198 Chapter 198: Revenge Is Sweet Part 5

Once the call was cut, Oliver found himself in a very tough situation. His immediate thought to the matter was whether to contact Batman and the league about this, but he quickly tossed that idea out of his mind.

He was already on the clock now so waiting for backup was unideal. He could only start making his way down the building immediately whilst pondering who could be doing this.

Once again, an immediate though arose in his mind, and it was Arias. Given the recent warning from Lois, it was naturally to assume that Arias was behind this, but again… Oliver knew he had many enemies as Green Arrow so he didn't immediately reach a conclusion.

…

While time was ticking away for Oliver, Arias was seated in his office, staring at a blank monitor with a ball pen in hand. He kept clicking the tip in silence while seemingly lost in thought, that is until his satellite phone rang.

Upon answering, Cheshire's voice could be heard from the other side.

[ It's, but they were some… unexpected changes to the plan.]

Hearing this, Arias frowned and asked, "What changes?"

To someone like him who tried to maximize benefits and minimize losses, Arias was very careful with his planning, and so he wanted to be sure said changes didn't affect the overall outcome he envisioned.

[ I found someone close to him like you said, a girl, his secretary. But her parents were around so that's the change. What do you want me to do?]

Hearing of these changes, Arias fell into brief thought before replying, "No. If anything, this should work even better. The only change is…"

…

Unbeknownst of the events transpiring that late evening, Batman was inside his Batcave tending to other matters.

He stood in front of a 3D structure that displayed a sort of mountainous terrain on an island.

Beside him was his butler Alfred who glanced at the structure with a concerned gaze.

"Was it really wise to purchase an island so far from mainlands master Bruce?" Alfred asked flatly, looking at the structure from different angles while shaking his head.

Bruce, who wore his Batman attire minus the mask, showed little reaction to Alfred's concerned remarks. "The league is going to need a new base of operations, and the best places for that are territories belonging to no one nation. It'll be costly but this island meets a lot of my requirements."

Alfred could only sigh, still unconvinced. But he knew it was no easy task convincing Bruce otherwise once he set his mind to something.

"Well, I suppose the view will be quite nice at times," Alfred whimsically remarked before shifting the topic, "Young miss Barbara has been performing quite well in her training drills, but are you sure it's the right decision to keep her close despite her affiliation with Arias Markovic?"

Hearing Arias's name, Bruce paused for a moment and shook his head. "It's not, but I'm responsible for making her start all this so I'll see to it she's ready."

"And should she become a problem in future?" Alfred asked bluntly, not one to mince words.

Bruce though also replied with equal bluntness. "Then I'll take care of it, as I would any problem."

Alfred could only sigh and shake his head.

"It seems Arias Markovic has made you and many more quite restless. I see a lot of you in him master Bruce, your fierce dedication, strong will and brilliant ingenuity. And it's exactly because I recognize those qualities, that he concerns me."

Bruce furrowed his brows at this remark and quickly opposed. "He is nothing like me Alfred. But I do recognize he is a major threat, after all, you acknowledge very few people."

This time it was Alfred who shook his head. "I have lived in Gotham many years master Bruce, and thus I have seen it grow and change along with the world. In my time, I have seen many great… and dangerous people."

Hearing this warning from Alfred, Bruce couldn't help but ask, "You consider Arias Markovic that dangerous? He's an extremist at most, pushing his view for the world into reality, much like Ra's doctrine."

To that question, Alfred shook his head once more. "No, considering what've seen, at most I could say he is perhaps slightly less dangerous than Ra's Al Ghul. But what about the things we haven't seen him do?"

…

Back in Star City, Oliver drove quickly through the streets in his vehicle the Arrow-car, it's presence a familiar sight to the residents of Star City.

But so as not to draw attention to himself, he parked it in quiet alleyway close to the gated community that Melanie lived in.

From there he made his way into the property and finally saw Melanie's home.

Seeing that he still had some minutes before the designated time, Oliver quickly began to scan the area for any suspicious signs but saw nothing.

The rest of the neighborhood operated the same way it would any other day, and Melanie's house looked normal from the outside.

'How do I approach this?' This was the question tugging at Oliver's mind.

Without being sure whether or not there was more one enemy, eh couldn't blindly rush in for a rescue.

But at the same time, he had no guarantee that things would work out if he followed the enemy's instructions.

Seeing time tick-away, Oliver could only chose the safer option. But just in case, he tapped the arrow insignia on his belt to send out a distress signal, before standing up and approaching the home.

If at all things turned to worst, he chose to place his trust in Batman and the league.

Upon approaching the home, Oliver wanted to knock but the door clicked opened on its own.

He frowned at this, knowing that it was a clear message that whoever was behind this, could see Oliver, the real question was, for how long was Oliver being seen?

This variable made him nervous as he cautiously walked into the home. "Hello?" He called out, but received no answer, walking further inside.

He soon made his way to the living area, where he found Melanie's parents struggling in their binds on the floor, whilst Melanie herself was neither tied nor bound, instead she was seated near them, tears rushing down her face.

"Are you okay? Is anyone hurt?" Oliver, or rather Green Arrow asked this was visible concern and was about to approach when suddenly Melanie yelled toward him, "Don't Move!"

Green Arrow froze instinctively and immediately looked down at his feet, frowning at what he saw… 'A pressure plate…'

Before he could question anything, the same hoarse digitally altered voice that had contacted him earlier resounded in the living room.

[ Oh, you came a minute early? I like that. In case you haven't realized it yet, you're standing on a very sensitive pressure plate, and in the corner, there's a tiny little motion sensor locked onto your arms. The moment either is set off, the numerous charges I've put in the ceiling and floor will go off… boom. ]

"Who are you? Why don't you let these people go, your business is clearly with me." Oliver, despite the dire circumstances, didn't look all that fazed, having been in similarly tight situations before.

Cheshire who was about to respond playfully to the comment also received her own instructions through an earpiece.

[ Don't answer, he's trying to stall for time. Just do exactly as I told you. Click~!]

Cheshire, who was actually just hiding in one of the house's rooms rolled her eyes in disappointment but did as she was told.

[ Oh, I will, provided our brave little miss here can follow instructions. Melanie was it? Look in the first drawer beside the couch, you should see a little present from moi. Tick tok, I haven't got all night. ]

A trembling Melanie hurriedly did as she was told and took out a pistol with a silenced attached, her eyes widening even more in fright.

[ Good, good, now approach the wannabe hero in front you and put the gun right at the center of his palm… then softly pull the trigger. Do that for each hand, you have 10 seconds. ]

Hearing this absurd task, Melanie was shocked, "I-I can't."

[ 9 seconds till you're reason your family dies. 8…]

Oliver, not wanting to risk the lives of the innocent, gave Melanie a vocal push. "Do it, I can take it."

[ 5…]

Melanie quickly grit her teeth and did as she was told. Placing the barrel of the gun right on Green Arrow's palm, before firing once.

Pa!~•

It rang silently but Green Arrow couldn't help but jerk his body in pain, unable to move due to the pressure plate and motion sensors.

But neither he nor Melanie were given time to take in the situation, as the horse voice continued to count down.

[ 3…]

So in quick succession, she shifted her attention to the second hand and shot again.

"Arghh…" Green Arrow grit his teeth and did his best to not move his hands as they trembled in pain.

Melanie cried more, the situation becoming far too much for her. "Please… just let us go…"

[ Ohh, well since you asked so nicely, just do two more things for me and then you can go. First, be a dear and remove our guest's mask, I mean we're all friends here right? Come one chop chop ]

A trembling Melanie did as she was told and lowered Green Arrow's hood, before removing his mask, her hands unconsciously dropping it once she saw his real face.

"Oliver… no… no… please… *sob*" Melanie found herself in a twisted form of denial, it was as if her worst nightmare had come into fruition.

But sadly she wasn't given the time to dwell and understand her own confusion.

[ Wow, to think Star City's vigilante hero was such a looker, a shame really that my next task is for you to kill him. ]

!!

Hearing this, Melanie felt her legs go weak, but the voice then continued.

[ But… since I'm such a nice person and I'm short on time, I'll give you a choice. Either you put a bullet in him… or yourself. Then no one else has to die. You have 3 seconds and then everyone can just die together.]

"Wait! Wait! Let these people go! I'm the one you want!" Oliver angrily yelled out, finding himself to be in a situation beyond hopeless.

If he moved… everyone died. But if he didn't… a woman he had some feelings for would either kill him or herself.

He had absolutely no say in the matter, and could only helplessly grit his teeth.

[ 3…]

"Melanie, look at me, point the gun and shoot me, do it." With no other options, Oliver could only try and persuade Melanie to end him.

But Arias would never have arranged this if it was so simple to deal with. He understood best what a woman in love was capable of doing.

Oliver had single handedly changed Melanie's life for the better as Oliver, and has even saved her before as Green Arrow, the debt she showed him wasn't small and neither were her feelings.

[ 2…]

So as the countdown reached its end, Melanie showed a defeated smile as tears fell down her face.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Queen… thank you for everything. Mom… Dad… *sniff* I love you."

[ 1…]

Pa!~•

Without any hesitation, the young woman had put the gun to her own head and fired, instantly ending her own life.

Even as the woman ended her own life before him, Oliver was helpless to move, instead gritting his teeth as his eyes turned bloodshot.

[ Wow, what an ending wouldn't you say? Well, as someone who keeps their word, consider your lives spared, isn't that great? Well, thank you for playing. ]

With a static screech, the voice soon cut off entirely and the room went silent. Both Oliver and Melanie's parents could only watch her body soak in a pool of her own blood, lifeless… forever gone.

Tears run down their face and they struggled to move but to no avail, as for green Arrow, he could only shut his eyes, feeling both anger and despair.

…

But it wasn't over, as Cheshire rushed to make a speedy escape out of the compound, she contacted Arias again to say. "It's done, and you were right, the girl killed herself. But don't you think the guy should've got more than just some shots to the hand?"

Cheshire was well aware that Green Arrow was Arias's target, and although she could understand the emotional scarring he would face, she wasn't quite content with the physical.

But Arias, being who he is, didn't care. Torture was simply unbearable to those with weak wills, overall pointless when granted to certain individuals.

More importantly, he already had a set outcome.

[ He caused my reputation to fall somewhat, so I want to see how his will fair as the world learns of his identity and part, in the death of such an innocent woman. ]

[ On the very slim chance he makes it through that ordeal, the many criminal charges against Green Arrow will fall to him. His reputation will plummet, his company will suffer by affiliation and in turn his wealth. One way or another, he'll soon be sitting in a cell, reliving the scene of that innocent young woman dying right in front of him every night… a feeling that will be made only worse once it's found that they were no charges, pressure plates or motion sensors. That Cheshire, is it's own form of torture.]

A/N: This is actually two chapters since I didn't want to another part of this segment. The real question is, whether to keep the chain going? Lemme make a sandwich and see how I feel. If you haven't already, leave a review or comment of what you'd like to see in coming chapters, be it villains or heroes. Also, 3 bonus chapters if someone buys me Xbox live.

A/N: I jk, I don't even have an Xbox, if you considered paying it means you support Onlyfans habits, shame on you, go repent. But if you want to pay via stones…. *smiles menacingly*