The monitors were silent now. Nathan had passed out once more as the rat poison began to take effect. Lyla and Daisy were over at her station, Chien was leaning against a table, twirling a knife. Helena was sitting near him, Kara was monitoring his vitals with her X-ray vision and Natasha was slowly peeling off a piece of evidence tape from his neck when Nathan shot awake. Operating off of pure instinct, he reached out and clamped his hand around Natasha's throat. She gasped which got Kara's attention.
"Nate, let her go," Kara said as she pried Nathan's hand of Natasha's throat. She moved away and coughed.
"What the…" he gasped slightly. "What the fuck happened?"
"You were injected with a strong-acting blood coagulant." Natasha explained as she coughed.
"You would have stroked out," Kara said. "But fortunately you had a very effective blood thinner handy. Warfarin. Better known as rat poison."
"She saved your life, Nathan." Lyla told him.
Nathan looked at Lyla incredulously. "You called her." He accused.
"Yeah, I did." She said bluntly.
"You shouldn't have. I would have been fine!" He denied, not thinking clearly because of the rage over what happened with Slade and Shado in his past still haunting him. He knew, of course, that they were right. But he couldn't focus. Not with the Mirakuru hallucinations. He needed his emotions under control and until he put this Mirakuru enhanced bastard down, he wouldn't be able to do that.
"No, you didn't!" Helena argued. "Nathan, I love you! So does Lyla and Chien! Which means it's our job to back you up, if when you don't want it! Especially then!"
"You're lucky they called me when they did, Nate." Kara interjected as Nathan turned his back to them and leaned on the table, hunched over. "10 minutes later and you might have been dead. For all you're healing, you still need your brain to live."
"Don't listen to them," He heard in his head as a hallucination of Shado appeared next to him. "They don't love you. They don't respect you. They fear you. They could never understand you like me."
"Shut up." Nathan growled as he closed his eyes and grit his teeth.
"Nathan," Chien said softly as she placed a hand on his shoulder, "Baby, please. Talk to us. We just want to help you."
"Listen to how they claim to want to want to help you, but they only want to lock you up." The hallucination continued.
"Shut up!" Nathan yelled as his eyes opened to reveal his kyuubi eyes and he slammed his fists into the table denting it. Chien stepped back as Nathan threw the table at the wall making it crash.
Nathan looked at the girls with his kyuubi features and was about to say something, but his phone buzzed. He grabbed his phone from the table and looked at it. It was a text from his mother.
::Can you please come home.::
Nathan sighed. "I have to go home." He said breathlessly. "That man that I fought in the bunker, he has what he needs to mass produce the serum from the island. And I'm gonna stop him. Until then, stay out of my way." He stated as he grabbed his Prometheus gear and shuffled up the stairs.
"What is wrong with him?" Skye asked, reeling from the experience of him losing his cool and yelling at them.
"This Mirakuru stuff," Kara said outloud, "what really happened to him during that 2nd year that he would act this way?". He had given her a brief overview, but that was it.
"What did he tell you?" Lyla asked.
"Not much. Just that he was injected with it. And that his lover was killed and his mentor betrayed him and he killed him in his second year." Kara said.
"Who would know about that year more?" Chien asked, hugging herself.
"Sara and maybe Talia, but nobody knows how to reach Sara, and Talia never answers." Lyla said.
"What do you recommend we do?" Natasha asked, as being the newest recruit, she would defer to the senior members judgment on this.
Helena got up and addressed the others, "We going to help him. Regardless of whether he wants it or not. He needs to see that we are not going to abandon him just because he's having an episode. And when he's ready to explain himself, we'll be there waiting for him with open arms." She said as she wiped the tears away from her eyes before heading up the stairs.
Lyla sighed as Natasha remarked, "She isn't taking this well."
"Who can fucking blame her? Nate's never had an episode like this." Chien rubbed her head.
Daisy came up behind Kara. "Never meet your heroes, right?" she asked. Kara could only sigh, not really sure how to help her friend.
Queen Manor
Nathan, cleaned up and dressed properly, walked into the parlor to see her mother decorating the Christmas tree. "Mom?" he said, getting her attention.
"Nathan, thank you for coming home, sweetheart." She said wearily as she moved over to him.
"Is everything all right?" Nathan asked; worried.
"Well, I don't know." She started. "Your sister has locked herself in her room and she won't talk to me."
"Okay, why?" Thea asked confused.
"Don't worry, I'll talk to her." Nathan assured her.
"Ok."
Nathan looked at the tree again, and it finally registered in his rage addled brain. "It's Christmas."
"Yes. But given the last gala that we threw, I think we're going to skip this year's Christmas party." Moira added with a smile.
Nathan chuckled, and then moved off to see his sister.
A few minutes later he walked up to his sister's door and knocked. "Thea, its Nate. Open the door." He yelled.
"Not-not now, Nate." She yelled back.
"Speedy, open the door or I'll break it down!" he yelled back, annoyed.
"Is mom with you?" she yelled through the door.
"No!" he exclaimed. He heard Thea walking towards the door; a moment later, it opened. "What's going on?" he asked.
"I didn't want mom to see." Thea began.
"See what?" Nathan asked, though he already had a sneaking suspicion. Which was confirmed a moment later when she opened the door wider, to reveal Roy lying on her bed, his pants leg cut and a towel laid out to catch the blood from the arrow still stuck in his leg. Sin was seated on the bed beside him, tending to the wound.
"What happened to him?" Nathan asked nonchalantly as he walked into the room.
"Prometheus decided to use him as target practice." Thea said. "You're right- the guy's a psycho."
Nathan stopped beside the bed. "Why didn't you go to the hospital?" he asked Roy.
"In this city, an arrow's the same as a bullet if you want the cops involved." Roy said through gritted teeth.
"And mom actually likes Roy, but something tells me she'd revoke his tree trimming invitation if she found out he was messing around with Prometheus." She said, that last part added sharply to her boyfriend.
"Uh-huh." Nathan said. He looked over at Sin, recognizing her from the picture her dad had on her. "Hi." He took a towel from her. "Roy. Just a fair warning. This is going to hurt." He said as he climbed onto the bed.
"My anger's dulling the pain." Roy said.
"This will dull it better." Sin said, offering him a bottle of Vodka. He took it with a shaky hand and took a small sip.
Nathan wrapped the towel around the shaft of the arrow, and then very slowly and very carefully pulled it out.
Roy groaned loudly in pain as Nathan set the arrow down and put the towel back on the wound. "Going to want to put pressure on it." He said, taking Roy's hand and placing it on the towel. "Right there." Roy took over, and Nathan slid off the bed and pulled out his phone. He quickly dialed Lyla. "Lyla, I need you to come to the Queen Mansion." he said. "Roy's been shot. With an arrow." He added, glancing back at the trio. "It's a long story. Look, just bring the first aid kit to Thea's room." He said, cutting off Lyla's lecture. "Thank you." He hung up and turned back to the three. "Roy, my bodyguard, Ms. Michaels; she has medical training from her time in the army. She's going to patch you up." He said.
"Thank you." Roy said weakly.
"It's the least I can do." Nathan said awkwardly. "Look, I don't know what the three of you are up to, but maybe Prometheus was just trying to keep you safe." He offered.
"By shooting Roy?" Thea asked incredulously.
"I…I'm just saying. Maybe it's a sign that you're in over your heads and you should let this go. For your own safety." Nathan said. He walked out of the room and closed the door.
Sin looked at her friends. "So," she started. "Are you going to let this go?"
"No." Thea said firmly. "But now we're going to do things my way." She said, looking sternly at Roy.
Hallway
Out in the hallway Nathan was walking back towards his own room when, from the corner of his eye, he spotted a woman walking round the corner down the hall. He moved down and turned the corner. "Mom!" he called out, but there was no one there. "Hello!" He looked down the hall in puzzlement.
"Nǐ hǎo, qīn'ài de."
Nathan's eyes widened and he spun back around to see Shado standing in the hall. "Shado?" he said in disbelief. He moved closer and hesitantly reached out, touching her cheek tenderly. She smiled up at him as he rubbed her cheek gently. "You're not real." He said sadly.
"I had to see you. Had to warn you." Shado said.
"Warn me?" Nathan asked.
"You can't fight what's coming. Put down your bow." She told him gently. "Take off my father's hood."
"I wear that hood to honor your father." He argued softly. "And to honor you. To protect my city and every innocent soul who lives in it."
"If you want to honor me, stop fighting…and live. Or everyone you love will die."
Nathan's face darkened at that. "I know Shado better than anyone. The real Shado would never have told me to give up. You are nothing but a figment of my imagination. Begone."
The hallucination vanished and Nathan closed his eyes for a moment to calm himself, yet when he opened them again, Shado was still there.
Shado then smiled darkly, a sign that this was a Mirakuru hallucination, and said, "I will never leave you, my love. Not until you've avenged me."
"Nate?" Nathan spun around to see Thea standing there. "Who were you talking to?" she asked.
Five years ago-
The miracle had failed. Slade was dead. And now Nathan, Shado and Sara were at the mercy of a madman as Ivo and his men burst into the compartment.
Ivo spotted Sara, standing frozen by the door. He grabbed her arm and shoved her towards Nathan and Shado. "Get over there!"
He shined his light down on Slade, and knelt down. He slowly reached towards his body and felt for a pulse, but found none. He noted the bloody tears, then saw the empty syringe on the ground and picked it up. He was examining it when the new captain walked back into the compartment, the wooden crate in his hand. "Mirakuru."
While Ivo was reveling in his victory, Nathan pulled out a small knife and slipped it into Shado's hand. She looked at him and he nodded subtly.
He said, rising to examine the box. He looked at the rows of syringes in wonder. Then turned back to his men. "Take them." He ordered.
A short time later the group was walking back through the forest towards the Amazo. Nathan, Shado and Sara all had their hands bound behind them with zip ties, and Ivo led Sara at gunpoint personally.
"Anthony, you got what you wanted. You can let them go." Sara said, trying to reason with the man. She turned back to face him. "If you ever cared about me." She pleaded.
"But I do care about you, Sara." Ivo said. "Which is why I won't choose to kill you." Sara blinked as Ivo's insanity came to the front. "But he might."
Nathan, who had stopped with the rest, looked at the doctor in confusion as he forced both Sara and Shado to their knees.
"What are you talking about?" Nathan asked in dread.
"Time to choose, Nathan." Ivo said with insane glee. "Who lives, and who dies. But pick quickly, because in 30 seconds, I will shoot them both." Nathan stared at the two women in horror.
Flashback End
Present-
In Blood's warehouse, the remaining super soldier, Sebastian Stan, gave the man himself an update as the scientist ran the blood, serum and sedative through the centrifuge.
"The incubation process has begun. Serum will be ready for distribution in 48 hours." Stan told Blood.
"Two days." Blood replied. "And we will be able to create a hundred more like you. And the people who run this city will see what real power looks like."
Lair
Kara, was looking at the costume display. "I know I saw this the first time, but it's a bit sad to see him put this up for good."
"What are you talking about?" Daisy asked.
"Last year when he told me his secret, he brought me down here and I got to see the lair." Kara explained. "Still, I liked his old alias as the Arrow."
"He likes to be called Prometheus now." Lyla noted. "A bit pretentious, even for him."
"So, I know you Lyla. But I haven't met the other's." Kara said. Prompting the other 4 ladies in the room to step forward.
"So, I'm Kara Danver's aka Supergirl," Kara introduced, "I'm a reporter at CatCo, and I know Nate because he was my first boyfriend in highschool."
"I'm Helena Bertinelli," Helena introduced, some of her previous sadness gone, "CEO of Bertinelli Construction, though I also go by Huntress when I'm in the field."
"And how did you meet Nate?" Kara asked.
"I accidentally hurt his mom during a drive-by and he tracked me down, which led to him helping me kill my father and dismantle his criminal organization." Helena said.
"Huh," Kara noted. She then moved on to Chien.
"I'm Chien Na Wei, though to my subordinates, I'm China White," Chien introduced, "I'm an assassin and the leader of the Starling City Branch of the Triad."
Kara moved on to Daisy. "I'm Daisy Johnson, though most call me Skye." Daisy said. "So, just wondering, is it true you're an alien?"
"Yeah. Why?" Kara asked.
"Oh nothing, I just think that's totally awesome!" Skye said excitedly.
Kara smiled and moved on to Natasha. "Natasha Romanova," Natasha said curtly.
"Ooookay," Kara cringed a little.
"Look, I know it may seem like Nate's being an ass but it's probably not what you think. If anything, I would say he is doing it to try to protect you all." Kara offered.
"What makes you an expert on Nathan's thoughts?" Helena demanded.
"Because you all know him from after the 5 years away. I knew his pre-island self. Heck, I dated that guy, and that version of him was an ass. He's not that guy anymore," Kara said. "That, and I know what's it's like to keep people at arm's length in the interest of protecting them."
"He won't talk to us and even then, we can't him," Helena stated. She was NOT giving up on him by any means, but he wouldn't tell them what was going on and she didn't know how to coax it out of him. He had never been this difficult with them before.
"I might be able talk to him. At least try to make him see that he's only hurting the people that love him by keeping them at arms length." Kara said as she left.
D.A.'s office
Laurel was hard at work. She looked up to see Thea and Sin walk in.
"What brings you by?" she asked cautiously, knowing full well she had just tried to have the girl's mother sent to prison for life, or worse.
"We need your help." Thea began, slightly reluctant. "Cindy's friend was murdered, but the police aren't going to investigate. They said that he OD'ed, end of story."
"Check this out." Sin handed Laurel the pamphlet about the blood drive. "He earned extra money donating blood. We found it in Max's apartment. They wouldn't have accepted his blood if he was using, right?" she added.
"Max went missing the same day as the blood drive." Thea continued. "If he did donate blood there, maybe they at least know something that happened to him."
"I'll ask around." Laurel promised.
"Thank you, Laurel." Thea said. She and Sin left, leaving Laurel with the pamphlet- and her flowers.
Downtown
Midday
Nate, decked out in his Prometheus gear, snuck into the building where Sebastian Stan stays.
Upstairs, Nate, after looking around to make sure no one saw him, picked the lock on Stan's door and opened. He knocked an arrow, and he moved slowly into the apartment.
"This place is too clean." He muttered as he looked around, and then noticed a book laying on the kitchen counter. "Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday." He read off. 'I know this poem. It symbolizes the seven stages of life- from birth to death.'
"What stage is this guy going through?" Nate wondered. Nate searched the whole apartment but didn't find him. Though when he looked out at the window, he saw Slade glaring at him from a rooftop.
Nate left after he searched the place, finding nothing, and headed back to one of his two backup lairs. This one, being under his families mansion.
Five years ago-
"You don't have to do this!" Nathan exclaimed as he broke his thumb and slowly readied himself to slip out of his cuffs. "You got what you came for! Just leave us!"
Ivo pointed the gun at Shado's head. "10 Seconds."
"You fucking psycho!" Nathan shouted.
"History will make that judgment." He moved the gun to Sara "Five seconds." Nathan stared at the two women, torn.
Sara was the perfect example of his previous life, of the Nathaniel Queen who had boarded the Queen's Gambit, the Nathan who crawled from that lifeboat unaware of where he had landed, and of Starling City. His beautiful home, his baby sister Thea, his mother Moira, Sara, Laurel, Tommy, and even Oliver. He owed it to both sisters to bring Sara back, to make sure she survived. Sara wouldn't be in this mess had his brother not freaked out over his stupid worries of relationship commitment with Laurel. Sara defined his dreams to return home, to be with those he loved once more.
Shado was the perfect example of his life now, here on Lian Yu. The foolish, selfish, weak playboy known as Nathaniel Queen had died when he came face to face with Edward Fryers and Billy Wintergreen, and now a stronger and darker man knelt. Shado had taught him to survive, to be strong. She had taught him how to use a bow and arrow. She healed them when Slade and Nathan had gotten injured; she had kicked their asses as much as she saved them. Shado was strong, fierce and brave. He loves her.
Sara was his past and Shado was his present, the two halves of Nathaniel Queen. But what of his future?
Nathan came to a realization then. It didn't matter what happened, for if either of his two lives died, part of him would die as well. His future didn't matter, all that mattered was the two women in front of him.
He could not, He WOULD NOT CHOOSE!
"Stop! Wait!" He shuffled forward as fast as his legs could take him, he didn't kneel in front of Shado or even Sara, but stood between the two women that made up both sides of Nathan Queen. "Don't shoot them," he pleaded with the madman, "I choose me, kill me Ivo! I'm the one who killed your men, I'm the one who found the hōzen, I'm the one who caused all this trouble for you. Shoot. Me."
Ivo seemed to agree with this and he stepped closer to Nathan. "Had you chosen one of them," Ivo nodded his heads to the bound females, "I would have shot them in the head, quick and painless, but you." Ivo's face turned into a snarl, an ugly grimace of pure hatred and rage. "You ruined everything, I'm going to kill you slowly and painfully… Goodbye Nathaniel Queen."
"No, goodbye to you." Nathan slipped out of his cuffs and grabbed the gun and forced it up as Ivo shot. The bullet pierced the air.
On the sub, Slade suddenly awakened, fully healed.
"Shado…" he looked around. Suddenly, he knew they were in trouble. "Kid!"
Flashback End
Queen Manor
Nathan opened the door and was surprised to see Laurel.
"Hi." He said.
"Hi." She replied.
"What are you doing here?" Nathan asked.
"I came by to see Thea." She said.
"Oh." He moved aside to let her in. "Go on in. She's upstairs in her room." He told her as he shut the door.
"I noticed on the drive up that your house wasn't festooned with Christmas decorations." Laurel started.
"Well, we didn't feel very much like festooning this year." Nathan admitted wearily.
"I know what you mean." Laurel sighed. "I remember last Christmas, Tommy and I came here for your party. It was one of the best holidays I'd had in a really long time." She told him.
"Anyway, I should probably go talk to Thea." Nathan watched her go and thought as he snuck into his secret underneath the mansion. 'Once I'm done dealing with this Mirakuru bastard, I'm gonna do what I should have done and be there for you.'
A few minutes later, Laurel was talking to Thea and her friends in her room. "I checked into the blood drive, and it's all legitimate." She said. "In fact, what Sebastian's done has helped save a lot of lives."
"So if the blood drive is on the up and up, then how are we supposed to find Max's killer?" Sin wondered, dejected.
"There's one other thing." Laurel pulled out a file and handed it to Thea. "All of the blood donors at the drive were subjected to a psych evaluation by the Langford Institute."
"Is that, like, legal?" Roy asked.
"It's not entirely out of the norm." Laurel replied. "And while someone at the institute might know if Max was on drugs, there's no way of finding out without a warrant. Which we're certainly not going to get." She added regretfully. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more help." She told Thea, who nodded her thanks as she read the file.
Central City
Same time
Barry walked into the CCPD only to find Joe walking.
"Barr?" Joe asked.
"Hey, Joe." Barry said.
"Where the hell have you been!? Me and Iris have been worried sick." Joe said.
Before any more could be said, Singh opened his office. "Allen! My Office. NOW!"
Joe and Barry cringed as Joe motioned for Barry to go on in.
As he walked towards the chiefs office, he glanced at the news.
'Protests continue into the final countdown for tomorrow night's ignition of S.T.A.R. Lab's controversial particle accelerator.' The broadcaster was saying. 'S.T.A.R. Lab's founder Harrison Wells promises a new era of scientific advancement is at hand.'
"I made it back in time to see them turn it on." He noted.
Queen's Sanctuary(AN: This is what the lair under the Queen Mansion will be called)
Nathan came into his lair and walked over to the weapons case. He grabbed his bow and an arrow and stepped back into the center of the room. He bounced the ball once, and then tossed it up into the air. He let it bounce away once before nocking the arrow and firing it-
And gasped when it was caught by Slade Wilson.
"What's the matter, kid?" Slade asked with a sneer as Nathan stood there, having schooled his emotions, his face cold as stone. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Verdant Lair
Kara, Chien, Lyla, and Helena were busy braining storming ideas of how to find Nate. Daisy and Natasha were at work.
Kara sighed as she said, "I starting to wonder if he's even in the city."
"What do you mean, Kara?" Lyla asked.
"I have flown over the city and searched every inch of it 5 times today. I found him once in this apartment downtown but he gave me the slip." Kara sighed.
Helena asked the group, "Is it possible that he is holed up somewhere else?"
Lyla couldn't think of anything but Chien was thinking hard on something. "Chien, what is it?" Helena asked.
"He mentioned offhandedly, during one of our nights together, that he was building two more bases, incase this one was ever compromised." Chien said. "I didn't think much of it, because he said they weren't finished."
"But then, where is he holed up, if not in the city?" Kara asked and they all considered it.
After a few minutes, Helena realized where he was hiding. "Oh, that genius."
"What?" Kara asked.
"His families mansion." Helena said in mild astonishment. "The one place nobody would ever look is his family's mansion. He must have built a base there, underneath his mansion. I'm sure of it."
"I'll go check there," Kara said as she made to leave but not before she pulled out a key. "In the apartment I caught him in, I found this. It might belong to the guy almost killed him."
"I'll look into it." Skye said a Kara left.
"We aren't going with her?" Lyla asked.
"Should we?" Helena asked, "If words fail she's the only one who can knock some sense into him."
"How much has he told you two, about his time away from Starling?" Chien asked the other 2 women.
"Not that much. Only the basic's." Lyla admitted.
"Well, don't hold it against him." Chien asked them, "He has a right to not feel comfortable about talking about his past that much. Especially that second year. It was the year he was injected with Mirakuru, and he told me once that it was the worst year of his life."
Queen's Sanctuary
"This is a nice place." Slade was saying as he waved the arrow around. "It's a bit more comfortable than the fuselage on the island."
"You're not real." Nathan said bluntly.
"Neither are you." Slade said, walking up to the display case and staring at the hood. "You told everyone when you started this crusade that it was about making up for your father's sins. That was a lie." He snapped the arrow and dropped it to the ground. "This charade is to atone for your sins." He accused.
"You died. Either from the wounds I gave you, or you drowned when the Amazo sank." Nathan said plaintively.
"You are not a hero." Slade shot back. "Or a friend. Or a brother. You are nothing." Nathan turned away from Slade. "Do not turn your back on me, not again." He thundered.
"You turned your back on me first." Nathan said.
"Wherever I am, It's time you joined me." Slade rushed Nathan.
Nathan, not wanting to deal with this, gripped his throat. Slade's apparition struggled against his grasp, but he couldn't break free. "Go back to Hell! Where you belong, traitor!" Nathan roared as he decapitated Slade's Apparation with a single strike.
Nathan leaned back on a table, taking a deep breath. For several moments, nothing happened, then he heard it. "You're lying to yourself, Nathan."
He turned to see Shado's apparition again. The Mirakuru, trying to egg him on again.
"You know that he's alive. You've always known. But still, you do nothing." The apparition egged.
Nathan gripped his head as he tried to ignore her.
"You know what he did to me. To you. You know what he cost us. Yet here you stand. Doing nothing. Getting weak. Pathetic." She egged.
"Shut up. Leave me alone." Nathan growled.
"Not until you give me what you promised. Give me what you promised," The apparition demanded.
Nathan slammed his fist into the table and turned around with full kyuubi features, roaring "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
The apparition seemed to vanish for a moment, then reappeared behind him. "Not until Slade and the rest of the Mirakuru are gone from this world." Shado said at the apparition sauntered over to him.
Nathen turned to her, something a dark and unhinged look in his eye, and said, "He is dead. He died on the Amazo. And that little shit that nearly killed me will die soon."
"Say he's dead all you want. Nonsense repeated a thousand times does not make it truth." The apparition said as she walking around him, trailing a finger across his muscles. "Listen love, you're the only one who can avenge me. You're the only one who can make them suffer."
She stopped in front of him. "Do you know why?"
Nathan was at his wits end as the Mirakuru tightened it's grip on his mind, and in this moment, his mind was no longer his own. "I keep my promises."
The Mirakuru induced hallucination of Shado kissed him deeply on the lips. "I miss you, Shado." He muttered as the hallucinated kiss ended.
The hallucination vanished and Nathan breathed deeply as he looked at his mask that he held up.
"Nathan?" Kara's voice came as the door to his hideout was rended in half by her strength.
Kara walked into the lair and saw Nathan. "Hey, sorry about the door but I'm not in a great mood. I've been searching for you all day. Come on, the others ae waiting for you."
Nathan did not make any motion to move or respond.
Concerned, Kara walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Nate, are you okay?"
Without warning, he threw her over his shoulder and she flew into the nearby wall.
"Nate?" She asked. He didn't seem to be in the right state of mind.
"COME ON!" He roared as she saw his kyuubified features. One thing stood out though. His eyes. Normally, it would be a red iris with a black slit pupil. Now though, his sclera and iris were blood red, and the pupil was still black and slit. A sign that he was not in control anymore.
He leapt at Kara, with a downward punch. She rolled away and to her feet as he turned around.
"Nathan, stop!" She pleaded with him, words falling on deaf ears.
He roared as he rushed her swiping his claws at her. She used what knowledge she had of fighting to dodge several strikes. She placed her hands on his chest and user her superstength to push him away.
"I don't want to fight you!" She yelled at him.
He didn't let up though, as he came at her again.
After dodging and being hit with 10 blows, Supergirl had enough. She caught his fist and applied pressure, enough to break every bone in his hand. "I'm sorry," She said as she punched him 4 times in the face so hard that he was knocked unconscious.
Kara sighed as she picked him up and placed him on a table.
She searched his pockets until she found his phone and called Helena.
Helena picked up on her end. "Babe?"
"Sorry," Kara said, "it's Kara."
"What is it?" Helena asked, worried for both of them.
"I found him," Kara said as she looked at Nathan's unconscious form. "But I would not come around for awhile. He's….not doing very well. Until I'm sure he's okay mentally, I'd keep my distance."
Several hours later
Nathan groaned as he awoke. He felt something in his mouth loose. He tried to open his jaw but pain erupted in his mouth. He worked quickly to reset his jaw back into place.
"sorry about the jaw," Kara said, making herself known, "But you weren't listening when I asked you to stop."
She walked over to him. "Are you okay?"
Nathan rubbed his face with both hands. "Damn it."
"What? What is it?" Kara asked.
"This…This wasn't supposed to happen." Nathan breathed. "I thought I beat it. I thought it was gone for good."
"What? What did you beat?" Kara asked as she sat next to him.
"The Mirakuru," Nathan whispered. Unknown to him, the other girls were listening in on their conversation, as Kara thought they deserved to know. "It has a side effect. It may grant me impressive super human abilities, but for those who survive, they are constantly subjected to hallucinations that egg them on towards violence. Mine takes the appearance of the first woman I ever loved, a woman I also met on the island. Shado Gulong." The girls in the Verdant could hear his voice become pained.
"I'm only alive because of her. On the island, I took 20 bullets for her, using my body as a shield. I would have died had it not been for her injecting the stuff into me. Yet, moments after coming back from the brink of death, she was shot, and I held her in my arms as she died, and their was nothing I could do." HE said as a tear trailed down his cheek.
"I don't like talking about my past." He admitted a moment of silence. "Not just because its filled with traumatic event after event, to where I've dealt with more trauma than many war veterans. It's also a trigger for the Mirakuru. Especially the 2nd year."
"After that 2nd year, the voices in my head would bother me constantly. It took a whole year of meditation to force those voices into the back of my head and keep them there. After that, the hallucination would only appear, when something reminded me of Shado or Slade, the one who betrayed me."
He turned to Kara, "I never thought that the Mirakuru would reappear, nor did I think it would cause my hallucinations to come back, full force." Nathan then thought horror, "God, tell me the girls are okay."
"They're okay, but your team is definitely shaken. They've never seen you act this way." Kara said. Then she asked, "Why did you push them away?"
"They're not ready for this. Not Mirakuru." He said. "When Slade and I were first injected, we could run 100 miles an hour, we could punch holes in a person's body, snap an AK-47 in half with our bare hands, and bullets didn't even cause us to flinch. They can't handle that. I-I was just trying to keep them all safe."
"But I didn't mean to react so violently and lash out against them." He cried as Kara hugged him as he cried into her shoulder. "I-I don't want them to fear me."
"They won't be afraid of you." She whispered compassionately, "I'm sure they will see, as I do, that you're just going through a rough time, made worse by the super drug inside you. They'll that you only had the best of intentions in mind. They love you. They won't turn their backs. Just as I won't."
Lyla cut the feed. She sighed as she turned to the others. "I should have realized it was PTSD."
"Don't blame yourself Lyla." Chien said. "Nate's pretty much the only expert on the Mirakuru. If he couldn't predict such an episode, I don't think any of us could have."
"He never had an episode? Not once since you've known him?" Daisy asked.
"Not once. He must have had it under control by the time he joined the Triad." Chien said.
"The first time I met his was during his 3rd year. No similar incident was ever reported. That incident with general Shrieve was probably all him." Lyla said.
"There may have been one time before I joined him in his crusade, when we were tied up by Salvati. But he was just muttering to himself. He didn't explode like he did earlier." Helena said, her heart aching to comfort her beloved and swearing to do so once she saw him again.
"Guys, we got something here." Daisy called out. The 4 other women headed over to her. "I scanned the key Kara at that apartment. It belongs to one Sebastian Stan and I traced its serial code back to the manufacturer."
"This particular key fits a locked gate somewhere on Crescent Circle in the Glades." Natasha stated.
"Someone needs to let Nate know." Daisy said.
"I'll do it," Helena said as she called him.
Nathan pulled away from Kara as his phone went off. "Helena?" He asked.
"Babe, we found Stan, the guy who nearly killed you." Helena said.
"Baby, I am so sorry, I-"
"Nate, I promise we will talk about this. But right now, someone is out there trying to make more of you. And they need to be stopped." She said.
"You know the Mirakuru best, Nathan. Whatever you think is the right call, we trust you." Lyla said into the phone.
Nathan sighed as he looked at Kara, who nodded, and he said, "Send me the location. Helena, I want you, Lyla, and Natasha nearby and on standby until I call you." Nathan said as he hung up.
He looked at Kara and said, "I want you with me, Kara. Back me up."
"Our first team up." Kara gasped.
"You stopped me before I went on Mirakuru rampage. There's no telling what I would have done had you not stopped me." He said.
"Let's go kick their ass." He said as he grabbed his bow.
Langford Institute
Roy smashed the window on the door and unlocked the door. He hobbled in on his bad leg, and then went to the file cabinets.
He ripped open a drawer and rapidly flipped through the files until he finally found a folder with Max's picture on it. He flipped through the file, looking for any kind of evidence. Closing the file, he looked at Max's picture. He lifted it to see if anything was on the back- and there was, a large black stamp that read 'Mirakuru'. A noise sent Roy scurrying of cover behind a desk, and from another office, the Doctor from the warehouse appeared. He looked around, but seeing nothing, he returned to the office and carried on with his task- pouring gasoline all over the floor in preparation of torching the place.
Roy jumped up and ran into the office, shoving the doctor into a wall hard and taking out through the back door. He ran down the hall- but at an intersection was clotheslined by Barnes. Roy landed hard, and passed out as Stan loomed over him wearing the black featureless mask.
When he awoke, he was strapped to a chair in the warehouse lab. Behind him stood Barnes, sans mask; to the left stood Doctor Langford, who opened the centrifuge to reveal a dozen glass vials filled with the Mirakuru concoction. Langford took out a vial and slipped it into an empty hypo.
"It's ready." Langford said as he handed it to the third person in the room, Brother Blood.
"Is this where you killed Max Stanton, hmm?" Roy asked as the masked man approached. He eyed the needle fearfully. "What are you doing? If you stick that in me, I'll kill you." He threatened.
Blood grabbed Roy by the throat and forced his head to the side. "No, Brother Roy. You'll kill for me." He said ominously as he stuck the needle in and injected the Mirakuru. Roy screamed in pain as the drug started to take effect…
Suddenly there was an explosion. A large hunk of the ceiling fell into the room, and from the hole dropped Prometheus. Langford clumsily drew a gun to shoot the vigilante, but an arrow to the chest killed him. Nathan drew another arrow and held it on Blood.
"Brother Stan told me he killed you." Blood said.
"Guess he's not as strong as you'd hoped." Prometheus growled. "Where'd you get the Mirakuru? Who gave you the formula?! This stuff is too dangerous for a fool like you!" Nathan demanded.
"It was a gift." Blood said, holding the syringe almost lovingly as Roy screamed in pain. "A gift I would use to save this city from itself."
"Then you die," He growled as he fired his arrow, intent on killing Blood, only for Stan to step in the way, taking the arrow.
Stan rushed Nathan. Prometheus hit Stan in the face, staggering him. Nathan grabbed the line he had rappelled down on and swung around it, wrapping it around Stan's head as he choked him with it.
Roy continued to writhe in pain as the bloody teas started to fall, and leaned down close, watching the process eagerly. He felt for a pulse when Roy went still.
"Another failure." Blood said, disappointed, as Roy had no pulse.
Nathan looked at to the ground, seemingly defeated. How would he explain this to Thea?
"Don't give up, little bro."
Nathan looked up to see Oliver standing before him. "Oliver?"
Oliver stood beside his little brother. "You're not going to fail here." He told Nathan.
"Oliver, I'm sorry." Nathan said his voice filled with shame. "I wasn't a good brother to you after Grandpa died. I hated how Laurel always took you back, despite the fact that you didn't deserve it. I told you were a waste and better off dead. I told you that I basically wanted you dead."
"You know deep down that you didn't mean what you said, Nate." Oliver said forcefully. "You were angry at me for how callously I treated Laurel. As you had a right to be. But you didn't let my death stop you, you did what you have always done in the face of adversity. You persevered." He looked down at Nathan determinedly. "I know people call you a murderer, a monster, but you are not. You are a true hero, no matter what anyone says. You beat the island. You beat Slade, Shrieve, and Kovar. You avenged me and Dad. So fight, Nathan." He ordered. "Finish this."
"Get out of there and kill him!" Blood ordered.
"Supergirl! Destroy the device!" Prometheus shouted. She sped through the roof, breaking through it. She used her heat vision on the centrifuge, melting it slowing. Nathan finished Stan by pulling the cord so hard he decapitated the man. He spun and knocked an explosive arrow. He fired and that, combined with the heat vision from Kara, blew the device to smithereens, destroying the serum.
Blood, enraged but helpless, took off, leaving Nathan and Kara alone.
Kara made to go after him, but Nathan shouted to her, "Let him go! He's just a pawn."
Nathan dropped down besides Roy, whose chair had tipped over and quickly cut his bindings free. He pulled him away from the chair and started chest compressions. "Come on, Roy." He muttered. "Hey. I am not leaving anyone else to die!" he yelled. "You're strong, kid. Come on! Come on!" he said in time with the compressions. "Come on, Roy! Fight." He grasped his head in both hand and shook him. "Come on, fight!" he shouted.
Suddenly Roy began gasping, then coughing. Nathan sat back, relieved.
Queen Manor
30 minutes later
Roy began stirring as a familiar voice penetrated the fog on his mind.
"Roy?!" his eyes opened, and the first thing he noticed was that he was in a comfortable bed. A quick glance around showed it to be Thea's room, and the girl herself called out his name as she and Sin rushed into the room.
"Hey, Roy!" Sin said in relief.
"Where have you been?" Thea demanded in a panicked tone. "I've been looking all over for you!"
"I was…" his mind flashed back to the man in the mask giving him the injection. "I was running down another lead." He told her. "It didn't pan out."
"I thought you were chasing after the Vigilante again." She said, almost in tears. "I got so scared. I thought something happened to you."
"Hey," he grasped her hand. "Hey, don't worry. I'm alive."
Verdant Lair
Same Time
Nathan clambered down the steps into his Lair, where Helena, Chien, Lyla, Natasha, and Daisy waited for him, while Kara stood off to the side.
He stopped in front of the group and took off his mask. "I don't know how to even begin…All I can say is that I am so sorry to all of you. And ask for your forgiveness."
"Oh baby," Helena said as she gripped him in a hug, "Of course we forgive you. We'll always forgive you."
"We understand that you were afraid and just trying to keep us safe." Lyla said as she joined the hug next.
"But next time, please don't push us away. We love you too much to lose you." Chien said as she joined in the now 4 way hug.
Nathan pulled away from the hug and addressed Skye and Natasha. "Daisy, Natasha," he said as he walked closer, "I can only say that I'm sorry. This was never supposed to happen. It is not normal for me."
"I understand, AC. You have a very traumatic past, more traumatic than most. I understand a little better what you must have went through. It's okay." Skye said.
"You have a lot of red in your ledger. I get it better than most." Natasha said before she gained a playful smirk. "That said, remember that we are not damsels in distress. I understand the appeal of being the knight in shining armor, but us girls can handle ourselves."
"I will," Nathan said.
"Kara, thank you so much." Nathan said as he walked over to her and hugged her.
"Don't mention it. You ever need help again, please call me." She told him.
"I will, Karebear," Nathan whispered with a serene smile as he pulled apart. "That said, you should probably get back to Cat."
"Oh, yeah. I probably should," Kara cringed as she had honestly been ignoring her boss the last couple days, and having Winn cover for her at the office. She left in a hurry after saying by with the others.
"Roy was injected with the serum." Nathan revealed.
"Oh, my God, is he ok?" Daisy asked.
Nathan sighed. "He's alive." He said. "But we are going to have to keep an eye on him."
"And Sebastian Stan?" Lyla asked.
"Died on Saturday, buried on Sunday." Nathan said. "But he was working for someone. I saw him; he wore a mask with the image of…of a skull with trunks." He looked to his friends. "He's trying to mass produce the serum to build an army."
"For what?" Lyla asked.
"You're a soldier. What's the primary purpose of an army?" Nathan asked.
"War."
"Something else. I need you to start looking up any sightings of a mercenary with a half black, half orange mask." Nathan said.
"What for?" Helena asked.
"There is something I did not want to admit. But it is the ONLY possible explanation. I think Slade Wilson might still be alive." Nathan said, making Lyla, Chien, and Helena looked alarmed.
"That shouldn't be possible." Lyla said.
"I thought so too. And while I don't want to believe anything my stupid hallucinations say…The thing is, none of Slade's test subjects survived, and the only batch of Mirakuru that existed was on that sub. That Japanese sub was never discovered until my 2nd year on the island. Only Slade and I survived injection, and I personally burned all the samples that he didn't inject into his crew. Him being the source is the ONLY possible explanation."
"Which is why, I'm taking a small vacation." Nathan announced. The girls looked alarmed.
"Please don't leave," Helena pleaded.
"Listen, I know that this is sudden. But I am too stressed out from the Mirakuru stuff. I need to take a little break from all this. I'll leave a clone here to cover for a few days." Nathan said. The girls slowly warmed up to the idea.
"Then, let's head back to the loft. If you're going to be gone for a few days, we should make the most of it." Chien said with lust shining in her eyes.
Unknown Office
Downtown
A man sat in a well-appointed office, watching a news broadcast of Sebastian Blood's announcement to run for mayor.
'I want to serve the people of Starling, not the men and women who think they own it.' Sebastian was saying in the previously taped conference. 'Together, we can help rebuild our city into a place where there are no elites and no oppressed. Where we are all brothers and sisters.' The man turned off the TV as Blood himself walked into the office.
"So your campaign begins." He said.
"The city needs a leader." Blood said. "And putting the copycat hoods up to assassinating the mayor was just the first step. Even though Queen's hurt my chances by showing me up several, I'm sure it won't hurt me too much."
He took a few steps closer to the desk. "Prometheus..." he began. "He and his friend destroyed the centrifuge and the serum along with it."
"I will arrange for you to receive another sample of my blood, and then you can begin to mass produce the serum again." The man said. "The next time I tell you not to confront Prometheus, you will listen. Do not forget; your mask can always be worn by another." He warned.
"You know who he is under that mask, don't you?" Blood asked.
"I know exactly who he is." Slade Wilson said. "He is my friend."
"That's why you don't want him dead." Blood said in realization.
"Death would be a release from this life, and his sentence is yet to be carried out." Slade said. "I am going to tear everything he cares about away from him."
Mckenna walked into her apartment. Kara flew back to National City.
"Destroy those who choose to follow him."
Roy sat up in Thea's bed and threw off the blanket. He stared at his leg disbelievingly, as it has fully healed.
In the Lair, Daisy stared at her screen. Natasha was seen in her hideout, staring up at the ceiling, thinking about her past.
"Corrupt those he loves."
In Nates penthouse, Helena was being taken from behind by Nathan while Lyla ran her hands all over Nathan's body and Chien was eaten out by Helena. Talia, where she was at, was seen meditating.
"And once he has lost everyone and everything he values- I will drive an arrow through his eye." Slade finished.
Five years ago
Nathan had forced the gun up and Ivo was actually shocked that he had escaped from his bonds. Nathan reached up to his arm holding the gun, reached under his sleeve, and pulled out a knife. One of the things he had learned was always be armed. The men Ivo had were truly incompetent as they hadn't even checked for weapons. He stabbed Ivo in the gut, twisted the gun out of his hands, and fired a round into Ivo's shoulder.
Nathan then shot one of Ivo's guard dead and Shado cut through her bonds and threw the knife into the head of another guard.
Ivo was writhing in pain as he tried to stop the bleeding. In his anger, he shouted to his men, "KILL HIM! KILL HER! KILL THEM BOTH!"
One with an AK-47 pointed at Shado. Nathan hurried over to her and used his body as a shield to protect his beloved Shado. A spray of 20 bullets shot at them, all but two hitting Nathan at various spots in his back.
Shado, Sara, Ivo and his men stared in shock at Nathan stood there, hunched over, bullet holes all over his back. "Heh," He breathed, "I made it time." His arms feel to his side as his breathing slowed as he fell to the ground on his side, next to Shado.
"No, No, No! Stay with me!" Shado pleaded, holding her beloved in her arms, pleading with him to stay with her.
It was at that moment that Slade arrived at the small clearing and grabbed the first man he saw, throwing him back against a tree where he nearly folded in half. He attacked the other two men, killing them with his bare hands as Ivo fled into the forest. He stared down at the AK-47 he had taken off of one of the soldiers, then snapped it in half like it was a twig. The new captain clubbed him on the back with the butt of his rifle, but all that did was piss Slade off even more. Slade punched the man through the chest, then withdrew his hand and let the man drop to the ground, dead. Nathan, Shado, and Sara looked on in surprised horror as Slade stared at his blood fist.
Slade looked to Shado and Nate and felt like another missile exploded in his face. "No…" he rushed over to his brother and kneeled next to him, there was so much blood. "No kid, stay with me!" he placed his hands firmly against the wounds, hoping to God Almighty that Nathan could survive. "Stay with us!" He yelled at Nathan, who looked like he was sleeping, save for the blood dribbling down his chin.
"Nate!" Sara cried out as she saw his crumbled body being cradled by Shado. He looked so small and vulnerable, his breath ragged and pained, but with each passing second his breathing got shorter and shorter.
"Slade," Slade looked to Nathan, whose eyes were foggy and he smiled weakly. "Thank you, for being the brother I always wanted. Please. Live, and make it back to your family."
"Sara," HE breathed, "I'm sorry…that I could not protect you from my brother. And that I never…reciprocated your feelings for me. You…owe it to your family to make it back to them. Make up with you sister. She needs you."
"Shado," She gave him her undivided attention.
"I'm here," Shado whispered to him.
"I'm sorry. I wanted to go to Xingjian with you. Have you meet my family. Meet your sister. But it doesn't look we're gonna get to go."
"No. No, don't say that. We're gonna make it. You are going to make it." Shado pleaded.
"Be realistic," He smiled with blood trailing down both lips. "One of those…bullets hit my liver. Pretty sure…a couple more are inside my lungs." HE coughed blood and breathed deeply.
"I love you, Shado. Always and Forever." Nathan breathed as his life faded further, he could no longer keep his eyes open.
"No! Don't close your eyes, Kid!" Slade pleaded with him.
"Nate," Sara sobbed, having lost her oldest friend and secret love.
Shado held him close, crying as he slowly died. That was when she remembered. She felt her pocket and pulled the syringe from her pocket.
"What is that?" Slade asked.
Sara's eyes widened, "Is that-"
"Slade," Shado muttered, "Hold him."
Slade did so as he held his brother in arms. Shado ripped open his shirt.
"Wait, don't inject him with Mirakuru! You've seen what happens to those injected with that. You'd just be making him suffer more pain. That's a fate worse than death." Sara pleaded. The stories of those few that did survive that she heard from Ivo coming to mind. If he didn't, she would just be subjecting him to more torture.
"If I don't do something, he dies, and this is the only thing that can save him! I love him! I will not lose him!" Shado shouted. She uncorked the syringe, and plunged it into his heart, hoping a direct injection would work better.
For moment, nothing happened. Then Nathan began twitching and spasming. A moment later, he roared in pain. He trashed around for several moments in Slade's grip, shouting at the top of lungs as bloody tears trailed down his cheek. A minute later, he went still.
"Slade, is he?" Shado asked.
"He's alive. He's just sleeping." Slade said, feeling Nathan breath in his grasp.
They heard soft thuds and they all saw the bullets forcing themselves out of his back and his wounds heal at an unnatural speed.
A moment later, Nathan awoke with a gasp. He looked around and saw the three.
"Slade? Sara? Shado?" He asked and they all nodded.
"I'm alive." He breathed as he pulled Shado close to him and kissed her. "I'm alive, Shado."
"Thank God," Shado whispered as they held each other close.
When, all of a sudden, three gunshots rang out and Shado arched her back and gasped as they pierced her lungs and heart.
"Shado!? No, Shado!" Nathan Shouted as she fell into his arms.
Slade looked around and furiously saw one of them hiding in the trees. One of them had stayed behind on Ivo's orders to make sure Shado died.
Slade rushed at the man and grasped his neck, before snapping his neck with one hand and throwing his head against a tree making his head explode.
"Shado, stay awake. Please don't leave me," Nathan tearfully pleaded with her.
"It's only right, isn't it? You saved my life, I save yours." She smiled at him. She reached up to caress his cheek. "I love you, Nathaniel Queen. Always, Forever." With her final piece said she breathed her last.
He held her close to him as he sobbed. His tears fell from his eyes. Slade shed a tear as well, weeping for the loss of his surrogate daughter. Sara was sad for Nathan. She could see from the limited interactions that he had loved this girl.
Nathan slowly pulled his head up, his eyes swimming with anguish and wrath. His changed to blood red and slit pupils, thick whisker marks appeared on his face, and fingers became claws.
He threw his head back and roared, his powerful vocal cords producing a sound that Ivo could here on his ship deck.
His beloved had been taken from him, and they would all pay for it.
Present-
Central City
5 minutes before the Accelerator went off
Nathan, Skye, and Natasha walked into a hotel in Central City. He had decided the two girls with him to bond with them more while his clones kept his girlfriends entertained.
"I'm sorry we didn't get here sooner, Boss. I know you wanted to see your friend, that Allen kid." Natasha apologized.
"Let's turn on the news. We can at least see the accelerator go off." Nathan said as they settled in. He did so.
'I'm Linda Park and we're live outside S.T.A.R. Labs despite the inclement weather, which is only going to get worse.' She was saying. 'The torrential downpour has driven away almost all the protesters though S.T.A.R. Labs CEO Harrison Wells has assured us that the storm tonight will in no way affect the particle accelerator, which is up and running smoothly.'
'Wait, we are now being told to evacuate the facility.' The reporter was saying, drawing Nate's attention back to the news. 'The storm may have caused a malfunction to the primary cooling system. Officials are now trying to shut down the particle accelerator, but so far have been unable to regain control of the system—" Suddenly, the power went out. Nate looked up over the top of the monitor to the city outside, and though he couldn't see S.T.A.R. Labs, he most definitely could see the explosion as the particle accelerator blew- a massive yellow burst, flowed by a shockwave that passed through the city in a flash.
"That's not good." Natasha said.
The wave of dark matter then passed through them.
Nathan was covered by a red aura as he fell to his knees and gripped his head in pain, shouting as his mind was bombarded by memories that were not his own. Memories of a life he didn't remember live.
"And my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage! Then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody. Somebody important!"
"Don't underestimate me! I don't quit and I don't run! You can act tough all you want! You're not gonna scare me off! No way! I don't care if I do get stuck as a genin for the rest of my life! I'll still be Hokage someday"
"I'm not gonna run away, I never go back on my word! That's my nindō: my ninja way!"
"It's almost unbearable, isn't it… the pain of being all alone. I know that feeling; I've been there, in that dark and lonely place, but now there are others, other people who mean a lot to me. I care more about them than I do myself, and I won't let anyone hurt them. That's why I'll never give up. I will stop you, even if I have to kill you! They saved me from myself. They rescued me from my loneliness. They were the first to accept me as who I am. They're my friends."
"Just give up… on trying to make me give up!"
"Then I will break that curse. If there's such thing as peace, I will find it. I won't give up!"If you attack Konoha, I will have to fight you… So save up your hatred and take it all on me, I'm the only one who can take it! It's the only thing I can do! I will shoulder your hatred and die with you! Because I'm your friend!"
"You're not the monster fox anymore. You're one of my teammates from Konoha… Kurama."
"Quit it with your stupid reasoning! I meant to say that I'll stand any pain for my friends! I'm not gonna give up on them! It might just be me being selfish, but… not having my friends here… is the most painful thing for me! Period!"
"Hinata… This big idiot finally understands… The real meaning of the scarf you gave to me when you went with Toneri… I know now, from the scarf you painstakingly knitted and took so long to finish, that your love can't be unravelled so easily… Wait for me… This whole time, you always loved me for the way I am… Now, as a man, there's something I must tell you… Hinata, I swear I will save you!"
Meanwhile, Natasha was one the floor, writhing in pain, and Skye was hunched over.
Nathan's pain finally stopped and he looked to the others. "Natasha, Skye," He said as he reached out to aid help them.
All of sudden, Skye threw her head back and screamed, a vibrational wave erupting from her body, causing them all to fly out the window.
"Grab on!" Nate shouted as he grabbed both of them in each arm. Before quickly trying to figure out how to land. He didn't need to though, as a blue stormy portal opened up beneath him and swallowed all three of them up.