Won't Let You Down (Book Two of The Unmatched Records)

Chapter Three

"I'm getting better pictures here," Lena reported. "Most of them look like laboratories of some kind." She sounded disgusted, too. "Avoid those at all costs."

"Then where are we headed?" Slade looked around.

As if on cue, a bloodcurdling scream came from further down the hall. All four vigilantes spun around, eyes wide. "That way," Oliver ran at once. The three others were right behind him. "Checkmate!"

"I'm working out a quicker route for you to get out of there," Lena responded. "If Kara's awake, I don't know if she can walk herself or if you need to carry her."

"If she's being tortured again, with Kryptonite injections, we'll need to carry her," Oliver growled, shooting down two guards that got in his way. He heard Slade stab them again for good measure behind him.

"Great," Lena muttered. "OK, the best I can tell you is that you'll need to run like hell back to your getaway vehicle. Blow the Kryptonite when you leave. They'll think you're trying to set up a distraction and will search the complex. They won't find you leaving."

Oliver went around the corner and stopped, seeing two people in lab coats emerge on the other end. They froze, eyes wide, and Oliver's eyes tunneled to the glowing green bracelets they wore. He brought his bow up at the same time as Malcolm, and they fired at the same time, killing both scientists, their Kryptonite bracelets shattering on the ground. Laurel stamped on them for good measure as the two archers ran to see where they had come from.

There were two guards in front of a door barred with a long glowing green rod. Oliver immediately had his bow up again, not giving the guards time to raise their guns. He shot the closest one first, then heard wind whistle. A second later, the second guard jerked and collapsed, one of Laurel's knives in his jugular. Malcolm and Slade were past him before he hit the floor, lifting the Kryptonite rod as Laurel bent down to check the machine guns the guards had. Glowing green bullets fell into the palm of her hand, and she snarled. "Monsters!"

Slade slammed the door open, Malcolm through a second later, bow raised. Oliver heard the telltale thud of bodies hitting the floor, refraining from smirking. It sounded like Malcolm had finally hit the point where he was past sparing the lucky one who got away. When he entered, he saw Malcolm had even taken down one of the scientists that had just gotten a single foot out the door.

Oliver didn't pity the man one bit, if the needle smashed on the floor was what he thought it had been.

"Kid," Slade whispered, sounding horrified.

Oliver turned around to see Slade had run to a cage with Kryptonite bars all the way to the ceiling. He was working on the lock, looking through the bars at the limp blonde lying in her own blood on the ground. "Kara," he breathed, running over.

"Holy shit," Laurel's eyes bugged wide.

"What the hell have they done to her?" Malcolm snarled, Slade's growls nearly loud enough to make him not be heard.

"Lena, we need the fastest way out from our position, now," Oliver ordered, crouching down to see if Kara was moving. She wasn't.

"Working on it now," Lena answered hurriedly.

"How do we get her out?" Malcolm asked.

Oliver narrowed his eyes, then turned to Laurel. "Sing, Siren," he ordered.

Laurel grinned, taking a deep breath as Oliver and Slade dove out of her way. A second later, she screamed, her voice breaking the lock on the door and splintering through the Kryptonite.

It also made the Kryptonian inside whimper in pain. "Kara," Oliver ran to her side, gently rolling her over. Her blue eyes, once so full of life, were glazed over with pain, barely seeing. Her blonde hair was stained with red, and Oliver could barely make out the S on her chest because of it all. "Damn them all," he hissed angrily.

"You carry her, kid," Slade narrowed his eye, drawing his sword once more. "Leave these monsters to us."

"Black Siren's scream set the facility on alert," Lena warned. "So far, it's just in your part of the complex, but you need to go, now."

Oliver bent and lifted Kara bridal style, swallowing hard when her head lolled back, shifting his grip so he supported her better. Malcolm and Laurel instantly moved to his sides protectively, Slade the first out the door. Very few soldiers made it past Slade and his swordsmanship; those who did were shot down by Malcolm or stabbed violently by Laurel. Lena calmly guided them through the building, the group leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.

When they made it out, Oliver sprinted for the tree line, Malcolm hurrying to catch up to him. The Dark Archer fired at the guards in their way, Slade and Laurel carving through the souls unfortunate enough to try and stop them. When they had nearly reached the van, Oliver ordered, "Blow it up, Checkmate."

As Slade leapt into the front, Oliver and Laurel in back attempting to stop the blood still seeping from Kara, the warehouse where Malcolm and Laurel had discovered the Kryptonite exploded into a massive fireball. Slade whipped the wheel around and roared off, Oliver squeezing Kara's hand and desperately hoping the Kryptonian would hang on until they found the help she needed, and hoping her sister came through.

***

No promises when the next chapter will be, guys. I have a four-day New Student Orientation to go through, followed by the first few days of classes. Don't expect me to update real soon while I try to adjust to this new phase of life.

Anyway, Alex will make her appearance next chapter, and a few others will finally appear as well. :)