakes of dust settle on his mask, Red Arrow turns to Nyssa, who is coughing as she accidentally breathes a little in.

Red Arrow places a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Nyssa manages to control her fit and nods.

"Then let's go." Red Arrow helps her up quickly. "That won't hold them for long."

With Thea in his arms, John runs as fast as he can with Roy, the metal balls following them. Their pace is slowed as they step out into the sand, but they trudge through. They kick up their feet to gain more ground, the sand splashing from the dune.

Roy starts to breathe a bit heavily, exhausted from the encounter. "Where are we supposed to go?"

"Our ride should be here any—"

Suddenly, the faint sound of a vehicle approaches them. To their left, they can see headlights piercing the darkness in front of it.

"There!"

As it comes closer, Roy can barely make out a large black van, almost the size of an RV. There doesn't seem to be anything special about it until, just as it parks right in front of them, the ARGUS logo and red insignia is inscribed in front of it.

John's been working with ARGUS again?

When the door opens, the familiar presence of Rene Ramirez, aka Wild Dog, appears to them with his familiar hockey mask. Yet, the armor itself, while still red and black, seems to be made of some kind of newer, lighter material.

John nodded to him. "About time."

"First time driving in sand. Get in!"

John goes in first, entering diagonally so Thea can get through. Roy and the metal balls follow him in and are greeted by an elaborate set up. To one side is a large computer that Curtis Holt, another familiar face, is working on. At the other is what looks like a part forensics lab, with test tubes, cotton swabs, and other equipment, and part tech lab with gadgetry. At the end are a couple of beds, one of which John quickly puts Thea on.

Rene sits down on the driver's seat but does not hit the gas just yet. "Where's Red?"

"Stayed behind, along with Nyssa." John walks to the forensics lab, opening a drawer and grabbing a first-aid kit. "Get ready to drive to their position when you hear—"

Outside, a blast echoes from the temple.

John sighs, probably knowing that was the Red Arrow's doing. "Scratch that. Go now!"

Giving no time for anyone to brace themselves, Rene makes a sharp turn and floors the pedal. John holds on to a guard rail during the turrn before heading back to care for Thea. When Rene reaches the temple, everyone sees the Red Arrow and Nyssa running towards the exit.

As soon as they enter, Red Arrow yells, "Floor it!"

Rene complies, the van clocking it at full speed. Everyone holds onto something to keep balance as the humps of sand wobble the vehicle around. Roy can hear the faintest wisps of flying arrows as they begin to slow down, but they are probably so far out that a chase would not ensue.

The Red Arrow, who has been looking through the window in front of the forensics/tech lab, nods his head. "We're clear."

He then presses a button subtly hidden on his chest emblem. The mask on his face somehow disintegrates, revealing a young face covered by a trim beard. He takes off his hood, showing short hair parted to the side.

"Everyone okay?"

Nobody speaks. Roy has reservations about this guy, not because he isn't trustworthy, but because he looks familiar. Too familiar. Roy tries to keep cool, but Nyssa looks at him with a surprised stare.

Red Arrow looks to John, who is injecting a needle into Thea.

"How is she?"

"Her heart beat spiked. Giving her a sedative to calm her down, but she'll need more intensive care when we get to the safe house."

Red Arrow then looks at Roy and Nyssa once more.

"We know you might have a lot of questions Roy."

"Several. Who are you, when did you get associated with them, and how does Team Arrow have flying balls now?"

Curtis turns his chair around and looks at Roy with a frustrated stare, as if his honor had been offended for the last time. "I'll let you know that they're called T-Spheres, and he's—"

the Red Arrow guy stops him with a raise of a hand.

"They know my father. And so do you."

Roy raises an eyebrow. "How am I supposed to know who your old man is?"

As if upon reaction, or maybe knowing this conversation was going to happen, Red Arrow reaches into his pocket just as Roy began saying this. By the time Roy is done speaking, Red Arrow brought out an all too familiar object: the hozen from Lian Yu. The symbol of reconnection.

"My father…is Oliver Queen."

Roy's eyes widen. He stops looking at the man as a stranger. Instead, he imagines a faint image of Oliver standing there, matching up the features that fit almost perfectly. What was once a sense of déjà vu turns into a feeling of realization and confusion, not being able to completely wrap his head around what he is seeing. He wanted to refute the very idea, yet he cannot deny it.

In front of Roy, in front of Nyssa, stands William Clayton, Oliver's son, as an adult.

"Do you know what it's like to see someone you love put into a situation that you felt was your fault?"

William remembers, even though the event itself has changed. The confrontation from another timeline, as he looks at Roy with a subtle stare of guilt, is forever burned into his mind.

"…More than you know."

"We are live in 5…"

Multiple lights shine on the stage. They illuminate the small platform and the three chairs occupied by Laurel, Oliver, and their host, Rich Kannon. Yet, all eyes are on Oliver.

"…4…"

A few cameras are moved towards them, getting the best possible angles. In his heart, Oliver worries that people will see through his guise, his neutral demeanor. No. He's worried that Emiko, his long-lost half-sister, will.

"…3…"

Before the cameras start rolling, Oliver subtly glances at his family, who have been allowed to stay so long as they remained quiet. Felicity, in a red shirt with white polka dots, gives an ecstatic smile and waves. His future daughter, Mia, who wears mostly black leather, grins a little bit and nods in his direction.

"…2…"

Oliver closes his eyes, takes a small breath and relaxes himself.

Just answer plainly and honestly. You'll get through this.

"…1…"

Opening his eyes, one of the cameramen waves to Kannon, indicating that they are live.

Kannon gives his best charismatic smile towards the camera and the audience watching from all over Star City. "Welcome, folks, to Channel 52, live from the studio! I'm your host, Rich Kannon. Tonight, we have a couple of special guests, one you know as Oliver Queen or, his more popular persona these days, the Green Arrow, joined by District Attorney Laurel Lance."

Kannon's hand stretches out to Laurel and Oliver. Knowing the camera is on him, Oliver gives a small yet decent smile to give some impression of normalcy. Laurel's smile, in comparison, is more natural and convincing than his.

"Mr. Queen, Ms. Lance. Thank you for taking the time to be here tonight."

Oliver gives a nod of approval. "Thank you for having us."

Kannon leans into Oliver's direction, as if getting serious. "Now, Mr. Queen. For the past 8 months, you have been an inmate at Slabside for your time as a vigilante but let go for the 'Level 2 controversy' that you, yourself, were subject to. In exchange, you were to be in the custody and protection of ARGUS."

Oliver nods. "That is correct."

"Even so, with your time in jail, would you say that you had changed, no longer the person that went into prison?"

"I would. Prison gave me time to reflect on my time as the Hood, the Arrow, and the Green Arrow. Not just what I did, but what I failed to do, what I could have done better. I may have saved lives, but I have also taken them. I stopped criminals, but I never realized just how corrupt some systems of jail were just to keep them inside or 'reformed.'"

"And you think you'll do better?"

"I hope I do."

Kannon leans back a bit and nods. "Interesting." His eyes turn to Laurel. "And I believe you, Ms. Lance, headed the case that helped set him free."

"Yes, I did. I just wished I anticipated the prison riot afterwards."

"Yeah, but there's always something that never goes according to plan."

Laurel and the camera crew laughed along with Kannon, though Oliver only gave a light chuckle.

He leans in once more. "From what I heard, Diaz had rigged the bus he was on to explode, along with other Level 2 prisoners. I have to ask, what are your thoughts on his death?"

"Oliver doesn't have to answer such personal—"

Oliver raises his hand, stopping Laurel. "It's all right." Oliver takes a quick breath. "Is a part of me glad that Diaz is gone? Of course. But I wanted him to face true justice. I'm not his judge, jury, and executioner. That's all behind me now."

"I'm sure it is. That actually leads me to my next question. There are people concerned that your employ with ARGUS means that you are not going to be the vigilant protector of the city you were before turning yourself in. They worry that you, along with other people you work with, will only go where ARGUS tells you to. Is any of this true?"

Oliver shakes his head. "No. Knightwatch may be under ARGUS' eye, and we may cooperate with the police. But while we are in Star City, we still act independently. If there is a crime that the police can't handle or get to in time, we WILL be there. I may be working under limited government jurisdiction, but I will CONTINUE to be the Green Arrow this city needs."

Kannon grins and gives a nod. "That's very reassuring." He leans back once more. "Now, before we wrap things up, I do have just one more question, and it pertains to the 'young blood' in your group, the Red Arrow."

Oliver can't help but grin. "Of course, it is."

"I don't mean to take the spotlight away from you."

"It's alright. He's usually good about sharing it."

This time, when everyone laughs, Oliver does as well. He can't help but feel a bit fatherly towards this subject, knowing it is his son from the future under the mask.

"People have been deducing that he was, in fact, the Green Arrow running around the city, fighting crime in your absence. Can you confirm this?"

Oliver just shrugs his shoulders. "If he was, I'm glad he kept up the fight to keep our city safe, along with the others. That, and for giving me the mantle back without a fight."

Another wave of laughs emerges, but Oliver just smiles. Even though he is talking around most of the questions, he means what he says.

"Well, this guy has been getting a surge of popularity since his takedown of Diaz and footage of him fighting side by side with you at Max Fuller's club. However, recent footage shows that he got a change in look, particularly the mask. He's got a bit of a distorted Prometheus cosplay going on and, I DO NOT agree with these assessments, but…people say that he is Adrian Chase, the murder of your son's mother."

The mere suggestion makes Oliver's blood boil. He suppresses his anger as much as he can.

"Others say that he's a follower."

Subtly and slowly, Oliver squeezes his neatly folded hands into a fist.

"Mr. Queen does not need to answer any questions that compromise—"

"NO."

His came out a bit too loud and quick to Laurel and Kannon. The cameramen back off a bit but shake it off quickly to keep the angles perfect. Oliver breathes through his nose and centers himself.

"We have…talked about this development. Red Arrow's look is not to mimic, but to mock. Adrian Chase…" Oliver tries to find the right words to say, fearing William may be watching. "…TOOK something from him a long…long time ago. He has no more love for Prometheus than I do, and he is a valued member of our team, as is everyone else. That's all I have to say about it."

Kannon slowly nods. "Then I won't pry and further. Thank you both for your time…" He then looks into the camera to address the audience. "…and thank YOU all for watching. Have a good night!"

A few seconds after Kannon's farewell, a bell rings out and the "on air" sign above the stage dims down from a bright red to something darker. The cameramen roll their equipment away and the lights around them switch off in an instant.

Oliver feels a sense of calm, like a swift breeze, glide through his body. His fist opens up, his shoulders slump down, and he exhales slowly through his nose. Still, he does all of this slowly so nobody would notice.

Kannon is the first to get up and walks towards Oliver. Reacting quickly, Oliver gets up and dusts himself off to cover his feeling of relief.

Kannon extends a hand, which Oliver takes. "Thank you, truly, for being on the show. My kids are fans."

Oliver simply nods.

Though, Kannon seems to stare at him with a bit of guilt. "I'm sorry if my questions were a bit sensitive in the end. It's Channel 52 instinct to get into the nitty gritty."

Oliver does his best to flash an assuring smile. "Don't worry about it."

Finally, Kannon walks away towards the large hallway leading to the employee area. Oliver feels that he can finally breathe.

As he steps down from the stage, Laurel walks alongside him, "That went well."

"He questioned my son's choice of design and made him out to be a Prometheus follower, of all things."

"Those were the people's concern, not his."

"I was ready to punch him right in the face."

"He's a reporter. It's his job to get on people's nerves so they can have their scandalous scoops."

"I'm no stranger to the press, Laurel."

"Not when ousted as the Green Arrow."

When they get to Oliver's family, Felicity is the first to walk up to him.

"Hey!"

She proceeds to give him a quick hug, which Oliver gladly returns.

Oliver looks her in the eyes as he asks, "How'd I do?"

"Incredible! You had me and Mia convinced through out the ENTIRE interview."

The kiss Felicity gives him and the gleam of that shimmer every time she is genuine is usually enough for Oliver. Though, he does look to Mia for a second opinion.

"Can you vouch for her?"

Mia gives a slight nod. "As far as first impressions go, your's was alright. At least, it will be for the entire TV audience."

Laurel interferes with, "It better. This interview was to get the people on our side and convince Mayor Polard to at least consider dropping the Anti-Vigilante Act."

Oliver breaks away from Felicity and slumps his shoulders completely. "I'm just glad its over with." His mind then turns to the person who he was concerned was watching this in the first place, watching from her TV inside an ARGUS prison cell. "Besides, I'm not that concerned with everyone's opinion of me. Just…"

Felicity places a hand on Oliver's arm. "Emiko?"

Oliver nods. "She told me the last time our father talked to her, he rejected her. Since then, I've been trying to convince her that I was more than willing to let her in, that I wasn't going to make that mistake."

"And you WON'T." Felicity puts her hands on his shoulders. "You know why? Because you're better than he is. That's what he wanted you to be."

Oliver places his hands on the back of hers, rubbing them gently. "I hope so."

Suddenly, the sound of an explosion shocks the whole group out of their moment. They hear shouting come from the long hallway across from them.

"Kannon!"

"He's taking Rich! Oh God! Electricity is shooting out of his hand!"

Reacting quickly, Oliver dashes off in the direction of the explosion, yelling to the others, "Wait here!"

As he runs into the hallway, he can hear Felicity telling Mia, "Call ARGUS."

Oliver makes his way through the crowd, pushing and shoving everyone out of the way. Eventually, he finds a whole group gathered around a doorway, looking on with gaped mouths and horrified stares.

When Oliver finally makes it past them, he finds the wall across from him nearly blown away. The only remnants of it are a broken dresser with shards of glass and the putrid smell of explosive ash surrounding it, along with the faint smell of burnt wood. Still, Rich Kannon's body is nowhere to be found among it.

Whoever did this did so with the intent to capture, not kill.

"Is she coming to?"

As Thea opens her eyes, she can hear Roy's muffled voice. Though her blurry vision makes it hard to differentiate the three faces looking down on her, she catches the tinge of red on the man next to her.

"I think so. Aunt Thea?"

She blinks once, the figures becoming just a bit clearer. Hearing what the person on the far right called her, she puts William's young voice in its place, imagining him calling her back to the land of the living.

"Aunt Thea?"

Am I…Am I home?

As she blinks once more, everything becomes even clearer. She sees Roy and Nyssa, along with…

"Aunt Thea?"

In William's place is an older man, whose beard and blue eyes make him out to look a lot like a metamorphosis of him and Oliver.

At first, her brain is scrambled, trying to piece together what exactly is going on here. Then, she looks down the man, recognizing the dark outfit of the Prometheus figure she saw at the temple. Instinctually, she tries to grab this man by the neck. Roy and Nyssa, however, grab her arms and give the man time to step back, his arms outstretched.

"What are you two doing?!"

"Aunt Thea, stop!" The man stretches out an arm to her. "It's me. Calm down!"

"No!" She struggles against the grip of her friend and boyfriend, who are somehow buying this story. "I saw you. You were at the temple wearing a PROMETHEUS MASK!"

"I know! I know. Everyone back home has been questioning my design too."

Roy remains gentle but reacts every time she tries to break free. "Thea, he's telling the truth."

Nyssa pinches on the other arm as tightly as she could. "Your nephew told us everything."

Thea thrusts herself forward, despite being held down. "He's lying! This guy's probably one of Prometheus' lost apprentices or something, sent by Athena to just screw us over—"

"Thanksgiving dinner!"

What the man yells gives Thea pause, for it sounds a bit random. "What?"

"The first time we met. We were at Star City General, and you just got out of a coma. We gave you turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and I even left the stuffing for you to have. It was the first time we bonded as nephew and aunt."

Thea's eyes widen as she remembers that night. "But…but the only people who would have known that were—"

"Anybody who was in that room. You, me, John, Dad, and Felicity. The same people who gave me this."

The man then reaches into his belt and takes out an arrowhead. It takes Thea a while to comprehend, but she notices the familiar Chinese writing and the old stonework of the hozen.

"Dad gave this to you when he came back from Lian Yu. You then gave it to Felicity and she went on to pass it down to me. Our symbol of reconnection." The man relaxes himself and looks at her with a serious stare. "As we are right now."

Thea gives up fighting. She looks at the man's face again, seeing the similarities between him and his young nephew, between him and her older brother. Her mind is yet to comprehend how, but she now knows that what she sees is the truth.

"William…"

A small grin appears on his face, more likely of relief. Nyssa and Roy let go of her, probably seeing that her hostility is slowly fading away. Replacing it is a a weird mix of gladness and guilt, recognizing that she almost lunged at her own nephew.

William, seemingly not phased by her actions, walks up to her with the hozen outstretched. Slowly, she places her hand on it, but does not take it away. The familiar rough texture brings back memories of the nights she held it close to her heart, hoping that her traumatized brother would finally take notice of her. Looking into the eyes of a now kneeling William, she can't help but feel that William has been doing the same.

"I know I have a lot to explain."

Thea doesn't give William the opportunity, instead hugging him out of instinct. Somehow, being an older version, hugging him feels like it has been ages since she had last seen him. Yet, her hug was not just one of familial love, but an apology. The words are somehow flat in her brain, still trying to comprehend what is happening.

She can feel William hug back with one arm, whispering, "It's all right." To her, the message came to him clearly, the sign of a strong family bond, even after all this time.

"So, Oliver and Felicity just…left you there at that boarding school?"

William nods. "It was for good reason, Aunt Thea. But long story short, I ran, found someone to train me, and became…" He outstretches his arms, showing off his tri-weave armor. "…this."

Thea nods rather begrudgingly. "So…why the Prometheus mask?"

"Prometheus frightened me. Thought it was about time criminals shared my dread."

"And yet you chose to name yourself Red Arrow." Thea can't help but grin. "You know, that was a name I wanted to cast for myself."

"I figured. Still, both Prometheus and Hood carried a great weight."

Nyssa throws another log into the fireplace. The flames roar and the heatwave travels through the mostly empty living area. Radiant warmth dances on everyone's skin as they sit on the fold-out chairs.

Roy sits up a little bit. "That doesn't explain how you found us or why you're here."

William's fingers curl and move within the ball shape his hands form. "It wasn't easy. ARGUS retraced a lot of your steps from the Lazarus Pit map you guys found after your first run in with the Thanatos Guild. It took us a month until we found you guys in the temple hidden between Konya and Ankara."

"Wouldn't our future selves have told you?"

William looks at Roy with a guilty stare. "Future you was… not very forthcoming."

Nyssa does not sit back down. Rather, she lets her arms lean on the top of the chair. "Well, our mission is half a failure. The last of our red lotus was destroyed by Athena, so we cannot guarantee the destruction of the last Lazarus Pit."

"Actually, we can." William taps a few buttons on his gauntlet, showing them the 3D map Thea found a long time ago. "I found a correlation between the location of the remaining Pits with historical locations. Anatolia, Italy, Bulgaria, Greece. All of them have been touched by the old Byzantine Empire."

Thea looks at him with a raised eyebrow. "So?"

"So, we've been retracing the empire's steps thoroughly and found out that they once stored The Spear of Destiny."

"And what is that exactly?"

"The spear that pierced Christ's side." Everyone looked at Nyssa with surprise. "My father told me of it. It is said to hold incredible power for whoever wields it."

"The Legends of Tomorrow confirmed that it is useless now. But that's not all we found." William brings up a new image, this time of a familiar glass vial with an insignia of a two headed bird, its chest bearing the symbol found in olden Byzantine temples. "This is one of many vials, said to contain the blood of Christ himself poured from the spear."

Roy shakes his head. "Wouldn't the spear have dried up by then?"

William smiles almost with glee. "That's the best part. It never did. They said it just kept dripping with blood, sometimes even pouring."

Thea raises a hand. "Okay, what does ANY of this have to do with Red Lotus?"

Quickly, William presses another button, bringing up another vial.

"Recognize this?"

This vial had another insignia, one that Thea finds familiar almost immediately.

"You think…" Thea looks up to William in shock. "You think Red Lotus is Christ's blood?"

William nods. "They never stopped distributing, even to foreign countries. They kept vigilant for any more Pits."

"Why?"

"You know what they can do. How it corrupts the souls of those who bathe in its waters. So did they."

Thea does not say anything more. She just bows her head.

Suddenly, the door behind William opens, revealing a few familiar faces, John's being in front of them all with a grin.

"Well, look who's finally up."

Without hesitation, Thea gets up and hugs John, who hugs back with a gleeful laugh.

"It's good to see you too."

As she breaks away, she looks behind the group, as if she expected someone else to step through the doorway. William can only guess one person whom she may be thinking of.

"Is Ollie with you guys?"

John maintains his grin, but William can detect a sharp inhale before he speaks. "He's…on damage control back at Star City."

Thea nods. "Right. Gotta reimburse his public image after getting out of jail."

John nods to William. "I take it he's caught you up?"

"Yeah. ARGUS briefing?"

John shakes his head. "Interview."

"Ah."

William stands up. "John. Did you secure us access to the excavation?"

Curtis is the one who answers, "We did. It's not…unlimited access, per say. But, at the very least, we can tour the main halls."

Roy is the next to stand up, wearing a concerned stare. "I'm sorry, but an excavation to what?"

William answers, "The Great Palace of Constantinople. If there was any distribution of Christ's blood throughout the region, there may be a clue to the production site there."

Rene shows a few badges in his hand. "We only have enough for several people, so a few of us will have to stay behind."

Kurtis raises his hand. "Which includes me. I am the tech guy after all."

William looks over to Thea. "And you."

Thea shakes her head, her arms crossed. "No. I'm not leaving you out there to be picked off by Athena's goons."

"If you're with us, that possibility will be even more likely. Besides, you're the one they want, not me." William places a hand on Thea's shoulder. "I'll be fine."

Nyssa steps forward. "I'll come, at least. I've helped us survive this long by knowing how to blend in with open environments."

William nods. "Fair enough."

Thea looks him firmly in the eye. "The moment something happens, I'm coming for you, regardless of the danger."

William nods. "I hope it doesn't come to that." He leans towards her ear, his hand on her shoulder, and whispers, "for both your sakes."

When he leans back, Thea is a bit confused. Though, he believes she will realize what he means in time.

William walks away towards one of the bedrooms to get dressed in regular clothing. He walks by Roy and gives him a pat on the shoulder.

"Keep her safe when we're gone."

Roy nods. "Always."

Oliver dashes through the Bunker's elevator doors the moment they crack open. He runs up the elevated platform, where Felicity is hard at work scouring every security feed to find any trace of whoever blew their way into Rich Kannon's dressing room.

"Felicity, anything?"

"I found the guy, but…" Felicity opens the feed to the outside wall of the dressing room "You have to see this for yourself."

Just coming into view, someone walks by, wearing a suit with rubber plating. Strangely enough, the suit is also emitting strands of electricity every few seconds.

Oliver raises an eyebrow. "An insulated suit. But why would he—"

"Keep watching."

The man proceeds to slip on a mechanical hand over one of his gloves, which absorbs the electricity from the suit. It has sparks flickering all over, the knuckles flaring up with unstable energy. When all the energy from his suit dissipates, he punches the gauntlet into the wall, sending bricks flying. Furniture visible in the shot quickly burns to ash before him as he walks in and grabs Kannon.

Oliver is stunned at the sheer power the man possessed. "How…how was he able to do that?"

Felicity raises a finger. "I may have a theory." She brings up a few cameras that show nothing but static for a few moments, before turning back online to show a little bit of the outside and a few rooms. "These came back on the minute our electric kidnapper left. I don't have a shot of it, but this guy would need access to the building's generator."

Just then, Oliver's cell begins to ring. Seeing that it is from Dinah, he takes it and puts it on speaker. "Yes Dinah?"

"Turn on Channel 52 news NOW."

Hearing the urgency in her voice, Felicity complies and heads over to the 52 News site. The first thing they see is a live video of Rich Kannon, his face weary and his breath exasperated. The same man who wore the insulated suit, the camera cutting him off by the head, holds a gun to Kannon's face.

"Oliver…" Kannon takes a deep breath. "Oliver Queen is…a fraud…and a murder. He got off…too easy and must pay for his crimes. If he does not relinquish his mantle…within 24 hours, I will…" he squeezes his eyes tight, and his lips curl up. With one last breath, he disparages, "…I will die. Your resurrection stops here."

With that, the live footage cuts.

"Oliver, if we don't find Kannon—"

"I know! Felicity—"

"Already done. The broadcast came from an old warehouse just outside the Glades."

Oliver raises an eyebrow. "That was fast."

"I know." Felicity looks at him with a worried stare. "This could be a trap."

Oliver places an assuring hand on her shoulder. "Only if I don't go in silently." He then addresses Dinah, "Keep yourself and your men at a far distance. I'll keep the channel open so you know when to move in."

"Got it. Already on our way."

Oliver hangs up and makes his way to the glass case with his suit. "I'll suit up."

"I'm coming with."

Mia's voice catches him unawares as he steps off the ramp. She is already in the ARGUS suit she borrowed from John during Deegan's shifting of reality and has a bow in hand.

Oliver shakes his head. "No."

"I can handle it."

"Mia, if William or anyone else were here, I would let you. But they're not here—"

"You're right! They're not. No one's going to provide backup. That's why you NEED me on this one."

Oliver looks over to Felicity. Her stare is somber, as if to say that Felicity hates the idea too but knows that Mia is right. Oliver can't help but share the feeling. If anything, she will just come to his rescue of her own volition.

Oliver takes a deep breath and then stares at Mia firmly. "You keep close to me and do EXACTLY as I say."

"Fine."

Not wanting to waste any more time, Oliver heads over to the case and dons his Green Arrow gear.

This is most likely to end badly. But I'll just have to accommodate.

Wanting to be as discreet as possible, Green Arrow and Blackstar enter the top floor of the building via a window opened with a glass cutter. The hallway is filled with dust, it's sting invading their senses.

Blackstar's nose crinkles at the smell. "I don't think anyone's been here for a while."

Oliver draws and readies his bow. "Regardless, be on your guard. Overwatch?"

"Satellite's showing a massive power surge coming from the center of the building. Be careful. Especially you M— uh, Blackstar."

Blackstar, glad that her code name is recognized, readies her bow as well. "Any sign of Kannon?"

"Not yet, but I bet you'll find him at the center of the surge."

They both proceed slowly, every step pushing dust to the side. They keep their bows in front of them, aiming at the doors, vigilant for any traps. They keep this up for a couple of more hallways, finding no signs of Kannon or the kidnapper anywhere. However, as they get to the center of the warehouse, jolts of electricity are heard.

As they exit the hallway, they see Kannon hanging above from an electrified net, held together by cords connected to exposed wiring. As soon as he sees them, Green Arrow motions for him to not say anything. Kannon instead mouths something, but he is too far so neither of the vigilantes understand. Eventually, Kannon jerks his head to the side. There, the two see the kidnapper, his back turned and fiddling with something.

Green Arrow turns to Blackstar. "I'll take him down. You stay here and cover me. If anything happens, focus on Kannon's safety first."

Blackstar nods begrudgingly.

Green Arrow starts to creep up. Both he and Blackstar switch out to a concussion arrow for a quick knockout, if need be.

Green Arrow makes it about halfway towards him, readying the arrow. However, whatever the kidnapper was working on echoes a quick snap. Before Green Arrow can register it, an electric wall comes to life before him. He steps back almost immediately, one jolt nearly scarring his sleeve. Just then, another triggers behind him, then on the sides. In haste, Mia fires off her arrow, but it misses the man by just a hair.

The man laughs. "You are SO predictable, Oliver."

After getting his bearings, Green Arrow stands firm.

The man turns around, showing his true face. It is covered by a black, scraggly beard, which didn't match his well kept, parted hair.

He raises his arms up. "Well, new you is. The old you wouldn't have given a crap about your own publicity, even if you looked like crap."

Green Arrow remains silent.

"What? Don't recognize me?"

"Should I?"

"Well, I'd be insulted if you didn't. I mean, we did go to high school together."

Oliver remains silent.

"Nothing? Okay then. Do you at least remember killing my father, DAVID HACKETT?"

The name rang too many bells in Oliver's head. Without the beard, Green Arrow puts together who the man is. His jaw almost drops.

"Sam?"

Sam laughs again. "So NOW you remember. GOOD. That means killing you will be even more satisfying in the end!"

"Sam, if this is about your father, I'm sorry! I'm sorry he's not here while I lived. Let Kannon go and we'll talk."

Sam just keeps grinning. "Poor choice of words, Oliver."

With a press of a button, the rope holding Kannon begins to drop, but stops just 3/4s away from the electrified net. Still, Kannon lets out a yell and starts to squirm.

Sam begins to walk away. "Personally, I don't care what happens to him. He isn't even the main event. That comes later."

Blackstar looks at Sam as he starts to run for an exit. She can shoot him right now. But the rope drops Kannon halfway towards the net. His screams of terror draw her attention away from the kidnapper.

"Blackstar! Rope Arrow, now!"

Making up her mind, she fishes in her quiver, still getting used to the fact that she even has these trick arrows. She feels the rope on one of them and takes it out quick. As the rope drops again, she shoots at Kannon's torso, grabbing some of his shirt. It reels him in and she grabs him the moment he is near the ledge. She takes out a sharp arrow and cuts him loose, setting him down on the floor.

Taking a deep breath, she calls her mom. "Overwatch…Kannon's fine, but the other guy got away. Green Arrow's trapped."

"I know, but I can't do anything. The grid's not remote access. Just stay put. Captain Drake's on the way."

Blackstar looks to Green Arrow with an uncertain glare. He doesn't say anything, but gives a nod, an assurance that everything is fine.

But she doesn't feel that way.

Felicity frantically scans for any more pulses of energy outside of the warehouse, seeing if the guy has left any traces. So far, nothing. Not even on the detective vision satellite. Whoever he is, he knows how to cover his tracks well. Too well.

This son of a bitch crashes my husband's interview, insults him, and threatens my family! I swear, I'm going to scour the entire—

Before she can finish her thought, the elevator doors swing open, revealing Mia, looking down at the floor a little discouraged, and Oliver with an assuring hand on her shoulder. Mia shrugs it off and walks away. Seeing this, Felicity quickly gets up.

"Mia."

Mia tries to speed walk away, but Felicity stops her by the ramp with a hand on her arm.

"Mia, I know we didn't catch the bad guy, but—"

"But we didn't!" Mia shrugs Felicity's hand away a lot harder than her father's. "I HAD the shot. I could've gotten the guy with ONE arrow and saved Kannon. But I hesitated because the rope was—"

"Mia. Mia!" Felicity places both hands on Mia's shoulders. "You followed your father's instructions. You SAVED Kannon. That's a win in my book."

"And it wasn't a total loss." Dinah, whom Felicity did not notice, walks between the two of them, along with Oliver. "We know who the kidnapper is. Samuel Hackett."

Felicity's eyes widen when she hears the last name. "Hackett? As in—"

"David Hackett, yes." Oliver's eyes drop as his head bows a little. "Sam is his son."

Felicity's lips now part, her willpower preventing her jaw from dropping entirely.

"Who's David Hackett?"

Mia's question makes Felicity a bit tense. She realizes that she probably did not share every single detail of Oliver's history in the future.

Still, Oliver tries to brush it off as he walks up to the platform. "I'll explain later. Felicity, can you look up anything on Sam, maybe a previous address?"

With a nod, Felicity heads up and sits at her computer. She logs onto the new databank provided to them by ARGUS and cross-references any mentions of Sam Hackett.

Still, Mia is persistent and follows them up. "Don't keep me out of the loop here. Who's David Hackett and how is this Sam guy connecting him to you Dad?"

"I said I would—"

"Oliver." Dinah walks up to him and looks him firmly in the eyes. "I know this might be personal for you, but if we're going to catch him, she has to know. And so do I."

Oliver is hesitant, rubbing his eyes and letting out a deep sigh. Felicity has seen motions of his enough to know that he is contemplating the possibility but will regret doing so.

He then places his hands on his hips and looks at Mia with a somber stare. "Before I was stranded on Lian Yu, I made it to a life raft along with your grandfather and his bodyguard, David Hackett. There was only enough food for one person, so…your grandfather shot Hackett, and himself…so that I could live."

Mia's face is a lot like Felicity's shocked expression, but more subdued, less obvious. It was almost like watching the terminator simulate human emotion.

Dinah just utters, "Oh God."

"So…Sam believes you're responsible for his father's death?"

Oliver nods begrudgingly. "I'm afraid so Mia."

Just then, the computer beeps. She looks back to see the cross-referencing complete, seeing a series of tenement documents with an address dated over a month ago.

"Got it! This must be where he is."

Oliver leans in for a look. "Not from the warehouse." He looks to Dinah and Mia. "Let's head out."

Mia steps off the ramp and is about to head towards the elevator, but Oliver stops her. "Hold it. We go in regular attire. Take some lockpicks and switch knives just in case."

Mia turns back and gives a confused stare. "We're going against a guy with lightning!"

"But he doesn't know that we're on to him. We can't scare him off this time."

Dinah nods. "Your father's right. Besides, I'll be carrying just in case."

Mia does not question him but walks away with reluctant steps.

Dinah starts to head to the elevator. "I'll meet you up top. Need to make a call to Lieutenant Anastas."

As she leaves, Felicity looks towards Mia's direction with concern. "She's not used to doing things with others."

Oliver nods. "She takes that from me."

Felicity shrugs her shoulders. "And a little of me."

Oliver grins somewhat. "Well, I just hope William's at least fairing better at helping Thea and the others."

"And here, we have the Trullo Hall."

Guided by a 50 year old man dressed in nice and casual attire, the group step into what remains of the once great hall. Nothing else remains except pillars and floors, their stone textures losing its bright colors from decay, but still somewhat present thanks to careful preservation.

"This was where one of the largest councils of Church representatives ever known in the Western World came together to discuss the validity of some controversial Christian doctrine. You can just SEE the history of this place, even in the ruins."

William feels around for the device in his pocket.

Soon, I'll be experiencing history.

"Now, if you'll step right this way…"

With the tour guide's attention away from them, the others form a line that blocks William and Nyssa from sight. John turns on the mini tracker given to him so that he can be found and not raise suspicion. William and Nyssa, meanwhile, duck down behind one of the pillars and remain until the group is out of sight.

Seeing no one else, William stands up and walks towards the center of the hall.

"Keep an eye out. We only have one shot at this."

As William places the device on the floor and sets it up, Nyssa looks around the two entryways, making sure no one else is coming inside.

"Tell me what, exactly, makes you believe the Council of Trullo had any answers to Christ's blood or the Spear."

"Some leads and rumors."

"What leads? Documentation on this must have been scarce and it happened a little less than 2,000–"

"It wasn't documentation. It was time stream tapping."

As William finishes setting up, he stands up and sees the confusion on Nyssa's face.

"This device allows me to tap into the time stream and reconstruct moments with my detective vision."

Nyssa tilts her head a bit. "That sounds quite unbelievable."

"Yeah, well…it's one of the more advantageous pieces of tech I developed as Queen Industry's CEO."

"With help from Bruce?"

William keeps a neutral stare but stops just short of taking out his detective vision glasses.

"There are few who can counter trained assassins of Ra's Al Ghul, some who figure out unorthodox tactics to do so. Only ONE has ever done so with great efficiency, as you have."

"So, you did know Bruce?"

"He was considered by my father to be the greatest warrior he ever trained, his worthy successor, before your father came along. And he was my sister's beloved once."

William grins. "He is again."

Nyssa's eyebrows raise up. "Really?"

William nods. "You sister, Bruce, and my younger self are a happy family, even if it's taken some time to do so."

"I remembered Talia almost killing your mother with an arrow."

"It was an intentionally delayed shot, for my father to stop." William looks at her with assured eyes. "Talia had no intention of letting my mother die. Sure, she wanted to make my father pay, but only him. But that's behind her. Now, she seeks a new life. A peaceful one."

Nyssa purses her lips as William slips on his detective vision disguised as sunglasses.

"That is unlike her."

William grins again. "Well, it took a bit of convincing. Now, I need to input some things."

As he turns on the vision, a blue grid spreads out throughout the entire room. It entraps every floor, pillar, and unbroken roof tile in its net until every corner is covered. On the upper right, the log information confirms the room being scanned, the time stream connection stable, and every event in the room accounted for. He has his green light.

"Scan for every mention of Christ's blood and the Spear of Destiny from the Trullo council."

With the command input, the glasses searched through the self-created database before settling on a time period in the early 600s. Blue silhouettes start to slowly develop in front of him, forming a circle of what could be a table. He sees others outside of that circle, observing the conversation taking place.

"You never told us how you became religious."

William looks over to Nyssa, who keeps watch. "Were you religious?"

"Nearly. In Nanda Parbat, my father had an alter dedicated to God built within the sanctum. It was long abandoned by the time I was born. I snuck in on my first day, just out of curiosity and…dire need."

"What was your prayer?"

"That I be given the strength to face the obstacles ahead of me. To become as skilled as father. That week, I had perfected every skill taught to me."

William's stare goes from neutral to a grin. "Sounds like God was preparing you for the day you would fight alongside my father."

Nyssa slightly nods. "I once believed that he was. Then father took me aside, told me that he knew I went into the sanctum."

William becomes concerned. "Did he punish you?"

"No. He just told me to remember that my strength never comes from God, but from myself, that I am the only person I can rely on. He said it almost…authoritatively, as if he were sure that his answer was right. I was too young and scared to challenge him…and after everything I've been through, I don't know if I still can."

"Sounds like he gave up on God. But you didn't have to."

Nyssa stares at him a bit angrily. "Wouldn't you, after seeing so much pain and death by the hands of others? by your own?"

Before he can answer, a quick beep on his detective vision tells him that the scene is done developing.

"Um, hold that thought."

He looks back and sees the blue silhouettes now fully fleshed out. Each side at the table wore vestments of their churches with distinct colors and design. William can tell, from his time studying Western History, that the ones on the left side are Roman Catholic, meaning the ones on the right are of the Eastern Orthodoxy.

They all seem to be arguing civilly, the one Eastern Orthodox clergyman with a wild beard, possibly the bishop, speaks first, with the detective vision translating the words. "We do, in fact, have one piece of evidence that our Lord, Christ, being of human and divinity, was of one entity, not two separate beings."

The Catholic bishop, a younger man who is clean shaven, leans back in his chair. "If you have this proof, then present it to us."

One of the Eastern Orthodoxy clergymen in the far back moves forward with something in his hand. The others step aside and kneel before it, revealing the Spear of Destiny, its tip still caked in fresh blood. In his other hand is a golden vase with a wide opening. He sets the spear and the vase onto the table and bows to it himself, like a reader setting down the Book of Gospels on the alter at the beginning of Mass.

The Eastern Bishop takes the spear in his hand and raises it to the Catholics. "Do you know what this be?"

The Catholic Bishop shrugs his shoulders. "A spear covered in blood."

The Eastern Bishop takes a few steps back and points the spear's tip over the vase. Almost immediately, the blood drips, slowly becoming a calm outpour, like a small waterfall. The Catholics gasp, some of them jumping out of their seats and take a few steps back.

"THIS is the spear that pierced Christ's side before he gave his spirit over to God. His blood has stained the weapon for the past half a year, and it has never waned."

The Catholic Bishop sits up and leans in closer, examining the tip more closely.

"Wh—where did you get this valuable item?"

"Our founder, emperor Constantine, was given this by Christ himself after he had abstained and pardoned our Christian ancestors. We were given a vital mission with this spear: destroy pools filled with a vile liquid that resurrects the flesh but corrupts the spirit."

The Catholic Bishop turns to his colleagues, seeing if they, perhaps, had an alternative answer. None of them spoke a word, still in awe of the spear.

When the vase is full of blood, the Orthodoxy priest moves the Spear away and it stops giving blood.

"This is why we have conceded to invite you here this day. As brothers and sisters devoted to God in the highest, you must help us destroy these pits before they fall into the hands of others."

The Catholic Bishop, looking back at the spear, seems to contemplate whether this is an illusion or no, if the story is fabricated or no.

"Where would we receive Christ's blood? And how?"

"We shall distribute it to you in vials stamped with your seals. Our methods of storage are not to be revealed, for that is with our most Holy Mary."

William, listening with great interest, raises an eyebrow.

With the most Holy Mary? That could be a symbolic meaning or something more literal. If I recall my Western Civ history correctly, the Byzantine Empire had all sorts of religious iconography back then. It could be in a symbol or an artifact. I need to know for sure.

Seeing the event end, William turns off the detective vision and removes his glasses.

As he walks over to Nyssa, she asks, "Anything?"

"Probably…" he taps on his ear as they move out of the hall. "But I need to know for sure."

Before he can put in a frequency to call, Nyssa puts a hand on his shoulder.

"You still haven't told me how you became religious."

Behind his neutral stare, he hoped he wouldn't. Knowing the man who converted him, Joseph Blackfire, is a Deacon of the Order of St. Dismas, made him uncertain of when his conversion truly began. He cannot fathom the possibility of a sociopath being the beginning of his own righteous path.

"It's a long story. Let's keep it at that."

He walks away and continues to fiddle with his comm, calling the safe house.

Thea paces back and forth throughout the large living area impatiently. All day, she's been waiting for correspondence from the others, William in particular. They've only been gone for half an hour, but with a family member out there, it feels like an eternity.

At least, that is what Roy believes is going on in her head. Even being with her for so long, he doesn't know everything about her. Yet, her demeanor starts to unnerve him.

"Thea, could you sit down for a minute? You've been going around the room for 10 minutes now."

"I'm fine."

"Just sit down for a minute. That's all I'm asking."

"I said I'm fine!"

Thea's outburst almost makes Roy jump out of his seat. Curtis, who has been monitoring the computer all day, does, almost yelling.

Thea clasps her hands in front of her eyes. "I'm sorry."

She finally concedes and sits next to Roy, placing her head on his shoulder. He wraps his arm around Thea and brings her in just a bit closer.

"We've had family in the field before, but this is different. This is my nephew. How am I not supposed to worry?"

"Uh, if I can add a little something to the conversation."

Both Roy and Thea turn to Curtis, who is dropping his slightly raised hand.

"Your nephew kept Star City safe for the last few months, a majority of it alone, mind you. Not to mention he helped us take down a corrupt prison and fought Ricardo Diaz in a 1v1. William's pretty much the badass Oliver is."

Thea grins at Curtis' remarks. "I guess Oliver doesn't have to worry as much then."

"Oh no. He worries. But from my experience working with him, I think William's pretty much got this in the bag."

Suddenly, a beep goes off on the computer. Curtis takes a closer look at it.

"Oh, that's him right now. Hold on."

As he presses a button on the screen, William's face icon pops up while an audio file appears on the screen.

"Will., what's up?"

"Curtis, I need you to look up something for me. I may have stumbled onto a clue. Can you find anything pertaining to Byzantine artifacts of the Holy Virgin Mary?"

Curtis nods. "On it."

Curtis goes onto an encrypted web server and looks up the "The Virgin Mary and Constantinople."

The first search pertains to a Wikipedia article on The Hagia Sophia. He uses the search function and finds a small reference.

"I think I got something. There was a garment of Mary that was once held in a small church before being moved to the Hagia Sophia."

"Anything more?"

"Give me a minute."

He looks up the garment and finds a link to a BBC article. His eyes widen with astonishment as he reads it.

"Oh crap."

"What?"

"Apparently, it's the veil worn by Mary during Christ's crucifixion. It's on display right now in the St. Peter's church in Pwllheli, Gwynedd."

"Too far out. Where would it be during the times of 680-681?"

"That would be after moving it to the Hagia Sophia."

"Maybe the time cameras can turn up something. We're heading there now."

Thea immediately stands up. "We'll meet up with—"

"No! You stay there. You hear me?"

Thea marches to the computer. "William, if Thanatos gets the vial, it's over."

"No. If they get you, its over. Losing the vial is just a setback, one we can plan around. Stay there. I'm serious!"

"I'm your Aunt!"

"You're right, you are! You're family, and I can't go home to Dad saying that I failed to protect you!"

Thea stops herself from yelling any more. Her head drops as her arms support her on the table.

"We've got this. Trust me."

The audio box and William's profile disappear from the screen, leaving only the articles. Thea breathes deeply and takes a couple of steps back.

"Curtis. Answer me something."

Curtis nods. "Sure."

She looks him in the eyes firmly. "What kind of hero is William?"

Curtis leans back casually, seemingly not put off by Thea's slightly serious tone.

"Well, he is a lot like his dad, so you know the type. Cautious, protective of friends, and does what he thinks is necessary to stop the bad guys. Except…"

"Except what?"

"…except he doesn't kill, even when it seems necessary to."

This causes Thea's eyebrows to raise. "At all?"

"Yep. No fatalities. Probably because he's Catholic."

Thea paces once more, this time slowly and in a shorter distance. Roy becomes unnerved again, knowing this means that she is coming up with a strategy of sorts.

"Athena's going to kill him."

Roy gets up and places his arms around her. "No, she's not."

She shakes her head. "Yes, she is! William's not going to…to…"

He notices her eyes having trouble focusing on him, her speech becoming a bit mumbled.

Roy lightens his grip a bit but does not let go. "Are you okay?"

Thea walks a bit backward, but her footing is sloppy. "I—I—I—I'm fine. I need…need…"

Thea takes one giant step forward and would have taken a tumble were Roy not there to catch her.

Curtis quickly gets up and darts to their position. "What happened?"

Roy sets Thea down on the chair. Her eyes are now all wobbly, her breathing loud and slow.

"Keep—keep Will safe. Keep…"

Curtis takes a quick look at her, examining her pulse and tries to have her follow his finger, like a doctor would usually do.

"I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure this is just a mild case of nausea."

Satisfied with the diagnosis, Roy takes Thea into his arms. "I'll take her back to bed. You keep monitoring."

Curtis nods and sits down in his chair.

As Roy takes her back to the bedroom area, Thea starts to mumble, "RRR…RRR…"

"Don't talk. Just close your eyes and rest."

For William, as well as the others, the well-preserved and intact Hagia Sophia is a breath of fresh air compared to the crumpled palace. The sunlight penetrating the windows give the walls an almost golden glow that even extends to the north and south hallways and the large, spherical dome roof above them. Christian art and iconography line the ceiling and arches, including a portrait of Christ that covers the center of the dome.

The only obstacle is that since this is a preserved place, herds of worshippers and tourists are everywhere.

Far off in the eastern side, Rene chimes in, "Well, at least I can get Zoe some pics while we're here."

John, on the north side, interrupts with, "Focus. Any one of these people could be part of Malcolm's cult. William, can we do your search without getting spotted?"

William reaches a corner just off to the side of an archway. In its shadow, he places the time device and turns it on, calibrating it to cover the entire building.

"Yes, we can. Glasses on."

Everywhere, John, Rene, William, and Nyssa put on detective vision glasses cleverly disguised to look like the prescription kind.

"Now remember, a larger area means the connection to the time stream will be much less stable. I'd say we have about 10 minutes before the device prematurely shuts down. The instant you see anything, share it on our optics."

Rene nods. "Got it Will."

Nyssa looks around the west side cautiously before confirming, "We'll stay alert."

John walks casually. "Ready when you are."

"Okay." Pressing the start button, William issues the command, "Search for any reference of Christ's Blood and the Virgin Mary's cloak."

William lets go and starts making his way down the south hall. The images of people start to develop, but it seems that they have the wrong period. He sees carpenters, builders, construction on the pillars and other foundations.

"That's weird. Guys, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

Rene answers, "Yeah. Detective vision just got even trippier."

John corrects, "He means the period. Why is it bringing up when this place was first constructed?"

"I don't know. There can't be an error yet. We're too early in this for any—"

Nyssa interrupts, "I found something. There's a builder holding the cloak up with someone your technology identifies as Constantius II."

William is surprised, but casually walks to not raise suspicion. "Why?"

"I don't…oh my…"

"What?"

Almost instantly, Nyssa's screen is shared at the top left corner. William had to hold himself up against a wall, for he is surprised to see an almost ethereal image of the Hagia Sophia in it's final construction. Constantius looks at it with almost the same amazement as William is right now.

"Holy crud! Mary's cloak is a blueprint."

Rene asks, "What the hell? Why not insert the round dome the first time around then?"

"I don't know. But that means God planned a lot of things even after…wait a minute."

What gives William pause is the rectangular structure below the building. It is empty except for a shelf at the far end and a pedestal in the middle.

"There's an extra room that isn't part of the modern design."

John suggests, "It could be a vault or a storage area. The question is, how do we get in?"

"Nyssa, keep playing."

"Very well."

As the video replays, Constantius II smiles in astonishment at the ethereal blueprint.

"Incredible. Truly a holy house of God that shall triumph over all others." He points to the large dome. "But, uh, why this dome shape for the roof?"

The builder shrugs. "It eludes even me. Something to make it stand out perhaps."

"Indeed. Though, I do not see such a thing necessary. What of the vault area?"

"We will add that last, but it seems that God wants the entrance to be at the south room and from the looks of the shadows in the corner, he wanted it to be someplace no one would think to look except those who know where to find it."

"And the lever?"

"No lever. A panel just off to the side."

"Intriguing. Get it done. I want it built within the decade."

"But my emperor, we may not get the dome done in time."

"Then do away with it if you must. If it is merely for style, then it is not necessary."

The builder bows. "As you say, Emperor."

Shadows in the corner…south room in the hallway I'm in…panel to the side…

William walks cautiously and enters the mentioned room. Across the way, the right corner is the only one covered in dark shadow. The room is empty except for icons and art pervading the walls.

"I think I've found it. Hold on."

When he gets there, he feels the wall with his fingers and catches the slightest seam of a doorway. He leaves the fingers of his other hand there and feels around the other corner's side for the panel. Slowly but surely, he stumbles onto a loose brick and pushes it in. The seam he feels gets deeper and a sudden sound of shifting bricks echo. Luckily, it is not loud enough for others to hear.

William smiles. "Got it."

He quickly turns off the time device remotely before pushing the door in further.

"You guys cover the entrances and get the device. I'm going in."

John protests, "On your own? Not an option. Let one of us come with."

"No time John. The Thanatos Guild may be here and searching. If that happens, you guys need to lead them away from here so I can get the vial back to the safe house."

He heads inside and finds the beginnings of a staircase illuminated, strangely enough, by a lone torchlight next to a lever. Everything else beyond that is covered in pitch black.

John continues his protest, "We may lose your signal once your inside."

"If that's the case, I'll contact you once I'm back up. I need to do this now John."

"But—"

"Out!"

He immediately disconnects from the rest of the group. Not the best option, but he couldn't argue with John any further. He pushes the door back in until a clicking noise is heard.

Hopefully, nobody heard that.

He walks over to the torch and takes it off it's hanging pedestal. He holds it out to the stairs, not seeing anything resembling a trap or ancient warning. At least not yet.

He then takes a deep breath in.

"Here we go."

He slowly walks down the stairs and into the Hagia Sophia's dark, secret depths, to see what secrets lie ahead.

With the last few taps of his pick, Oliver is able to unlock the door to Sam's apartment.

"We're in."

Dinah and Mia, who keep watch, silently take up positions on each side of the doorway. Oliver clenches the doorknob and places his arm against the door.

Dinah counts down in a whisper, "3…2…1…GO!"

Oliver breaks the door in and barges into the apartment, ready to tackle Sam down. Mia and Dinah rush in from behind, taking up the sides to ensure he can't escape. That is, if he were here, but the apartment itself is devoid of life. The only out of the ordinary thing are strings of photos on one side of the wall and an unlocked laptop on a desk next to his bed.

Mia sighs frustratedly. "He's gone. AGAIN."

Oliver places a hand on her shoulder. "We can still find out where he went. Check the laptop."

Dinah draws a gun and cocks it. "I'll do a sweep and make sure he isn't hiding anywhere."

With those areas covered, Oliver goes to look at the photos. He first finds a family shot of Sam and his dad, David, from probably a year or two before Lian Yu. Sam is holding a plaque with his degree from Starling City University labeled "engineering and mechanics."

Oliver lets out an uneasy breath as David's appearance brings back the haunting memory of the life raft. He remembers David's last face of confusion then bewilderment as his father shot him unexpectedly in the head, sending his body to the sea.

"Dad. Are you okay?"

Oliver quickly shakes it off. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Find anything?"

"Just articles on your release from jail and the interview, so far. He's must've planned this for at least a month."

Oliver's gaze then shifts over to the next photo, which turns out to be a map. Examining the coordinates and the land and water outlines, Oliver recognizes it to be Lian Yu, or at least a modern map that does not label it as such. It is an unknown part of the North China Sea, after all. Somewhere in the middle of the ocean mass, a few X's in sharpie are visible. Around the map are articles from seven years ago of Oliver's return and all the way up to his return as the Green Arrow.

Oliver's jaw almost drops. "Oh God."

"What? Dad?"

"Sam traced his father's steps. He was trying to find his father's body. He…he wanted answers. That's why he's angry at me. He never got the closure he needed."

Dinah returns from her sweep of the bathroom. "He's not here and his closet's empty. Wherever he is, he has his suit and is preparing to strike again."

"Hold on. There's a file I didn't get a good look at yet. Let me just… Oh crap!"

Oliver and Dinah become alarmed, asking, "WHAT?"

"Look!"

They both rush to Mia's side, seeing a PDF blueprint of the SCPD precinct. One object in particular, the outside generator, is circled with a red sharpie.

Dinah shares Mia's sentiment, "Oh crap! He's going for the precinct."

Suddenly, a phone rings in the room. They look and see it coming from a lone shelf next to the other side of the bed. Oliver goes to it and looks, seeing the caller I.D. as "My Cell."

Hackett.

He picks it up and answers. Immediately, he asks, "Where are you?"

"I think you already know if you looked through my computer. Come by alone if you want the police in there to live just a little bit longer."

"Wait—"

The phone hangs up. Out of frustration, Oliver throws it against the wall. "He knew. He wanted us to follow the trail! It was all a diversion and we FELL for it."

Dinah nods. "Okay, we have. We can still stop him."

"Hey, uh, Overwatch here."

Hearing the distress in Felicity's voice, Oliver answers calmly, "We're here."

"I just detected a massive power surge at the Police Precinct. It's messing with electronics and is traveling all over the walls. Whatever Sam did, he made the entire place into a death trap for anyone not wearing insulated gear."

"Do we have any?"

"Just gloves on loan from ARGUS. What are we going to do?"

He looks at the other two, at Mia in particular. He knows that what he is about to propose will mean putting her life in more danger than she has already faced tonight.

Still, he doesn't have much of a choice.

"Something risky."

After a few staircases filled with nothing but tattered banners, William finally reaches the vault. Expecting a near pitch-black darkness, he is instead greeted by well-lit braziers that assemble into a fiery corridor, as well as torches along the walls. They reveal tapestries now faded into obscurity.

First this torch, and now this entire room. Somebody must be caretaking this place.

Ahead of him, a lone bottle with red viscous liquid sits on the same pedestal shown in the ethereal blueprint. Ahead of that, the dusty shelf lies empty.

This feels too easy.

Cautiously, William walks towards the pedestal. He looks around to make sure no traps await him. However, as with the stairs behind him, he finds none and if there were, they were either faulty or have been set off before.

When he reaches the pedestal, he takes one last look around, looking top to bottom to ensure Christ's blood wasn't rigged or anything of that nature.

"The vial is meant for you."

Alerted, William whisks around and prepares to face the mysterious, yet familiar voice. From the dark patch between the brazier and torch's light, a hooded man appears. As he steps out further into the light, green fog flows from his cloak and follows his feet. As he raises his head, the familiar blue eyes are replaced by the brightest tinge of green.

"Am I speaking to Ronnie Raymond? Or the Spectre?"

Ronnie Raymond tilts his head. "Can't be both?"

"I was starting to wonder who was tending to this place, or why there were no traps set."

"There are no traps because they did not want this to be a place of violence. You stand where the spear was stored for as long as the Byzantines stood, where Christ's blood was created to destroy what became known as Lazarus Pits, as named by Ra's Al Ghul."

"A definite misnomer on his part."
"And there before you lie the last vial of his blood."

William looks to the bottle again, then at Ronnie Raymond with a tense stare. "The last?"

"Once, they were in abundance. But the time came when the spear had to be bled dry, becoming nothing more than a spear with dormant power. When the Ottoman Empire invaded, the last emperor shipped every bottle out except one, told that you would be here to collect. He then fought until his dying breath, his arrogance and pride blinding him into believing he could win."

William picks up the vial and looks at it. It has the look of regular blood. There is nothing about it that makes it stand out. Yet, it is the blood of Christ he holds. The last of it.

"There's no other vial left?"

"The last ones were either used or destroyed in your aunt's quest to rid the world of the Lazarus Pits. If it weren't, I would not be here to warn you."

William's attention turns away from the vial. "Warn me about what?"

"The warning I have just given you. You hold the fate of the Lazarus Pit, of those you love, in your hand. One slip up could prove the undoing of not just Thea's crusade, but yours."

It takes William a while to comprehend, but he realizes what the Spectre is truly saying.

"They're waiting for me up there, aren't they? The Thanatos Guild?"

Spectre nods.

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"What did Bruce teach you to do? What is your greatest asset?"

William slowly nods and grins. "My mind."

John now makes his way to the center of the Sophia. He does his best to remain inconspicuous, but inside, he is growling restless.

Come on William. It's been half an hour. What's going on down—

John then catches glimpse of a woman looking in his direction. Her eyes narrow at him not so discreetly. He can already tell that this is one of the Thanatos Guild's assassins.

He turns away and walks casually. Without raising a hand to his comm, he tells the others, "Got one on my tail. I'll lead her out of here. Rene, watch my six."

"Copy that."

From the crowd of people, Rene can still make out John and his pursuer, who is not so subtly speed walking towards him.

"She's catching up to you, Dig. Pick up the pace."

"Copy."

John speed walks, but still tries to maintain his guise.

"Anyone else near my position?"

"Not as far as I can—"

Suddenly, Rene feels a slight pinch on his exposed arm. Thinking that it is a fly, he pats it down, but only makes the pinch into more of a sting. He looks and sees a very small puncture wound.

"Rene, can you repeat that?"

Rene looks ahead and sees that John is not going to be alone for long. Another woman staring him down similarly to the woman following him waits at the entrance.

He wants to say something but finds himself unable to. He feels as if his tongue is cut off from his brain, so are his arms and legs. He's not collapsing, but he is not in control either. The world around him warps, his eyes seeing the hallways move backward and forward. The only thing he can do is breathe and blink.

"Rene, come in!"

Rene feels an arm wrap around his. A woman stands next to him with a fake smile. She leans up to his ear. "Say nothing and follow my lead."

Rene's body feels compelled to follow her steps, even though he does not want to. He is still in control of his conscious thoughts, which makes what he is feeling all the worse. By the time they are halfway there, the two other women have caught up with John and administer what Rene guesses is what she gave him. It is a very small needle laced with some kind of poison or drug. John is motionless until they utter a command into his ear.

Oh man, this is the weirdest experience ever. What the hell is this?

From the far corner of the southern hallway, Nyssa catches Rene being punctured by a needle, becoming almost stone. She realizes what form of poison the assassin used, one that opens the victim to hypnotic suggestion. It is the same one they used on Thea at the temple.

Before she can say anything to John, she hears a whisper in her ear. "Good evening, Nyssa."

Athena.

Athena stands casually next to her, wearing a dress with an over-shirt, her head covered by a scarf and sunglasses.

"Don't bother calling your friends. It is already too late."

Nyssa does her best to contain the anger inside her. "You followed us here."

"It was easy. We had eyes and ears everywhere ever since Merlyn knew a bottle of Red Lotus was here."

"If that were so, why didn't you attack us then?"

"Oh, that we planned for when you left your little hideout. We needed to find the last of the Red Lotus, to ensure our last Lazarus Pit would remain for years to come. And you have led us to it. Now, you will come with us and witness not just one, but TWO heirs of Merlyn take their place as leaders of our guild."

"If you think I am going to come quietly with you, you are sorely mistaken."

Athena just smirks, grasping the poison laced needle in her hand. "You won't have much of a choice."

As Athena starts to raise her fist, another hand, a male one, rushes in and forces the needle into her own arm. She stares in shock, as does Nyssa. When they look up, there stands William, looking at her with a firm stare.

Athena's sudden, silent gasp turns into slow breathing. Her stare is now blank, but her shock is no doubt still in her mind.

William slowly takes the needle out and pockets it in her dress. "Now, you probably want to start a commotion against one of your own waiting for you. Non-lethally, of course. Make it an attention grabber."

He gently pushes her towards the center, and she starts to walk towards one of the Thanatos assassins. He then puts an arm around Nyssa's and directs her.

"Did you get my device?"

"It's in my pocket."

"Stay close to the walls. When we reach the exit, run to the safe house."

"We can't. It's compromised."

"I know. But at least there, we can group up and get a few supplies."

"What about the other two?"

"John and Rene are gone by now. But we can still save them later."

As they are halfway towards the exit, they hear screaming from the center. Athena is flailing at everyone she recognizes as her own, who defend themselves as best as they can while trying not to give away their skill to the public. Guards come in and try to break up the fight, but they end up in the crossfire as well, so to speak.

William wraps his arm around Nyssa's even tighter. "Walk faster!"

Maybe Nick would like…an instrument. No, no. He doesn't even play anything. Well, as far as I know.

As Curtis continues to browse through, he hears the door to the bedrooms close. He looks and sees Roy, who is walking towards Curtis with slightly wide eyes.

Curtis can't help but be concerned. "How is she?"

Roy looks down quickly, as if snapping out of a trance. "Uh, Thea? Thea's fine. She just needed rest." He walks around and stands next to Curtis. "Did the others call back yet?"

"No, which is a bit worrying. But at the very least, I can browse for a souvenir to get my boyfriend back home."

"Can you at least check for some signs of life or something? Just for Thea's sake?"

When Curtis looks at Roy, he can see his movements more clearly. He's tapping his foot impatiently, as are one of his fingers. Not to mention, his breathing is quickening.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes!"

Roy's outburst jets Curtis up in his seat, but not by much. Still, Roy hesitates with his next words.

"I—I'm fine. I just…I'm just a little turned around."

Just then, the familiar beep of a comm channel opening rings.

"See? Here we go."

Curtis opens the channel, which opens to William's profile and an audio box.

"What's up Will?

"Get into the bedrooms and barricade the door. Now!"

"R.A., what are you—"

"The safe house is compromised! I say again, the safe house is compromised!"

Suddenly, the distant sound of a barged-in door echoes next to them. Coming inside are a few of the Thanatos Guild ninjas, katanas in hand.

Curtis stands up quickly. "Oh shit!"

Two of the ninjas charge towards them, but as does Roy towards them. He kicks down the nearest one, who flips out of it, and grabs the weapon of the second and employs a back elbow strike to her face, forcing her to let go of the hilt and arming Roy.

As he fights off those two, Curtis' attention is on the workbench, which hold his T-spheres that can help them turn the tide of this fight. But the third ninja somehow anticipates this and runs towards him with a horizontal strike. As he runs, he gets down and slides on his knees, just barely dodging the strike as it passes the tip of his nose. Even with fear in his bones, he rushes towards the table and picks up the nearest T-sphere. Without even aiming, he throws it at his pursuer, who is winding up for a spinning vertical attack. The T-sphere, however, blinds her just as she is about to slice downward, skewering her momentum and forcing her back.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Curtis flips into the air, using his movement as a kick to the assassin's face before he lands. He then follows with a spinning hook kick that she barely blocks, the tip of his shoe connecting to her cheek. When she kneels to the ground, he finishes her with a downward hook to the same cheek.

Meanwhile, Roy balances out parrying sword strikes and keeping the unarmed ninja at bay. The micromanagement becomes too overwhelming as he is forced to move back. Slowly, he runs out of space behind him. With one more block of the swords woman's diagonal swing, their swords interlock while the unarmed ninja charges in once more. Roy attempts to side kick her away, but she grabs it in her arm and wraps it tight to her waist. The assassin swords woman knee strikes Roy in the gut, following it up with a punch that sends him to the wall while lurched over.

Weakened, Roy sits on the ground with both ninjas looming over him. The unarmed ninja grasps his leg tight to ensure that he cannot escape. The swords woman raises her katana high with both hands, ready to slice him open.

However, a hand appears from behind and grabs her wrist. It then pulls her hard, the figure of William being revealed as she is thrown over him. She lands on her feet but is in an awkward position with William holding her by the arm.

When the unarmed ninja sees this, she attempts to twist his leg. Yet, Nyssa, out of nowhere, pushes her away with an intercepting fist. Nyssa then follows up with a series of blinding-fast punches, which the ninja tries her best to block. Still, Nyssa's speed prove too much and her arms eventually give up after a while. Each strike to the face knocks her down, bit by bit, until the assassin starts to slide down to the floor, unconscious but no doubt in a lot of pain.

William, fighting the swords woman, tries to knee strike her face, but she flips out of the position and release herself from his grip. She goes for a horizontal strike, but William dodges quickly. She keeps up the offensive, but William keeps dodging back towards Curtis. Upon her third strike, he finds an opportunity to stop a downward slice with his hand, following it up with a spinning elbow to her face and a side kick to put some distance away from him. With his suit, it would have been a guaranteed knock-out. Without it, she just barely recovers, and her side is badly injured.

She tries to go for it again, and William is prepared for it. Suddenly, a concussion arrow from out of nowhere hits the assassin on the top side of her head, throwing her off balance. Not questioning it, William takes the assassin and throws her down, following with a punch to her temple, knocking her out.

With the opposition down, everyone looks to where the arrow came from. They see Thea, up and about, bow in hand. Most likely, she heard the commotion and came prepared. She sees and runs over to Roy, who is slowly getting up. She cups his face in her hand, exasperated.

"Hey, Roy. Roy, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Thea. I'm fine. Just…got some wind knocked out of me."

Even when Thea is clearly worried about him, she can't seem to help but laugh a little. "Did you really just make a—"

"We're out of time." William walks over to the work bench. He takes out a vial of viscous red liquid and puts it at the table.

Curtis' eyes widen. "Is that—"

"Christ's blood. It is."

Curtis was about to say, "mission accomplished." But then, he notices the absence of two other team members.

"Where's John and Rene?"

"Captured. Which is why I said we're out of time."

Thea moves away from Roy as soon as he is able to stand on his own. She walks up to William with a worried stare. "Then why aren't we getting out of here? Out of the city?"

"Can't." William grabs a couple of items from the table. "They have eyes everywhere and they're bound to send reinforcements. What we can do is guarantee that we can take the Pit out and end this."

"By getting captured? William, I'm not allowing you to get yourself killed!" Thea's eyes scrunch and her lips tighten. "You can't do what needs to be done!"

"I got this far."

"By being lucky!"

"By being smart!" William stares Thea down. "By being five steps ahead of everyone else. Does it work out every time? No. But it's always better than the alternative." He points at the door. "They'll be coming through that door in fifteen seconds. You can try to flee, but they'll catch you anyways. I know this, and you need to trust me. It is the only way anyone gets out of this alive. Please."

Thea looks down only for a moment. Still, she persists with one last question.

"Is this an agent giving me orders?"

William shakes his head. "This is your nephew asking you to have some trust in me."

Bitter and enraged, Athena enters the ARGUS compound and barks orders to her assassins. They move in to support, blades drawing as they enter the next room. To her surprise, no sounds of clashing metal are heard. She enters and sees the son of Oliver with Nyssa, along with the other compatriots and Thea Merlyn.

Oliver's son holds out the vial of Red Lotus.

"We surrender."

Those words put a smile on Athena's face.

"Under one condition."

His follow up diminishes her smile rather slowly.

"That I invoke the right to a duel."

Oliver walks up to the police station, seeing nobody at the entrance. He sees lights on inside and a few flickers of electricity as well. Still, the absence of life unsettles him.

Up ahead, the front doors are already open. Slowly, he starts to walk inside. "I'm at the front entrance. Everything's quiet. Too quiet."

"Copy that. We're a few hundred meters from the generator."

Dinah peers from the corner she and Mia are hiding at. She sees the generator ahead, surrounded by the chain-linked fence. Up ahead are the lampposts with a couple of cameras mounted below the bulbs. She can see them still functioning, moving left and right.

"But Hackett may be monitoring the generator. We can't do anything until you distract him."

"Got it. Heading inside."

The bumps that the van travels on do not break Athena's sight from William. She is almost seething, but that does not deter William's neutral stare.

"Still mad that I used your own hypnotic poison against you?"

"What angers me is that you would call upon an ancient tradition that you should have NO knowledge of."

"My mentor was taught by Ra's Al Ghul. The fact that Merlyn's organization is no different from his is almost laughable on your part."

"It makes no difference. You can delay all you want." Her eyes turn to Thea, who sits next to Roy and Nyssa. "Immortality and our leader are now within our reach."

"That pit is not immortality. It is the prolonging of the flesh and the corruption of the soul. My resurrection, my renewal of spirit, came from Christ, and from him will come my immortality."

Athena smirks. "You still cling to those words, to your religion, even when Deacon Blackfire, the one who trained your mother to kill, was the one who fed them to you?"

Thea, Roy, and Nyssa look at William with wide eyed stares. He does his best to not let the remark affect him. He knew that that he would have to tell them sometime. He just hoped that it would be on his terms.

"His efforts to corrupt me failed. My faith is my own."

As the van finally stops, Athena's smirk grows wider. "You'll find your faith will not save you here."

The back doors open, revealing a couple of assassins with swords equipped and hoods over their heads. They take everyone out one by one, roughly pulling them out by their handcuffs onto the sand. They ensure the cuffs are still on tight before escorting their prisoners towards the temple.

As the four of them are brought towards the temple, they are brought side by side with John, Curtis, and Rene.

Rene scoffs a bit. "So much for an in and out mission."

John gives Rene a glare. "Watch it." He then looks up to William. "Curtis gave us the brief. You sure this duel will work?"

William does not look back at John. He sees the temple entrance nearly clear of rubble except for a couple of small debris on the sides. Assassins stand there in formation, this time with spears and bows.

"It has to."

As Oliver enters, he can see policemen through the windows, sitting down or standing to the sides. All of them are either cowering in fear or silent.

In the middle of the room is Hackett, who looks up from his phone and smirks.

"About time!"

Oliver starts to walk around towards the entrance doors, always keeping his eyes on Sam. His eyes keep darting towards his phone and Oliver to make sure nothing is happening on his watch.

"You know, I've been waiting for this moment MUCH longer than you realize."

"Let the cops go Sam! This is between you and me."

"And leave me without much insurance against you? I don't think so."

When Oliver reaches the door into the main hall, he stops. He looks around the room, seeing electricity spark from the walls intermittently.

Hackett laughs. "Impressive, right? Whole precinct is filled with electricity." He raises a trigger in his right hand. "One false move from ANYBODY, and everybody dies."

"No one has to die here."

"Oh really? Did my father have to die?"

Sam looks at his phone one more time.

I need his attention on me.

"I came here alone Sam. I did as you asked."

"I should know you by now, Oliver. You must have some grand plan up your sleeve."

Oliver shakes his head. "No tricks. No plans. I came here to ensure you didn't hurt anybody here."

Sam raises his phone a bit but is hesitant to look. This goes on for a few seconds.

Come on Sam. Drop the phone.

Eventually, he puts the phone down on the table next to a cop, keeping his eyes on the screen until he returns to the center of the room.

"It won't matter anyways. By the time I'm through here—"

"You'll be dead."

Hearing those words, Dinah peers around once more, seeing the cameras going off in different directions.

She turns to Mia. "Follow me. Quickly!"

Dinah and Mia run past the cameras as fast as they could, making a bee line for the generator.

"The half-grandson of our founder, Merlyn, has requested a duel which will determine the fate of the Lazarus Pit."

Athena paces back and forth as she makes her speech, holding the vial of red liquid in her hand.

"Our victory guarantees the destruction of the last Red Lotus, and the preservation of our sacred waters. Our loss means the end of the Thanatos Guild. The terms are defeat, whether by death or over-empowerment."

Her eyes draw towards Thea. "And it only seems fair that the heir be the one to represent the dissidents."

Thea is hesitant to step forward, but William does in her stead.

"I will fight for her, as her second."

Athena laughs. "You countered us too well when last we fought. I would sooner fight your friends as her second, or Nyssa."

"You are signing my friends' death sentences, and you have come close to beating Nyssa in recent times, as she has told me. I'm much more capable to be in her place."

She walks towards him with a snarl. "Why take Thea Merlyn's place? I see no reason why she cannot fight on her—"

"She's pregnant."

Those two words turn Athena's snarl into a jaw drop. Even the others look at Thea with disbelief. However, Roy and Thea look at William with shocked expressions, not because he knew, but that he would disclose such information. In this case, William has no choice.

"You wouldn't want to harm a potential recruit and heir for your cause, now, wouldn't you?"

Athena takes a couple of steps back, looking down at the floor. After a while of contemplation, she looks back up to William with another smirk.

"Then I believe I must, as you say, even the playing field." She turns to one of her henchmen. "Bring it here!"

With a quick nod, the assassin goes and fetches a box from an armory not far from their position.

"If I cannot fight a weakling or an equal, then I must make myself equal to you." The assassin hands the box to Athena, who opens it slowly. The cover makes it hard to see what exactly it is, but a smile peruses her lips. "A gift from Dante."

She takes out a syringe, which William instantly recognizes from the liquid it contains.

"Glutathione hydrate!"

Immediately, Athena thrusts the needle into her arm, grunting loudly as she pushes the liquid into her veins.

Rene, in a rage, tries to run at her, but is stopped. "Hey!"

So is Curtis. "That's cheating!"

As is John. "You can't do this!"

Athena throws the syringe onto the ground next to the pit, and growls as she clenches her fists. She draws her blade and points it at William.

"I will enjoy defeating you and gutting your friends after!"

As an assassin offers him a katana, William looks at her with a determined stare.

"No one is dying here."

He takes the katana and allows the assassin to take a step back before he flourishes it to the side of his head. He grips the handle with both hands and moves his right foot back. He assumes a firm stance and prepares himself for whatever attack comes his way.

Athena, however, keeps pointing her blade at him, her smirk becoming ever wider.

She's sure of herself. Too sure of herself. When she comes at me, I need to see just how sure she is.

With a yell, Athena charges right at William, coming at him with a diagonal slice. He effortlessly dodges the attack and steps to her right. Just as he passes her, he spins and kneels down to deliver a blow to one of her ankles.

Athena collapses from the pain. The cut is small and not that deep but is still disabling. Normally, it would bleed just a bit. However, the sliver of mirakuru in the hydrate slowly starts to close it up. The heavy breathing Athena initially has starts to slow. She feels her cut and looks at her fingers, seeing no blood. She smiles a very devious smile.

She's starting to lose herself to mirakuru that fast? She's had her first taste of invincibility. Maybe I can keep her in that false sense, keep her opening up to more attacks.

As soon as the wound closes, Athena comes in with another yell and a charging stab. This time, William deflects and rams the hilt onto her skull. While she is dazed, he grabs her arm and throws her to the ground. He then employs a downward slash that she is able to block in time. Blades clashed, he flips his own, as does she, and both place their arms at the ends of them, pushing each other's katanas towards each other.

William's pushing, however, is nothing more than a feint to determine how strong Athena is. He reads her lack of teeth clenching and grunts that he himself displays a little of as they struggle. Instead, her smile grows ever wider as she pushes back with relative ease. With one last push, she drives him off, her strength almost sending him towards the nearest assassin. She gets back up with a push off her back, her blade off towards the side and her smile looking more demented.

She's testing herself, seeing her limits and believing she has none. She'll eventually overpower me if Nyssa doesn't get out soon.

As Athena attacks William once more, Nyssa is discreetly handed a pick passed down from Rene and gets to work on her handcuffs.

"Sam…let them go."

Sam shakes his head violently. "Nu-uh. This isn't how it works. We do this my way, or everyone dies!"

Sam slowly hovers his thumb over the button, getting a yelp or jump from everyone.

Oliver takes a step forward. "You want the truth!"

Sam's thumb stops, but his stare becomes grimmer. "I already do! I found my father's body. I found a bullet hole right between the eyes!" He points to his own face, highlighting the location. "He's dead because of you!"

"I never shot him! My father did."

His eyes and parted lips now express surprise.

"We only had enough food and water for one person. My father killed yours, then…then he killed himself." Oliver takes one more step forward. "If I could have, your father would have come home with me. I would have made that choice, but my father chose for me. My only fault was not telling you sooner."

In that moment, Sam lowers the button hand and looks down at the floor. Oliver can't tell if he is relieved or stunned by this revelation. Either way, Dinah and Mia now have more time.

When Dinah and Mia reach the gate, the fences radiate with electrical energy, including the door.

Dinah inspects the doorway, seeing a combination lock on the handle also surging with enough volts to fry them if they got too close.

Mia also sees it and nods begrudgingly. "There's always a complication, isn't there?"

"The combination can't be random. There has to be something."

"Can't we just shoot it open?"

"If I shoot at it now, Hackett will hear!"

Mia looks at the lock.

If bad guys are as punctual in this point in time, the lock might be a theme. Something related to this, like…

"Try the day Hackett died, after Dad's boat went down."

After the next intermittent surge, Dinah rotates the dials with her insulated gloved hands, quickly putting in the date. Just like that, the circular lock is easily undone.

Dinah grins at Mia. "Smart thinking."

Mia shrugs her shoulders. "More like predictable."

Dinah opens the door and they both head inside, being careful to stay away from the fence.

As soon as they get to the generator, Dinah calls in, "Overwatch, we're at the generator."

"Got it. There should be a device right on the back, where the main wiring is."

Dinah and Mia head towards the back of the generator and find an odd, circular device attached just above the large coils.

"We see it."

"Okay, these next steps are critical. Get them wrong, and everything overloads, taking you two and SCPD with you. Now, carefully detach the device's cover."

Taking out a switch knife, Mia undoes the screws and uses the tip to gently peel the cover away, catching it with her other hand as it falls. Inside is a bunch of wiring that they can't make out.

Mia then calls in, "Done."

"Okay, now you're going to cut the following wires."

William dodges another cut, following with a light jab to Athena's shoulder. At this point, she stops screaming in pain, embracing it with every fiber in her body. Almost immediately, she starts her assault again with a leverage of fast swings and jabs. William is able to block them but finds no room to deflect or parry. At the end of the combo, he blocks a stab and traps both blades in a circular motion and swings both of them to the ground. He steps inward, grinds his blade across hers, floats it over her arm and connects it to the little bit of flesh on her hip.

Just as he turns around, Athena already comes in with a heavy downward slice. Just as he blocks it, the blade goes though, breaking his katana apart. She goes for another spinning downward slice, which he steps away from. However, he could not dodge the spinning back kick afterwards. Her mirakuru strength sends him flying, landing just short of his family and friends.

Thea calls, "William, get up!"

Rene follows, "Come on man. You got this!"

Then John, "Don't give up now!"

William slowly stands up, clutching his stomach. Athena walks up to him slowly with a grin, kicking aside his broken and slightly bloody blade.

"You ARE a worthy opponent, next to your father, your aunt, and Nyssa. But your father cut off the hand of Malcolm Merlyn when they last fought. All you have done was give me a few meaningless cuts."

William then hears the slight click of handcuffs, which causes him to slightly grin at her as he grunts, "Oh, they'll mean something in a minute."

Nyssa, her hands now free, grabs the nearest assassin by the neck. She quickly fishes in her pocket and takes out William's Red Arrow emblem.

"Here!"

She tosses it to William, who then places it on his chest. The nanites quickly lace his tri-weave suit, spreading all over his body. When seeing this, Athena quickly charges in with her blade, preparing to plunge it into any exposed flesh. However, when the gauntlets developed, William turns around and catches the sword with the three blades prodding outward and raises it upward.

William, now the Red Arrow, smiles under his mask. "Now we're even."

With both gauntlet blades on the katana, he separates his arms into a cross, breaking the sword into pieces, leaving it nothing more than a dagger with a fancy handle. The force of the movement takes Athena aback, a notion of fear even though she was just feeling invincible a moment ago.

When the pieces fall to the ground, Red Arrow clasps his hands onto Athena's ears, disorienting her. He follows with a backfist, cross into an elbow, back elbow and then hook. Each movement transitions quickly and almost smoothly into one another, leaving no room for Athena to register. Not to mention, the suit's dense material hits harder than bare fisted or katana strikes could for someone on a mirakuru substance. So much so that Athena collapses to the floor after the hook.

The other assassin's draw their swords and prepare to attack him. Red Arrow steps back and gets into his fighting stance, ready for whoever…

"Stop!"

Athena holds her hand out as she gets up. She grits her teeth and tightens her grip on the broken katana's handle. Her stare is a cold one. Cold as death.

"He's MINE to finish!"

She's been pushed to the edge. That's good. Take advantage of her injuries and create an opening to disable her.

With another yell, Athena gets in close and uses the broken katana blade to strike at the barely exposed parts of Red Arrow's suit. He dodges each one in quick succession, the last one he manages to trap her hand. As he does, he uppercuts the wound he made on the hip, which causes Athena to hunch over. He then disarms the katana and employs a right hook on the cut shoulder, causing a little bit of blood to drip out before it closes, but is no less painful. He grabs hold of the arm and kicks the cut ankle, forcing Athena on her knees. He holds the arm tight and places one leg on her back.

"Yield."

Athena tries to stand up, but Red Arrow tightens his grip on the arm and pushes her down.

"Yield! Or I break your arm."

Instead of pleading or struggling, Athena laughs as if amused.

"You think I fear pain? Before Malcolm Merlyn, I was trained by Ra's Al Ghul, by the FOOL Joseph Blackfire. I have trained…I have LIVED in pain!"

Suddenly, she pulls on her arm, dislocating it entirely. Before Red Arrow can comprehend what happened, she lays on her side and kicks her feet into his, forcing him to the ground. With her intact arm, she grabs the broken katana and raises it above her head.

Instead of going to try and finish Red Arrow, Athena's eyes turn to the red vial placed just meters from the pit, next to one of her assassins.

As Red Arrow looks up, he yells, "STOP!"

It is too late. She throws the blade, and it flies towards the vial.

After half a minute of doing nothing but looking at the ground, Sam laughs dishearteningly and points at Oliver.

"My father died…for you! Your father killed mine…" his teeth start to grit and his eyes pierce like daggers. "…to save YOUR sorry ass!"

Oliver raises his hands up defensively. "I AM sorry, Sam."

"We're past sorry!" Sam grits his teeth harder. "We were past it seven years ago. NOW…now you pay by dying the way that my father did." He directs his attention to all the police officers in the room. "If one of you kills Oliver Queen, you all get to live."

"Okay, now cut the black wire last."

With one tug of her knife, Mia successfully cuts the last wire.

"Okay, what's next?"

"Um, that should be it. Is it not working?"

Mia looks at the electrified fence, seeing fewer electric sparks going off intermittently, but they are still present.

"It's affected things, but not by much."

"Oh frak! Hold on…"

"What? Mom, what is it?"

"I see it now. The device must have been modified. It's only working at half power."

Dinah chimes in, asking, "What does that mean?"

"It means, statistically, only a quarter of the SCPD will die."

For a while, the cops are hesitant. A few clutch their guns, but do not dare to stand up. Sam's thumb hovers over the button again, but still, no one stands.

That is until a young man with light hair does, pointing his gun at Oliver. His hands are a bit shaky, and his expression is that of nervousness. A rookie.

"I…I don't wanna die."

Oliver walks up to the young officer, which also gets him a bit closer to Sam.

"Then I won't stop you."

Mia considers every other option left at their disposal.

I could try to pry it off, but that thing's supposed to be stuck like adhesive. It would take too long and the blade's not that durable.

Mia's eyes then look down to Dinah's gun, which is still fully loaded.

But bullets are.

"Mom, if that thing is only at half power, then the chances of it blowing up in our faces if using brute force are now slim. Right?"

"Well, yeah. But it is still a chance."

Mia looks up to Dinah. "We'll need to take it. Captain Drake, your gun."

Dinah is about to take it out, but Overwatch stops her. "Wait! No, no, no. Not while Mia's there."

"It's our only option Mom."

"Mia, I am not gambling your life, MY daughter's life—"

"And I'm not going to gamble with Dad's! Dinah, do it!"

Dinah grabs her gun but does not take it out of her holster. She keeps looking back and forth between the device and Mia. She closes her eyes and bites on her lip hard.

The rookie has yet to shoot Oliver. His hands start to shake even more, his eyes twitching from the pressure he is under.

Sam, of course, becomes impatient. "What are you waiting for? Do it. SHOOT!"

"I…"

The rookie shuts his eyes and swallows hard, as if he knows he will do something he will regret. His hands break free of the gun, which falls to the ground with a thud. He kneels and puts his hands together, mumbling what could be a prayer.

Sam just grins fiendishly at Oliver. "Well then. Guess it's time to—"

Suddenly, gunshots are heard outside of the precinct. As they go off, the lights flicker on and off and the electric currents start to surge somewhat violently. Everyone braces, including Sam, while Oliver stands perfectly still, uncertain of what it means.

However, in the end, the lights just become stable. The walls stop flowing with electricity. Everyone looks up, some of them smiling or sighing in relief.

Sam, however, is starting to reach for the back of his pants for something. Not waiting to see what it is, Oliver tackles him down and grabs the arm, which loosely holds a pistol that is thrown out of his fingers as he falls.

All of SCPD, including the rookie, train their guns on the now incapacitated Sam. Oliver stops them, raising his hands up to all of them.

"LIKE I SAID…nobody has to die tonight."

He looks down at Sam, who looks up at Oliver with a gloom look of defeat.

"Not even you."

Smoke rises out from Dinah's gun, which is still aimed at where the device was before it was broken off by a few shots. She tries not to show any nerves, but her hand does shake from the possibility of something going wrong.

As does Mia, who's nervous voice asks, "Did…did it work? Dad?"

"Oliver? Oliver, do you copy?"

After a moment or two, Oliver's voice finally enters the frequency. "I copy. Sam is down."

Dinah breaths a relieved sigh, lowering her gun to her side. Mia laughs her nervousness away, though it was not a very hearty one.

Both of them can her Felicity's rambling over the comm. "Oh God. Oh my God. Please God, do not let us go through something like that again."

Dinah looks at Mia with a small grin on her lips, not just of pride, but of reminiscence.

Her being Oliver's daughter, I wouldn't hold on to that hope.

Red liquid drips from the broken vial, spreading onto the floor. John, Rene, Nyssa, Thea, Roy, even some of the assassins are shocked. Athena flashes a deranged smile, breathing heavily like a mad woman.

She looks at Red Arrow, who is getting up to one of his knees.

She points to the red stain. "See this? You have failed! You cheat your way to victory; THIS is the result. I have destroyed your last hope of saving your aunt from her fate! What do you have to say to that?!"

Red Arrow looks up. Under his mask, he smirks as he puts one of his hands behind his back.

"Congratulations."

From his gauntlet, one of the tubes he moved Christ's blood into dispenses into his hand.

"You saved my aunt from red dye."

As Athena's expression turns from psychotic to utter shock, Red Arrow throws the blood from the tube and towards the pit.

"NO!"

Athena jumps with her hand out, trying to catch the blood in midair. However, she misses completely, and it all lands into the Pit. The bright, whitish blue waters slowly morph into a solid red, starting from the center that the blood landed in and making its way out from there.

As Athena gets up, she dashes up to the pit and tries to get her hand in. Seeing this, Red Arrow runs up and tries to stop her. However, she is aware and kicks him in the mask, stunning him.

She dips her hand in and cups her hand for at least a portion. However, as she raises her hand out, the surface becomes hard rock and traps it inside.

"NO!"

She tugs at it, trying to break free. Red Arrow, shaking off the kick, slowly walks to her.

"Stop! You'll rip your arm off. Let me—"

For no reason, Athena starts screaming. She collapses to the floor and writhes as if in pain, her screams increasing in intensity.

Red Arrow rushes to her side. "What hurts? Tell me!"

He then notices Athena's veins bulging from every inch of her skin. Turning on his detective vision, he sees a mass circulation of a substance in her bloodstream, exiting from the fingertips of her trapped hand. However, it does not register any physical pain.

Thea manages to break away from the group, mostly because nobody stops her, and kneels at Athena's other side.

"What's happening to her?"

"Christ's blood seems to be draining the glutathione hydrate from her system. What's causing her pain, I don't know."

Eventually, the veins start to sink back into her skin, but her screaming and convulsions continue. After a little while, the Pit starts to crack, first in half, then into several pieces, then into hundreds. Eventually, it all crumbles apart, the pit being nothing now but a collection of rocks.

The moment Athena's hand is free, her screaming stops. Yet, she breathes heavily, almost in distress. She does not lower her hand back down. Red Arrow's detective vision registers her as still physically fine.

"Athena. Athena, are you alright?"

She does not listen to Red Arrow's question. Her eyes are fixed on the ceiling. Her bottom lip starts to quiver.

"So…so much pain."

"The pain's over now."

Still, she does not listen. She seems to be in her head.

"I…I've caused so much…pain."

Red Arrow's eyes widen. He presses the top button on his emblem, showing it to Thea, who has the same expression. Even he does not know where Athena's remark came from.

"FREEZE!"

The sound of an authoritative figure calls to them. John looks down to where it is, smiling. Already, Red Arrow knows it is the backup he called for before they were captured back at the safe house.

"Hands in the air! All of you!"

The assassin's surrender to the armored ARGUS soldiers without a fight, letting themselves be taken and handcuffed. As far as Red Arrow is concerned, to them, he won the duel.

"William."

Red Arrow looks up at Thea, who gives a concerned stare.

"What the hell just happened?"

He looks over to the Pit, knowing that this was the doing of Christ's blood. What it did to Athena, he does not know. The Spectre may have known back at the Hagia Sophia, but he was not forthcoming, which Red Arrow should have expected.

There is only one answer Red Arrow can think of that feels correct to him.

"God only knows."

"Mr. Queen, as glad as I am to have you back on the show, I am rather surprised by this visit."

"Yeah, well, so am I, but…"

Oliver looks into the camera, at the millions watching once more to see his explanation for the events that transpired over a couple of days ago. He looks at Kannon, looking mostly well and calm, given his kidnapping at Sam's hands, giving Oliver a curious look. He takes a subtle breath.

Just breathe Oliver. Say what needs to be said.

"I feel that…there is a lot that I haven't said. Some things I thought I could leave buried, and leave be. Now I realize I can't."

"Because of Hackett?"

Oliver nods. "I realized that there may be people not looking at me as the Green Arrow. Not as a hero. They look at me as the billionaire playboy, as the son of my father, Robert Queen. There are…sins that can't be erased, suspicions that I have left in the open. And so did my father."

Oliver turns back to the camera, now wanting to address the audience. Before he can get a word out, though, he catches a glimpse of somebody in the open lot. Actually, three somebodies. People he had scarcely seen for well over a year. He sees his sister Thea, his student Roy, and their companion Nyssa, looking out to him. With them is William, Felicity, and Mia, but they keep neutral or mildly enthusiastic stares. Thea is the only one giving him a small smile of assurance and a nod, as if she knows what he is about to say next, telling him that it is okay to do it.

"Mr. Queen?"

Kannon's voice makes Oliver realize he took a slightly long pause when seeing his family and associate from afar. Still, he tries to go on as if it never happened.

"I looked up to my father when he was alive. I thought he was a great man, a role model that I could never live up to. He loved me, even when I wasn't at my best, when I kept failing at everything. He then told me how he wasn't perfect either, how he had failed this city. He entrusted me to right his wrongs, to wash away his sins that poisoned our home. That's why I became the Hood, the Arrow…The Green Arrow. And I will continue to do so, to honor his sacrifice. To safeguard all of you…and my family."

The rest of the interview was a few unimportant questions about Robert Queen's legacy, which Oliver refused to answer, saying that "it would be too detrimental to him, and…to someone close," referring to Emiko.

Afterwards was the wrap up from before. Oliver walks away from the stage, relieved to be over with it. Seeing his sister waiting for him, he walks towards her and gives her the biggest hug he has probably given her, which she kindly returns.

"You have no idea how good it is to see you, Speedy."

"You to, Olly."

As they break off the hug, Oliver looks to Roy with a smile, and extends a hand.

"It's good to see you, Roy."

Roy takes the hand and shakes it. "You too, Oliver."

He then gives a nod to Nyssa. "And you as well."

Nyssa grins. "Likewise."

"So, you've done it?"

Thea nods. "No more Lazarus Pits."

William adds, "At least, on this Earth."

Oliver gives William a proud smile. "And you ensured that."

As the seven of them start to walk towards the exit, Oliver and Thea go into deeper discussion.

"So, I assume William's caught you up on things?"

"Pretty much. I'm still getting my head around all of this. I mean, you have two kids that came from the future," Thea points to William and Mia, who just look casually at their father and aunt. "You're fighting a large criminal organization that recruited William's mom, not to mention a blood thirsty zealot."

"Yeah, well…what worries me more is having a nephew during all of this."

Thea and Roy are taken aback by Oliver's knowledge of this. She then looks to William, who just looks on with a smarmy grin. She also notices Felicity's bright yet nervous smile.

"You told them?"

William just shrugs his shoulders. "Well, they had to know. Otherwise, who was going to set up the party for you guys?"

"Party?"

Felicity chimes in with, "More of a 'welcome back' party since everybody knows at this point, but more on that later."

Oliver looks to Nyssa, who has been silent for much of the conversation. "It's also your welcoming party, if you're going to stay."

Nyssa shrugs her shoulders as well. "I'm not entirely sure. Part of me wants to go see my sister again, make amends. Still, the other feels that I owe you a debt for helping us end Merlyn's legacy and my father's once and for all."

William adds, "Either way, after everything we went through, we deserve a little celebration."

Mia nods. "Yeah, well, you guys fight ninjas almost every year. I had to help stop an electric wielding anarchist."

William pats her shoulder. "Still the coolest and bravest thing you've ever done, sis."

Felicity chimes in with, "Yeah, which she will never do again."

William gives her a doubtful stare. "Felicity, it's us. Since when haven't we gotten into trouble?"

They all continue their banter as they exit towards the parking lot, bonding as a happy family.

It infuriates Dante to no end.

Look at them. Even separated, they are strong. They've deprived me of my assassins and millions of dollars in electrical grid manipulation! Still, the Lazarus Pit is decommissioned, meaning Blackfire won't get what he wants either. There is only one option now.

"Sir?"

Dante does not turn back but recognizes Mr. Kannon's voice.

"I do not mean to question you, but…what exactly was the whole 'me getting captured by Hackett' supposed to do?"

Dante grins sinisterly.

"To give me the answer I wanted."

He rewinds the footage to the moment Oliver Queen says, "He entrusted me to right his wrongs, to wash away the sins that poisoned our home."

He plays it over and over again, his grin widening with each play.

Author's notes: Hello Readers! Thanks for reading the first chapter of "Arrow: War of Faith." To those who have been long time readers of my work, thank you for your patience. This took a while to make, but I hope everyone enjoyed it and will continue to enjoy what is to come.

Don't forget to favorite this chapter if you like it so far, leave a review, and follow me to keep up to date on when the next chapter comes out.

Thanks again and have a wonderful day!