It had been a month since Oliver had defeated Ricardo Diaz. A month since he'd been exonerated of all charges and after laying low for a little while to keep himself off the radar, he was free to resume his activities as the Green Arrow. Activities that had become harder since his fight with his former teammates.
That had been the true beginning of the end for Team Arrow. Oliver had severed all contact and alliances with his former teammates after Curtis had fried both John and Felicity's implants, but what he didn't take into consideration was where in Felicity's spine her implant was, as doing so had killed her and then Rene had shot John while his back was turned, saying it was payback for shooting him months ago and also because John was trying to stop them from killing Black Siren. John had died in the emergency room and Oliver had sworn that once Diaz and Anatoly were dealt with, he'd get justice for his wife and his best friend. And then right after he'd lost John and Felicity, Thea was also forced to leave, since Diaz had kidnapped Roy and Thea had insisted on suiting up to join him in the rescue, though it had gone south and while they'd managed to save Roy, Thea had been outed, so to protect her brother, Thea left Star City to be with Roy.
So now the team was down to Oliver, Quentin and Alena, who'd taken over as tech support for Team Arrow after Felicity's passing and occasionally, Slade Wilson when he was in town.
Anyways, Oliver was currently sitting in the bunker, wondering what he was going to do. While William understood why Oliver felt the need to do what it is he does as the Green Arrow, it didn't change the fact that since his team had been downsized, Oliver wasn't able to be there for William as much as he would have liked. He then looked over at the case that the real Black Canary suit was in, though now it had been joined by the Spartan suit and the Speedy suit, in memoriam to his fallen comrades.
Oliver walked over to the Black Canary suit and placed his hand on the glass.
"I wish you were here Laurel. Or at least your Earth 2 counterpart. Yeah she's made some terrible decisions, but I could tell, we were getting through to her. And maybe if it hadn't been for the interference of the others, we could've turned her into a member of the team. It would have been as close as we'd get to having you back. The closest I'd get to having you back. But not only did they take that away, but they also killed John and Felicity. And that is something I will never be able to forgive them for. But I know what you would say. At least about the other you. And that's why I'm promising you that I won't give up on her. I know that deep down beneath all that toughness, there's a bit of the real her, the real you, inside her and I'm going to get it out. Because I know that's what you'd want me to do. You always believed that there was good in people. Even if that person didn't deserve it. Especially when that person was me. That's probably the thing I loved about you the most. I miss you. You would have made the best stepmom for William." Oliver said as he heard someone walk up behind him.
"Hi Ollie." a voice said and Oliver turned to see Laurel standing behind him.
"I didn't think I'd see you again. You seemed pretty hellbent on getting out of the city." Oliver said to her.
"Yeah, well, things didn't exactly go as planned. I'm surprised you haven't heard rumors about Laurel Lance being alive yet?" Laurel said and Oliver smiled.
"So, where have you been?" Oliver asked.
"In a hospital out in Keystone. Figured it wasn't safe to be in Star City until I'd recovered." Laurel said and Oliver nodded.
"So, what brings you here of all places?" Oliver asked.
"Well, first, I heard about John and Felicity and I wanted to offer my condolences." Laurel said.
"Thank you." Oliver said.
"And then I also wanted to apologize. They're deaths were my fault." Laurel said.
"No, they weren't." Oliver said.
"They died trying to protect me. My life wasn't worth theirs." Laurel said.
"The fact that you're saying that means that your father and I were right. There is some good inside of you. We getting through to you weren't we?" Oliver asked.
"Yeah, you were. That time I spent with my dad in that cabin, he really did start to get through to me. But still, it wasn't worth you losing your team." Laurel said.
"It wasn't your fault. And as the world's foremost expert on blaming yourself for something that wasn't your fault, I know what I'm talking when I say don't. The only ones to blame for this are Dinah Drake, Rene Ramirez and Curtis Holt. And when I find them, I am going to make them pay." Oliver said.
"Still, I have a lot of red on my ledger and I'd like to wiping it out. Atoning for my actions." Laurel said.
"This team is a great place to start. Everyone on it felt like they had to be here to atone for something. John was for killing his brother, Thea for killing Sara, me for well, everything I've done since I first set foot on Lian Yu and Roy for killing a cop. Felicity for Havenrock, etc." Oliver said.
"What about the other me?" Laurel asked.
"She was always the enigma. Unlike the rest of us, she never had any real baggage. I mean sure she made some bad calls, but she never really had anything to atone for." Oliver said.
"Really, sounds like I would have fit in on this team a lot better than she did." Laurel said with a smile.
"Maybe so. But anyways, since word is already spreading that you're alive, you sure you want to join this team?" Oliver asked.
"It's not really a team anymore. Just you in the field and you're outnumbered." Laurel said and Oliver had to give her that.
"Okay then, welcome to the team. Black Siren." Oliver said.
"Don't call me that anymore. I'm not Black Siren, but I'm not Black Canary either." Laurel said as she looked at her doppelganger's suit.
"So, what do you want me to call you?" Oliver asked.
"Well, I'm keeping the black songbird thing going, just changing the bird." Laurel said.
"To what?" Oliver asked.
"Phoenix." Laurel said.
"Well considering you have practically been reborn, it wouldn't be inappropriate." Oliver chuckled.
"And well, I know that I'm not the Laurel you lost, just like you're not the Oliver I lost, but maybe we don't have to be." Laurel said and Oliver smiled as they walked towards each other slowly.
"No we don't. While I will always love my Laurel, maybe getting to know a different version of her wouldn't be that bad." Oliver said as they now stood face to face.
"So, is your son expecting you home anytime soon?" Laurel asked.
"No, Raisa's watching him." Oliver said as they could feel the tension between each other.
"You're sure you don't mind me being on the team? It won't remind you of what you've lost?" Laurel asked him.
"All it will do is remind me of what I've gained." Oliver assured her.
"Then I guess that means nothing that there is absolutely nothing stopping us." Laurel said and Oliver smiled.
"Absolutely nothing." Oliver agreed and before either of them knew what happened next, they were kissing passionately and Laurel pushed Oliver back into a wall as she yanked removed his green arrow jacket and he tossed her black leather jacket to the side before she practically tore off his undershirt, revealing a much more scarred up version of Oliver's chest than she was used to, not she minded, if anything, it just made him hotter, but she then lifted up her arms to let Oliver remove her shirt, revealing that her dark green lacy bra, which he wasted little time in removing as things escalated from there.