8 Thea’s Game

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works, if you recognise it from somewhere else, surprise it isn't mine.

Betad by morde24, Atrius, Hermes, Priapus, Marethyu, Old Man of the Mountain, TheDonFluffles and Mike, God of Lore

The Guild of Gamers: The Nightmare

Chapter 08: Thea's Game

— Oliver Queen —

He didn't want to see this, to watch Legion's sick show, but with the fates of his mother and sister depending on it, he couldn't pull himself away from the computer.

The vote was still ongoing, unnervingly close as edgy assholes used their anonymity to condemn his mother to being violated by some scum he'd locked up.

He should have just killed all these psychopaths, instead of leaving a prison full of people with a grudge against him for Legion to weaponise.

He was reading the comments, and it seems that quite a few of the survivors from Star City were watching, (correctly) blaming him for Star City's destruction and wanting to punish him via his mother.

'What have the Queens ever done for Star City?'

That was a common statement, people hadn't forgotten that his mother played a part in the Undertaking, that if she wasn't so rich she'd likely have been in the same prison as the other contestants.

Even his identity as Green Arrow being exposed didn't help, because they blamed him for everything that was happening, but it wasn't just him.

If Superman hadn't caught that arrow, Legion wouldn't be a problem now, he'd be a smear and Star City would still be standing, not a quarantined hellscape.

It was a dark thought, but he truly believed that. Legion was a tricky bastard but he wasn't an outright fighter, they had him, they could have ended the threat he represented right there and what did they want to do?

Lock him up, because that always worked.

How many villains had escaped from the 'inescapable' Phantom Zone?

Of course, killing him could have done nothing if he truly was a group, not a single person, but Oliver didn't believe that.

The Legion that was always on the stream was definitely the same one they had captured. Maybe he had supporters, but if he did, then why recruit Dollhouse?

Either way, that Legion with his grinning mask was the leader of this nightmare, the spokesman, and putting him down would have set an example for the others.

Shaking his head, he checked the stream again. Legion had set up multiple points of view, one following Thea, one with Moira and the thug that was waiting to be told he could rape her, and several following the various groups of thugs, all while Legion acted as the announcer.

He'd gotten multiple monitors so he could track them all, watching Thea with no small amount of concern.

Thea had never been as brutal as he was when he started his career as a vigilante, but right now?

Watching as she took out another group of thugs, the childish game-like counter on the screen changing to show how many criminals were left, he shook his head.

Even if she won, she wouldn't be the same as he watched her retrieve her arrows from the corpses of the men she ambushed, pausing as she stared down at their bodies for a moment before she continued.

One of the thugs was still alive, trying to crawl away with an arrow through the hand he was formerly holding a shotgun in as Thea walked towards him with an almost predatory grace.

He knew where this was going.

Thea was trying to find Moira before the timer ran out, not trusting the viewers to stop their mother's rape, but she didn't know where they'd stashed her.

The viewers did, there was a helpful map with little icons for every player, another feature that seemed like something out of a game.

Thea was going the wrong way.

Staring down at the final thug, Thea hesitated, the cameras good enough quality to see the way she trembled slightly before she moved and flipped him over, her foot on his throat as she aimed an arrow down at him, demanding answers.

The info-screen changed to show the thug's 'player card', his name, the fact that he had three children (probably eaten by zombies), and his rap sheet.

Seven counts of murder, more attempted murders and assaults, and three rapes, he was genuine scum.

And yet, now he was begging for his life, spilling his guts as Thea glared down at him, but he was also lying.

He was sending her the wrong way, but Thea wasn't a fool.

As Thea took a step back, he let out a sigh of relief before screaming as an arrow pierced his shoulder and pinned him to the ground, Thea having not fallen for his bullshit.

Watching his sister pull the same type of… improvised interrogation he'd done in his youth, he shuddered as he cursed Legion for putting his sister through this.

The chat went wild, watching a hero brutally torture a criminal for information, wondering what he'd taught his little sister.

Even Batman occasionally had to get information like this, but when Batman threw a thug from a rooftop, it wasn't done on livestream with the world watching.

The world was seeing the brutal side of heroism, the side they liked to pretend didn't happen.

But his attention was drawn away as the vote came to an end, his mother's fate was decided.

— Moira Queen —

Legion had somehow set up a screen in this medieval castle to show them the vote, how close it was as each option would repeatedly take the lead before falling behind once more.

She knew her nudity was being live-streamed, shackled to a bed with her body on display, but as the vote came to a close she let out a sigh of relief as the criminal and her would-be rapist let out a curse, giving the screen an angry glare.

"And that's the vote closed, folks. Moira Queen is not to be touched until sunrise, how kind of you folks back home… well fifty-two percent of you anyway," Legion's mocking voice came through the screen. "I wonder if the vote would have been the same if Moira was younger and hotter, but ah well, I suppose we'll never know."

The thug started pacing, limping as he tried to avoid putting weight on one leg, the leg Oliver had apparently put an arrow through, grumbling to himself before he stopped and stared at her.

"Fuck it," he said simply, undoing his belt as her eyes widened, watching him limp towards her.

"But the vote-"

"I don't give a fuck, little Thea is slaughtering the guys out there and I'm probably going to die either way, so I'm going to have some fun before I go," he sneered, climbing onto the bed as she struggled to throw him off as he leaned forwards, his foul breath flooding her senses as he yanked her legs apart.

"Oh my, it seems our contestant doesn't agree with the result," Legion said through the screen, still sounding amused. "That just won't do."

The second part of his sentence wasn't said through the screen, sounding far closer as the thug's eyes widened, chains wrapping around him and yanking him off the bed as Legion casually stood in the corner of the room, one hand extended as hooked chains dug into the criminal's skin, some tearing free as they ripped chunks of flesh away.

"Tut tut, don't you know the importance of following the rules?" Legion asked darkly, his mask staring at them with that unnerving grin. "The people have spoken, my friend. They said Moira wasn't to be touched, consider me the will of the people personified. Rulebreakers need to be punished after all."

As Legion spoke, his tone utterly calm, more chains wrapped around the screaming criminal, but Moira could only let out a sigh of relief when she realised that Legion fully intended to enforce the choice the people made.

The thug tried to apologise, openly crying as hooks dug into his skin and chains tightened around him, but Legion just watched dispassionately, ignoring his begging.

"Ah, the eternal refrain of humanity. Pleading ignorance, begging for mercy," Legion responded ruthlessly as the thugs' limbs were pulled in different directions by the chains, Moira forced to watch as Legion began his punishment. "Oh, no tears please. It's a waste of good suffering."

— Thea Queen —

She didn't have time for mercy, for hesitation, not when her mother was counting on her to take out these scumbags.

This was the last set, defending the entrance to the tower where they'd stashed Moira, she'd questioned several at this point and eventually they all pointed her here.

People didn't look up, even with these tall hallways with plenty of places to hide, they expected her to just wander down the hallway for them to shoot.

Idiots, but it made things simpler for her as she took aim.

There were only three of them, two with assault rifles and one with a shotgun, but they'd made a mistake.

She didn't nock an arrow, instead retrieving something she'd taken from one of the men she'd killed. People had apparently voted for them to be given better weaponry to fight her off with, but that meant they had good equipment that she could take from them.

Instead of an arrow, she pulled a pin and tossed the stolen grenade between the three, watching with uncaring eyes as it went off, with them unable to do more than shout in fear.

Jumping down she ran past the gore, up the stairs as she prepared to fight the last man. Apparently, one thug had remained with Moira, armed with a shotgun, but as she reached the top of the tower she found the door ominously open.

She could see red, and without thinking she rushed forwards expecting to find Moira's corpse from the amount of blood she could see before she froze.

Her mother was there, mostly naked but seemingly physically unharmed as she looked forwards with a haunted stare, but it wasn't her that drew Thea's attention.

It was the remains of the last man, gore painting the walls and floor, even the ceilings, limbs strewn around the room, and more blood than she'd ever seen painting the room.

Even Moira's naked body hadn't escaped the spray, blood splattered on her as she just lay there, staring blankly.

In the middle of the room, hung by countless chains, was the torso and head of the final man, naked and mutilated with the words 'rule breaker' carved into his bare chest, his face twisted into a tortured grimace.

His eyes would have probably looked just as tortured if he still had them, but he didn't. He had no eyes, no ears, and no nose, just a mutilated face with its mouth still open in a silent scream.

She could see his tongue was gone as well, and despite everything she'd done to get here, Thea puked.

Heaving over, Thea expelled the contents of her stomach onto the floor, dry heaving as she tried to not look at the scene, but no matter which way she looked there was more gore.

"He broke the rules, and that earned him a punishment most dire," Legion said, his voice right behind her ear as she leapt forwards, spinning and loosing an arrow on pure instinct as it pierced Legion's chest.

He paused, looking down at it for a moment before he calmly gripped it and ripped it out, the tip coated with blackish blood, which he tossed aside.

"I'll be kind and assume that was an accident," Legion continued, uncaring of the hole in his chest. "But nevertheless, congratulations! You won, you rescued our distressing damsel, put down the bandits, and saved the day, and with such style as well. You should have told me you enjoyed a little enhanced interrogation, we could have exchanged notes!"

As he spoke, Legion tossed a key onto the bed, getting the hint she quickly undid Moira's shackles, worried by how unresponsive her mother was.

"What did you do to her?" Thea asked, making Legion tilt his head in confusion.

"I assure you, I didn't touch her. I just gave her a front-row seat to the punishment of our naughty rule breaker. I guess she's not a fan, but what can you do?" Legion asked, shrugging as she noticed how blood-soaked his outfit was. "She's free to go, I'll even be nice and not return her to the exact spot I grabbed her from, it's kinda zombie infested at the moment."

"So we can leave?" Thea asked, letting out a sigh of relief which was quickly shot down by Legion's chuckle.

"She can leave, that's what we agreed after all," Legion corrected, making Thea freeze.

"No, you said-" Thea started before she paused.

A cure for the infection, and Moira's release. That's what he'd promised her if she won his game.

He never said she could leave.

"I promised you a cure, which I gave you early so you didn't have to fight while infected, I promised to let Moira go, which I am going to. You aren't going to try and break the rules we agreed to, are you?" Legion asked darkly, his voice dropping in pitch as he almost growled the final words. "You know I don't like rule breakers."

If she wasn't standing in the mutilated remains of the last rule breaker, she might have argued, but with him already demonstrating how little damage she could do to him she couldn't bring herself to argue, a deep sense of dread filling her as she wondered exactly what he had planned for her.

At least she saved her mother from Legion's clutches, she could live with that.

— Oliver Queen —

They'd found Moira in the very same cell that Thea had disappeared from, clearly in shock from being forced to watch Legion punish the rule breaker.

He'd live-streamed that as well, a demonstration of what would happen to those who broke the rules of his games.

He'd seen some horrific stuff as the Green Arrow, but Legion was rapidly proving that he wasn't just some regular villain.

For all their schemes, none of his villains had ever managed to do as much damage as Legion, nobody caused as much chaos and pain.

His mother was safe. Traumatised, but safe. She didn't even remember Thea arriving, having retreated into her own mind to try and drown out the screams, but she'd freaked out when she realised Thea had remained behind

The stream had ended, with Legion promising that there was more to follow, Thea being congratulated on her first victory.

First.

Never before had that word caused him such fear.

He knew that the League, for all their magic and technological advantages, had no idea how to get into the dimension where Legion was apparently holding his games, athat the best magical minds of the Justice League had gathered together only to shrug and admit defeat, and that they didn't know how to follow Legion into his secret dimension.

Thea was now trapped there, with an unhinged lunatic who was going to make her play his sick games. Who knew what he planned to do to her, what he planned to make her do?

To make things worse, Star City had sent a message. Come after Legion and he'd follow you home, he'd target your family, and he wasn't going to play with kid gloves or just target you.

If a hero attacked him, they were risking their city being the next Star City, their families being the next to be Legion's contestants.

Metropolis had apparently requested that Superman stayed away from Legion, and it wasn't alone. Zatanna got into an argument with the Las Vegas mayor who didn't want Legion coming to his city, with them threatening to ban her show if she kept helping Batman.

Dinah wasn't worried herself, she had no family left and her city was already a zombie-infested ruin, though she had warned Wildcat of the potential of Legion coming for him, but Ted was a mostly retired hero himself and he wasn't worried.

Even the heroes who didn't have a home city were hesitating, the idea of them following in his footsteps sent a chill down their spine, the idea that even if they won and brought Legion down, there could be a dozen more Legions just waiting to go after their families, their friends.

Legion had quickly found himself being treated with the same levels of caution that was normally reserved for the strongest and most vicious villains.

And that villain had his sister.

And possibly Felicity, his former lover. They might have split up, but he still cared for her, but with the chaos of the city, he genuinely didn't know if she was still alive. There were pockets of survivors trapped in the city that they were still working on rescuing, but Superman had to leave and that slowed things down, without an invincible hero who could ignore the bites and claws of the infected (giant murder robot destroying Metropolis, a nightmare for most heroes, Tuesday for Superman).

He didn't actually know why Legion was targeting him so heavily, because Legion claimed he approved of Oliver trying to kill him, he outright complimented him for it, and yet Legion seemed determined to destroy him utterly.

Why?

He was tempted to say that Legion couldn't escalate any higher but he knew better. That said, how could Legion one-up destroying his city and kidnapping his mother and sister for his twisted games?

— Carrie Cutter (Cupid) —

She didn't know why she'd been grabbed from her prison cell, glaring at Legion as he walked towards her, but she knew this man was her beloved's enemy.

She had some internet access in prison, which she used to keep up to date on what her beloved Oliver was doing, so she'd heard about Legion.

She thought she'd die in prison, she had enhanced senses but that wouldn't save her from the zombies that were swarming her cell, nor when Legion was in the cell with her, her training little match for his strength, especially while she was handcuffed.

Seeing her glaring at him, he paused, tilting his head for a moment.

"Ah, I'm terribly sorry, it was rather rude of me to just grab you like that but I didn't want you to become someone's snack," Legion said as he sat down, gesturing towards the other chair.

She paused before she reluctantly took a seat, knowing she was in a bad situation. He was an enemy of Green Arrow, her beloved, whatever he wanted her for would not end well for her.

"Why did you bother saving me?" Carrie asked, seeing her outfit and bow on the table over to the side, rescued from lock-up?

"Because I'm a fan of your work, and more importantly I believe we both want the same thing," Legion explained, making her pause in confusion.

"You want to kill Green Arrow, why would I-" she started, before he cut in.

"Ah, I think I understand your anger. I'm afraid you're rather mistaken. I don't want Oliver dead, that's the last thing I want, and frankly, if I wanted him dead he'd already be a corpse," Legion explained, making her pause. "No, I want what's best for the Emerald Archer, even if he hasn't realised it yet. Much like how he didn't realise that you were doing what was best for him, killing off his enemies, and he locked you up for it."

She considered his words, but she couldn't see how anything Legion had done was in Oliver's favour.

"How does destroying his city help him?" Carrie asked, making Legion chuckle.

"I want to bring him into the light, I want him to wake up and stop playing the shining hero to please his League buddies. The old Arrow was a true hunter, he didn't hesitate to put down his prey, didn't follow the rules for being a 'hero' set by the sanctimonious white knights. Look at him now, when was the last time he put down his enemy, and for what? To be seen as a hero?" Legion asked, snorting derisively. "You know, if Superman hadn't stopped his arrow, he'd have actually put me down. I brought the old Ollie back to the surface, the real Oliver Queen, and Superman stopped him. Look at how quickly the world turned on him, blaming him for everything I did when it was Superman that saved me, Superman that facilitated my actions, as if I'd have not continued my reign of terror if Oliver hadn't tried to kill me. His fellow heroes are disappointed that he alone had the balls to do what needed to be done, the people he's worked so hard to save curse his name for something out of his control. No, I want Oliver to realise that a predator like him is wasted playing hero."

Legion's voice became more fervent as he spoke, her eyes widening as she listened to his words.

He was right, the Justice League didn't deserve Oliver, that tramp Black Canary certainly didn't. He was wasted as a hero, he could be so much more… if Oliver had understood that then maybe he wouldn't have been so against her actions, maybe he'd have seen that she just wanted to help him.

She killed his villains, just like the Old Green Arrow used to do, before the League dulled his fangs.

"What does that have to do with me?" Carrie asked hesitantly, her glare fading.

"Because unfortunately before I can wake up the real Green Arrow, I need to break this facade he's playing, and I wanted to invite you to join me on this task," Legion explained smoothly, his tone returning to the soft, happy tone he used on his show.

It didn't fit the man who'd committed such violent acts, making it rather unnerving, if she was honest.

"And to achieve my goal, I need to separate him from certain… good influences, starting with a certain songbird," Legion explained, her eyes widening as she immediately caught on.

Black Canary.

"I'm in."

"I thought you might be, my plan is simple. I want to equip you, empower you, and send you after Black Canary, where you can settle that little rivalry. All I ask is that you bring her in alive, not unharmed, but still breathing. I have plans for her, and believe me, she'll wish you gave her the mercy of death," Legion promised, his tone going darker and she swore his eyes flashed a sinister orange behind those tiny holes in his mask.

"Empower?" Carrie asked, making him nod easily.

"I wasn't always so strong, and with your body having already gone through some enhancements you'll make a fine subject," Legion said cheerfully, seeing her hesitation. "I know it's a scary thought, but you'll need the power for what's to come. What's a little risk in the pursuit of love?"

She paused, unsure of herself before she shook her head, smiling to herself. Black Canary would fall, and soon enough Oliver would see just how much she loved him, freed from the shackles of heroism.

Love was a battlefield, and it was time to go back on the offensive.

— Markus Gray —

The fact is, the League is never going to be destroyed by a mere villain. No apocalypse I can brew will make these symbols of hope fall apart, but that's fine.

I don't need to destroy them, I'm going to make the heroes destroy themselves. Oliver is just the lucky first subject, I will break him and remake him in my image, he will be the first member of the Justice League to fall, but he won't be the last.

I've left Thea to stew in her cell, to let the anticipation build until I reveal just what I've got planned for her.

Moving to my lab, which admittedly does look like something you'd expect Frankenstein to be building a monster in, Carrie hesitates before she starts to remove her clothes, the sinister decor not helping her resolve but her obsession with Green Arrow clearly gives her all the wrong kinds of strength.

Carrie is beautiful, a true vixen with amazing curves and fiery red hair, a scar on her chest above one of her perky breasts in the shape of a heart with an arrow through either side, carved into her own skin with one of Ollie' arrows.

Her psychological report made her condition clear, whatever they did to her in the failed super-soldier program she was a part of granted her enhanced reflexes and senses, at the cost of her sanity. She became utterly obsessed with someone, in this case Green Arrow.

One of her many crimes was kidnapping and sexual assault, kidnapping people who vaguely resembled the Emerald Archer and dressing them as him so she could have sex with them, treating them as if they were the Green Arrow, before she inevitably realised they weren't Oliver and murdered them.

She'll do anything to be with him, even let an extra-dimensional villain strap her to a lab table, despite her concerns. Her mind is focused on what she will get, the defeat of Black Canary who helped Ollie take her in, and the love of a broken Green Arrow.

Grabbing one of my needles, filled with a mysterious liquid, I move forwards and inject her with it, making her hiss as she feels the cold metal pierce her skin.

It's just a sedative, she's going to be a member of the Legion after all, there's no need to be unnecessarily cruel to her.

Drug Tinker and Blight Lord give me plenty of options, especially when combined. After some experimentation I think I've made something truly special.

I don't want to share my own super-serum, because if anyone is going to be a discount Albert Wesker it's gonna be me, but when I'm working on other people I have more wiggle room.

Basically I care about the side effects far less.

She's had her body enhanced at the cost of her sanity before, what's once more?

Pulling out the syringe, filled with a nice purple substance, I smile to myself. This definitely shouldn't kill her, and if it does I can probably work with that as well.

Worst case, I'll just make her an alpha zombie and send that after Black Canary, it's not quite the same but it should work either way.

The concept is simple, I made a very generic Super Soldier serum, the whole works. Some minor regeneration, enhanced strength and speed, all for just a touch of madness.

I think it should suppress the parts of the brain that say silly things like 'that's a terrible idea, you'll die'. Self preservation, what's that? Just live in the moment and don't worry about the long term.

For obvious reasons I don't plan to use this myself, as my self preservation is low enough already, and I'm self-aware enough to acknowledge that I'm not exactly a cautious guy.

Injecting her, the reason for the straps becomes apparent as she starts to thrash around. Let's just say my serums aren't exactly designed for comfort.

It'll be interesting (and funny) to see what this does to her already-twisted mind, and she's trapped in my little home dimension, so she's not going anywhere without my permission anyway.

I'll just have to keep her on a tight leash.

Well, tight-ish. Or maybe I'll just drop her nearby Ollie and see what happens, I'll decide later.

Watching her thrash around, I watch as the serum does its job. It only killed two of the test subjects, and I fixed that tiny issue. Turns out fucking with the brain is 'dangerous', and the original version kinda melted essential parts of the brain. Whoopsy-Daisy.

Eh, the test subjects were just going to become contestants in my games anyway. Just some replaceable prisoners, do you know how many prisons there are in America?

It's a lot, which means I have easy access to all the expendable thugs I could ever want, it's like Christmas.

For now, I'll put Carrie in her room and let her sleep off the changes, because I need to go and speak to my prized guest.

The chaos I have caused has given me something very fun, which also makes me suspicious that the system is taking ideas from my own mind because I made a knock-off dead by daylight and…

[Death is Not An Escape]

You and you alone decide when people leave your realm, death will not free them from your clutches. If people die in your pocket dimension, they will resurrect at a place you choose unless you specifically decide to let them move on.

In addition, I've discovered something very useful.

My Map Creation is far more flexible than I originally expected, because I can create simple life in my realms, I can't make anything sapient but I can definitely make wild animals or even get creative and make simple monsters, and more importantly I can also fiddle with the laws of physics in my demi-planes.

For instance, what if I want there to be low gravity? Sure thing, how about gravity that crushes your bones as you own weight kills you? Or maybe I'd like time itself to move slower or faster than usual.

The only limit to map creation is my imagination.

One of my demi-planes is the Prison plane, where I've moved Deadshot's family and Felicity. It's just a gothic prison on a rocky island in the middle of a sea that's always stormy, it always rains and the cold wind bites at the prisoners, hordes of crows and rats are always watching, always waiting.

And right now, time moves at a simple rate of one hour in that plane is one day in their original world, I could keep them locked up for months without them noticing that it's been more than a few days.

I stop it when I have reason to enter, but it effectively leaves them slowed, not realising how much time is passing, until I'm ready to deal with them.

I'm working on a bit of a schedule at the moment so the time trick is very useful indeed. I'll be starting at my new job soon after all, but that also works in my favour because Legion has gathered enough of a reputation that if I go quiet, it will only add to the dread. What is he doing? Probably a nine-to-five shift, but they don't need to know that.

I have plans for some truly wonderful demi-planes as well. I'll have such sights to show my players. I have even started on one of the bigger ones I have planned but for now it's time to get to work on recruiting the first Killer.

My Huntress.

— Thea Queen —

As Legion entered the room, she stood up quickly, well aware of how much danger she was in.

After her victory, she'd been disarmed and forced to change back out of her Red Arrow outfit (he was amused at the knife she had hidden in her trousers) and into what was a mocking version of a prison outfit, black and white stripes, tears in several places and frankly uncomfortable.

He'd watched her change again, she couldn't tell whether he was lustful or just enjoyed making her uncomfortable.

"Hello, Thea, sorry about the wait, I've been… busy," Legion said with a happy tone as she stared at him.

"What do you want with me?" Thea asked, getting to the point as Legion paused, head tilting for a moment.

"No small talk? Ah well," Legion sighed. "I want you to become a full-time participant in my games. The game you won was just a… trial run, and you performed so fantastically I've decided to keep you."

Thea froze at his happy words, almost seeing the grin on his face as her heart sped up.

"Why would I keep killing for you? I got what I wanted and if you're not going to let me leave, why would I play your sick games?" Thea asked angrily, making him chuckle.

"Because the game mode I have planned is simple. A group of survivors trying to complete objectives to escape, while a killer hunts them. I want you to be one of my killers, Thea, but if you decide you don't want to be the hunter, you can always find yourself as the prey," Legion growled, making her shudder. "I'll enjoy myself either way, I won't kill you but that leaves so many ways for us to have fun. You'll play game after game, and every time I catch you, I'll punish you. I wonder how many punishments you'll be able to endure before you decide being the hunter is better than being the prey, how long you'll last until you're begging me to let you switch sides."

As he spoke he got closer and closer until his mask was almost touching her face, one hand reaching up and clutching her chin as he forced her to stare at him.

Thea shuddered at his cruel words, her mind going back to the video of what he did to the clone of Roy, to the gorey remains of the rule breaker who had earned Legion's ire.

"W-who would I be hunting?" Thea asked quietly, making Legion straighten up and move back.

"Don't worry, I'm not cruel enough to make you hunt regular civilians yet. When I grabbed your last playmates from the prison, I helped myself to a lot of the prison's population. I'm going to give them a chance to earn their freedom, if they win one of my games I'll release them into the world," Legion said cheerfully, more criminals.

Criminals that would be released into the world, probably at the place where they'd cause the most chaos, if they won their games

Games that would happen whether she agreed to be the hunter or not.

She knew she was making excuses, to try and avoid Legion's punishment, to avoid being hunted, ashamed at her cowardice. She was supposed to be a hero, and here she was justifying why she'd kill for a villain.

"I-I'll do it," Thea agreed, shame flooding her as Legion clapped.

"Wonderful, I'm sure you'll grow to enjoy your new position. Well, as long as you win," Legion said, making her flinch. "Naturally, if anyone escapes you'll be punished, but I have faith in you."

It was too much to hope she could escape punishment entirely, but she just had to win. She could play his games, and in between them when she wasn't being punished she could try and find a way out of Legion's grasp, maybe even find a way to contact the League.

"Oh this is going to be fun, I'm glad I didn't have to hunt you down and break you first," Legion said happily, before he caught her by surprise as he pulled his mask up slightly, leaning forwards quickly as he captured her lips, making her freeze in place.

She moved to push him away as he kissed her roughly but hesitated, not wanting to incur his wrath.

He pulled back himself in short order, fixing his mask as she tried to memorise his lower face, taking in the first sight of the man behind the mask.

"Sorry, couldn't resist," Legion teased, and she could hear the smirk in his tone. "Don't worry, if you win your games you'll be rewarded, it's not fair for you to be punished if you lose and not get anything if you win after all."

What did Legion see as a reward?

"Now, let's get started. We've got plenty of games to play, so why waste any time? Welcome to the team, Thea, we're so happy to have you."

Gulping, she tried to mentally prepare herself for what was to come, apologising to Oliver and her friends for what she was about to do.

— Markus Gray —

Sending Thea into her first official game, I smile to myself. Thea doesn't know it, but she's not live this time, it's being recorded for later but I can't stream it because of the time fuckery.

Thea still hopes she'll be saved, but how long can she last until that hope starts to break? How many games can she play until she starts to enjoy the hunt, becoming more fervent to avoid failing, to avoid my wrath.

I'm going to sabotage one of her games, she needs a taste of my punishment so she knows exactly what she's fighting to avoid.

She'll think she's been here for weeks, forced to play more and more dangerous games, when everyone else thinks she's been missing for days.

How long until her faith in her fellow heroes falls to pieces? How long until I can put civilians in as survivors and she'll hunt them all the same to avoid my displeasure?

It'll be fun to find out.

But first, my other tool has woken up and it's time to see just how effective my little serum was.

— Dinah Lance (Black Canary) —

Heading into the quarantine zone wasn't done lightly, there was still no cure for the infection after all, but most zombies weren't a major threat if they didn't swarm you.

The alpha zombie had been captured, and none of the others showed the strength or speed that the clone of Roy had possessed, and she knew there were still survivors in the city.

An entire military squad had been wiped out when they tried to retrieve a group of survivors that were holed up in the hospital, the gunshots attracted the swarm and there were more zombies than the men had bullets.

She stuck to the rooftops mostly, most zombies couldn't climb so she could move around pretty much unmolested.

Or that was the plan at least, as a devastating kick to her stomach sent her flying back, her attacker laughing gleefully as she groaned in pain.

She recognised her attacker of course, Cupid wasn't exactly subtle and her outfit was unmistakable, who else would run around in a green sports bra and tight leather pants and call it a costume?

For a moment, she thought Cupid had been turned, but she was very much alive as she dashed forwards with shocking speed, getting to her before Canary could rise from where she'd landed.

Cupid wasn't this strong before, she wasn't this fast, something had changed but she couldn't focus on that as Cupid gripped her hair and yanked her head up just in time for a brutal knee strike to the face.

Cupid hated her because she was dating Ollie, and the lunatic was convinced that she and Ollie belonged together, so the brutality wasn't surprising.

It knocked her onto her back as Cupid mounted her, repeatedly punching her in the face with a savage grin.

"Let's see if Ollie still loves you when I'm done destroying your pretty face," Cupid cackled, but Cupid had apparently forgotten who she was fighting.

Her response was simply a scream, hitting Cupid directly at such close range as she sent the insane villain flying back.

Their fight had gone from the rooftops to the ground level after Cupid had shot the wire of her grappling hook and sent her plummeting down, and her scream was loud.

Immediately she heard the sound of the horde, lured to them by the sound, but Cupid didn't seem to care as she rushed forwards again, an insane grin on her face.

Another canary cry sent her flying back again, but the undead were closing in rapidly, rushing towards them.

"Carrie, stop this. You're going to get us both killed," Dinah tried, unsurprised when Cupid just laughed.

"Oh no, I'm not dying here, and neither are you. We've got plans for you," Cupid cackled, grabbing her crossbow and firing a round at Dinah's leg, barely missing as it grazed her skin, cutting her fishnets and leaving a thin cut on her thigh.

Wait, we?

The sound of something moving towards her with incredible speed made her turn, it sounded far faster than a simple running zombie, but as she turned it collided with her, grabbing her throat and tossing her towards Cupid, who uppercut her and sent her into the air, landing between the two villains with a thud.

"Sorry to interrupt, my dear, but we have places to be and Canary drew the horde. A few thousand zombies are currently heading our way," Legion said cheerfully

"It's fine, we'll have plenty of time to play later, right?" Cupid asked, making Legion nod as he rushed forwards.

She let out another cry, her throat hurting from three consecutive screams, but as something stabbed into her neck, she realised he was just a distraction.

Cupid moved at the same time, a syringe in her hand as she giggled.

"Don't worry, little songbird, we're going to have such fun together," Legion promised as her vision started to darken, seeing the pair staring down at her as she fell to the ground. "I'm sure you'll make such beautiful cries."

— Bonus Scene — Pamela Isley (Poison Ivy)

Someone had broken into her lair.

Despite her living plants, Harley's hyenas, and the other defences, somebody had gotten into her hideout, getting all the way to her bedroom while she was sleeping in it, leaving something on her bed.

This should have infuriated her, this should have scared her, and yet it wasn't fear or anger she felt as she carefully looked over the gift that had been left behind.

"Heya, Pam, what's with the flower? You've been staring at it for ages," Harley asked, making her look up from the flower she was examining.

Harley was staying with her because the Joker was once again in Arkham, and she'd been trying to convince Harley to leave the madman in there but it was little use.

Pamela was not a good person, Harley wasn't a good person, they were villains through and through, she didn't hate the Joker because he was evil, she hated him because he was a manipulative psychopath who was using Harley and would leave her to die without a second of hesitation if it benefited him, or if he just found it funny.

"Somebody… sent it to me, as a gift," Pamela answered, making Harley giggle.

"Someone's trying to get in your panties? They do know how many flowers you already have right?" Harley joked, making Ivy smirk.

"True, but I didn't have this one. It's a type of wild rose that's been extinct for a long time. When this flower could still be found, dinosaurs ruled the earth, not men," Pamela explained with a sly smile, gently touching the beautiful flower as she examined it with her power. "If this is an attempt to court me, it's certainly an effective opening move."

"Huh, where'd they get a dinosaur flower? Who even sent it anyway?" Harley asked, making Ivy pick up the letter she'd found on her pillow, handing it over.

It was short, to the point, just a request for a meeting with her, signed by a name everyone in Gotham had learned recently.

"Fucking Legion is sending you flowers?" Harley asked shrilly, making Ivy nod. "What could that lunatic want with you?"

Harley didn't like Legion, she knew why. People were saying that Legion was a smarter, more effective Joker.

She didn't see it that way, Legion acted like a lunatic but there was a method to his madness whereas the Joker's was simply mad. Legion was aiming for something, she was sure of it.

She just didn't know what, or how it apparently involved her.

"You're not gonna actually meet with him, are you? You don't wanna end up on his show," Harley said, seeming concerned for her but Ivy simply smiled despite her thoughts.

If Legion wanted her dead, she wouldn't have woken up to a flower on her bed but a knife in her heart, he knew where they lived, he got in without anyone noticing. Was that meant to be a message?

Besides, she needed answers. Where did a slasher who was best known for running a sadistic gameshow get his hands on a plant that went extinct during the ice age.

"I think I will, I'd rather meet with him willingly than insult him and have him come for me with less friendly intentions," Pamela said, still looking at the flower as she considered things.

Harley looked concerned, trying to convince her not to meet with Gotham's newest villain, but Harley made a poor voice of reason.

Grabbing her laptop, she opened up Legion's site, watching old streams and studying the mysterious being, trying to work out what he wanted with her.

Plus where he got his hands on this baby, and more importantly, did he have more?

— Markus Gray —

Humming the theme of Jurassic Park, I continue expanding my newest demi-plane, Neo helped me out a little with this one.

The concept of this one is simple, it's the Earth if the Asteroid never happened, if humanity never showed up and ruined the place.

Basically, it's dinosaurs.

I can't wait to start the survival games, grab some people who have lived in cities all their life and drop them in the dinosaur land, see if they can adapt and survive.

But for now, it's just bait.