Five years ago
Sara and Slade stood silently as Nathan finished placing the final stone on the rock cairn that contained Shado's body.
"You always told me that I wouldn't die here." Nathan said, as if he were talking to Shado, looking down at the fresh grave as tears flowed freely from his eyes. Next to it were the graves for Robert Queen and Yao Fei, each with a log laid on top with the name carved into it."But looking back, I realized that you never once said that about yourself. I just hope your with your father now. My love."
Slade stood wearily. He started to walk past Nathan, but then paused. "Here, kid." He said after a long moment, holding the Shado's hood out towards Nathan.
Nathan looked down at the hood. "I don't deserve have that." He told Slade.
"She would have wanted it. You're the one she loved." Slade said mournfully. Nathan finally tuned to look at him, then after a moment took the hood. The older man walked off into the woods.
"Slade…" Nathan said, turning towards the other man and moving to go after him.
Sara grabbed his arm, stopping him.
Nathan jerked it free. "Get off me." He growled.
"He has the Mirakuru in his system now." Sara reminded him.
"So do I. What does that have to do with anything?" Nathan demanded.
"Look, the Japanese, they experimented on hundreds of men working to develop Mirakuru. And I read the research. The people who died? They were the lucky ones. The ones who survived, they were deformed. Either their bones or their minds." Sara explained worriedly as Nathan looked back at her, suddenly unsure. "They became someone else."
"So, why aren't you concerned with me?" Nathan asked, eyeing her critically.
"Because the version you were injected with was different. It was the prize Ivo was truly wanted." Sara explained. "Look, in Ivo's research, there was a mention of Red Mirakuru. The scientist's in charge of the project had apparently perfected an upgraded version of the drug that gave the one injected with it increased control over their enhanced abilities and came with almost no mental side-effects aside from some hallucinations. The scientist in charge of the development of the advanced version of the drug was on that boat but he managed to make a single dose of the Red Mirakuru before he died. That's what you were injected with, and since you still seem to be stable enough, that's why I feel I can trust you."
Later
Slade, Nathan and Sara made their way through the forest, towards and uncertain location. Nathan caught up to Slade and looked at him worriedly.
"Hey." He said, looking at his silent friend. "You ok?" Slade remained silent. "Slade, where you going?" he asked.
Slade finally stopped and turned back to Nathan. "To the plane, to get geared up." He said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"For what?" Nathan asked.
"Ivo is still out there." Slade said. "I'm going to find him, and when I do, I'm going to cut pieces off him."
"You can't." Sara said, finally catching up. She was carrying the crate of Mirakuru. "Ivo has a ship full of men, of killers. And I don't care what you two did before, you can't take them all out." She reminded him. "Your only play here is to find safe ground and wait him out."
"Well, of course you would say that." Slade seethed, stalking towards the woman. "You were working for him. You're probably still working for him!" Sara backed up, terrified.
"Hey, hey!" Nathan yelled, placing a hand on his chest and trying to hold him in place. "Back off." He told him.
"Get out of my way, kid." Slade growled.
"Look, calm do-"
"I said," Slade slapped his hand away and grabbed him by the throat. He lifted him in the air with one hand easily. "Get out of my way." Nathan gasped for air.
Slade choked him for a few moments but that's when they saw the change in Nathan. His eyes changed to blood red color with slit pupils. He gripped Slade's wrist and removed from his neck while applying pressure, the sound of Slade's wrist breaking filled the air. Nathan's feet hit the ground and the second they did, he kicked Slade back.
"You wanna fight now!? We just buried Shado! Doing this is an insult to her memory!" Nathan shouted at Slade, which seemed to snap him out of his red haze of anger. He visibly relaxed, as did Naruto, whose eyes went back to normal while Sara held the tree branch she had picked up defensively. Slade looked around, finally coming out of his daze.
"I'm sorry." He said, looking around frantically. He staggered back into a tree, and slid down it until he was sitting on the ground. He stared at his hand- the same hand that had punched through a pirate's chest, the same hand that could have killed his friend.
Sara relaxed somewhat. "You're not well, Slade." She told him gently.
"Hey man," Nathan said, getting his attention. "It's just the Mirakuru. It's messing with your head."
'He's not the only one it's messing with.'Nathan thought as he looked deeper into the forest and saw a hallucination of Shado.
Sara looked around. "It's going to be dark soon." She said. "We should make camp." Nathan nodded absently, still staring uncertainly at Slade.
That Night
Sara and Nathan were laying on the cold ground, trying to get some sleep when suddenly their radio crackled to life.
'Sara. Sara, I know you're listening.' Their heads shot up at the sound of Anthony Ivo's voice. 'Answer me.'
Nathan grabbed the radio. Sara reached out for it, but Nathan silently shook his head.
'This is very simple, Sara.' Ivo continued. 'I know you and your new friends have the Mirakuru. You know I will lay waste to this entire island to get it.'
"Get Slade." Nathan told Sara, who jumped up at once to go grab their sentry.
'But it doesn't have to be that way. All I want is the serum. In exchange, I'll promise you and your friends safe passage off this island, I promise. Within 10 days, you and your new friends could be making port in Shanghai. The alternative is I send my men into the jungle to take the serum from you. They'll be under orders not to kill any of you. Instead, you'll remain alive enough for me to indulge my scientific curiosity. Think about it, Sara.' The radio clicked off, and Nathan tossed it to the ground. He dropped his head into his hands and contemplated what the doctor had said.
"He's gone." Nathan looked up at Sara as she ran back to the camp.
"What?" he said in surprise.
"Slade's gone and he took the Mirakuru with him." She said worriedly as Nathan looked back, a sense of dread emerging through his gut at what Slade was gonna do.
Flashback end
St. Walker's Hospital
A man walking through the rain up the stairs to St. Walker's Hospital. He walked into the hospital and was greeted by one of the nurses.
"Welcome to St. Walker's, alderman." She said, and then added conspiratorially, "Or should I call you Mayor?"
Sebastian Blood smiled at the nurse as they walked. "Thank you for letting me come by so late."
"Well, I can imagine how busy your schedule is." She said. "It's really great of you taking the time to come and visit your aunt." She paused outside Maya's room. "Her health has taken a bad turn."
"Of course." Blood said with a smile. "She's family."
Inside the room, Maya sat on the edge of her bed, praying with a rosary as the other two walked in. "Maya, look who came to see you." The nurse said. "It's your nephew, Sebastian."
Maya looked up from the rosary. "Don't go. Please." She pleaded.
"We'll be fine." Blood said, patting the nurse on the arm. "Thank you." She stepped out and closed the door, and then Blood approached his 'aunt'. "Still worshipping the old Gods, I see." He said mockingly.
"They're the last thing I have from your father's." Maya shot back. "They protect me."
"You were supposed to protect you." Blood said. "A friend of mine, Laurel Lance, came by to visit you a couple days ago. Do you remember her?" he asked.
"She's muy Linda." Maya said with an absent smile.
"Yes, she is." Blood agreed. "What did you both talk about?"
"Nada. Nothing." She claimed.
"You know I don't like it when you lie to me." Blood said with an edge to his voice.
"I told her the truth." Maya said after a moment's hesitation. "That you- you kill him. Your father. Mi esposo! I don't know what came over me." She said tearfully. "I am so, so sorry. I hurt you, mijo."
"Esta bien. No te preoccupes." He said quietly.
"But you are my child, my son." Maya protested. "And I hurt you."
"I forgive you, mama." He said, rising from his seat on the bed. He walked over to his mother and kissed her on the top of the head. "I forgive you for everything." He whispered. He walked out of the room leaving Maya sitting there, crying softly.
A short time later, Maya had repositioned herself by the bed and was saying her prayers while counting on her rosary. "La luz de dios me rodea, amor de dios me envuelve, El poder de dios me protege, la presencia de dios vela por mà ."
She lay back against the bed- and then suddenly the man in the skull mask was there. "Los dioses están muertos." He said. Maya screamed-
Then said no more.
1 week later
The Glades
Roy's stolen merchandise buyer Louis was standing in an old factory, his foot pinned to the floor as the dark vigilante fired arrows into him.
"Oh! Ah! Oh, please!" Louis screamed in pain and terror. "I don't know anything!" he stammered.
Prometheus shot another arrow near the man, hitting him in the knee. "The man in the skull mask." He growled. "Where is he?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Louis yelled, as he whimpered in pain.
Another arrow, this time in his shoulder. "He's been experimenting on people in the Glades. He's leaving a trail of corpses with blood running from their eyes."
"No, no, no, no, no. I deal in stolen merchandise, that is it." He protested.
Over the coms, Skye said 'Ask him what color his shoes are.'
Nathan paused in confusion. "Come again?"
Back at the Lair
Skye sat behind her computers, listening to the interrogation while Lyla say next to her. "If you want this guy to take a polygraph via Bluetooth, then we need to hear him establish a base line." Lyla explained. "Skye needs to hear him tell the truth just once."
Nathan sighed in annoyance. "What color are your shoes?" he growled as menacingly as he could given the stupidity of the question.
Louis looked at him in confusion. "What?" he looked down to check. "They're blue!"
Skye stared at the screen, and sighed in defeat. "He's not lying."
Back in the factory, Prometheus was annoyed, "Then he's useless."
Louis looked back up. "Please-" he started to plead, but Prometheus let the arrow loose that pierced Louis's brain.
Later that night, Nathan stood on the room of a building looking out over The Glades. "Slade's out there." He whispered. "Somewhere."
'I'm not sure you can do much more tonight. Come home.' Lyla said over the coms.
Five years ago
Nathan and Sara had made their way back to the plane, looking for Slade.
"Slade? Slade!" Nathan yelled, doing a quick search of the wrecked plane. He sighed in disappointment when he realized it was empty. "Thought maybe he'd come back here." He told Sara.
"He has the original Mirakuru serum in his bloodstream." She reminded him. "He's not thinking clearly." Nathan stopped and looked down. On the deck lay the skeleton of the Japanese soldier they had carried back for Shado to look over. "So what do we do now?"
"I don't know, Sara." Nathan said, annoyed. He looked around and saw the motion tracker. He picked it up and saw that it was still working. "The sensor grid is still active. So at least we're going to know if Ivo and his men come back to the island." He told her.
"So we just sit here and wait?" Sara asked.
"Well, do you have any other ideas? 'Cause right now, I'm open to suggestions." He shot back.
"We find Slade, and…" she swallowed. "Maybe we consider Ivo's offer."
Nathan glared at her. "What?"
"Look, if we get the serum back from Slade, then we can go home." Sara said, trying to reason with him. "And I can try to talk to Ivo. I can get him to listen to me."
Nathan stood and moved right into Sara's face, frightening her. "Like he listened before he tried to make me choose between you and Shado!? When he killed me and orchestrated the death of the woman I loved with all my heart!? Have you lost your fucking mind!?" he spat as his eyes turned red again.
"He's just tired, and he's frustrated." She said defensively. Nathan scoffed. "You don't understand what finding the Mirakuru serum has meant to him."
"I...Don't...CARE!" He shouted. "And I don't get how you can even consider trusting him after what he tried to do to you and what he did do to me and Shado!"
"He's not evil." She protested. "He kept me safe on that ship for over a year. And I mean, not just safe, he taught me things. And I learned a lot." She added softly.
"I learned a lot, too." Nathan said quietly, his eyes changing back to normal, staring hard at his best friend "This island taught me that I can't truly trust anyone."
Present
D.A.'s office
Laurel walked in and sat down at her desk. She reached into her purse and pulled out a pill bottle- her father's oxycodone. She stared at the bottle for a moment before popping the top off and shaking a pill out.
"Ms. Lance?" Laurel looked up in surprise, quickly moving her hands under her desk, out of view of her assistant, who was standing there. "I have a call for you on line two." She said.
"Thank you, Katherine." Laurel replied. Katherine walked off and Laurel quickly downed the pill dry.
Then she reached over and picked up her phone. "Laurel Lance." She announced as the call connected.
"This is nurse Downey from St. Walker's." a woman on the other line said. "You asked me to call if there was any changes in Maya Resik's condition. I'm sad to report she passed away."
Laurel froze in shock. "What?" she asked.
"Her heart gave out on her, poor soul." The lady said.
Several minutes later, Laurel took her theory to Adam Donner. "You think Sebastian Blood, the saint of Starling City, killed his own mother?" he said incredulously.
"He was the last person to see her alive." Laurel argued. "That isn't a coincidence."
"He's a devoted nephew visiting a sick relative. You're right, that's very, very suspicious." Donner said sarcastically.
"He didn't go there to visit her." Laurel said. "He went there to kill her; to cover up the fact that as a child, he killed his father. Maya Resik told me what happened."
"From inside a padded room, right?" Donner pointed out.
"He had her forcibly committed." Laurel shot back. "She tells me the truth and then two days later has a heart attack. You don't find that strange?"
"Well, for one thing, there's no record that Maya Resik was even Blood's mother, and according to the hospital, she was in the late stages of heart disease."
"I need you to call in a favor with Judge Carlin." Laurel begged, not willing to let this go. "Get a search warrant for Sebastian's campaign headquarters, his phone records; I-I have to start somewhere."
"Laurel, this isn't some casual request." Donner said. "I'm the ADA who took Meth on live TV. I take a shot at Sebastian Blood and miss, my career is done."
"Adam! Please." She begged.
Donner shook his head. "I'm sorry, Laurel." He said. "You're on your own." He told her, walking out of his office and leaving a disappointed Laurel alone.
Verdant
Roy was taking out the recyclables in the back alley behind the building when Nathan, in civilian clothes, walked up to him.
"Hello, Roy." He said pleasantly.
Roy looked up and scoffed. "Lurking in an ally." He said, closing the lid on the bin and heading back towards the side entrance. "That's not at all creepy."
Nathan chuckled. "I did build this club. I know all the secret entrances." He joked as they walked.
Then he turned serious. "I never got a chance to thank you for saving my mother's life while I was away." He said. Roy stopped and looked back at Nathan. "Thea told me. She said that you were very brave."
"I did what anyone would have done." Roy said awkwardly.
"Not anyone." Nathan admitted. "It takes a great deal of courage to run towards danger, not away from it."
Roy paused again and looked back. "That sounded like praise." He noted. "I thought where I was concerned, you didn't approve."
Nathan smiled. "Well, when I came home after 5 years, the guys Thea was dating only wanted her for sex. I can tell this is a serious relationship with you two, though, so I'm willing to give you a chance. Thea also said that you also got hit by some falling debris." He continued. "You doing alright?"
"Actually, it mostly missed me." He lied. "I'm fine. Look, I got to get back to work." He said hurriedly, moving quickly back into the club. Nathan watched him go, eyes narrowed in concern.
Arrow Lair
Skye had pulled up the clubs surveillance cams on her monitors to watch Roy. Lyla, Natasha, Helena and Nathan were with her.
"Has Roy mentioned anything about the man in the skull mask who injected him?" she asked.
Nathan sighed. "Roy likes to keep his feelings close to his chest. He doesn't like talking about them."
"Hey AC, I think we need a new plan on how to find this creepy mask guy." Skye noted. "Scaring the crap out of low-lifes and ganking them isn't getting what you want."
"Skye, I am open to any and all suggestions." Nathan said, frustrated.
"Nathan, maybe we're over thinking this." Lyla said. "You know Slade the best out of us. Would he really use a proxy to distract you?"
"The old Slade wouldn't. He would have preferred to deal with me in person, and not make more of him." Nathan sighed as he leaned on a table while Helena comforted him by holding his hand in hers and rubbed his arm. "But right before I "killed" him the first time, he went completely insane and tried to make more Mirakuru soldiers. I have no idea what this new Slade will do, which is we need to locate him so I can finish the job properly this time."
Suddenly Prometheus's phone rang. Skye reached down and grabbed it out of habit. She looked at the screen, and then handed it over to Nathan. "Detective Hall, for Prometheus." She said.
Nathan took the phone. "Yes, Detective?"
"Can we meet?" McKenna asked from the SCPD.
"What is it?"
McKenna looked up at Laurel disapprovingly, not sure how she figured out that McKenna had the phone to contact Prometheus, though she guessed it was because her dad told her. "Someone wants to talk to you."
Later that night
Laurel stood on a roof, watching the train go by as she waited for the vigilantes to show up. Several minutes after the appointed time had passed; she finally heard the familiar sound of the voice changer behind her.
"Hello, Laurel." Prometheus said.
"You're late." Laurel said, annoyed as she turned to face the archer and hunter duo.
"We had to circle around to make sure there wasn't a SWAT team waiting for my boyfriend. Again." Helena shot back.
"That's fair." She said. "Trust me, I wouldn't have asked my father and McKenna to put me in touch with you if I had any other choice."
"What do you need?" he asked.
"Sebastian Blood." Laurel said without further preamble. "He's about to be the new mayor of Starling City."
"We know who he is." Huntress said.
"No, you don't." she shot back. "No one does." She walked towards the vigilantes, holding out a file. "A few weeks ago, I was approached by your groupie, Roy Harper, and his girlfriend." Nathan took the file. "They asked me to investigate the death of Max Stanton."
"You think Blood was involved in Stanton's death?" he asked.
"Blood, or a man that worked for him was named Cyrus Gold." She explained. Nathan looked at the picture in the file, and sure enough it was the same man who he killed before those other Mirakuru soldiers came along. "Gold killed three innocent security guards before you killed him." Laurel continued. "Blood and Gold knew each other from the orphanage that Blood was raised at. He would do anything to keep the truth about his past hidden. Including murdering his own mother."
"Why would he do that?" Helena demanded.
"To cover up the fact that he killed his father." Laurel stated. Nathan turned back to her, stunned. "I tried going to the DA. No one will believe me. I swear to you, Sebastian Blood is dangerous. And you're the only person in this city who can stop him." She pleaded.
Next Day
QC
Nathan, Skye, Natasha and Lyla sat in the conference room while Skye collated all the information she had gathered.
"Laurel was right." Skye announced. "I hacked Blood's cell phone records. The alderman and Gold have stayed buddies since Zandia orphanage."
"Doesn't exactly mean that Sebastian Blood is the man in the skull mask." Lyla argued
"His last name is Blood." She noted.
"Skye, my boyfriends last name is Queen. You think because of that, that he should start wearing a crown and demanding people kiss his feet? Or that I should start acting like a mob boss because my last name is associated with a crime family?" Helena asked.
"You're a CEO by day, who dresses up and fights crime at night." She countered, holding her hands up in apology. "I'm just saying, not a lot of people show their real face in public."
Helena nodded, and then turned back to Nathan, whose mind only seemed to be partially on the meeting. Helena, Natasha, and Lyla all noted he was drinking bourbon. Which is odd, because he never day drinks unless there is something bothering him. "Nathan, what are you thinking?"
"Laurel gave me a case number to start with." He said, rising from his chair. "We need to know if Sebastian really killed his father, then we figure out if there's a chance he has the Mirakuru formula."
"I'm on it." Skye said. Helena, Natasha, and Lyla watched as Nathan went back to his desk as he was looking at something. A picture of a little girl with the same shade of eyes as him, his own eyes filled with pain when he looked at her.
Glades
Down by the Tracks
Roy was pacing by a low concrete wall when Sin walked up.
"Asking a cute girl to meet you down by the tracks, Harper? Good thing Thea and I are tight." She joked.
"I have to show you something." Roy said seriously.
Sin baked off, holding up her hands. "Easy there, tiger." She said with a grin.
Roy walked up to a short concrete pillar and punched it. His fist burst through the solid concrete like it was sand.
Sin's grin fell of her face immediately. She reached out and grabbed his hand, examining it. "You're not even bleeding!" she exclaimed. "When did you start juicing?"
"I'm not." He said.
"Then how do you explain what I just saw?"
Roy started walking, lightly grabbing Sin by the shoulder and pulling her along with him. "You remember that night around Christmas when I went missing?" he asked.
"Yeah, Thea and I were pissed." She replied.
"I never told you guys what really happened." He began. "You were right about your friend Max. He didn't OD, he was murdered. He was injected with something, and I was injected with the same thing, but it didn't kill me. It made me- it made me stronger."
Thea must be freaking." Sin noted.
"No, she doesn't know, I don't want her to."
Sin stopped walking. "Why not?" she demanded.
"No, I can't, not yet." Roy said. "Not until I know more about what happened to me. I don't want to scare her."
Sin looked at him incredulously. "And you're not worried about scaring me?"
Roy rolled his eyes. "Come on, I was going crazy not telling someone." He begged.
Sin sighed. "So what are you going to do?"
Roy thought for a moment. "Well, Prometheus once told me all I was good for was taking a beating." He said, a small smirk forming on his face. "Maybe it's time I started handing out a few of my own."
"I don't follow." Sin said, confused.
"Now I don't need his help to protect this city." Roy clarified. "Let's find us a bad guy."
QC
Later that night
Nathan was returning to his office from a meeting when Skye and Natasha met up with him.
"I have good news and bad news." Skye said. "I suggest the good news first; it tends to soften the blow of the bad news." Nathan just gave her a look.
"Okay, dealer's choice." Natasha said, moving back towards her desk. "Good news is we found the case file on Sebastian's dad's murder." She said, sitting down behind her computer.
"Anything in it to suggest he killed him?" Nathan asked.
Skye sighed. "And this here is the bad news."
"That file was sealed years ago." Natasha said.
"And since the file is over 27 years old, there is no digital copy for us to hack into." Skye told him. "The only hard copy is stored the old-fashioned way in the city archives."
"So we take it the old fashioned way." Nathan said simply.
"Except security in the file room is so old school, you need a key card to get in without tripping the alarn, which, even if you had, you wouldn't know where to start looking for the file." Skye pointed out.
Nathan thought about it for a moment. "An assistant DA might." He said.
Late that Night
Laurel's apartment
Laurel stood in her bedroom, staring at herself in the mirror. She absently noted her appearance- her face was thinning, her eyes looked listless, her hair was limp.
She looked dead on the inside.
She reached towards her purse, ignoring the slight tremor in her hand, and dug into it, withdrawing the pill bottle. She quickly opened the bottle and shook an Oxy out, downing it just as she heard the window in the next room opening. Startled, she quickly put the bottle back into her purse and walked out into the living room, where Prometheus and Helena stood in darkness.
"You said you needed our help." He said through the voice changer. "Now we need yours."
"What do you need?" she asked.
"You." Helena said. Without hesitation, she grabbed her coat and walked to the door, Prometheus and Huntress following behind her. They passed a picture of the Lance sisters as they left the apartment.
Five years ago-
Sara lay on the deck of the plane, wrapped in a blanket, staring at the small fire she and Nathan had built as Nathan lay in his makeshift hammock near the door.
"You know what I really miss about being home?" she asked rhetorically. "My bed."
Nathan chuckled. "I don't know if I even remember what a bed feels like anymore."
"And you probably never will." Sara said morosely. "And neither will I."
"Sara…" Nathan rose from the hammock and moved to the fire. "You can't think like that. We're going to find a way off the island."
Nathan paused to collect his thoughts. "I haven't gotten a chance to say this," he said. "I'm sorry. I should have protected you from my brother. And none of this would have happened if I had just given us a chance."
"That's not exactly true. I mean I was the one who said yes to him." Sara conceded. "And it was only half because of me wanting you to be jealous enough of Oliver to admit your feelings to me."
"And the other half?" he asked.
Sara grinned in memory. "Because I loved you."
"I know." Nathan said, "I knew for years."
"So, then, why-" Sara started to say.
"Why couldn't I choose?" Nathan asked. " I wanted Laurel but I couldn't have her. I felt something for you as well, but I feared that if I acted on it, and we didn't work out, then I would have lost you forever."
"You know it doesn't work like that. Yeah, if we didn't work out it would have taken awhile to get back to a good place, but you wouldn't have lost me." Sara said compassionately as she a hand on his.
"I know that now. But I still hate myself for thinking it all those years ago." Nathan said.
They sat in silence for a few moments. "We should get some sleep." She finally said, laying back down.
A few hours later, after the fire had been reduces to smoldering ash, Nathan lay asleep. A pair of boots walked over to him silently; a hand bent down and grabbed the radio. Sara made her way out of the plane, pausing only once to look back at Nathan.
Present-
Nathan and Helena led Laurel to the roof of the Department of Records. He quickly drew and fired an explosive arrow at the access hatch, blowing the lock.
"You ready for this?" he asked her as he lifted the lid.
"Whatever it takes." Laurel said firmly.
Prometheus nodded, and then activated Helena activated her com-link. "We're going in."
"At least the security cameras are from this century." Skye said from her seat in the Lair.
"Put it on a looped feed. This could take awhile and we don't want security calling the police." Nathan said.
A few keystrokes later, Skye said "And now they're toast." As the cameras all were put on a looped feed.
"Try not to take too long though, they might notice something is up." Natasha informed the vigilantes.
Down in the lobby, two guards sat fighting off boredom.
Inside the main hall, Laurel used her access card to swipe into the main records room.
The three entered and room and froze. Before them were rows and rows of shelves, all with hundreds of file boxes on them.
"This could take a while." She said.
"Better be quick then." He replied. They moved deeper into the room, frantically searching the boxes for the right file number.
Helena pulled Nathan aside while they looked for the file. "Hey, have you seen Laurel is looking a little sick lately?"
"Yeah, I've noticed, but what can I do?" Nathan asked, confusing Helena. Nathan was letting the anger and pain he felt at his daughter being hidden from him, the bad memories of his past, and those stupid memories of his past life affect his ability to recognize that Laurel's habits were slowly killing her.
"What?" Nathan asked when she kept staring at him.
"Is something going on again?" Helena asked in concern.
"I don't want to talk about it." Nathan said.
"Are you sure? Because last time something was going on, you went off the rails and would have died, had Lyla not called Kara." Helena pressed.
"I said I don't want to talk about it." Nathan growled.
"Fine. I won't push right now. But don't forget, I'm here for you and so are the others." Helena said, as she moved into another section of files.
20 minutes later
"Ugh! Where is it!?" she exclaimed, running back up the ladder to grab another box.
Laurel was frantically digging through another box. "Wait!" she exclaimed, double checking against her notes. "Case number SC43878! This is it!" she yanked the file free.
"Let's get out of here." Nathan said as they snuck back out of the building into an alley 2 blocks away.
The immediate danger past, Laurel ripped open the file-
Only to find it empty.
Arrow Lair
Later that night
"So, Nat and I tried going through all the security footage at the city archives to see if anyone swiped the file over the last few days." Skye was telling Nathan, Natasha, Chien, Helena, and Lyla pulling up the video files.
"Did you see anyone?" he asked.
"Just this." She said, playing a particular file. The video showed the main room empty, but after a few seconds the view started to break up before going to static. "It's all been erased."
"So what happened when you reversed the footprint to see who hacked in before you?" Nathan asked.
"We struck out again." Natasha admitted. "It must have been an inside job."
"Meaning what?" Nathan asked
"As a city alderman, Blood would have had access to the files." Helena noted.
"Nathan, anyone on city payroll could have also done this." Skye pointed out, being a bit optimistic.
"He's running for mayor." Chien said, seeing an obvious reason for this to be him. "One hint that he killed his father and his political future is DOA."
"Why are you so against this guy, AC? I mean, I'm having trouble seeing the reason for the mistrust." Skye said.
"Laurel and I both have good instincts." Nathan said. "She could always tell when something was wrong with Oliver, like when he was cheating on her, or be able to tell when he was hiding something. I knew from the moment I was face-to-face with Blood, there was something off about him. I think Laurel is on to something."
Nathan looked to Skye. "Please keep digging into Blood's past and see if there's anything that could help us." He said, turning to leave.
"Where you going?" Lyla asked.
"I need to be alone." Nathan replied solemnly as he walked out.
"He's been acting like this all week. There's something going on again, isn't there?" Chien asked once he was out of earshot.
"Yep, and I'm worried, not just for him but for Laurel. It's affecting his judgement where she is concerned. He can't even see right now how much Laurel needs him because he's so wrapped up in whatever is going on with him." Helena said.
"Well, then I'll have to pull him out that funk tonight." Chien announced.
"How are you going to get him to open up?" Skye wondered. Chien pulled out The List and looked at one of the names.
"I have a few ideas." She smiled.
Bloods campaign office
The office was empty, and Blood was laying out work for the next day before a voice drew him to his office.
"Point blank range." Slade Wilson said, sitting behind Blood's desk and reading the police file he had liberated shortly before Laurel had tried to do the same thing. "Single shot to the heart from a low angle. Obviously the handiwork of someone quite scared, and very small." He set the file down on the desk, and Blood looked down at the picture of his father that had been paper clipped to it. "How come the police didn't arrest you?" Slade asked.
"I knew how to cover my tracks." Blood replied.
"A skill you've obviously lost since you've gotten bigger." Slade noted scornfully. "You know how close you came to allowing the Prometheus and his little girlfriend to destroy everything?"
"Someone spoke out of turn." Blood said. "I've taken care of the problem."
Slade slammed his hand down on the desk as he rose. He moved quickly around the desk, buttoning his suit jacket. "Your mother was not our problem. Laurel Lance is."
"You were the one who told me to get close to her." Blood complained. "You said that it was part of the plan to hurt the Vigilante."
"It is." Slade said, stepping very close to Blood. "But you being sloppy isn't. Fix this, Mr. Blood." He grasped his tie and yanked it up, choking the politician. "You don't want me to fix it for you." He warned as he moved him out of his way.
Even before Slade was out of the office, Blood was scrambling for his phone. He quickly dialed one of his followers. "Brother Daily." He said shakily. "I need you to take care of something for me."
Nathan's loft
Nathan was sitting in front of his fireplace, just glaring at the fire. He was struggling with the knowledge of his daughter's existence and didn't know what to do. He could not stay focused on anything and his mind was a storm of emotion. He was going through an existential crisis, because his daughter's existence changed things. Suddenly, he was starting to feel guilty about the people he had killed. How many of them might have had children? And what his daughter? What if she hated him? And how the hell was he going to explain this Chien and the other when this whole thing could destroy their relationships with him?
Suddenly, Chien walked into the loft, a black duffel bag in hand. "I don't want to talk about it." He said to her.
She walked up to him and tossed the black bag into his lap along with a file. Scrunching his eyebrows he opened the file to what it was. "Richard "Dick" Roman," Chien started, " CEO of Sucrocorp. His company has been putting toxic chemicals in their food additives for years, despite the fact that there are recent studies prove those same chemicals contribute to cancer and his additives are sold all over the US."
"What are you doing?" Nathan asked.
"Look, you don't have to talk right now about what's bothering you, but you still have work to do. You haven't targeted anyone on the list since our last foursome a week ago. You told us how you gave Oliver crap for giving up on the list but now you're doing the same thing. So, let's get you back on track." As she said that, Nathan opened the bag to see his Prometheus gear inside.
Laurel's apartment
Laurel was walking down the hall, digging her keys out of her purse when she stopped at her door. Laurel opened the door to see her apartment was trashed. She walked in, stunned at the destruction all around her, when she heard a noise. "Whoever you are, I'm calling the police!" she called out shakily.
"No need to." Daily stepped into view in her living room. "Remember me?"
"Officer Daily, right?" Laurel said, stunned. She moved towards him, her arms crossed. "What's this all about? What are you doing in my apartment?" She demanded.
"I have a warrant." Daily said, holding up the paper for her to see. Two other officers came into view.
"A warrant for what?" she asked.
"We found these in your bedroom, Ms. Lance." One of the officers said, holding up a plastic evidence bag that contained Quentin Lance's oxycodone prescription.
"These aren't prescribed to you." Daily said as the third officer cuffed her. "That's a felony."
"What?!" Laurel exclaimed. "This is ridiculous!"
"You're under arrest for possession of a controlled substance." Daily said as the three officers led her out of the apartment. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
Sucrocorp
Executive Offices
Richard Roman was working on his company laptop late at night. He was working on a coming up with a new food additive that would be cheaper to produce than the one currently being used. He didn't really care that it was also twice as toxic as well.
Suddenly, he heard screams of pain for a few moments, and then blood splattered on the window to his office. Roman pulled a gun from his desk and aimed it at the window. Prometheus crashed through the window and shot Roman's gun out of his hands with an arrow. He screamed in pain when a arrow pierced through his right shoulder.
"Richard Roman," came Prometheus voice as he came up to him, bow and arrow trained on the scumbag, "You have failed this city." HE let the arrow loose and it pierced Roman through the throat, the point coming out of the back of his neck. Prometheus left for the loft, but not before Nathan made a clone to go watch over Laurel.
SCPD headquarters
Laurel sat in the darkened interrogation room, her hand still cuffed. She sniffled and fidgeted, jonesing for a pill, when Quentin walked in. "I know what this looks like. But you have to listen to me." She started, rising from the chair and scurrying towards her father. "I know what's happening. Sebastian Blood… he's setting me up, because he knows I'm onto him. He's-he's trying to frame me!" she exclaimed desperately.
"So he planted drugs in your apartment?" Quentin asked. He started walking around the table, trying to maintain control.
"But-no, no! Forget about the drugs." Laurel said, following him. "The point is, is that he is the one behind this witch hunt."
"Sebastian called your boss." Quentin told her. "He's worried about you."
"No, no! He wasn't worried about me." She said frantically. "He's trying to discredit me! Don't you see what he's doing?"
"What I see is that you have tested positive for opiates. I see that you have been lying to me, and I see that you have been stealing from me!" he exclaimed, slamming the evidence bag down onto the table. Laurel stared at it fearfully.
"I can explain that." She tried.
"Every person that stands where you're standing now says the exact same thing." Quentin said.
"Dad—"
"The DUI, the paranoia about Blood, you're looking like hell." Quentin said, listing the more obvious things as Laurel started to cry. "You got a problem, Laurel."
"No." she whispered.
"It's addiction." He said quietly. "It runs in this family. You can't pin it on Sebastian Blood."
"Daddy, please, you have to believe me! Please! Please." She begged.
He looked at her sadly. "I don't, baby." He said finally. He turned and left the room.
Laurel, sobbing, ran to the door and pounded on the glass. "No! No!" she cried, her cuffed hands coming to a rest on the cool glass.
In the squad room, a devastated Quentin rounded a corner to see Nathan's clone standing there, leaning against the wall.
"How is she?" He asked.
"I don't know. I don't know anything anymore." Quentin replied helplessly. He started to walk off, but Nathan's clone laid a hesitant hand on his shoulder.
"I'll-I'll get her home." He told the cop.
"Thanks." Quentin said, walking off. The clone looked up to see Laurel being led to central booking. She stared back at him tearfully.
Chien's mansion
Nathan and Chien walked into her mansion, dressed in their civilian clothes. "So," Chien asked, "did that help you feel better? Another name crossed off the List? Another scumbag put in the grave?"
"Yeah," He admitted as he sat down in on the couch again, "It actually helped alot."
He thought to himself, 'What the hell was I thinking earlier? I mean, yeah, I have a daughter I didn't know about. But that shouldn't be affecting my judgement like it has. Not where Laurel is concerned. And then there is the fact that I'm dickhead to the women that I love…again. They have a right to be concerned about me when I flew off the deep end a few weeks ago and did almost get myself killed.'
'And…damn it.' Nathan thought to himself, 'This year has been emotionally trying for me, what with Sara being alive, the Mirakuru, Slade, my trip to a different Earth, and now the whole daughter thing. I've been letting my own emotional turmoil get the better of me. I haven't been there for Laurel when I should have, and I'm focusing too much on Slade. I'm starting to fall for the same trap that Oliver fell into, focusing too much on the big villains and targeting the symptoms and not the source of the disease. I need to fix that as well. But first…'
Nathan must have sat there thinking and being lost in his thoughts for 15 minutes, because he suddenly heard Chien come out of the shower. She came back down, dressed in the same bathrobe that she was dressed in when they first got back together together.
Nathan looked up at her and smiled. "You know, lately I've begun to feel like I don't deserve you and the others."
"What makes you think that?" Chien wondered.
Nathan sighed and listed off, "Well, first there was the whole loosing my cool and yelling at you and the others, which was totally wrong of me. And maybe it's all the bad memories that Slade being alive is bringing up, but there is something else that is bothering me for the last week, and instead of talking about it, I tried pushing you and the others away again. I'm a terrible boyfriend."
"No, you are not." Chien reassured as she sat next to her beloved, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and holding his hand in her other one. "You're just going through a rough time. Everyone has those."
"Not like me." Nathan said as he contemplated a few more minutes before deciding to just say it. "Okay, so my ex-girlfriend from high school and I, we slept together for one final time before I went to college, which was three years before the boat incident. A few months ago when I went to visit Kara, I met up with her again, and as she was leaving, a young girl, her daughter, ran into me. She was old enough to be mine and had my eye color, so I stole some hair samples and had them tested, and after the foursome we had with Lyla and Helena last week, I finally opened the results and it turns out I am her father."
"And that's why you were acting standoffish and distant this whole week." Chien stated.
"Yes," Nathan admitted in shame, "I just got so caught up in the revelation that I wasn't thinking clearly. It pained me that I have a daughter that I didn't know about. I kept thinking how she might hate me if she discovered what I do. And then, there's how this would affect my relationship with all of you. I kept thinking it would destroy my relationships with all of you. I-"
Nathan was interrupted from his tirade with a soft and loving kiss from Chien, as she maneuvered herself so she was sitting in his lap, straddling his waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"You big, adorable, lovable dummy," Chien whispered softly in his ear, "You think something like this could destroy our relationship? I share you with 3 other women, and accept the fact that there will be other women who fall in love with you and join your harem. We aren't little girls, we are adult women who know what we want and how to hold onto it. A child that you sired before you even met any of us is nothing. The only way you could destroy your relationships will all of us is if you turned out to be gay this whole time."
They both shared a chuckle at the absurdity of Nathan ever being gay. "The point is," Chien continued, "It changes nothing. We love you, and this revelation isn't even remotely threatening to us. I know that the others feel the same way."
Nathan reached up and pulled her into a tender kiss, before he pulled away and whispered, "I love you so much, Chien."
Lemon
"I love you too," Chien says as they begin each other more fervently, with more passion. Chien ran her hands through Nathan's hair while his hands trailed along her sexy legs and squeezed her ass, eliciting a moan from her. His other hand wrapped around the back of her neck and pulled her deeper into their making out.
Nathan took his hands off of her for a moment and took off his shirt, tossing it on the floor, leaving his upper body bare. Chien moved off him as quickly took off his jeans and underwear, leaving him completely naked, before she moved back on top of him.
"We should," Chien tried to say as he squeezed her ass again and she felt his cock hardening against her nether region, "go upstairs. I know that you –mmm, like to do it in the bed."
"I'll be balls deep inside you before I get to the first step," Nathan said huskily as he untied Chien's bathrobe and opened her robe to reveal her naked glory. He smiled as she had been naked the whole time. Nathan locked lips with Chien once again with their tongues dueling it out within one another's mouths. Nathan rubbed his hardened cock against her pussy, teasing her for a bit before Nathan lined himself up with her dripping entrance and slammed his cock into her tight and moist caverns.
Chien was in absolute bliss from feeling him enter her body and from how he stretched her open with his huge cock. Chien wrapped her arms around his neck to hold him close to her and Nathan wasted no time in moving his hips and thrusting his manhood up into her. Chien was crying out in absolute bliss from the man she loved fucking her mercilessly. As Nathan picked up the pace she pulled his head against her breasts and he began to suck on her tits while the head of his cock hit her womb with every thrust. Nathan and Chien were both moaning, groaning and breathing hard as sweat was pouring down their bodies. Within minutes, Nathan felt her sweet love canal begin to tighten which encouraged him to double his efforts.
Chien felt her climax fast approaching. Finally Chien screamed Nathan's name to the top of her lungs as her vaginal muscled tightened around his length.
Nathan pulled of her and then she let him roll her over onto her stomach. Nathan took a moment to appreciate her beautiful ass. Nathan leaned in gently laying over top of her and brought her face around to lock lips with him again. Nathan's ocean blue eyes gazed lovingly into her beautiful dark brown ones. Nathan positioned himself once more and then thrust his cock onto the white-haired beauty once again getting her to cry out in bliss from being filled to the brim. Nathan then started thrusting again into her with his crotch slapping her ass loudly.
As Nathan thrust into her hot and wet pussy, Chien was whimpering again from his ministrations as he kissed her neck and shoulders while he thrust into her with great vigor. Chien moaned loudly from the action and looked back at him so he could lock lips with her once more.
"Oh yes. I'm CUMMING! You're making me cum again!" She moaned loudly as she came around his cock for a second time.
Nathan then decided to switch things up and pulled out for just a second, bringing her up onto her hands and knees before he reentered her again. Nathan then also reached down and grabbed her by her wrists and held onto her tightly while he thrust his cock into her pussy hard and faster at super speed.
Nathan continued fucking her harder and faster with the sound of his crotch slapping against her sweet ass and sweat pouring down their naked bodies filling the room. Chien smiled when she felt him finally twitch inside her, knowing he was gonna cum inside of her and thankfully she felt her next orgasm was fast approaching, as his huge size made it easy for him to get his women off.
Finally Nathan was at his end and groaned loudly as he climaxed. "Chien, I'm cumming!" he shouted as he shot his load into her. That finally did it for the white-haired woman and she cried out climaxing as well with her innards trying to milk him for all his cum, as more and more hot semen was shot up into her body, filling her entire womb to the brim. Both partners remained joined at the hip when Nathan let go of her wrists letting her fall forward and rest panting hard with their mixed cum oozing down her legs.
Nathan then gently helped her back up and she smiled when he let her sit on his lap with his arms around her. "Are you up for another round?" he asked with a smirk.
End Lemon
He would have continued but then his phone rang. He glared at the object interrupting his special time, but the ringtone was for Laurel's home phone. His phone flew into his hand and he answered, "Laurel."
"Boss, it's me," Came his clones voice, confusing Nathan.
"Why are you calling me?" Nate asked.
"Someone broke into Laurel's apartment while we were talking and shot me up with tranq darts while my powers were turned off before they kidnapped her." The clone said.
"Do you know where she is?" Nathan asked.
"She's at the Cannery." The clone said as he dispelled.
Nathan hung up and look apologetically at Chien, "I'm sorry, I gotta save her."
"You have nothing to apologize for, lover. Go save her," Chien said understandingly.
"Well, before I do," Nathan said as he created two clones, "I'll leave these two here to entertain you." He went to get his Prometheus gear while the clones went to work on pleasing Chien.
Five years ago
Sara walked into the forest before activating the radio. "Anthony? Are you there?" she asked. There was a few moments of static before Ivo replied.
**I'm here, Sara. I was hoping that you would reach out to me.** he said. **Are you alone? **
"Yes." She replied. She heard a sigh.
**Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you? **
"Do you even care? You were going to shoot me." She stated.
On the freighter, Ivo sat back on the table. "No. No, Sara. I swear, you were never in danger, I swear." He told her.
"So it's ok because you were just planning on murdering Shado and Nate?" she asked.
Ivo was silent for a moment. "Her name was Shado." He asked.
"Yes. And you had her killed, Anthony." Sara said.
"And I'm going to have to live with that for the rest of my life." Ivo replied.
He looked around the radio room wearily. "I never set out to hurt anyone." He said. "I started this quest to save people; to save the human race."
"I know." Sara replied.
"Sara. I know you think that this ship rescued you when you were stranded at sea." Ivo began. "The truth is… you rescued me. But now the darkness, it's threatening me again."
On the island, Sara looked out into the forest, torn. ** I need you, Sara. Please. Save me. **
Present
The Cannery
Laurel's eyes shot open as she too regained consciousness. She was laying on a cold, concrete floor, and as she pulled herself up and looked around, it appeared to her that she was in a boiler room of some kind.
She made her way frantically through the boiler room, pausing as she saw Brother Blood walking across from her, separated only by rope netting. "If that mask is supposed to scare me," she started, breathing heavily. "All that it's doing is confirming what I've already known for a while now." She rounded a support column- but Brother Blood was gone. She looked around fearfully. "You're one sick son of a bitch, Sebastian!"
"30,000 years ago masks invested their wearer with authority, like a God." The voice of Brother Blood said.
"You're insane." Laurel said.
"I'm not the one making drug-addled, unsubstantiated accusations against Starling's 2nd favorite son." Brother Blood said from nowhere, everywhere.
"If I can find out the truth, then others can, too." Laurel said.
Suddenly Brother Blood was standing right behind her. She swung her elbow back, but the masked man ducked underneath the wild swing and grabbed her in a light choke hold. "You found out nothing. You know nothing." He growled.
Suddenly and arrow shot past his masked face, embedding itself in a pipe. "Get away from her!" Prometheus demanded from the catwalk above. "Or I will put…you…DOWN."
"And to think, a few short months ago, you were trying to arrest her boyfriend." Brother Blood said to Laurel wryly.
"That is pretty ironic." Laurel mused.
"You wanted me here. I'm here." Prometheus growled. "Let. Her. Go."
Brother Blood threw Laurel to the ground and pulled a gun. "No, I think she should witness this." He moved to aim up at the catwalk, but another arrow knocked the weapon from his hand. Then Prometheus was there, beating the masked man down with fists and feet, contemptuously ducking or blocking every shot Brother Blood took. Nathan pushed him down a long narrow hall, leaping off the wall to double the man over with a punch. Nathan pulled him back up before taking out his chokuto and he stabbed him through the chest, before pulling it out.
Prometheus and Laurel walked up to the fallen criminal. "Take off his mask." Laurel demanded. "I need to see."
Slowly, he knelt down and removed the leather mask, and Laurels look of satisfaction turned to shock as the man behind the mask turned out to be not Sebastian Blood, but Officer Daily. Daily had time to smile in satisfaction at her stunned look before he finally died. Laurel looked up at Prometheus, who stood there stunned as well.
Later
A short time later Laurel was once again seated in the SCPD. This time, however, she sat in the squad room, a blanket on her shoulders and a cup of coffee in her hands.
"Sweetheart." She looked up as her father ran in and came to her side. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah." She said numbly.
Quentin exhaled. "Looks like Daily was behind this whole thing." He said. "We found the accelerant that he used to torch the Langford Institute in his apartment."
"I thought it was Sebastian." Laurel said, in shock. "I was so sure."
"Yeah. Well, that's the thing about the booze and the pills." Quentin said. "You know, same thing that dulls your pain clouds the judgment."
Laurel gave him a sad smile, but allowed herself to be pulled in for a hug.
"Can we have a minute?" the two looked up to see Adam Donner standing there, a serious look on his face.
"Yeah." Quentin said with a sigh, rising and moving off so the two could talk.
"Are you here to say, I told you so?' Laurel asked.
"We're dropping the possession charges and you won't be charged in Daily's murder." He told her. "It was clearly the work of the vigilante, Prometheus."
"You don't seem that thrilled for me." She noted.
"Are you going to look me in the eye and tell me you don't have a substance abuse problem?" he asked her. Her silence was all the answer he needed. "The DA's office has a generous severance package." He told her.
"Wait!" Laurel shot to her feet. "Wait, let me explain to DA Spencer. I can-I can tell her everything!"
"This isn't coming from Spencer, Laurel." Donner said. "This is me. I'm the one that hired you. I'm sorry." He told her sincerely. "But you're done." He walked off, leaving Laurel devastated and alone once again.
The Lair
Nathan walked in wearily. Helena, Skye, and Lyla were sitting there, waiting for him.
"Are you doing okay?" Lyla asked.
"I'm better after talking it over with Chien." He admitted as he looked into their eyes. "There is something I need to tell you two. And I want you to hear it from me." He told them about his child, and like Chien had said, it changed nothing about his relationship with them, which made him feel like more of idiot for thinking it would in the first place.
A short time later Nathan came upstairs, dressed in his civilian clothes. Thea was sitting at the bar doing paperwork while Roy was wheeling a keg to the back. "Hey." He said. "Slow night?" Roy steadfastly ignored him as he walked to the back. "Something I said?" Nathan asked his sister.
"Don't take it personally." She said. "He won't even make eye contact with me."
"Something happen?" Nathan asked.
"He put someone in the hospital." Thea said. Nathan tensed immediately. "He's a little stingy with the details, but…" she sighed. "You should have seen this guy. I don't understand how any human could have done that to another. Each day, he becomes more and more like somebody I don't even know. He won't even listen to me." She said, near tears.
"I know someone he'll listen to." Nathan said quietly.
Five years ago-
**Sara, are you still there? **
"When you first found me, I felt like you were my savior." Sara said. "And letting me into your work, I felt like I was a part of something bigger."
"You are, Sara." Ivo assured her.
"It was only because I didn't want to see what you were really doing." Sara said, her voice firming up with her resolve. "I mean, what you did to those people on the boat, and how you tortured them for your so-called science… how I was just glad that I wasn't one of them." She paused, taking a breath. "But now I'd rather be dead than keep being a part of this." She told him.
"You ungrateful bitch." Ivo said after a moment, the mask finally coming off for good. "You think you know what torture is? You have no idea. But I will show you." He promised her. "I am going to hunt you down. Both of you, and I will show—"
Sara turned off the radio. She stood there for a moment, allowing the silence to soothe her. Then she turned around-
To see Nathan standing behind her.
At once she knew. She knew he had known she would go for the radio to try and reason with Ivo. And he knew that Ivo would more than likely reveal his true self to her.
Nathan slowly walked up to her, and she handed him back the radio. "Let's go find Slade." She said.
Present
Slades Office
Sebastian Blood walked into the darkened office of Slade Wilson, flanked by three security guards.
"It's done." He called out. "They think it was all Daily. He sacrificed himself for our cause."
"A good start." Slade's voice called out. Blood paused and fearfully looked around. "But the magnitude of your negligence requires a greater sacrifice."
Suddenly Deathstroke was there, in full armor, wielding his sword like a surgeon. He stabbed Blood in the leg, sending the man to the ground, before pulling the sword out and slashing the chest of the first bodyguard. A hard kick sent the second flying across the room where he crashed to the floor, but not before his head hit the back of a chair on the way down. Deathstroke spun and slashed the throat of the third man. The first guard came back, swinging wildly for the fences, but Deathstroke easily ducked under the wild swing and slashed his chest again, sending the man to the ground. He spun back to the third, who was grasping at his throat trying to stem the bleeding, and punched him hard in the throat, killing him.
Blood was trying to pull himself up when the sword came to rest on the side of his neck.
"Your incompetence has now cost four lives, alderman." Slade said, pulling off the armored helmet to glare at the man with his one good eye. "Fail me again and yours will be the fifth." He pulled the sword away and Blood collapsed back to the floor. When he looked back up again, Deathstroke was gone.
Alley Outside Verdant
Roy was finishing up stacking the empty kegs when he heard the distinct sound of an arrow being drawn and fired. Roy looked up to see his red arrow embedded in the telephone pole.
"If that was supposed to go through my other leg, you missed." Roy said tiredly.
"You seem to be healing pretty well." Prometheus said, walking down the alley towards the boy.
Enraged, Roy ran at the vigilante. He swung wildly, but Prometheus expertly dodged out of the way. Roy's third wild punch took out a chunk of bricks on the side of the building, and he staggered back down the alley as the vigilante stood tall. "You're stronger, you heal faster, but you're not in control." He said. "The serum that you were exposed to, it changes your body but it also warps your mind."
"How do you know so much about it?" Roy demanded angrily. Prometheus picked up a brick.
"I've seen it before. And because I have something similar in me as well." Prometheus admitted as he crushed brick in his hands to dust. Roy turned to look at the vigilante. "It twists men. Turns them into someone they don't recognize. Someone dangerous." He said.
"Maybe you should put another arrow through me." Roy said. "This time through my heart."
"There's another way, Roy." Prometheus said. "I can teach you to control your new ability. And to control yourself. Let me help you."
Roy looked Prometheus in the eyes. "When do we start?" he asked.