*peeks out* Please tell me people haven't abandoned this. I'm sorry for the long wait, guys! But this TV show called Supernatural suddenly started taking away my time, and I just recently (sort of) escaped it.

Also, as I'm sure everyone knows, the most recent seasons of the DC TV shows have started. Suffice to say, this is very AU from the current seasons. I also made a slight time adjustment: instead of it being five months since "Once Call Away," it's been three. That means there'll have been right about four months between the end of this book and when "Crisis on Earth-X" happens. Which I am super pumped about, by the way. :D

Something else I mentioned on my profile was - after this book - doing a book with (kind of) one-shots following certain episodes of Arrow Season 6 and Supergirl Season 3. Some of them might actually take place during the episode ("Triggers" from Supergirl being one of them, most likely) and some of them probably will take place after (because Kara would totally need a drinking buddy after "The Faithful"). Anyone opposed?

Anyway, here's an update . . . and I'm working on uploading this when I should be doing a paper for English . . . *cricket chirps* Yeah, tomorrow is going to be a looooooooong day.

But hey, y'all are finally starting to get a bit more Kariver here! And if you take into consideration the small bit of conversation I put on my profile and that gif of Oliver up top, you can probably guess what's happening.

Enjoy chapter ten, guys!

***

"That is a genius idea," Thea pointed at Kara's balcony as she and Oliver landed. "That is perfect for you!"

"Hey, guys," Alex smiled as she held up a stack of pizza boxes with one hand, the other holding up a bag of takeout. "Hungry?"

"Starving," Kara moaned, hurrying to her room to change out of her suit.

Oliver shook his head, smiling fondly as he removed his gloves. "She could give Barry a run for his money on how much they eat."

"I've never met Barry, but he's a metahuman, right?" When Oliver nodded, Alex snorted. "Oliver. My sister's an alien."

Oliver sighed. "She'd beat him, wouldn't she?"

"Probably," Alex grinned as Lena and Dinah snickered.

"Also, one of the D.E.O. agents dropped by with your bag, and Laurel's," Maggie gestured towards the wall. "That's assuming you want to be on 'Kara Watch.'"

"Kara Watch?" Oliver repeated.

Alex tucked her hair behind her ear. "She's not at the D.E.O. anymore," she said softly. "None of us know how she's going to do."

Oliver immediately nodded. "I'll stay. Absolutely."

"It'll be you and me, then," Alex nodded. "It's not that I don't trust you, honestly, I do – "

"Thank God," Thea mumbled into her drink.

"But she's your sister," Oliver finished for Alex. "I'd do the same for Thea."

"Naw," Thea nudged him playfully. "Thanks, big bro!"

"So, that pizza is all Kara's, and it'll be gone before any of us even finish two slices," Alex took the top pizza off and set it to the side. "Practically every meat that exists is on that thing."

"I have the best sister ever," Kara declared as she exited her bedroom, wearing sweats and a tank top, tying her hair in a ponytail.

"Eh, I could argue," Oliver shrugged.

"Please don't tell me we're going to start this right when we're about to eat," Dinah groaned, reaching for a box of Chinese.

"Well, they're both badasses," Felicity shrugged, making Alex and Thea smirk at each other. "I don't think it's fair to compare them."

Oliver rolled his eyes as he went to get his bag and change out of his suit. "Bathroom's just down the hall," Kara smiled, pointing.

"Thanks," Oliver nodded. "Enjoy your entire pizza. You'll probably be done when I get back," he joked.

Kara playfully smacked him in the shoulder, making him snicker as he left. Kara turned in time to see Alex and Thea giving her expectant looks, while Lena, Felicity, and Dinah tried not to laugh. Maggie and Laurel already were. "Stop it!" she complained, sending all of them into fits of laughter.

***

"No, no, no, hold on," Alex shook her head, rubbing her temples. "Sorry, I'm still trying to understand this."

"So am I," Maggie looked between a snickering Oliver and a laughing Thea. "Seriously?"

"How are they not making this connection?" Alex threw up her hands. "First there was the Arrow, then there's the Green Arrow?"

"And you still wore green as the Arrow?" Maggie clarified.

"Yes," Felicity giggled, her shoulders shaking as Lena collapsed into giggles.

"I'm sorry, that's worse than her," Alex pointed at Kara, who started, "thinking she can get away with wearing glasses and putting her hair up."

"Hey!" Kara whined. "It's worked so far!"

"I don't know what Star City's excuse is," Dinah snorted.

"I don't know, either," Oliver admitted freely, taking a drink from his beer.

"What are they, blind?" Maggie wondered, making Laurel choke on her sip of wine.

"God only knows," Thea rolled her eyes, brushing her hands off. "Well, thanks for dinner, but I'm going to go check in with Samantha and William."

"Yeah, we better get back to the D.E.O.," Felicity nodded, hurrying to stand. "Maybe they found something that we can work with tomorrow."

"The sooner, the better," Oliver nodded.

"Sleep well," Lena smiled at everyone as she grabbed her coat.

"Don't do anything stupid," Thea added, playfully glaring at Oliver. "As in do not think about patrolling a city you don't know."

Oliver raised an eyebrow as if asking "who, me?" "Slade and Malcolm are probably already doing that," Laurel snorted, rolling her eyes.

"They would," Oliver admitted.

"Really, though, I hope everything goes well," Maggie gave Kara a quick hug and kissed Alex's cheek.

"So do I," Kara fidgeted slightly.

"And that's why we're here," Alex nodded to Oliver. "We'll make sure nothing happens."

Kara nodded, chewing her lip, still seeming unsure.

***

After Kara went to bed, Oliver and Alex argued for ten minutes straight about who would be getting the couch. In the end, they had to flip a coin for who would decide. When Oliver won and told Alex she could get the couch, Alex, in return, told Oliver stubbornly they would do best two out of three. Oliver still won and physically hauled her to the couch. Only then did Alex grumble and settle down to sleep. As she started nodding off, she realized that left Oliver in the armchair closest to Kara's bedroom. She had a smile on her face with that thought in mind as she slipped into sleep.

It felt like she had just closed her eyes when Kara's shrieks shattered the silence.

Alex shot up from the couch, throwing the blankets off her, looking around for Oliver, only to see him already opening the door to Kara's room. She scrambled after him, and both of them ran to where Kara was thrashing in bed, hair messily sprawled over the pillows. "Kara!" Oliver shook her slightly, Alex crawling onto the other side of the bed. "Kara, wake up!"

"Kara," Alex tapped her lightly. "Come on, Kara!"

"Kara!"

Kara lashed out suddenly, and Oliver yelped when she caught him in the stomach with full Kryptonian strength, sending him reeling. "Kara!" Alex gasped, shaking Kara slightly harder as Oliver winced, gripping the doorframe as he slowly straightened.

"Well," Oliver blinked, groaning a bit as he finally got upright. "Now I know a bit about how Adrian felt after she dealt with him. I still don't pity him."

Kara shot upright, eyes as wide as saucers, her other hand raised to hit again. "Whoa, Kara!" Alex flung both hands up. "Kara, it's me! It's Alex!"

"Alex?" Kara repeated faintly, chest heaving as she tried to come back to reality.

"Yes," Alex nodded furiously. "You're safe, Kara. You're back in your apartment."

Oliver reached over and flicked the light on, making Alex wince slightly. Kara blinked rapidly, looking around, before her gaze landed on him. Her eyes widened again, and she blanched. "Oh, Rao, did I – ?"

"Don't worry about it," Oliver shook his head, making his way over.

"Oliver, I just hit you!"

"Kara, trust me when I say this is nothing compared to five years of hell," Oliver gave her a look.

Kara chewed her lip, tears in her eyes. "I still hit you."

Oliver sighed, giving her a sympathetic hug. "You were having a nightmare. I don't blame you for lashing out."

"Did I say anything?" Kara asked warily.

"No," Oliver shook his head. "You were just screaming."

Kara nodded, chewing her lip and pulling her legs up to her chest. "Can I get you anything?" Alex asked quietly. When Kara didn't answer, she tilted her head. "Some famous Alex Danvers hot chocolate?"

That coaxed a small smile from Kara. "Maybe."

"OK," Alex chuckled, giving Kara a small hug. "Oliver? Do you want some?"

"Won't hurt, I guess," Oliver shrugged. "Thanks."

Alex nodded and left, leaving the door open. Oliver watched her go –

"I could never say anything once they started."

Oliver froze and turned to Kara, startled. She was staring at a blank spot on the wall, tears in her eyes. "What?" he asked carefully, sitting down on the bed.

"It hurt so much, I couldn't get any words out," Kara answered numbly, trying to make herself look even smaller. "Sometimes, I couldn't even scream. My voice just gave out."

Oliver swallowed, unsure whether he should comfort the scared Kryptonian or not. When she sniffed and rubbed at her eyes, that made the decision for him. He scooted closer and held out an arm. Kara curled into him, starting to sob, and Oliver squeezed her tightly. "What did you see?" he asked quietly. Kara looked down, and he squeezed her again. "You don't need to tell me."

"No, I need to tell someone." Kara took a shaky breath. "It didn't originally start out as . . . torture." She said it as if it was a curse word. "Originally, they just . . . they kept me chained in the cell you found me in. At least, I assume it was my cell?"

"Did it have Kryptonite bars?"

Kara shuddered. "That's it. At first, they just kept me in there in Kryptonite chains, too. Questions started off simple, too. Where certain aliens in National City were, and if I didn't answer, they'd tighten the chains. When they started rubbing my wrists raw and I couldn't speak, that was when they left." Oliver tensed at the description. If Kryptonite could do that to her wrists . . .

Kara sniffed and looked down, and a small movement off to the side made Oliver look up. Alex was standing in the doorway, one hand covering her mouth, tears in her eyes. Oliver made a quiet motion, and Alex nodded, silently shifting to a position where she wasn't in eyesight but could still hear. If Oliver could help Kara, she would stay out of the conversation.

"That was simple?" Oliver asked Kara in disbelief.

"Complicated was when they chained me spread-eagled on one of their operating tables and switched to Kryptonite knives," Kara deadpanned, and Oliver narrowed his eyes, clenching his fist. "They even started collecting my blood. Questions switched to ones about the structure of the D.E.O., about how to bring it down. More often than not, I nearly passed out on the table. That was when they . . . they threw me back without caring if I was hurt or not."

"And the bleeding?" Oliver asked.

Kara chuckled humorlessly. "They made sure I didn't die."

That was enough for Oliver to get that while Kara was obviously taken care of, it wasn't to the best of Cadmus's abilities. He took a deep breath, knowing this might not be the best way to go . . . but he had to know. "When Cisco vibed you," he began, pausing when Kara tensed. "When he saw you were in trouble . . . he said you were injected." Kara froze, and Oliver swallowed. "Kara, how long had that been going on?" Kara started to shake, and Oliver quickly reached for a blanket, wrapping it around Kara. "Like I said, you don't need to answer – "

"That was when Lillian just taunted me," she croaked, and Oliver paused, narrowing his eyes. She had not said that . . . had she? "Often it was about Lena, about how our friendship would be ruined if she knew I was Supergirl. Sometimes it was about J'onn or Alex or how I had lost my planet because I was just pathetic and weak. The more I reacted, the more they injected me." She closed her eyes. "I swear, they just started measuring how much blood I lost to see when I bled the most."

Oliver snarled, making Kara recoil. "And just when I think I've seen the worst monsters can do," he ground out, and Kara turned wide eyes to him. "Kara, how long did that happen? When did it start?"

Kara chewed her lip. "Midway into the second week," she admitted.

"Half your time there," Oliver figured it out. His eyes were practically slits by then. "Monsters is kind. Savages, more like it." Kara ducked her head, and Oliver shook his head, putting his hand on her cheek. "Kara, look at me. Look at me." Kara cautiously raised her head. "They're going to pay," he assured her. "And if that means my team and I butcher the entire organization, then we will. They're never going to hurt you again. I promise."

"And they won't be alone, Kara," Alex said softly, coming back into the room, holding out a large mug to Kara. She took it with shaky hands, and Alex crouched so they were at eye level. "We are going to wipe them from the planet, I swear. And if they even put a finger on you, you can bet they're getting torn to pieces."

Kara nodded numbly, lifting the mug to her lips and taking a drink. Oliver rubbed her arm comfortingly, nodding to Alex and letting her know he had this handled. Alex just nodded back and handed him another mug. He nodded again in thanks, but when Alex left, he put the mug on Kara's bedside table. With his other hand, he pulled out his phone, found Malcolm's number, and typed out a single order.

***

Malcolm was putting his sword on the weapons rack the D.E.O. had lent the Earth-1 vigilantes when his phone suddenly beeped. Frowning, he pulled it out, wondering who it was from. When he saw the message from Oliver, he tensed. "Now they've done it."

"Who did what now?" Quentin asked, J'onn looking up from the tablet he and Winn were viewing.

Malcolm grimaced. "Cadmus just officially brought out the Hood in Oliver."

"The Hood?" Winn echoed, looking around when Team Arrow either blanched or grimaced.

"During Oliver's first year, there were times he was . . . less than kind to some of the people he paid visits to," Dig answered carefully. "And, well . . . he's kinder now, let's put it that way."

"What did he say?" Nyssa frowned.

"I'd say it's safe to assume Quentin wins the bet," Malcolm merely held out his phone.

Everyone looked at the screen, and Winn's eyes went comically large as Felicity gasped, Slade growling as Laurel's eyes narrowed.

If you find any, kill all Cadmus men on sight.

"Holy crap, Oliver," Curtis breathed.

"I know he wants Cadmus gone, but for him to give that order . . . " Rene whistled. "Damn, Hoss."

"Kara must have had a nightmare of some kind," Dinah checked her watch.

"And Cadmus had the starring role," Laurel agreed.

"Never again," Slade shook his head.

Malcolm nodded as he typed out a two-word response to Oliver.

Our pleasure.

***

And extremely overprotective Team Arrow is about to come out and play. ;)

Hopefully the story will start moving along a bit more now! Keep an eye out guys. :)