The final battle against Cadmus. :) And I promise - the bad guys get what they deserve. Of course, they don't go down without a fight.

Enjoy, guys!

***

Cadmus was a warzone when other D.E.O. soldiers arrived. Bodies riddled with arrows, bullets, knives, stab wounds, and blood pouring from ears littered the floor. Dig and Rene were watching each other's backs while Dinah moved lithely through soldiers, cracking her staff against skulls. Further down the hall were Thea and Nyssa, the two women alternating between using their bows like staffs and stabbing with their swords. Maggie and Alex were reloading magazine after magazine, Alex a complete raging machine. J'onn, in Martian form, had to take out Cadmus agents about to shoot her from behind, she was on a warpath.

It was Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel that were taking out the most, though. They had been the ones to discover Kara in hell, and they had been the ones with her since the beginning. It came as no surprise to Thea when she turned to see Malcolm take down three in one second, Slade's sword dripping blood on the ground. Laurel stopped once to look in a room Thea knew was empty before turning around. "That room's safe," she said. "I think."

"Ground's secure," Dinah announced.

"Good," Felicity said. "You've still got three to go."

"Wonderful," Dig grumbled.

"So we'll split up and take each of the floors," Maggie said. "I can take the next level."

"I'll take top," Alex volunteered at once.

"All right, we'll go with the cop," Rene said.

"The cop?" Maggie raised an eyebrow.

"I'll go as well," Nyssa volunteered.

"I'll go with J'onn," Thea looked around.

"Me, too," Dig nodded.

Malcolm turned to Alex and raised an eyebrow. "Shall we?"

"Good luck," Dinah called, and Alex led Malcolm, Slade, and Laurel on.

***

Cars went careening when a breach opened up in the middle of the street. Cisco and Oliver jumped out, Oliver in full Green Arrow gear, Kara and Clark flying out to hover in the air. "This is it," Cisco nodded up at the building in front of them.

Clark squinted, only to groan in annoyance. "Of course. Lined with lead."

"I hate lead," Kara grimaced.

"Let's go," Oliver nodded, heading for the building, Cisco with him.

They made it to the doors when glass exploded from the third floor of the building, flames rushing out. Oliver and Cisco instinctively ducked while Kara and Clark flew around, catching chunks of glass before it reached the streets. Oliver straightened, reaching for his comms. "Guys?" he shouted. "Report!"

"Which floor was that?" Laurel immediately asked.

"Third!" Cisco answered.

"Oh, my God," Dinah whispered in horror.

"Thea!" Malcolm cried in horror.

"John was there, too!"

"And J'onn!" Alex shouted.

Kara's eyes widened, and she dove in through the windows, Clark right behind her. Oliver fired a grappling arrow and soared after them, Cisco opening a breach to head inside.

***

When they reached the third floor, J'onn pointed down one end of the hallway. "Check that way," he ordered.

Dig simply nodded, and Thea drew an arrow, the two of them running down the hall. They made it to the end of the corridor and checked both ways. "OK, maybe I'm wrong, but shouldn't there be soldiers swarming us right now?" Thea hissed.

Dig nodded, heading down his end of the corridor. Thea followed behind him, both of them ready to shoot at a moment's notice. They came to a closed door at the end, and they looked at each other in concern. Dig finally reached for the door handle, and Thea backed up, drawing back her bow. Dig opened the door, and Thea sprinted in, raising her bow, Dig right behind her, gun raised. Four things then happened at once.

The lights turned on, practically blinding the two of them.

They saw a lit laboratory, and Thea felt like she could throw up for hours at the sight of dissected aliens lying on tables, Dig's horrified "oh, my God" ringing in her ears.

Then the door slid shut behind them, making them turn around. "Guys!" Thea shouted, only to hear static in her comms.

Then everything around her went up in flames.

***

By the time the four heroes make it to the lab, the corpses are nothing but charred piles, and the computers are bubbling piles of melted metal.

Dig and Thea were lying just inside the doorway, J'onn checking on them. Parts of their uniforms completely singed away. Dig appeared to have gotten the most of it, burns littering his arms and body. Somehow, impossibly, he was also starting to stir.

Thea wasn't so lucky. Her leg was bent at an impossible angle, her left arm a complete charred mess. When Oliver bent to check her pulse, it was barely there. "Get them back to the D.E.O.," he ordered Cisco. The meta nodded and opened a breach, grabbing Thea to take through first. J'onn was right behind him with Dig. Oliver chewed his lip, watching him go, before running with the Kryptonians back the other way.

They nearly ran into Maggie, Dinah, Rene, and Nyssa. "Are they OK?" Maggie immediately asked.

"They're bad, but they're alive," Oliver answered heavily. "J'onn and Cisco took them back to the D.E.O."

"That just leaves the top floor," Nyssa said worriedly. "We saw no one on the floor below."

"And there is a severe lack of bodies on this one, too," Rene looked around.

"Good thing there's a large number of badasses on the top floor," Maggie looked up.

"Stay on this floor, make sure no one gets upstairs," Oliver ordered. "No one."

He didn't give them time to answer. He just ran for the stairs, Kara and Clark behind him.

***

"It's like they knew we'd come up here!" Malcolm shouted as he shot two arrows at the same time, whipping around to stab another soldier in the neck.

"You'd think they'd have been better fighters, though!" Laurel called back, screaming down half a dozen soldiers before running at them, flipping two knives into her hands.

"Putting several dumb soldiers together does not make them better!" Slade agreed, his sword slicing through three soldiers' necks at the same time.

Alex shot both her guns at the same time, taking down two soldiers before standing up. "Definitely not," she agreed, reaching for her comms. "We're clear up here," she reported, only to frown when she got static. "Hello?"

"Overwatch?" Malcolm turned around, frowning.

"Wonderful," Slade growled.

Footsteps came from down the hall, and the four spun around, raising their weapons. "Easy!" Oliver came out, hands raised slightly, Kara and Clark behind him.

"Kid," Slade said in relief. "There you are."

"Kara," Alex ran to hug her.

"Hey," Kara hugged her back. "Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"I hate Kryptonite."

Laurel snorted. "Join the club."

"There really are two of you," Malcolm tilted his head, looking at Clark.

Kara coughed. "Clark, meet Slade Wilson, Malcolm Merlyn, and Laurel Lance. They came with Oliver to first rescue me from Cadmus."

"Thank you," Clark told them sincerely, smiling. "She means a lot to me."

"She means a lot to us, too," Slade nodded.

"Fair warning, our comms are down," Alex warned. "We're going in blind."

Oliver sighed. "We've come this far. Better not give up now."

***

It had taken the original four about ten minutes to clear out nearly forty Cadmus soldiers. With Oliver and the two Kryptonians, they wiped out the rest on the floor within five.

At the end of the corridor was a completely dark room, the hum of electronics coming from inside. "OK, that's usually not good," Clark pointed out.

"Stay together," Oliver muttered, hearing murmurs of agreement. He was the first into the room, Kara and Clark behind him. Slade had just gotten through with them when the door crashed down behind them, separating them from Alex, Malcolm, and Laurel. "What the – ?" Kara spun around.

"Oliver!" Malcolm yelled, banging coming from the other side.

"Open the door!" Laurel shouted.

Clark checked around the door, shaking his head. "I can't find the controls!"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about your friends," a cruel voice behind them said, and Kara's face drained of all color as she spun around, emergency lights activating. Clark immediately placed himself in front of his cousin, Oliver and Slade turning as well. Lillian Luthor walked out from the shadows, smirking as she leaned against one of the monitors in the room. "They'll be too dead for you to care about."

***

"Malcolm, open the goddamn door!"

"What do you think I'm trying to do, Lance?!"

The lights in the corridor suddenly turned off, making the three outside turn around. "Who's there?" Alex finally called out.

"A familiar face," Hank Henshaw's voice answered, and the three braced themselves as Cyborg Superman stepped into the emergency lighting, his cyber eye starting to glow.

"Careful, that shoots – " Alex couldn't finish before Henshaw shot heat vision from the eye, sending Alex, Malcolm, and Laurel to find cover. " – heat vision!"

"Yeah, I can see that!" Malcolm quipped.

"Great," Laurel ground her teeth. "Always wanted to fight a cyborg!"

***

"So, it's been your band of vigilantes that's been interfering with my business," Lillian narrowed her eyes at Oliver. "A shame that this is how we meet."

"You tried to experiment on Supergirl," Oliver growled. "You tried to kill her at her own job! You had one of our friends killed!"

"Would you rather it had been the boy?" Lillian countered.

Slade snarled. "Say something like that again, I'll take out your eye."

"Oh, please," Lillian rolled her eyes. "I still have the advantage here."

"How?" Clark frowned. "You're alone."

"And defenseless," Kara added. "You don't have a weapon on you."

"No," Lillian shook her head. "I suppose I don't."

She pressed something behind the monitor she had, and abruptly, the overhead lights came on. They didn't shine white, though.

Oliver spun around as Kara and Clark both yelled in pain as they were bathed in glowing green light, both of them collapsing to the ground. "No!" he shouted, Slade rushing to check on them.

"But I'm the only one with the controls to the Kryptonite lights," Lillian laughed.

"You bitch!" Slade roared.

"Another word like that, and I up the power," Lillian narrowed her eyes. "And they die that much quicker."

Oliver narrowed his eyes, hearing Kara's pained whimpers behind him. "What do you want?"

"There we are," Lillian smiled in satisfaction. "Now, was that so hard?"

***

Laurel ran out from her cover, screaming at Henshaw as powerfully as she could. He grunted, doubling over, and Malcolm and Alex rushed the cyborg. He ducked Alex's punch, then held up his arm to block Malcolm's sword strike. The assassin yelped and staggered backwards, staring at his bent sword in shock. "What the hell?"

"I told you there was a reason he calls himself Cyborg Superman!" Alex shouted, stumbling backwards when Henshaw threw a right hook at her.

Malcolm went at Henshaw again, only to earn a fist in the stomach. Laurel jerked backwards as Malcolm flew past her, crashing into the wall, and she winced. "Backup would be nice!" she shouted, even know she figured no one could hear her.

Or maybe someone did, because next thing she knew, there was a breach opening up, and out skidded Wally, Cisco and J'onn jumping out with him. "You," Henshaw growled, turning to the man who had his form.

"I've been waiting for this," J'onn narrowed his eyes, turning into his Martian form.

"Let's kick some ass!" Cisco whooped as Wally sped forward, he and J'onn engaging Henshaw as Laurel hurried to check on Malcolm.

***

Oliver smirked when he heard Cisco. "Doesn't sound like it's going too well for you out there."

"Henshaw can handle his own," Lillian shook her head. "Besides, I have something more."

"What is it?" Slade growled.

"An incentive to let me go," Lillian answered, turning on her monitor. Oliver scowled, keeping his bow ready as he walked forward. He took a look on the screen and paused, eyes wide.

It showed Kara in an alleyway, transforming into Supergirl before she took off. "No," he whispered.

"I have several more videos like this," Lillian smirked triumphantly. "It takes one push of a button to release these to worldwide news sources. Supergirl will never be able to live a normal life again."

"Blackmail?" Slade narrowed his eyes. "You're resorting to blackmail?"

"I call it a means of escape," Lillian countered. "So, what will it be? Let me go, and I delete these videos? Or decide to hurt or kill me, and these are released? Your choice."

***

With the two additional metahumans and the Green Martian, Henshaw was failing quicker than he would have just up against Malcolm, Laurel, and Alex. He and J'onn exchanged multiple blows, and Henshaw had to keep in mind punches were coming from Wally faster than he could see, and he had to avoid Cisco's energy blasts and Laurel's screams as well.

"How's he still standing?" Malcolm couldn't help but marvel as he and Alex took cover in one of the corridors.

"He's strong," Alex answered with a sigh. "Extremely strong. He won't go down with just one hit."

Malcolm paused, then his eyes widened. "Then let's not make it one." He ran out into the corridor. "On my mark!" he shouted, drawing an arrow. He didn't get a response, but he didn't expect one. He did notice they gave him an opening, though, and Malcolm took it. He fired the arrow he had.

Henshaw caught it and gave him a condescending look. "Really?"

"Really," Malcolm grinned like the devil.

The arrow exploded in Henshaw's face, and he staggered, losing his balance. That was all it took for Laurel to scream at him, Cisco to unleash full blasts of energy, and for Wally to spin in circles and toss lightning at him. Henshaw roared in pain, the cybernetic parts of his head shattering as he went to his knees.

One more explosive arrow from Malcolm, and Henshaw collapsed on the ground, dead.  "Woo!" Cisco cheered, bending over double. "Wow, that was a whammy!"

"You good?" Wally asked, looking at him.

"Yeah," Cisco waved him off. "Nothing a cup of caffeine won't fix."

"One cup of tea because you're my best friend?" Laurel suggested before blinking rapidly and groaning, rubbing her head.

Cisco and Wally stared at her in shock, completely ignoring Malcolm, who couldn't help but burst into hysterical laughter. "Girl, are you high or something?" Cisco finally asked.

"You have no idea," Malcolm chortled.

***

When the sound of fighting outside silenced completely, Lillian's eyes widened. "No," she breathed, shaking in anger. "No!"

Her distraction was all Slade needed to raise his gun and fire repeatedly into the monitor Lillian had the videos on. She jumped backwards as the monitor toppled and fell, shattering upon impacting with the floor. "Oops," the Aussie snarked.

Oliver drew an arrow, aiming at Lillian. "It's over," he snarled. "You are going to pay for what you have done, Lillian Luthor. And it will not be by the courts."

"Then I won't go down alone," Lillian spat, pressing the button on the remote she had hidden behind the monitor.

Oliver shot his arrow into her heart just as Slade shot her in the head, Lillian toppling to the ground, dead before she hit the ground. But even as she fell, the overhead lights turned on to full power, blinding Oliver and Slade with how bright they are.

Clark howled in pain, Kara's wails breaking Oliver's heart. "Kara!" he yelled, running to her side as she and Clark collapsed on the ground entirely, glowing green lighting up their veins and their eyes, making them twitch and seize.

The door opened, and Alex screamed, running inside, her eyes wide. "Kara!" she sobbed.

"Oh, my God," Cisco's jaw dropped.

"Get them to the D.E.O., now!" J'onn yelled, and Wally hastily sped Kara away, returning a second later to take Clark away.

Alex snarled, turning to Lillian's corpse, watching her life blood drain out onto the floor. "That bitch!"

"Get what you can from the computers here," Oliver ordered Cisco. "Anything that can be used to ruin Lillian and destroy Cadmus, I want it."

"And when I'm done?" Cisco asked.

"Blow the place up!" Oliver snapped.

"Right," Cisco winced. "Uh huh. Will do. And, uh . . . " He concentrated and opened up a breach. "That goes to the D.E.O.!"

The others ran through quickly, and Cisco rubbed his hands together, turning around and looking at the other monitors in the room. "Let's get to work."

***

"Oh, thank G – " Winn began when he heard the crackle of electricity, only to yelp and drop his tablet when he saw Wally speed through and deposit an unconscious Kara on a medical bed in the back of the medbay, away from where Dig and Thea were lying. "Oh, my God!"

"You're kidding me!" Iris ran over as Wally came through again, this time with Clark. "You are so kidding me!"

"Kara!" William gasped, face draining of color when he saw how completely still she was.

"Sun lamps!" Winn ran over, nearly tripping over his feet in his haste. "We need the sun lamps!"

Wally sped around to set them up, getting them on the highest setting, directing them onto the two Kryptonians. One of Cisco's breaches opened up, and out came Oliver, Slade, Malcolm, Laurel, Alex, and J'onn. "What happened?" Curtis demanded.

"Lillian Luthor happened," Oliver spat angrily, running to Kara's side, closely followed by Alex. "They had the lights on them for a good ten minutes or so!"

"Oh, please let this work," Alex quietly begged to no one as she ran around, setting up monitors to keep track of the Kryptonians' vitals.

"Come on, little one, don't do this to us now," Slade whispered, seeing how weak Kara's pulse was.

"Dad?" William looked up at Oliver worriedly.

Oliver swallowed, wrapping his arm around his son's shoulders, feeling him bury his face into his side. "Come on, Kara," he pleaded. "Come on!"

***

Of course I'm going to end it there for tonight. I need something to look forward to writing this weekend. ;)

And that something will be the end of the book! There's not much left - one chapter, possibly two, and then the epilogue. And then it's onto the current seasons!

Also . . . lol, I think Laurel took the most lines from "Zari," and I don't even regret it. XD

Keep an eye out, guys. The end is near!