Author's Note and Disclaimer:
A story (orginally a one-shot) that's part of THE DAR(H)K WAR SAGA
Something I thought of when reading Daredevil and Scarlet Spider comic books. A filler to Merlyn's Redemption after Downfall of the Dragon chapter.
I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.
Laurel kept walking down the street, blending in with people as they all looked… content, oblivious, happy… normal. Then she stopped herself as she saw a church. She was never a religious person but… right now she could use some guidance. Laurel entered the confessional before a priest entered.
"May I ask what's troubling you, my child?"
Laurel sighed. "Father, I…" She stopped herself. All she could think of was Quentin but… her real father was gone. "I'm not sure where to even begin. Or why I came. I… I guess I'm trying to figure myself out and… I was hoping that some religious advice might help. I myself am not a religious person but I'm not so sure of anything anymore. I… I'm not a good person. I've done very horrible things. And honestly, there's a part of me that still wants to do them. But… someone gave me another chance. My…" Laurel paused, not sure how to put this. "My twin sister. She looks like me but… she's been down a better path than I have been. And I hurt her. And… I hurt the man that we both loved from the deep of our hearts. But they both forgave me and gave me a chance to start over. And I need to understand why. Why did they forgive me, after all the things that I've done? And… I'm just not sure what to do."
"What's your name, child?" The priest asked.
"Laurel." She replied.
"Well, it starts with a confession, Laurel. So, why don't you tell me what have you done wrong?"
Laurel took a breath. There was a long list and if she confessed all of them, on this Earth… and on Earth-2… at best, he would think that she's crazy, at worst…
"Father… you would not believe half the things I would like to make up for and… this is beyond even your understanding."
"You don't know that until you try." The priest pleaded as Laurel sighed.
"OK. But don't say I didn't warn you."
And for hours, Laurel started to talk about losing her father, her mother and her friends abusing her, Oliver rescuing her as they fell in love with each other. She left out names, so that it would not be too suspicious and coincidental. She did admit she was in Central City as the priest stopped.
"You are one of them? One of… the special ones?"
Laurel sighed. "Yes. And… I've done bad things, father. Part of me still wants to. I… even wanted to hurt my…" She paused. "...sister and the man we both loved and I helped someone hurt them. A lot. He almost got them killed but eventually… I could have ended up in prison they let me go. And my... sister... they all said that I'm not a bad person. That I'm just lost."
"Are you?" The priest asked. "Are you truly just lost or do you believe that you are evil?"
Laurel sighed. "I don't know who I am anymore, father. I'm trying to be better but… it's too easy to…"
"To go down the road you don't want to?" The priest asked as Laurel nodded.
"I just need to understand why did I get this second chance, when I'm not even sure I deserve it." Laurel admitted.
The priest spoke up after a pause. "You believe you're a monster?"
Laurel sighed. "It's all I know how to be."
"Then perhaps you should surround yourself by someone who can stop you. And if you think you're not a good person, then surround yourself by people, who can force you to be better. By people, who believe in you."
Laurel considered. Everyone on Earth-1 had given her another chance and saw some light in her but she was unsure whether it was really there. "I'm not sure if it's that simple, Father."
"No." The priest said. "It never is, my child. But it's worth trying."
"I'm not looking for redemption, Father." Laurel said.
"But you said you didn't want go down that path you did, any longer, either." The priest pointed out. "Maybe that's why they all have faith in you."
"Someone once told me that people as dark as I am infect lives of everyone around us. That everything I touch, dies." Laurel remembered a certain psychopath. "That because I'm a killer, everyone around me is fated to suffer, as price for my sins."
"You can't take such burden on yourself, my child. You didn't hurt…"
"I may as well have." Laurel sighed. "If it wasn't for me, it all could have been…"
"Dwelling on maybes is no way to live." The priest pointed out. "Just consider that all of this doubt… these troubles… perhaps you're being tested."
"I shouldn't be." Laurel snapped. "I'm not a strong person. When push comes to shove, I make the wrong choice, every time. And good people pay the price for it. And I don't want to hurt more people like that anymore."
"If that's the case, why did you come here, instead of just running?" The priest pointed out and Laurel could not answer that question. "Path to redemption is never easy. The doubt may challenge you... but don't you think just because you think you do not deserve a second chance, other people may think so, too?"
Laurel considered, trying to find an answer to that and there was none in mind.
Gotham City
"You OK, Mia?" Henry asked.
"Yeah." Mia said as she sat down and changed her shirt as Henry saw the bruises on her body.
"What happened in Star City? I know that you and Tommy and Black Siren took down the Dragon but no one told me the details." Henry said. Mia sighed. "You look angry."
"Because you're not gonna believe it but the bitch that killed my brother back on my Earth, actually helped us both." Mia said as she filled Henry in. "OK, on my way to Star City, when I wanted to check in on Tommy..."
Later, A.R.G.U.S.
"An Earth-2 doppelganger of Laurel?" Lyla repeated as Henry filled her in.
"Yeah. From what Barry, Tommy and Mia told me... she's not a bad person... not fully. She..." Henry sighed. "Honestly, I see a lot of myself, Sara and Oliver in her. I just think she needs help. She needs guidance."
"But if she is as dangerous as Barry told us..."
"Maybe she can be useful." Henry suggested.
"You want to recruit her?" Lyla realized, looking at Henry incredulously.
"Look, I know what she did in Central City but I don't think she's dangerous. She just needs some direction. She's just lost." Henry said. "I think there's someone, who she will listen to."
"Joining A.R.G.U.S.? No, thank you. I'm not gonna let myself become a lab rat, again." Laurel protested, as she was with Oliver in a soundproof interrogation room.
"They're nothing like Earth-2. I promise." Oliver assured her.
"So, what, just because you helped my doppelganger clean up her act, you think I'm not past saving, either?" Laurel scoffed. "You're even more pathetic and naive than I thought."
"You could have screamed your way out of here and kill me." Oliver challenged. "What's stopping you?"
Laurel stopped and considered. "I just... I don't know if it's that simple."
"Redemption never is easy. But I know that there is a flicker of light in you. You just need to find it yourself. No matter how lost you are, you can find your way. You just need to keep looking until you find it." Oliver said and Laurel considered.
"What makes you think I can?" Laurel wondered.
"Because I know the kind of person you can be. If you allow yourself to." Oliver said and left, leaving Laurel alone with her thoughts. She was tempted to go back to her old ways... but was it worth throwing away a second chance? Redemption never is easy... but it can be worth it... all Laurel could do was go with it and see it through, where it takes her.
Author's Note:
I actually think that they could have reached Black Siren in 5x10 and avoid that mess that happened later in Season 5 and Season 6 of Arrow. Why didn't we get something like that in the show? Oh, wait. Guggenheim, Mericle and Olicity, * yuck *.
So, what do you guys think? Is it good? Is it bad?
Please review and let me know if you have enjoyed this.
With regards
Bl4ckHunter
