Smoak and Mirrors, Part I
The lobby was dark and silent, the only light coming from the city lights outside shining through the large glass walls. The night guards sat at their posts, ever diligent, the one aimlessly swinging his baton as the other watched the non-eventful security footage. All was well.
The trio watched from the shadows of a rooftop as a group of bulky figures walked up to the building. One of the men stepped up to the doors and smashed through the glass. The group swarmed into the lobby of Queen Consolidated, taking down the security with sickening efficiency. The three glanced at each other, speaking without words before making the jump across the gap between their rooftop and the office building. The tallest one shot a grappler across the divide, and grabbing hold of the other two, they jumped together, crashing through a window on the fourteenth floor. They landed in different ways, the tall one on his feet, the other two jumping off and rolling over the broken glass. With a grimace, the middle one brushed the pieces off his clothes, his thick leather gloves providing extra protection. The two looked over at their third teammate, not surprised to see the smallest one already up and moving towards the stairwell across the floor.
They walked through the doorway as one, and froze together when they heard the sound of heavy footsteps tromping up the staircase. The team molded themselves into the shadows, waiting for the right moment before moving again—this time following the mercenaries up the steps as silently as ghosts. The hired men stopped at the seventeenth floor, taking a moment to cock their heads at the keypad lock before one of them solved the problem for the rest of them. He stepped forward, and without a second's hesitation, shot through the handle, effectively breaking the lock better than any technological hacker. The smallest of the team members' jaw tightened at the sight, and the other two looked over to see blue eyes flashing dangerously behind the mask.
The tall one nodded at his teammates, and they waited for the group to make their way onto the IT floor before each began preparing for the fight ahead. The tallest one pulled a retracting metal staff from his pocket while the middle one removed the gloves from his hands. The smallest one merely stood still, ever observant, content to scan the stairwell for hidden threats while the other two got ready. At the collective nod, they went forward, moving together in perfect synchronization, knowing the others' steps and positions as well as their own. They stopped in the middle of the floor, standing still between cubicles and conference rooms and offices. And then, the silence erupted into a frenzy of chaos.
With a shout, the trio split, each facing off against a number of mercenaries, there being more than any of them realized. The tall one was a menace, using his staff for both balance and power as he fought against three men twice his size. The middle one was unbelievably different, his hands emitting a strange, almost supernatural glow as he took on three men as well. The small one was the most surprising of all, whirling and jumping and fighting in a way that resembled a macabre sort of dance before taking care of the remaining two hired men. Panting, the little fighter practically dove towards the open office door that the bad guys had come from, and began furiously tapping at the keys, rushing to stop the fatal virus that had been installed on the company system. When silence reigned again, and the other two team members stepped into the doorway of the office, the hacker's shoulders relaxed marginally. They stood watching their teammate from the doorway, replacing their weapons and gloves and fixing skewed masks.
"Smoak, you've got seven minutes and forty-three seconds before SCPD gets here," the tallest one warned.
"I know, Storm, but these idiots got a little bit further than I'd hoped," came the irritated reply as Smoak's brows scrunched.
"No need to get snarky, Smoaks, we're just a little on edge," the middle one tried to sooth. "We all know that the police department is not who we necessarily have to worry about."
"And I don't know about you guys, but honestly," Storm groaned as he stretched his bruised muscles, "I really don't feel up to going against the Starling City Vigilante—even if he has supposedly changed his ways."
Smoak snorted, "Oh please, we all know that if the Hood or Arrow or whatever it is he's calling himself these days drops in, you'll just go hide in the corner and let Fire do all the hard work."
Storm sputtered in protest as Fire chuckled, and Smoak turned back to the computer with a smirk, focusing on the nearly dead virus. Just as the computer whiz reached to hit the key that would kill the bug, the sound of glass shattering as something heavy crashed through it had the team ducking instinctively for cover. Smoak raised an arm automatically, missing the sound of rushing air before crying out in excruciating pain. The arm came crashing down and the fighter had to bite back the scream of agony at the sight of a green arrow embedded in the shoulder. Turning back to the computer, Smoak extended a finger towards the enter button before snatching it back with a hiss and a scowl at the arrow protruding from the wooden desk, mere inches from where the hacker's wrist had been seconds before.
"Step away from the computer," came the device-modulated voice.
Smoak's mouth distorted into a snarl, teeth bared like an alley cat, but Storm spoke up instead—his voice a low, warning growl. "What are you going to do? Put arrows in us? I think you've already wasted enough tonight, don't you?"
"I'm not going to say this again," the vigilante shouted. His fingers tightened on the bow already stretched taut, arrow ready to fly. "Step away from the computer."
Fire replied this time, stepping up to stand next to Storm, effectively creating a barrier between the man in the hood and their smaller team member. "No. And I really wouldn't try shooting that—you're just going to regret it."
The Arrow stood stiff, his mouth a thin line just visible from the light shining through the floor-to-ceiling window. While they were distracted, Smoak clenched a fist, and with closed eyes and a silent prayer, tore the arrow from its spot in the shoulder. A strangled cry escaped from the fighter's lips and fingers clenched around the arrow shaft as the others spun to face their fallen team member. With a grunt, Smoak braced an arm against the desk and stood, slamming a finger down on the "enter" key. Blue eyes clashed with the vigilante's, and Smoak cried out before throwing the arrow at his head with frightening accuracy. He dodged it, nocking a new one in his bow in one fluid motion and aiming it right at Smoak's face. Before anyone could move or say anything, the smallest one spoke up-to the surprise of everyone there.
"I really wouldn't shoot that if I were you. In fact, I would suggest that unless you want to waste the rest of your arrows, you really shouldn't let anymore loose at me." Smoak's mouth hardened into a thin line full of pain, "because I promise, I'm not that easy to get rid of."
He stared at Smoak, seemingly speechless, while Fire and Storm looked on. When it was apparent the vigilante wasn't about to say anything, Smoak continued. "And besides, Arrow, you should actually be thanking me right now. If it weren't for my extraordinary hacking skills, Queen Consolidated would literally be ruined beyond repair and thousands of people would lose their jobs. So technically, I'm a bit of a hero." Smoak shot him a self-satisfied grin before adding, "oh, and we can't forget about how the three of us took care of those mercen-"
"You're a girl." His voice held no question, though his surprise was evident.
Smoak shrugged, though the dangerous glint in her blue eyes suggested anything but nonchalance. When he didn't move and continued the whole not-speaking thing, her eyes narrowed and she stepped towards him, her posture predatory and threatening, despite the acute pain in her shoulder. He kept his bow up and at the ready, tightening his fingers as she drew closer. They held each other's eyes in hostile glares, while her teammates stood tense and ready behind her. "You got a problem with that, vigilante?"
He never broke eye contact, and neither did she. Just as she thought he was going to lower his bow and they would either move past this and let her go fix the arrow-hole in her shoulder or go at each other and allow her to prove her capabilities as a fighter, the sound of police sirens broke the tense silence. The four of them turned to the broken windows, and Fire rushed to look out and down. He turned back to the group and nodded at his teammates. Turning back to face the vigilante, Smoak invaded his personal space.
"We're going to go, and if you really want to prove that you've changed your ways, you'll let us leave without wasting anymore of your precious green arrows."
He glared down at her and didn't respond. Taking his silence as consent, she motioned for Fire and Storm to head out. As she turned to follow her team, he grabbed her elbow and pulled her back. She couldn't suppress the growl of pain that escaped her lips as her injured shoulder burned in protest at the sudden movement.
He lowered his head to growl in her ear. "This isn't over. I will find you and next time, I won't show so much restraint."
She scoffed, and her furious, pain-laced blue eyes met his. "Trust me, I'm looking forward to it." She withdrew her arm from his grasp and smirked at him. "It'll be fun to prove the famous Starling City Vigilante can be beaten by a girl." Smoak turned and sauntered as best she could towards the stairwell. Before she left, she threw back over her shoulder, "Until next time, Arrow."
A/N: Hey, so I'm thinking this won't be a super long thing, probably three chapters at most...perhaps.
Okay so, yes, 'Smoak' is Felicity, but no, she has not met Oliver Queen. So far, Oliver is still doing his own tech work with Digg helping out with what he can. This is an AU, so it's not meant to take place during a specific time in the show, but I suppose if you wanted, you could imagine that this scene happens before Oliver Queen brings that infamous laptop to Felicity Smoak. It's been a good several months after Oliver returned from the Island, though, so those mentions of him changing, well, Alive!Tommy is a better influence than one may have expected.
Any questions, leave a review or PM me, I'll do my best to get back to you as soon as I can. Hope you enjoyed!
~Clara