"Slade, how'd you find this place?" Oliver asked as he pushed himself to his feet.

Deathstroke stepped through the smoke like he'd been waiting for this moment.

"Did you really think I didn't know about your little clubhouse, kid? It's obvious to anyone who knows your secret. I'm just amazed that all your other enemies are too dumb to figure out who you are."

"Says the man who got both his hands cut off the last time you fought him," Thea shot back, helping Helena steady herself.

Slade chuckled, tilting his head. "Such spirit, Ms. Queen. I'm surprised your big brother had the guts to drag you into his world. Put you in danger. Last I heard, you're no soldier."

"I fight for my city, just like him," Thea snapped, stepping forward as the rest of the team pulled themselves upright behind her.

"It doesn't seem right that you attacked us when we're not dressed for the occasion. Let's fix that. Vey'ra tal'esh."

Kase's tattoos flared a brilliant cyan, the light erupting into a blinding flash that swallowed the room. When it faded, every member of Team Arrow stood fully suited — except Curtis, who still lacked a suit. Even Emiko found herself in her old Ninth Circle armor.

Slade's visor narrowed. "I see you've added some new players since the last time we met."

"And if memory serves," Green Arrow said, drawing his bow, "the last time we met didn't end very well for you."

"I'll give you that," Slade admitted. "I underestimated you. But I promise you — this time ends very differently."

"What, because you've got robo-hands now?" Green Arrow shot back.

"No," Deathstroke said, raising his sword. "Because this time, I came prepared."

He pointed at the team. "Kill them all. But remember — Green Arrow is mine."

His mercenaries surged forward.

With the Barracks already about half collapsed from the initial explosion, it was hard for the fighting to turn into pure chaos as Deathstroke's force were quick to force Team Arrow to scatter. Ravager was quick to engage Spartan and Katana while Terra engaged Kase and Arsenal and Rose Wilson fought Huntress and Red Arrow while Emiko and Wild Dog engaged with the remainder of Deathstrokes' mercs while also protecting Curtis, who seemed to be trying to work on something while hiding behind his workbench.

That left Green Arrow to deal with Deathstroke, who wanted to fight him personally.

"I'm surprised you didn't call in your kids. Though bringing children into this world is shameful and dishonorable." Deathstroke said.

"Says the man who brought two teenagers into this." Green Arrow said, referring to Rose and Terra.

"I needed assets to deal with yours. And I'm going to make sure that your children grow up without a father. Assuming I decide to let them or that lovely wife of yours live at all." Deathstroke said.

The floor shuddered as another chunk of ceiling gave way, dust raining down like ash. Sparks spat from severed cables. The Barracks groaned under its own weight, every sound a reminder that the whole place could come down at any second.

But Deathstroke didn't care.

He advanced on Green Arrow with that slow, deliberate stride — the one that said he knew he was the strongest man in the room and didn't need to rush to prove it.

Green Arrow tightened his grip on his bow. "You're not touching my family."

Deathstroke's helmet tilted, almost amused. "You think you can stop me? You couldn't stop me when you were at your best. And now you're older. Slower. Softer."

He swung.

Green Arrow barely dodged as the Mirakuru‑fueled strike carved a trench through the concrete floor. The shockwave alone knocked him off balance.

Across the room, the rest of the team was fighting for their lives:

Ravager's blades clashed against Spartan's gauntlets and Katana's sword, sparks flying as she moved with a ferocity that forced both veterans to stay on the defensive.

Terra hurled a wave of broken concrete toward Kase and Arsenal, forcing Kase to counter with a burst of cyan energy that shattered the debris midair.

Rose Wilson danced between Huntress and Red Arrow, her twin swords flashing as she tested their rhythms, their tells, their weaknesses — but never quite going for the kill.

Emiko and Wild Dog held the line against the mercenaries, keeping them away from Curtis, who was frantically assembling something behind his overturned workbench.

But Deathstroke only saw Green Arrow.

"You should've stayed on that island," Deathstroke said, swinging again. Green Arrow blocked with his bow, the impact jarring his entire arm. "You should've died there. It would've spared your family the pain of watching you fail them."

Green Arrow gritted his teeth. "You don't get to talk about my family."

Deathstroke leaned in, voice low and venomous.

"I'm going to make sure your children grow up without a father. Assuming I decide to let them — or that lovely wife of yours — live at all."

Green Arrow's expression changed.

Not fear.

Not anger.

Something colder.

Something that said Deathstroke had finally crossed the one line Oliver Queen never forgave.

"You're not touching them," Green Arrow said, drawing an arrow and firing point‑blank.

Deathstroke caught it.

Snapped it.

Dropped the pieces at Green Arrow's feet.

"Try again." Deathstroke said as they continued fighting.

As Huntress and Red Arrow fought against Rose, they could both tell something was off.

Her footwork was flawless.

Her blade work was lethal.

But her heart wasn't in it.

Her strikes came fast, but not deep.

Precise, but not committed.

There was a flicker of reluctance in her eyes every time her swords met theirs.

"Who the hell are you?" Red Arrow demanded, knocking aside one of her blades.

Rose pivoted, steel flashing. "Rose Wilson. But you can call me Silverstrike."

She swung again — a perfect, surgical strike that Helena barely deflected — but even then, there was a hesitation in her wrist, a softness in her stance.

Huntress narrowed her eyes. "Well what's your deal? You don't seem as invested in this fight as your dear old dad."

Silverstrike's next strike faltered just enough for Huntress to see the truth behind it.

"I don't have a choice," she said — so quietly they almost missed it under the roar of collapsing concrete and distant gunfire.

Red Arrow exchanged a quick look with Huntress. That wasn't the voice of a killer. That was the voice of someone trapped.

"What does he have on you?" Huntress pressed, her tone shifting — still guarded, but no longer hostile. She'd seen too many kids dragged into battles they never chose.

Silverstrike's jaw tightened. Her blades dipped a fraction.

"My mother," she whispered. "He's threatening my mother."

The words hung between them, heavy and raw — a confession carved out of fear and desperation.

And for the first time since the fight began, Silverstrike's guard truly dropped.

As the battle progressed, what was left of the Barracks was reduced to ruins, there wasn't much left worth saving.

"Curtis, how much longer do you need? Not sure how much longer we can cover you." Wild Dog said as he gunned down another merc.

"Done." Curtis said as he activated his project, which was some kind of metal sphere with a t accent in it.

"What is that?" Emiko asked.

"I call it a T-sphere. And it has a mission." Curtis said, right as the sphere zoomed over where Deathstroke and Green Arrow were still fighting it out and quickly managed to covertly extract a sample of Deathstroke's blood before moving to escape.

Speaking of Green Arrow and Deathstroke, they were still locking horns, both their suits damaged from the carnage.

"Slade, this has to stop, you're gonna bring the whole place down on both of us." Green Arrow said.

"That's the idea. In fact, enough of this. Terra, we came here to do a job. Finish it. Bring this place down and everyone evacuate." Deathstroke ordered.

The Barracks screamed as Terra's final stomp tore through the foundation.

Steel twisted. Concrete split. Flames burst from ruptured lines. The entire structure lurched sideways.

"EVERYONE OUT!" Green Arrow shouted, shoving himself away from Deathstroke's next strike.

But there was no "out" left.

The exit corridor caved in.

The ceiling dropped another two feet.

A support beam crashed between Spartan and Ravager, cutting them off.

Dust choked the air.

The floor buckled under their boots.

Kase felt the shift — not just in the building, but in the energy of the room.

The kind of shift that meant they had seconds.

Maybe less.

Her tattoos flared violently, reacting before she even consciously formed the thought.

"Kase!" Arsenal shouted. "We're trapped!"

"I know!" she yelled back, voice cracking under the strain of the magic building inside her. "Get close to me! NOW!"

Team Arrow converged on her through falling debris and chaos:

Spartan dragging Katana.

Wild Dog hauling Curtis by the collar.

Huntress and Red Arrow pulling Silverstrike with them.

Emiko covering their backs.

Green Arrow sprinting from Deathstroke's reach.

Deathstroke lunged after him—

—but the floor collapsed beneath them both, sending Slade crashing into the lower level as Green Arrow leapt toward the others.

Kase slammed her palms together.

Her tattoos ignited in blinding cyan light.

"Vey'ra tal'ESH'RA!"

The word tore out of her like a scream.

A shockwave of magic erupted outward, swallowing the team in a sphere of shimmering blue energy just as the Barracks gave its final, catastrophic groan.

The ceiling collapsed.

The walls imploded.

The entire structure folded in on itself like a dying beast.

And Team Arrow vanished.

When the light faded, Team Arrow found themselves standing in some kind of black area, on a circular platform.

"What's going on? This isn't the Barracks." Curtis said as they all got their bearings, all of them beaten and their suits damaged, but they were alive.

"No, it's not. Welcome to my personal pocket dimension. Kind of a rush job, but this was the best place I could bring us to escape Slade and his forces." Kase said.

"You think the collapse killed Slade and his people?" Thea asked her brother.

"His people maybe. Slade, not a chance." Oliver said.

"So then what do we do?" John asked.

"I don't know yet, but the Barracks are lost. We'll need a temporary base of operations until we can establish a new one." Oliver said.

"I might have something." Curtis said.

"What?" Oliver asked.

"I remember you said that the scientist who was originally after the mirakuru created a cure for it. So I had my t sphere retrieve this." Curtis said as he showed that the sphere contained Slade's blood.

"What are we supposed to do with blood?" Helena asked, but Oliver realized what it was.

"It's Slade's blood, full of mirakuru." Oliver said.

"Exactly. If we can separate the mirakuru from the blood, we can use it to reverse engineer a cure." Curtis said.

"And with the cure, I can take away one of Slade's biggest advantages." Oliver said.

"Just one question." John said.

"And that is?" Rene asked.

'What's she doing here?" John asked, directing all of their attention to a stowaway, Rose Wilson.