Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this.
Summary: Ra's al Ghul comes to Starling himself to deal with the upstart Oliver Queen threatening to unravel his League of Assassins with his insolent behavior. A re-imagining of episode 3 x 9.
AN: Yes, yes, yes. Thank you for returning to yet another reimaging of the Ra's al Ghul story. In this one I want to explore an even more deadlier, scarier version yet. For some reason, I want to capture the Ra's I first saw in Batman: The Animated Series, I suppose. We shall see if I succeed with doing so by changing some of the details of the episode 3 x 9, if not most of them. And beyond. Thanks for checking it out and hope you will let me know what you think.
And for those of you waiting anxiously for the next chapter of "Laurel Finds Out"….it is finally almost done. I do apologize. The past month has been very crappy for me, real life wise. I needed to post a new story to make me feel better. I hope you enjoy it!
It had been a busy night for the Arrow. Oliver had gone out by himself, and captured the four men responsible for the latest unsolved bank heist. He left them tied up to a fence, called the police to notify them of the pick-up, and walked down the alley, heading for his parked bike. Allowing himself a rare instance of pride in a job well-done, Oliver walked with a jaunty air and enjoyed the quiet night around him.
A small noise behind him catching his attention, Oliver turned, ducking just in time to avoid an arrow aimed at his head. Firing arrows as he headed for some garbage bins for cover, he made it without injury. However, he wasn't aware of several other men swooping down behind him from a nearby building until it was too late. Oliver suddenly found himself suspended between two posts when cords caught his wrists and pulled his body up into the air. As he hung suspended, a man in a heavy black coat, with a veil covering his entire face, walked towards him. Oliver was taken by surprise and was knocked unconscious from the punch by the mysterious man before he could react with a self-protective kick.
Oliver was only out for a short while, he believed. However, his captors must have quickly transported him to a different location within that time. Oliver woke up as he was being dragged down a candlelit hallway, towards a group of men all dressed like his assailant in dark jackets and veils covering their faces. He only struggled enough to find out he couldn't escape the grip the two men had on him. His head was still groggy enough to be a hindrance in any kind of defense anyway, so he allowed himself to be led, hoping to eventually gain the element of surprise and turn the attack on them, making his escape.
Before he was aware of it, Oliver was thrown to the ground. Landing on his hands and knees, with an effort not to continue to fall forward on his face, Oliver looked up to see a man looming over him.
The man was about 5'11'', black hair combed to the side. Dressed in heavily embroidered robes, his face, unlike his soldiers, was unveiled so Oliver could see dark black eyes burrowing into his, watching his every move. It almost felt as though he could also read Oliver's mind. Or soul. Oliver didn't recall ever having seen the man, who appeared to be about fifty years old in age.
Oliver found himself standing, being pulled to his feet by the same two men who had dragged him into the room. "Make up your mind, why don't cha?" Oliver muttered. They continued to hold onto his arms. Not wanting to give the man in front of him the satisfaction in asking questions first, Oliver stared into the man's gaze, waiting for him to speak.
"Oliver Queen."
Oliver couldn't recognize the accent which colored the man's words. It seemed to be a mixture of several nationalities, a unique blend of European and Arabic perhaps. Nothing he was familiar with. Oliver made no movement, only continued to stand there, silent, waiting for the other man to give him some clue as to what this was all about.
"What? No questions as to who I am, or why you are here?" The man asked, maintaining a neutral expression on his face, betraying nothing.
"I imagine you'll tell me when you want to. Me asking questions probably wouldn't get me a quicker answer."
A slap across the mouth was the answer he received for his comment. "Answer the Master appropriately," the huge man to the leader's right commanded him. Oliver considered him while biting back a quick retort. The dark-skinned presumed bodyguard would make Diggle seem like he was average height. Muscles seemed to bulge out everywhere as he stared into Oliver's eyes, challenging him to respond again in an offensive manner.
"Abu, do not be so hasty with Mr. Queen. He has only just made our acquaintance, after all. He doesn't even know who I am." The man smiled a half-smile. "Mr. Queen, I am Ra's al Ghul. I am the leader of the League of Assassins."
"Am I supposed to know you from somewhere?" Sensing movement from Abu, Oliver braced himself for another slap. However, Oliver observed Abu lowering his hand upon a shake of the head from Ra's. It didn't take much for Oliver to pretend ignorance at the mention of his name. Even with the two visits from Nyssa, Oliver hadn't heard much about this man named Ra's al Ghul. Unfortunately.
"It appears neither your mother nor my daughter, Nyssa, has told you about me."
His stomach reacting violently to the man's statement, Oliver swallowed. "My mother? Why would she…"
Waving a hand in front of his face, the man called Ra's brushed Oliver's concerns away. "That is a topic for another time. My daughter Nyssa, you must remember her. After all, you and Nyssa have someone in common. Ta'er Sa'fir, or as she was called in your world, Sara Lance."
"Yes, Nyssa helped us out a few months ago. She helped me defeat an old enemy. However, we didn't have time to talk about her background or about her father."
"Too bad. You could have avoided a lot of trouble if you would only have left Al Sa-her to us."
"Who?" Oliver couldn't think of anyone by that name. At all.
"Oh. Malcolm Merlyn, as you know him."
Malcolm was involved in this? Whatever 'this' was? Oliver wouldn't have guessed Merlyn making an enemy of Nyssa's father. He had only thought Nyssa bore a grudge because of Sara's death. Nyssa had not gone into any other details but those concerning Sara on her latest visit. "I really do not understand," was all Oliver could think to answer.
"You do not? I refer to the incident several weeks ago when my daughter assisted you in cornering Al Sa-her. You, however, let him go instead of killing him or allowing my daughter to bring him to me."
From the way the man was phrasing his words, Oliver got the sense he should watch how he treaded the shaky ground under him. Oliver figured he must have gotten his head knocked hard, for he was having difficulty predicting what this was all about. "As I told Nyssa, I wasn't convinced of Merlyn's guilt regarding the killing of Sara. It's why I prevented her from taking him."
"Still, you should not have interfered with the ways of the League. I wanted him for reasons apart from Ta'er Sa'fir."
"I didn't realize this was…this was some kind of vendetta, apart from Sara. I simply understood it as Nyssa being heartbroken by Sara's death and her wanting revenge. I simply helped save an innocent man from a death which wasn't justified."
Oliver watched as the man turn and pace a few times back and forth behind his men. He slowly turned and fixed upon Oliver a most piercing stare. Oliver had never seen eyes filled with such coldness. Not even Slade's. A shiver ran down his back.
"In many countries ignorance of the law does not excuse punishment for the wrong-doer."
Anger flared up within Oliver and without thinking he replied, "Only in those countries which do not have fair and just laws."
Ubu again reached out and punched Oliver in the face. He would've tumbled over if the two guards hadn't held him upright. Oliver shook their hands off of him and straightened himself under Ra's' gaze. Biting back a retort, Oliver waited for Ra's to answer him, his chin jutting out defiantly, glaring into his captor's eyes.
"That may be so, but I have declared the ground upon which we stand to be under League jurisdiction. As such, I can determine any type of ruling as I see fit."
Oliver considered the man in front of him. His knowledge of Ra's al Ghul, the League of Assassins, and Nanda Parbat to be woefully slim, at best. However, his first impressions of the man in front of him was that he was absolutely insane. Not just an unfair dictator, but possibly even a sociopath. Oliver had failed to place any trackers on himself before he left the Lair tonight. As far as his team was concerned, Oliver had been on his way home after dropping off those criminals. A small trickle of fear wormed its way into Oliver's mind. If he wasn't careful, it might all end tonight for him in this dungeon of a place with the medieval atmosphere. And without fully understanding why.
Wetting his dry lips, Oliver attempted to speak with a strong voice and a sincerity he only partially felt. "I am truly sorry for overstepping any lines, Mr. al Ghul. I…I didn't mean to. As you say, I don't know anything about you. I never meant any harm, nor did I mean to overstep your authority."
"I appreciate your apology, Mr. Queen. It appeared heart-felt. However, it does not excuse you from your wrongdoing."
Of course not. "What would make all of this right, in your eyes, Mr. al Ghul?" Oliver asked, making a great effort to prevent any sarcasm from slipping into his words and the eye roll which desperately wanted to happen.
"Well, I am glad you asked, Mr. Queen. You see, your behavior can be viewed as the ultimate insouciance. Disregard for my authority. And as such, it must be punished to avoid encouraging any such behavior from anyone else."
"How would anyone in your country hear about incidents happening here in Starling? Or in the United States in general?"
"Oh, you would be surprised, Mr. Queen. As it stands, there have already been several small uprisings in light of your…misbehavior. Luckily, my men were able to control it. But, my only choice is to make a statement. Thus, my need to punish you for your insouciance."
Oliver's throat constricted as the meaning of the man's words drummed its way into his stunned brain. The lunatic in front of him was talking about punishing him? As if this was the medieval ages, not the twenty-first century. The thought that his actions, seemingly innocuous in his eyes, having an impact on people half the world away was simply ludicrous to him. However, it remained he needed to find a way out of this mess. He simply had no idea how.
Becoming aware he hadn't answered Ra's, Oliver simply decided to wait for a response. He didn't wait long. Ra's allowed a small smile to break the sternness of his features. "You remain silent, Mr. Queen. Perhaps there is hope for you yet. Provided you survive your punishment."
"If I may speak, what will be my punishment? And then what will happen?"
Oliver watched as one of the man's eyebrows rose, as if exhibiting a quirky sense of humor Oliver was confident wasn't present. Despite the fear naturally rising within him, Oliver reminded himself that he had survived many types of torture in his life. "Ah, you assume you will be alive after the punishment, then?"
Oliver inhaled quickly as panic stole his breath with Ra's' question, unable to control his instinctive reaction. However he remained quiet, willing himself to wait for Ra's' next statement.
"I will have to consider long and hard on that. For I have done research on you, Oliver Queen. Once you hit my awareness, I found out everything I can on you." As Oliver attempted not to react to such a declaration, Ra's chuckled quietly. "You wonder what I have found? I found out quite a lot on you, Mr. Queen. You are definitely more than you try to appear to your city."
Even though Ra's had attempted to make it sound dangerous and mysterious, his knowing about Oliver's role as the Arrow really wasn't surprising. Nyssa had found out as such when she helped fight Slade. However, there were many things, and people, which Oliver wouldn't have liked Ra's to know about. He wondered if there was anything Ra's hadn't discovered about himself.
"For a man who was simply a spoiled playboy seven short years ago, you certainly have changed. Bratva, ARGUS, the Arrow. You have brought in a varied team of individuals to help you. Mr. Diggle, Ms. Smoak, Mr. Harper. You saved your city from being destroyed twice. There is a lot more to you than it appears, Mr. Queen."
Deciding on a different tactic, Oliver said, "Since you know so much about me, you are aware I'm very well-known. Are you sure you want to risk exposure, and arrest, for kidnapping and assaulting me?"
Ra's' eyebrow rose. "Touché, Mr. Queen. There could be serious consequences from your government for administering my justice." He rubbed his chin with his right hand. A smile then appeared on his face. With a shrug of his shoulders, he shook his head. "Nah, I think I will be just fine." Turning to several soldiers who had entered the room. "Is the fire torture ready?"
"Yes, Liege, it is. Just as you ordered."
"Bring Mr. Queen to the room and begin the torture."
AN: So, what did you think? Like I said, I wanted to write it from the viewpoint of adding more 'scary' to Ra's. Did I succeed? Are you concerned for Oliver's welfare? His survival? Hope you will let me know what you thought and tune in for the next chapter when I post it. Thank you loads!