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The Playground
Mid Afternoon
"What's up, you sounded like you were on red alert?" Barry asked as everyone walked into the briefing room, where Steve, Thor and Rhodey were waiting, all with grim looks on their faces.
"That might be understating things, Sam's gone missing," Rhodey said and it was silent for a moment, everyone too shocked to say anything.
"What do you mean missing?" Natasha finally demanded.
"He missed his last check in and he's not answering his Comms. At the moment, we have no choice but to assume that Hydra has him," Steve said grimly and it was silent in the room.
"So what are we doing to find him?" Bucky demanded, ready to move out.
"Exactly what we've been doing. They have to be somewhere in New York and we are going to find them. They took Bruce and Sam and I doubt they're done. We search the city, no one goes out alone. If you find something, do not engage, call for backup. I am not losing anyone else to Hydra," Steve said firmly.
Unknown location
Same time
Sam was suspended above the ground in a dimly lit room, his arms restrained in chains that hung from the ceiling. The metallic taste of blood was in his mouth as Alexei cleaned his hands with a rag.
"So, what, you went from being Savitar's bitch to Hydra's?" Sam taunted and Alexei only chuckled.
"I have no loyalty to Hydra. Nor am I interested in revenge against Barton and Natalia. I have moved passed such petty pursuits, I serve a greater cause now," Alexei said as he circled Sam like a shark. "Tell me, what's it like standing in the shadow of Captain America?"
"Screw you," Sam sneered.
"It must get exhausting, seeing him soar higher and higher as you are left behind. Seeing him get all the glory as you are left in the dust. And now he's about to get everything as you get nothing, you must envy him on some level," Alexei taunted him but Sam was unmoved.
"It's not about the glory. I don't expect someone like you to understand, but I'm honored to stand next to Steve as we fight side by side," Sam said passionately.
"So you say. You must be so proud to fight side by side with a man as virtuous as Steve Rogers. It must give you so much pride," Alexei said as he turned to face Sam.
Sam stared at him, seeing the look in his eyes, like a rabid animal, waiting to pounce. This wasn't just Alexei trying to get a rise out of him; he was trying to accomplish something here. Whatever it was though, Sam wasn't going to give it to him.
"It's actually rather humbling, having a man like Captain America believe in you so much," Sam said and Alexei stared at him for a moment.
"So you have no envy or pride in your heart," Alexei noted as, to Sam's shock, a symbol appeared on Alexei's forehead.
It was a glowing circle that had four diamonds on all sides of it. Sam stared at it for a moment, realizing that something had Alexei in its grasp.
"Perhaps Banner will," Alexei said, turning and walking out of the room.
In another part of the building, Bruce, still stained, stared at Sin, who had the same symbol on her forehead.
"You must truly hate the Hulk for everything he's done to you. After all, it's because of him that you can never have a normal life. Can never have children," Sin sneered, the symbol glowing brighter.
"Maybe once, but he's a part of me now. I can't hate him without hating myself," Bruce said wearily, wondering what that symbol was.
"Admit it, you resent the Hulk for existing, for robbing you of the life you wanted with your precious Betty," Sin sneered angrily.
"It hasn't always been easy, but Hulk didn't ask for this anymore than I did. And I realize now that, as much as I've lost, I gained a whole lot to," Bruce said passionately.
"We'll see Banner, we'll see," Sin issed as she circled him, like a tiger stalking her prey.
New York
Not long after
Barry stopped, on the outskirts of the city. Behind him, Thor jumped down, staring at Barry with a look of concern.
"They have to be somewhere," Barry said, his voice full of frustration.
"And what do you plan to do once we find them?" Thor asked suddenly and Barry looked at him blankly from behind his cowl.
"It's Hydra; do you expect me to hold their hands?" Barry asked sarcastically.
"I can see the rage you feel Allen," Thor said.
"Well, they crashed my best friend's wedding, kidnapped Sam and my wife is-" Barry stopped himself before he lost himself to his anger. "Do I not have a right to be angry Thor?"
"You do, but you must not let it rule you," Thor said and Barry frowned. "Before I met The Avengers, I often let myself be ruled by my pride. In doing so, I set off a chain of events that turned Loki from my closest ally into my one of greatest enemies. Men such as us can never allow ourselves to give into our emotions. We must control them instead of allowing them to control us."
"I get what you're saying," Barry said after a few moments, taking a calming breath. "Don't let my anger cloud my judgement. Channel it instead, right?"
"Yes. There is nothing wrong with anger, it can give us power. Bur only if we rule it instead of letting it rule us," Thor said as he walked over, placing a hand on Barry's shoulder. "Allen, my hammer saw you as worthy. Prove it."
In another part of New York, Oliver and Roy were walking the streets, Roy looking around with an odd look on his face.
"Something on your mind?" Oliver asked as he caught Roy's look.
"Just feels weird walking the streets with you again," Roy said and Oliver nodded, silence descending on them for a moment.
"I kind of expected you to go with Thea…unless you're avoiding her," Oliver said casually and Roy sighed.
"So you caught that, huh?" Roy muttered.
"And I'm sure Thea has to. What's going on Roy?" Oliver asked as they stopped and Roy was silent for a moment.
"When we were sitting, waiting for the wedding to start, before things went to Hell…I realized that Thea and I will never have that," Roy finally said, looking at Oliver with tormented eyes. "We'll never be able to stand up in front of all our friends to say how much we love each other. We can't even walk down the streets in a country outside America. Weddings, kids…we'll never have that. Because of who we are…because of who I am…it's not an option for us."
"Roy-" Oliver started but Roy held up his hand for Oliver to stop.
"I know what you're gonna say and it's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault, it's just the way it is. I made my bed and I have to sleep in it…but Thea shouldn't have to," Roy said sadly and Oliver caught on.
"You're gonna end things with Thea," Oliver said lowly and Roy nodded.
"It's what's best. Thea, she can move on, fall in love again, have kids and a minivan," Roy laughed humorlessly, some joke lost on Oliver. "She deserves nothing but good things, the things I can't give her."
"But does she even want those things?" Oliver argued. "One thing I learned from my relationships with Laurel and Felicity, deciding things on your own isn't a sign of love; it's a sign of fear."
"Then I'm afraid!" Roy snapped. "I'm afraid that, years from now, Thea will wake up filled with regret and resent me for the things I can't give her. And I love enough to let her go so that she can have those things."
Oliver opened his mouth to argue but years of survival instincts suddenly kicked in. Oliver whirled around, reaching out and grabbing an arrow, stopping it inches from where his face had been moments earlier. A few feet away, the archer from the wedding notched another arrow as the civilians, seeing what was happening, ran for their lives.
"We have eyes on the archer; we're at downtown, near Hell's Kitchen," Roy said over the Comms as he and Oliver each pulled out their shrunken bow and quiver, enlarging them.
"Do not engage, wait for backup," Steve said over the Comms.
"I don't think he's giving us much of a choice," Oliver said as the archer fired.
Oliver and Roy avoid the arrow before the archer rushed in, whirling his bow like an escirma stick. Oliver and Roy mimicked his move, using their bows to block his strike. Even outnumbered, the archer held his own, easily able to push Roy back with a strong kick to the abdomen and engage Oliver one on one. Oliver and the archer matched each other blow for blow, as if this is an old dance they've done a million times.
Roy suddenly reentered the fray, whirling his bow and attempting a strike to the archer's head. The archer dodged, grabbing Roy and throwing him to the ground. The archer then grabbed a sword from its sheath and tried to strike Oliver but Oliver blocked with his bow. An eerie sense of déjà vu washed Oliver as he looked into the eyes of the archer. Eyes he had seen before, he realized as the realization washed over him like cold water.
"You!" Oliver snarled angrily and the archer laughed.
"Finally figured it out?" he asked mockingly.
Roy threw a flechette at him and the archer backed away, catching it and stopping it inches from his face.
"You'll have to do better than that," the archer said, lowering his hood to reveal the face of Malcolm Merlyn.
"What the Hell?" Roy breathed as he stared at the former Ra's al Ghul in disbelief.
"You died! We saw you," Oliver snapped.
"Sometimes, death is but an illusion," Malcolm said and Oliver and Roy stared as a glowing symbol appeared on Malcolm's forehead.
Suddenly, Malcolm whirled around, catching a Billy Club inches from his face. A man dropped down, dressed in jeans, a black shirt with a black mask that covered the top half of his face. Next to him was a woman in black with long, wild hair wielding a sword.
"It appears you are outnumbered," Elektra Natchios said as she sword her sword.
Malcolm weighed his options, knowing Oliver's other friends were on their way as well. Malcolm reached into his suit before pulling out a small ball. Throwing it to the ground, it exploded and a smokescreen filled the area. Matt, not needing his sight, rushed in but, somehow, Malcolm grabbed him by the throat and tossed him back. Matt went flying like he'd been hit by a car, hitting a tree and going down, dazed. By the time the smokescreen faded, Malcolm had vanished.
"Daredevil, you okay?" Oliver asked as he and Roy made his way over, careful not to use Matt's name as Elektra helped her boyfriend up.
"I'll live," Matt said gruffly. "What is going on in my city?"
"Honestly…I'm not sure I know anymore," Oliver admitted.
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If you enjoy please support me on my patreon Future 80+ chapters at patreon.com/Darkphoenix11
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