I had started this story and didn't like what I had done with it, so I deleted the story and have restarted it. I hope it is better. Please leave a review.
Chapter 1
Two months since the death of Ra's Al Ghul
It had been an eventful two months for Oliver Queen. First he defeated Ra's Al Ghul and turned the Demon's Head ring over to Malcolm Merlyn making him the new Ra's. For his part Malcolm made a few promises that Oliver never expected him to keep and then released all his Merlyn related funds to Thea and, more surprisingly, him. Malcolm liked to say he thought of Oliver as a son, which sickened Oliver's stomach. Tommy was his son and all that got Tommy was heartache and death.
The next surprising thing that happened was Ray Palmer barely avoided death when he blew his suit up by accident. He decided to hand the running of his company, plus a great deal of stock, over to Felicity making her CEO of Palmer Technologies and one of their largest stockholders. He also did something which shocked Oliver: he freed up from receivership all the Queen Consolidated stock that had become Palmer Technologies stock making Oliver, who owned most of the stock because of his mother, a billionaire again.
With this he was able to get his family's home back, as well as much of their artwork and jewelry, though, this was meaningless to him since he had lost his team. Diggle refused to forgive him for using Lyla and baby Sara in order to prove his trustworthiness to Ra's. He said he didn't wish Oliver harm, but he no longer trusted him. Laurel took Diggle's side, and, in the end, so did Thea. She said she needed time to forgive him for making her think he had become Al Sahim. Laurel's not forgiving him hurt, though he had to admit Diggle's not trusting him anymore wounded him even more. John Diggle was one of the most honorable men he had ever befriended and he lost that friendship. Thea's needed time just left him with another wound.
Of course, those emotional wounds all paled in comparison to Felicity's siding with the team. He had hoped that she would understand, especially after she admitted that she loved him. But, he had kept too many secrets and lied too many times for her to just forgive him and become a couple. He remembered their last conversation.
"Oliver, I love you, and to be honest right now I don't want to love you. If I could stop loving you I would. You put us all through hell and trusted Malcolm Merlyn over us. The ends don't justify the means, Oliver. You may think they do, but they don't. I need time. And I mean a great deal of time to figure out if I can be with you or not," she said.
That was the deepest and most painful cut of them all. After Felicity told him that he realized he had no choice but to make amends and the first place he started was by going to Walter Steele and making him a business proposal. They would start a new company and call it Queen Incorporated and make it the most green, eco-friendly company in the world. That would be their niche, but also they would be headquartered in the Glades, where they would build two eco-friendly factories that specialized in the most advanced eco-friendly manufacturing. The basis of their company would be Star Labs, which was up for sale now that Harrison Wells had disappeared, though Oliver really knew what happened to him, as the Reverse Flash.
Walter and Oliver decided that the Central City Star Labs, which was the headquarters and the most advanced lab in the country, would remain Star Labs. The rest of the Star Labs in Starling City, Coast City, Gotham City, and Metropolis would become Queen Incorporated Applied Sciences division and would turn their attention to green energy, green manufacturing, and anything else that they could think of that was green. In order to assure that Star Labs would remain on the cutting edge of technology, Oliver hired Dr. Michael Holt to become a VP of QI and Director of Star Labs. He had saved Holt's life when he was involved with the Bratva and his friend Anatoly, who was the head of the Bratva.
Today, he and Walter were in Central City to welcome Michael and make the announcement that Star Labs would be hiring and looking to become the industry standard once again under Dr. Michael Holt. Oliver exited a hot shower. He knew he was running late, but that had long ago become his reputation, which he didn't want to change. He turned his back to the mirror and then turned his had so he could see his back. Ra's had branded him with an arrowhead design and it was still there. Of all his scars and burns, this one bothered him the most because it had cost him the most. Playing Al Sahim had cost him his team, his sister, and Felicity.
He faced the mirror hiding the arrowhead from his own view. It was time to put on his Oliver Queen uniform and mask and head off to Star Labs. There was a lot of QI work to be done and some other work as well.
Arrow
Felicity looked at her watch and sighed. It was six-thirty and she was due one floor down in the area that Ray had built for himself and his super suit and she redid to house the Team. She had biometric security setup that only let her, Dig, Laurel, and Thea on the majority of the floor. Where Ray was obsessed with perfecting his super suit, she knew that her team needed an area for training, as well as dressing and showering, so she had a mini-training center designed and built for them. Of course, she also had her command and control center increased with the best, state of the art tech.
"Dougie," she pressed the intercom.
"Yes, Felicity," he answered through the intercom.
Douglas Morse was her EA from that she hired from MIT. He jumped at the job in order to work with her and slowly, but surely, she was brining him along. Eventually she planned to make him her backup for the team.
"Go home, Dougie," she said.
"Are you headed up to the penthouse?" he asked.
"Soon, very soon," she answered.
"See in you the AM," he said then cut the connection.
Felicity smiled then sat back in her chair. She looked about her office, which was once Oliver's office. Since she was now the CEO, she actually had the office increased and changed a bit. The glass that partitioned her from her EA now had the ability to be tainted black, so she had complete privacy. For some reason Oliver didn't mind being on display but he had been on display for most of his life, which might explain why he wasn't bothered by it.
Oliver. Every time she thought about him she wanted to cry. For two months her and the team, including Thea, had cut themselves off from Oliver. She knew him well enough to know how much that hurt him. Family was everything to him and they were his family. He must miss them. Of course, she missed him. She loved him. Yet, until they all agreed to open up discussions with him, she would side with the team. How could she not side with team, didn't he side with Malcolm Merlyn over them?
She looked at her watch again. It was time to meet with the team and set the mission for tonight. Before it had fallen apart completely Oliver had told them about Damien Dahrk and the HIVE. It was the HIVE that hired Deadshot to kill Diggle's brother, so they were number one on the team's agenda. Number two was keeping the city, the whole city, safe.
Arrow
After the post press conference party, Walter had left with several potential business partners to have dinner in Central City. Oliver optioned to stay for a meeting with Dr. Michael Holt, Cisco Ramon, Barry Allen, Detective Joe West, Detective Eddie Thawne, and Iris West. They settled in Cisco lab, avoiding the hundreds of new employees that now staffed Star Labs.
Michael Holt entered the lab carrying a fresh bottle of champagne. He walked from cup to cup and refreshed their drinks. Raising his glass, he spoke up, "I'd like to propose a toast to Oliver Queen for saving Star Labs."
"And to you, Michael, for taking the job as director knowing what it entails," offered Oliver.
Everyone took a sip of the champagne. Barry lifted his glass.
"To those who aren't here and should be," offered Barry.
Everyone took another sip of their champagne. Oliver knew they were talking about Dr. Caitlyn Snow, but he didn't know the full story.
"What happened to Caitlyn?" asked Oliver.
"Her latent metahuman power appeared. Her touch turns things or people to ice," said Cisco.
"It overwhelmed her. She killed two people by accident and then...," Barry paused, as the memory was painful. "She lost it. She thought of herself as a killer and wouldn't even let us help her."
"Yeah, right before our eyes she became Killer Frost," said Cisco using the code name he gave her.
Barry glared at Cisco. He wasn't thrilled with the name he had come up for her.
"I haven't given up on her," said Barry.
"I've been working on ways either to reverse the process or to control," said Holt.
"I'm glad you don't mind supporting me and Oliver in our extracurricular activities," said Barry.
"Barry, I applaud what you do as the Flash and Oliver and I have a history together," smiled Holt.
"The Arrow is gone. What are you going to do?" asked Cisco of Oliver.
"That's why I'm here instead of the business dinner," Oliver said. "I need you, Cisco, to design me a knew suit. I want it similar to the last one, but different."
"Do you have a new name picked out?" asked Cisco.
Oliver nodded then said, "The Green Arrow."
"Cool," smiled Cisco. "Can I do arrows for you, too?"
"I want as many non-lethal ways to take down a criminal as I can. Also, I want arrows to deal with Metahumans. Their population is growing," said Oliver.
"I love it. A new costume..." Cisco started.
Oliver growled, "Suit not costume."
"Okay, okay, a new suit and arrows. This is going to be fun. Are you going to work out of Central City now?" asked Cisco.
Barry looked at Oliver. Since he was friends with Felicity and Oliver he knew the rift that had developed between him and his old team and the reason why. He disagreed with Felicity and the others for cutting Oliver out of their lives until they were ready. Barry understood how much Oliver beat himself up and how much guilt he carried. The man he saw today looked exhausted. In two months he had started a major company and now was looking to become a vigilante again. He needed his friends to ground him, to keep him from going too far.
"No, Starling City is my city," Oliver said in his best Arrow voice.
"Your old team seems to be doing okay," said Barry.
"They are good, but I'm better," growled Oliver.
"But you are going to cut back on the killing, right?" asked Joe West.
"I will only kill if there is no alternative now. And I mean no alternative," said Oliver.
"Good," said Joe, who was never thrilled with Barry's relationship with Oliver.
Barry looked over at Iris, who seemed to be looking at Oliver with dreamy eyes. He noticed that Eddie found this amusing. Barry and Iris were starting to date. They were taking it slowly, though.
"Barry and you work well together," said Iris.
Oliver looked over at her and smiled. Barry knew it was his charming, playboy smile that he used as much to distance himself for someone then to charm. He understood that Oliver's heart belonged to Felicity and it was a heart getting the shit kicked out of it.
"Whenever Barry needs me I am there," said Oliver.
"The same goes for me," added Barry.
The two men looked at each other and nodded. Even though Oliver would never admit it, he felt a kinship with Barry. The more Barry worked with Oliver the more he realized the man had sacrificed so much for his mission. It inspired him.
"When can you have the suit and arrows for me?" asked Oliver.
"Okay, let's see it will need to be made of Nomex to make it flame resistant and have a Kevlar weave, at least three layers, and look like Italian leather, plus areas for flechettes and maybe a smoke capsule or three... I'm thinking a month for the suit and at least six experimental arrows," said Cisco. "Forest green for the color?"
"Emerald green," Oliver told him.
"The Emerald Archer," smiled Cisco.
"The Green Arrow," Oliver corrected him.
"Same thing," grinned Cisco.
"And I'll be helping him to make sure it gets done quickly," added Michael Holt.
"Good. My city needs me," Oliver said. "And I need my city."
Barry stared at his friend for a moment. Oliver was about to take on all the criminals of Starling City by himself. He'd need to keep an eye on him to make sure that he didn't go too far and get himself killed.
Arrow
Three months after the death of Ra's Al Ghul
The Hotel Majestic was a 19th century landmark building that QI bought and turned into their Glades Headquarters. After three months of redesign and refurbishing it was ready to open. It was nine in the morning and the press and all the employees of QI, as well as some spectators from the Glades neighborhood the building was located in, were gathered. With Walter standing beside Oliver cut the ribbon. There was applause from the gathered crowd.
Oliver raised his hand to shush the noise then he spoke, "This is not only an important day for Queen Incorporated but it is an important day for the Glades. Our first two factories are almost ready to open and we already have contracts with companies to build products in them. We will begin hiring for those factories with a preference of hiring Glade residents. If you don't think you are qualified for the job, don't worry we intend on training you. Why not? Walter is training me to be a good CEO."
There were some laughs and applause from the crowd. An attractive TV reporter made sure to make eye contact with Oliver then shouted a question: "With the two factories already contracted to for use, do you intend on building a third eco-friendly factory in the Glades?"
"The plans are already started," said Oliver then he offered the cameras his best and most charming smile.
The applause started up again. Oliver leaned into Walter and whispered, "I guess it's time to buy another empty foundry or factory in the Glades."
"I'm already in discussion," smiled Walter.
Oliver grinned and nodded his approval. It was Malcolm Merlyn with the help of his father and his mother that destroyed the Glades, so it was only right that he help in making it a great neighborhood again.
Arrow
The Board of directors of Palmer Technologies sat around conference table. In her short tenure as CEO, Palmer Technologies stock had gone up ten percent. She was appreciated after early doubts.
"Have we thought about a joint venture with Queen Incorporated?" asked Alex Winfield, who had been part of the board when the company was Queen Consolidated.
"This Queen Incorporated is getting great press," said Mariam Thorne, who also went back to Queen Consolidated. "It appears that Oliver has finally come into his own as a CEO."
"By joint venture do you mean our Applied Sciences work with theirs developing some sort of green product?" asked Felicity.
"Or maybe we contract to use one of their factories to manufacture one of products using green methods?" offered Dennis Lehane.
"We could look both options," said Felicity, who cringed at the thought of dealing with Oliver. She knew if she took a meeting with him she'd be tempted to change her stance with him. Right or wrong she still loved him and missed him.
"I think that would be a excellent idea," said Alex.
"Okay, I'll have that put on my agenda," Felicity smiled.
Arrow
The tenth floor of QI, which was also the top floor, was composed of COO Walter Steele's office and Chairman and CEO Oliver Queen's office. They each had an office for the secretary and their executive assistant, as well as an executive conference room and executive dining room. Oliver sat behind his large mahogany desk. His office had three portraits on the wall: one of Robert Queen, Moira Queen, and Thea Queen. After losing his family's company, he thought it appropriate to give his family a place in his new company. He looked at his watch. It was going on six o'clock. Tonight was going to be his first night as the Green Arrow.
He picked up his telephone and pressed the button of his EA. Naomi Singh picked up her line.
"Naomi, I'm calling it an evening," Oliver said.
"See you in the morning, Oliver," she said.
He hung up. In his Maserati Coupe, it would take him twenty minutes to get to the mansion, which he lived in alone and without security, except for the security system he had Star Labs install. Once at the mansion he'd change into his new Green Arrow suit, get on his Ducati, and seek out a police detective who could replace Captain Lance, who still hated him.
Arrow
Detective Andrew Lopez was born and raised in the Glades and now worked out of the 10th Precinct out of the Glades. Before the Undertaking, he was slightly sympathetic with the Hood. After the Undertaking, where half his neighborhood was nearly destroyed and over five hundred people died, he was fan of the Hood turned Arrow because the man was there for the Glades. He fought and bled for the residents of his neighborhood. Now that the Arrow was gone, he respected the masks that were left, as the police called them. They acted as vigilantes dealing with the most vicious criminals and metahumans, but he missed the Arrow.
Grabbing a coffee for himself and his partner Detective Sandra Holmes, he exited the diner and headed for his car, which he parked in the alleyway next to the dinner. He promised Sandra that he'd bring her a coffee to start their shift, since it was his insolence with Captain Horton that got them two weeks of the nightshift. Turning down the alleyway he placed the coffees on top of his car and then went fishing for his keys. Suddenly, a grappling arrow embedded itself in the concrete beside Lopez's right foot. From the roof of a building, Oliver used his compound bow to zip down and land a few feet away from Lopez.
Dropping his car keys, Lopez went for his gun. Oliver reacted by holding up his right hand. Inside the hood of his suit, Cisco had built in a voice modulator, as well as Bluetooth communication, though Oliver had no one to communicate with at the moment.
"I'm not a criminal, detective. I hope to be a friend, though," said Oliver in the modulated voice.
Lopez looked at the man in front of him. His suit reminded him of the Arrow's suit, though it was lighter in color, more of a emerald green than forest green and his masks was black. Also, there were flechettes going up his left arm and down his right leg and small metal capsules along his right chest. Other than that, he carried a compound bow and a quiver with arrows.
"You remind me of the arrow," said Lopez.
"Call me the Green Arrow. I'm taking the Arrow's place," he said.
"Green Arrow, huh? Are you as good as him?" asked Lopez.
Oliver thought about his training with Ra's Al Ghul then answered, "Better."
"What do you want?" asked Lopez.
"A partnership," said Oliver, who reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and took out a smart phone. He tossed it to Lopez. "Speed dial one calls me. You can give it to whomever you have to try and trace my number but you won't be able to do it. The encryption is military grade. If you need me, or want to give me the heads up on a criminal or metahuman, call me. When I have something to give you, I'll call you. Is it a partnership, detective?"
Lopez looked at Oliver. At thirty he was fairly new at being a detective, but he had so far shown a nose for trouble. He also had shown a willingness to do almost anything to track down certain criminals. Lopez pocketed the smart phone.
"I'm willing to give it a try," said Lopez.
"That's all I'm looking for, detective," said Oliver.
Oliver quickly turned, nocked up another grappling arrow then he fired the arrow. Instead of zip line down the rope, he flipped a switch with his thumb and used his bow to pull him up to the roof. Once he was on the roof, he waved at Lopez and then took off.
Lopez grinned then said to himself, "That was cool."
Arrow
Lopez fed Oliver information that there was a big buy of drugs going down between the Bratva and a local Glades gang called The Killers. According to Lopez it was going down in a deserted lot on the corner of Denny Street and O'Neal Blvd. Oliver showed up in time to stake out the rooftop of the building next to the lot. Squatting down he waited.
An hour into his stakeout a Jeep Cherokee with five gangbangers in it pulled up. Right behind it an Oldsmobile Cutlass pulled up and four more gangbangers pulled up. The eight of the nine gangbangers held Tec-9 semiautomatic handguns. One of them carried a large black suitcase. The Killers had arrived.
It didn't long for the Bratva to show up as two black SUVs, which were probably armored, pulled up and a total of eight Bratva soldiers got out. They carried Heckler and Koch MP 7 PDWs. The Bratva won the war of weapons so far. One of the Bratva also carried a backpack, which Oliver guessed was full of cash. Oliver stood up, nocked two flash bang arrows to his bow, and fired.
The flash bang arrows landed in the midst of the nine gangbangers and eight Bratva soldiers and exploded. A combination of noise and bright light caused chaos to break out amongst the two groups. Oliver nocked a grappling arrow and fired at the ground then zip lined into the group of gangbangers and Bratva.
The moment he landed he came out swinging using his bow as a weapon. Several gangbangers fired their weapon at him, but he did a tuck and roll and came up firing Taser arrows at them taking out a total of three gangbangers. He then nocked arrow after arrow hitting Bratva with sedative arrows until he cut their force in half. A burst of fire from a MP 7 caught Oliver in the back causing him to do a forward roll.
Ignoring the pain, he turned and fired another Taser arrow into the man who shot him putting him down then he managed to block a knife that one of the Bratva had pulled. As he fought the Bratva soldier, he noticed that the remaining gangbangers were making a run for it. With a quick kick to the midsection, he used the time he gained to grab an explosive arrow from his quiver, nocked it up, and fire it. It landed right in the middle of the fleeing gangbangers and exploding sending them to the ground moaning in pain and confusion.
As he turned to face the Bratva soldier with the knife, he was too slow and only managed to deflect the knife from gutting him to being shoved his right side. Cisco had guaranteed that the suit would absorb most of his blood when he was shot or stabbed, so he didn't have to worry about leaving blood evidence. The soldier pulled the knife out readying to stab him again. Oliver reacted by grabbing a flechette and throwing it so that it pierced his wrist. He dropped the knife from the pain and before he could react, Oliver brought his bow across his jaw knocking him unconscious.
Making a quick turn, he saw one of the SUVs pull away. Nocking another explosive arrow he fired it at the back tire. The arrow hit its mark and exploded to send the SUV onto its side. Now with all the gangbangers and Bratva soldiers down, Oliver scanned the area. He saw the case with the drugs. Nocking a foam arrow that Cisco designed for him. He fired it at the case, hit it and quick hardening foam exploded all over the case. In seconds the foam made sure that no one would be running away with the drugs. He did the same with the money then quickly started to use zip ties to handcuff both groups. Once he was done, he walked over to the knife with his blood on it, and pulled a capsule from his chest and threw it on the knife. The metal capsules exploded releasing a liquid that made identifying his blood impossible then he fired a grappling arrow at the rooftop.
Arrow
With in tactical black with a balaclava Diggle drove black armored van with the mini command and control center in the back. Laurel, dressed in Black Canary gear, sat in the passenger seat and Thea in her Red Arrow gear sat at the computer console in the van. In the earpiece Felicity spoke.
"Bratva and the Killers are exchanging money for drugs on Denny and O'Neal," she told them. "Hold on."
Dig looked at Laurel and shrugged her shoulders.
Felicity's voice came back online, "Guys, there are reports of gunfire at this deserted lot. You better get there quick."
"Got it, Felicity," said Dig, who stepped on the gas. "Hold on, Thea."
"We really need a seatbelt on this chair," she complained.
Racing through the streets of the Glades, Diggle made good time, but not good enough. The van pulled up just as Oliver in his Green Arrow suit was being pulled up to the rooftop. He and Laurel watched as Oliver disappeared.
Dig scanned the deserted lot and saw the aftermath. There had to be fifteen men zip cuffed and moaning in pain. In the background they could hear police sirens.
"We better disappear, Dig," said Laurel.
"Yeah," he said slowly then he stepped on the gas.
Thea had stuck her head in between Dig and Thea.
"Was that, Oliver?" she asked.
"Who else?" answered Dig.
"If my father finds out he's back in the vigilante business, he want blood," noted Laurel.
"He's still angry, even though this Rick Hunter has brought Sara back with the use of a Lazarus Pit," said Diggle.
"Yup, he's still angry. He believes everything bad that has happened to our family and to this city is Oliver's fault and wants him to pay for it," said Laurel.
Diggle shook his head.
"Guys, what happened?" asked Felicity. "I couldn't find any security or CCTV cameras in the area to check it out."
"Someone got to the Bratva and The Killers before us," said Diggle.
"The Police?" asked Felicity.
"No, Felicity, Oliver," said Diggle.
"Oh," was her response. There was a moment of silence. "Come back to base."
"We are coming back to base," said Diggle.
Arrow
Oliver made it back to the mansion feeling lightheaded from loss of blood. Through force of will, he pushed himself past the pain and the lightheadedness. After parking his Ducati in the front, he pulled his glove off and placed it on the biometric plate beside the front door. It unlocked the door then he stumbled into the mansion in full arrow gear. No one was there to greet him, though. He decided the day that he repurchased the mansion that he wouldn't have servants, even though Raisa was willing to come out of retirement to take care of his home and cook for him. Once a week on Thursday he had a service in to clean and do his laundry. He also decided against security guards opting for high tech security. For now he was alone.
Heading into one of the first floor bathroom, he grabbed a first aid kit that included Celox blood clot gauze. The gauze would stop the bleeding and before he went to sleep he'd stitch himself up in his bedroom's private bathroom. Unzipping his jacket and taking it off, he then pulled off his black tee shirt. He applied the gauze to his wound then used medical tape to secure it. Next he turned his back to the mirror and looked at his back in the mirror. He had the beginnings of serious bruising from the gunfire he took.
"Better bruising then bullet holes," he sighed.
He took a deep breath then headed out of the bathroom and towards the kitchen. Once he was in the kitchen he grabbed a bottle of water and some Ibuprofen from a large bottle he kept above the refrigerator. He took four pills and washed them down with water. Next, he grabbed one of the already prepared meals that a service brought to his home every Thursday so that he had food for the week. The meal he chose was filet mignon, Pomme Frites, and asparagus. He put the container in the microwave and set it for five minutes. Oliver then sat down on one of the chairs in the kitchen and waited.
He needed the food to help his body replenish his blood loss. Once he ate he'd head to his room, stitch up, and then pass out. In the morning he'd clean up before he headed for work. Taking another long swig of water, he leaned his forearms on his thighs and exhaled loudly. With this take down of the drug buy, the Green Arrow would start to become known in the Glades. The Arrow might be gone, but the Green Arrow was here to stay.