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Green Arrow: Eternal: S2E6: LIVING WEAPONS - Part 1: The Armory

by Mechanist Gamma

Mechanist Gamma Team Arrow finally makes its move on the base of the Living Weapons, but Smithy is prepared for them. Divide and conquer may just be the strategy that destroys Team Arrow... Not if the Question can help it, that is!
“So, everyone’s caught up?”
“What I’m NOT caught up on is how the hell this rickety van is supposed to help.” Diggle said from the driver’s seat. Next to him sat Naomi Singh. In the rear of the van, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Question and Doctor Mid-Nite passed around pictures and documents Question had gathered from his folder.
“A bit of inconspicuity goes a long way.” Question remarked. “Besides, I doubt you’d be able to fit four costumes metas in a regular car and NOT draw suspicion.”
“Metas?” Oliver glared at Question, feeling slightly attacked.
“Well, I’m not about to call myself a superhero.” Question retorted. “We still have time. Let’s go over the attack plan one more time.”
“We’re raiding the Armory, a warehouse bought by Smithy in Salem, Oregon years ago and converted into a training facility.” Black Canary said. “It’s been off the grid since then, despite receiving constant power, cell signal and a running water system. Likely wired up by Smithy himself. We’ll be splitting into four teams. Arrow and I will take the southwest entrance. Diggle and Mid-Nite will tackle the southeast. Question, meanwhile, will enter from the west. Naomi watches the truck, keeping our communication equipment with her. The north is covered by a cliff, blocking any chance of entering through there, and the east is in full view of the highway and likely the most heavily watched angle. We’ll meet up in the center using Team Arrow communicators, find Smithy and shut him and his operation down.”
“You forgot to mention Smithy’s agents.” Question said. He picked out the four photos of them in full armor. “Codenames? Blade, Barrel, Scythe and Quiver. Quiver is Arrow’s archer friend, and Blade was his partner in the attack on the Star City Police Department. Barrel and Scythe, we know nothing about. We don’t know their real names, either, or what they’re capable of. Likely a lot. DO NOT underestimate them.”
“I should be able to patch up anyone who gets injured.” Mid-Nite said. “If you’re too far away, or if I’m caught up, you’ll have to deal with it yourself until I can get there.”
“Any chance we have a guy on the inside?” Ollie asked jokingly. Question merely gave him a look.
“T-Minus five minutes.” Naomi said, tapping the GPS. “Fyff and I will keep an eye on you from the air, like always.”
Diggle sighed. “I hope you guys know what I had to do to be here for this. ARGUS doesn’t give sick days.”
“We appreciate it.” Dinah said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s get a quick run-through of our gear.”

“I see them.” the russian woman said, over a camera. “John Diggle, agent of ARGUS and known associate of Team Arrow from the Vertigo situation. They’re on the highway now.”
“How long do we have?” Smithy asked. His large warhammer rested beside him as he grabbed a special shirt, pulling it on.
“Four minutes, by my estimate.” she replied. Turning away from the screen, she looked to her partners. The Japanese man she had formed a close friendship with, Blade, and the two American boys, Quiver and Scythe.
Roy looked at his boss. The grey-haired man glanced over, awaiting his words. “Teacher… Where do you want us?”
“There’s only three viable points of entry.” Smithy huffed. “The west, southwest and southeast entrances. There’s four of you. I’ll pair each of you up based on your opponent. So get to the barracks and wait for deployment. It’s the closest room to all three entrances.”
The quartet nodded, moving to leave.
“Wait. Quiver.”
Roy stopped, looking back to his master.
“Yes, teacher?”
“Queen is yours.”
“...understood.”
Roy Harper - Quiver - stalked off, holding the edge of his bow. Smithy chuckled in delight.
“Dante… soon enough, your little hero problem will be solved for you.”

“Mission is go. I repeat, mission is go.”
Green Arrow and Black Canary dashed forwards. Spotting a camera on the outside of the building, Oliver gave Dinah a signal. They both hid behind a rock as the camera swiveled to where they were, only leaving their position after it gazed past them. Reaching the large door, Green Arrow took his bow from his shoulders and notched an arrow, sidling up against it on the opposite side from Black Canary. “Breaching charge?”
Canary nodded, taking a Queen Tech device from the small bag she held at her side. Sticking it to the door, she pressed some buttons. The device beeped before hissing. A muffled bang rang out, signifying the lock was blown. Green Arrow was the first to move in, aiming with his bow for the first sign of trouble.
The inside of the warehouse was dark. Canary whipped out a flashlight, using it to look around. Certainly looked like a warehouse. The long corridor that stood before them held nothing but shadow, metal and wood.
“Looks like this used to be some sort of loggery. Firewood factory? Whatever it’s called.” Canary huffed.
“Thought there’d be someone here.” Oliver said. He lowered his bow, the pair walking through the halls.
“ARROW! ARROW, ARE YOU- -E’RE LOSING THE SI----! WE’RE NOT READING Y---”
“What the?” Green Arrow tapped at the communicator in his ear. “Naomi? Naomi, are you-”
*BOOM*
Oliver and Dinah turned quickly. The door had shut behind them. Seems they hadn’t destroyed it after all.
“Hey, Canary? You think this is a trap?”
“Looking likely…”
“And they said superheroes were dumb.”
Oliver turned towards the voice just in time to deflect Quiver’s incoming arrow with his bow, Blade leaping towards Black Canary.

“That can’t be good.”
Diggle cursed as static filled the communicator in his ear. He ripped it out, shoving it in his pocket. “Damn it. They know we’re here. Jammed us.”
The slamming of the door behind them confirmed the pair’s assumption. Mid-Nite groaned. “Well, at least we’ve both got visual, even in the darkness.” the Doctor stated. Diggle nodded, tapping the night-vision goggles he was wearing.
The pair advanced further into the facility. As they searched around, Cross encountered a large crate. “What’s this?” The Doctor moved over to it, opening it up. It seemed to be a large shipping crate at first look, but inside it looked more like a coffin you could live in, complete with places to hold weapons and food. “Guess we know how they got to Star City now.”
“Hold up.” Diggle raised a hand. In front of them was a large door. The ARGUS agent sidled up next to it, opening the door slightly and peering inside. “We’ve got a large room inside here. Looks like some sort of shooting range.”
Seeing no visible danger, the two walked in. As they did, the lights automatically flicked on. Diggle removed his night vision goggles, resting them on his forehead. Pieter, meanwhile, covered his eyes. “Too bright…”
“This is my room.”
At the sound of the Russian accent, Diggle and Cross moved back to back. They glanced around, looking for where it had come from.
There was a hiss, and portions of the floor, roof and walls opened up. Dozens of targets came out, most moving around on some sort of conveyor belt.
“This is where I train. Where I learn to kill.”
From the corner of his eye, Diggle spotted the glint of silver, standing out from the white room.
“Today, I kill for the first time.”
“GET DOWN!” Diggle shoved Mid-Nite away, rolling out of the path of the bullet. The two drew their weapons as Barrel dashed towards them.

“Static. Figures.”
Question removed the piece from his ear, closing his seemingly nonexistent eyes as he tucked it away. Choosing to focus on the mission, he strode ahead.
As he opened a door and snuck through, the Question found himself in a red hot room. Looking around, he saw it was a forge, burning brightly with light from the fireplace. At the other end of the room, various racks stood with many molds in place. A large barrel was held to the ceiling, an opening sealed shut by a crank. “So this is where he makes the weapons. I’m assuming that barrel is filled with liquid iron, which he pours into the molds. Then he does what any good blacksmith does.”
“I’m right, yes?”
Question didn’t even turn around, but he knew the man looking down at him from the catwalk above had taken pause. “I know you’re there, so let’s get this over with, shall we?”
A moment later, the Question leapt back as a jet black metal scythe slammed into the floor next to him, tearing the metal. The silver-clad soldier holding it flipped his weapon around, drawing it from the floor and pointing it right at the detective.
“I am Scythe.” the Living Weapon stated. “Though you already know that.”
“Pays to be paranoid sometimes.” Question chuckled.

The two arrows struck against each other, deflecting from it. The emerald shaft struck right above Quiver’s head, and the silver arrow flew right in between Green Arrow’s legs. Oliver let out a sigh of relief it hadn’t landed a few inches higher.
Quiver notched another arrow, firing it off. Green Arrow rolled out of the way. “Y’know, you’re not that much of a talker.” Oliver said. “Kinda miss the witty banter of villains sometimes!”
“I’d rather concentrate on my shots than mindless babble.” Quiver replied. He launched two arrows simultaneously. Oliver stepped off the catwalk, stomping a grappling arrow into the ground as he did. As he fell back, he drew and launched a specialized arrow right at Quiver’s face, but the Living Weapon caught it. “You’ll need to try harder than that.”
“Tick tick boom.”
“Wh-”
*BOOM*
The explosive arrowhead combusted, sending Quiver slamming into the metal wall behind him. Oliver tugged on the cord of his grappling arrow, launching himself back upwards. Kicking Quiver’s bow to the side, he held an arrow to his foe’s head. “Don’t move.”
“Green Arrow doesn’t kill.” Quiver chuckled. He reached a hand out, stopping the Emerald Archer from firing, before similarly ripping his bow from his hands and tossing it to the side.
“Alright then. Melee it is.” Green Arrow said before throwing a punch right at his opponent’s face.
Black Canary, meanwhile, caught the sword in between her two hands. Her previous fight with Blade and her experience sparring with Katana meant she knew how to deal with swordsmen. Holding the sword in place, she kicked Blade in the chest, prying the sword from his hands and sending him reeling back.
Blade hit the ground with a roll to the side, drawing a dagger from his boot. He stabbed at Dinah, who grabbed his wrist and forced him to the side. She delivered a few quick chops before leaping onto his shoulders, grappling his neck with both legs, spinning and slamming his head into the floor. As she rolled off, Blade got up again, his sword back in his hands. He rapidly slashed towards Black Canary, who flipped away from the strikes. The last thrust, however, caught her in the side. Canary let out a gasp, hitting the ground hard.
Blade stood over Dinah, holding his sword up and preparing to thrust down. Black Canary caught the sword in her hands again, struggling to force him back.
Then Canary screamed.
Blade was launched upwards, slamming into the high ceiling before falling back to the ground, most CERTAINLY breaking some bones. Canary let out a sigh of relief, tossing Blade’s sword to the side before looking at the cut in her side. It was small - surface-level - and wouldn’t detract from her fighting ability. But it’d still inconvenience her.
Green Arrow and Quiver traded blows aboard the catwalk, fists colliding with armor. Oliver slammed his fist into the side of Quiver’s face mask several times, and it began to loosen. Quiver raised a leg, kicking Green Arrow in the chest and sending him reeling back. With a huff, the two took a quick breather before launching at each other again.
Oliver reached a hand to his quiver, pulling out a taser arrow. He jammed it into Quiver’s chest, the shaft piercing the rubber underlayer and shocking the Living Weapon. Quiver stumbled back, coursing with electricity.
Seeing his bow nearby, Oliver made a dash for it, grabbing it. When he turned back around to fire at Quiver again, however, what he saw was a door at the end of the catwalk slamming closed.
“Nono, damn it.” Oliver dashed over to it. He tried checking the door for any viable way to open it, but there wasn’t even a control pad. Green Arrow sighed, leaning against the wall. “Can’t follow him… who the hell was that guy?” He couldn’t pin it, but the way he fought… he felt familiar.
“Hey there, Arrow.” Green Arrow turned at the sound of Black Canary, looking back down below to where he had left her to climb the catwalk and duel Quiver. “Out of arrows yet?”
Oliver chuckled, firing off a grappling arrow and descending to join her. “Still full. Need a lozenge?”
“I think my throat’s doing fine.” Dinah replied. “Let’s get moving. We need to meet up with the others and figure out what’s going on.”
“Right.” Oliver nodded. The two dashed off to the next room.

*BANGBANGBANG*
Gunshots rang across the room as Barrel strafed to the side, blasting shot after shot out. Mid-Nite rolled through the targets, the large plates spinning wildly as they took the shots for the superhero. A ball was thrown into the air from the Doctor’s cover, which Barrel shot out of the sky. It still got its use, however. Dark smoke covered the room, blinding all combatants.
Save Mid-Nite.
The Doctor dashed forward, swiping at Barrel. The Living Weapon was trained well, however. When his fist collided with her helmet, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him down, training a gun on where she was sure his body was. Before she could fire, she was tackled away by Diggle, who had heard the sounds of fighting. The two soldiers rolled across the ground, and out of the smoke. When they did, Barrel kicked Diggle off of her, sending him back. The two drew their dual pistols, training them on each other.
“Barrel. Question warned me about you.” Diggle said with heavy breath.
“Did he tell you what I’m capable of?” Barrel asked.
“Likely a lot.”
“Likely? I take it you don’t have any information on me, then.”
“I know you’re Russian.”
That’s when Mid-Nite made his move, throwing a knife right at Barrel. She turned, shooting the blade out of the way, but Diggle fired himself. He hit her in both shoulders, the armor protecting her from the penetration but not from the knockback. The Russian girl was thrown to the ground by the impact, crashing on the floor. She rolled away from Diggle’s next shots, keeping a tight grip on her guns. When she rolled onto her back again, she quickly sat up, shooting with one hand.
She hit Diggle in the shoulder.
“GAH!” The Argus agent dropped his gun, clutching his shoulder in pain. With the one he was still holding, he shot at Barrel again for cover.
“Diggle.” Pieter ran over to the Argus agent, throwing down a Blackout Bomb around them. He tore off Diggle’s sleeve, looking at the wound. “It’s not fatal yet, but if I don’t remove it soon, you’ll lose your left arm.” Cross said. “We need to get you out of here.”
“We’re not- not leaving without taking her down.” Diggle groaned, his shoulder paining him.
“Fine.” Cross sighed. He knew Diggle meant what he said. He wouldn’t be leaving until Barrel was down.
Doctor Mid-Nite dashed from the smoke, his cape raised. As expected, Barrel blasted away at him the moment he emerged. Fortunately, his cape had a similar kevlar build to Batman’s own cloak, the bullets clattering harmlessly against the sheet he held before him. Relying on sound alone, he leapt around the room, reaching the wall. He dropped his guard to grab one of the conveyor belts, climbing on top of the moving wall of targets. Barrel wasn’t stopping her shots, so he had to keep moving. He leapt off of the wall of targets, grabbing hold of a target mounted on the roof. He let go a moment later, the shot making the target spin rapidly. He then dropped down right in front of Barrel, sending three knives forward as he landed. One of the blades bounced off against the metal armor she wore, but the other two found their mark in the openings, cutting into the warrior. Barrel let out a gasp, just enough time for Mid-Nite to punch her in the gut. As the Living Weapon stumbled back, she attempted to pistol-whip Mid-Nite, but Cross used the opportunity to quickly disarm her.
“My diagnosis? You’ve lost.” Mid-Nite said before grabbing her head and slamming her into the wall. Barrel’s unconscious body crumpled to the ground.
“Y-You really needed to make a one-liner…?”
The Blackout Bomb thrown down to cover Diggle had just run out of smoke, and Diggle stumbled forward out of it. Mid-Nite ran over, lending a shoulder to Diggle to help him walk. “How are you feeling?”
“A bit dizzy? Shoulder still hurts.”
“As expected. Let’s get you outside.” Mid-Nite began to walk back towards where they came. He blinked as light was now at the other end. The door had been opened?
“Oh my god.” Naomi had just cut her way through the door’s locks using the tech left in the van, and had emerged to see Mid-Nite and Diggle coming her way, the latter with a bleeding shoulder. “Diggle? What-”
“We need to get him outside, and I have to remove the bullet now.” Mid-Nite said, passing Diggle over to Naomi. “I’ll grab our defeated foe. Clear a flat surface for me to set him up. We’ll have to work with what I have on me.”
Naomi nodded, bringing Diggle outside.

“You know, there’s curiously little about you.” Question said, leaping out of the way of Scythe’s swing of his curved blade. “The others, there’s at least training records, files, confirmed missions, something. You’ve got nothing. Have you gone outside this facility since you first got here?”
Scythe remained silent, merely attacking Question.
“C’mon, give me something.” Question sighed. “Or do I need to start prodding deeper?”
“Are all heroes this chatty outside Gotham?” Scythe growled.
“Gotham. You’re from Gotham City.” Question chuckled, grabbing the hilt of the scythe and forcing the Living Weapon away. “Hm… curious, that. You joined up with the Living Weapons about… two years ago, yes? Just after the Nobodies attacked.”
“Funny. That lines up perfectly with the disappearance of-”
Scythe cut Question off by slamming his scythe into the ground and cocking a lever. When he pushed it back into its initial position, a shotgun blast was fired from the edge of the scythe. Question quickly rolled behind the anvil of the forge for cover.
“Question for you.” the Question asked, getting out from behind cover.

“What was Batgirl to you?”

“Her name is Barbara.” Scythe fired off another shot.
“So my hypothesis was right…” Question said. He jumped up towards the bucket, grabbing onto the edge and swinging it. He kicked off it, landing behind Scythe. The two turned at the same time, the handle of the scythe clashing with Question’s open hand. The two stared each other down.
“I have a deal for you.” Question said. “I don’t doubt my allies have managed to take down your companions. We have a tech wiz with us, as well as myself. Soon enough, Smithy’s files and records will be open for all of us - including the police - to see. Considering who you are, your identity remaining secret must be pretty vital to you. So how about this.” Question voluntarily stepped back, lowering his guard - but still removing himself from Scythe’s range. “I don’t want to expend more energy than I have to with you, since Smithy’s still out there, and I wouldn’t like to risk you hurting one of my companions. So here’s my offer. You leave now and abandon the Living Weapons, and I erase your records from Smithy’s systems and keep your true identity secret.”
“Do we have a deal… John?”
Scythe stared the Question down… before returning his weapon to his back, with it folding into place.
“Deal.”

Oliver and Dinah dashed down the halls at each other’s side, watching the walls and searching for shadows. Eventually, they came across a large room with four other smaller rooms connected to it. Green Arrow opened one of the doors to peer within.
“Looks like a dorm.” Ollie said, lowering his bow. There was a bed, a chair and table, a dresser and a few personal items in it. Walking over, he picked up one of the picture frames. It seemed to have a redheaded girl in it. “Barbara…? Hey, Dinah, do you think this girl could be-”
“Question.” Black Canary turned to see her comrade entering the room. “Did you encounter any trouble on your way in?” she asked.
“Yes, Scythe. He escaped, but I’ve dealt with him.” Question replied confidently. “Happen to encounter anyone on the way yourselves?”
“Our friends from the GCPD.” Green Arrow replied, putting the photo back before moving over to join the others. “Blade’s down and tied up with a grappling arrow cord, so Naomi should be able to pick him up. You didn’t happen to see Diggle or Mid-Nite on your way in, did you?”
As if on cue, a familiar voice popped back in the communicator. “Arrow, Canary, Question! You there?” Naomi asked.
“Naomi, we lost contact earlier.” Question stated. “I assume you’re inside the building, and the jamming field has been lowered for some reason.”
Naomi nodded. “Uh- y-yeah. Diggle got shot in the shoulder. He’s down. Mid-Nite is tending to him now. We’ve got Barrel locked down and are heading to the southwest entrance now. Anyone we should watch out for?”
“Guess we’re alone.” Green Arrow sighed. “Blade’s tied up in our hallway, but Scythe and Quiver escaped. Make sure they don’t get you.”
“Copy that. I’ll see you guys soon.” Naomi replied.
Oliver turned to the others. “So, our team’s down by half and we’re going in unprepared.”
“There’s only one target left.” Question said, turning to march farther down the hall. Large double doors remained at the other end. “This next room is the center of the building. It used to be a testing chamber. I’d wager it’s his command center and showroom. We enter these doors, we’re headed into the final conflict with Smithy.”
Black Canary glanced at her boyfriend. “Hard to believe the first time we heard of these guys was only a few days ago, when the attack on Westberg’s life happened.
Green Arrow nodded. “Yeah. But if this can get us any closer to answers about Emiko, then it’s worth it.”
“Let’s go.”
Question threw the doors open, Green Arrow and Black Canary dashing in.

As the large doors slammed closed behind the pair, they turned to see a large man sitting in a chair at the other end of the room, his back to them.
“Green Arrow, Black Canary and the Question.”
“Smithy, I presume?” Question asked with flourish.
“Your men are down, and you’re defenseless.” Black Canary replied. “Your operation here is finished, Smithy.”
“Doesn’t help you’re facing three of the world’s best heroes.” Green Arrow chuckled.
“Defenseless… how quaint.”
The man slowly stood up, grabbing a device from beside him. Smithy was now displayed in full. The large, bulky man had a grey beard going down to his shoulders, with his large grey tank top and oversized black pants covering his bulky, muscled figure. His warhammer rested in his left hand, his right gripping what seemed like a small wristband. With a smirk, Smithy held forward the contraption.
“You hear of that modified Miraclo stuff?” the man chuckled. “Venom, they call it. Makes you the beefiest man in the world when you’re on it. Tested it a bit. Gotta say, perfect for dealing with pesky superheroes.”
Oliver flinched as Smithy slammed it over his wrist. He gritted his teeth. The large man’s veins began to glow green, and he let out a roar as his muscles grew in size. Smithy now stood at an intimidating eight feet.
“Let’s see what all the Green Arrow hype’s about.”

Who knew exam season would be what got me BACK into writing this?
I SINCERELY apologize for the wait, but I hope it was worth it. Each of the Living Weapons are going to have ramifications on the DC:E universe as a whole, even if Smithy himself is a one-series villain. ESPECIALLY Scythe - keep an eye out for him! And Quiver, aka Roy, of course. Expect to see him VERY soon in an upcoming miniseries from our very own @Mockingchu! Oh, and speaking of...
Make sure to follow the rest of the DC: Eternal universe to get the whole story!
@Mockingchu's Batman: Eternal: https://pokecharms.com/series/batman-eternal.4946/
@Generation Sect's Superman: Eternal: https://pokecharms.com/series/superman-eternal-s1.5925/
@The Ultimate Lucky N's V for Vendetta: Eternal: https://pokecharms.com/series/v-for-vendetta-eternal.6428/
Sadly, the writers of Hawkman and Hawkgirl: Eternal and Red Hood and the Outlaws: Eternal have vanished from the face of the earth. If they return, I'll reinstate some links!
Make sure to join the Notification Squad to keep in touch with everything GA:E related! Or, y'know, the other things I write sometimes...
  1. Mechanist Gamma
    Mechanist Gamma
    Jun 2, 2019