Hey quick background for the story:
It is 2040 and Oliver survived the events of COIE despite his deal with The Monitor. Felicity was murdered in the year 2034 when Mia was 15 and William was 27.
Before Felicity died, her friendship with Earth 2 Laurel Lance continued to flourish, and Laurel and Oliver embraced their differences and grew to be jst as close of friends.
I thought of writing this after Father's Day, but Father's Day was on Sunday!
Enjoy!
Oliver handed Mia a mug of his famous herb-infused tea and Mia smiled at her dad. "Dad, why?" she asked. "I'm not hurt, I don't even feel sick".
"You know what I always say. This will make you stronger" Oliver said.
"So you're so strong because you drink this every day?" Mia asked.
"I actually didn't start drinking this every day since the day of my friend Laurel's funeral. Your mother made that suggestion to me" Oliver told his daughter and half-smiled.
"Mom had a lot of amazing advice" Mia said and Oliver nodded.
"She did," he said.
"And so do you," Mia said. "Not to mention I am the only 20-something who can say that her badass archer dad saved Star City 7 times and then went on to save the freaking universe". All of a sudden, Mia jumped forward into her father's arms and buried her face in his chest, much like she had done when she was a kid and even a teenager. There was a knock at the door and Oliver shifted with his daughter still in his arms.
"Stay back here" Oliver insisted while pulling a knife from the block. Mia, of course, ignored him and followed close behind her father. Oliver stood quietly by the door until he could sense the right moment and he pulled the door open and pressed the knife against the neck of the man on the other side. He quickly pulled it away and he smiled. He handed to knife to Mia and spread his arms wide open.
William shook his head, goofily smiling at his quirky father and then he hugged him. "Happy Father's day, dad!"
"I missed you" Mia said hugging her brother.
"Not as much as I missed you," he said.
"Been a long time since you two have been under the same roof" Oliver chuckled and he walked towards the kitchen to make William some tea.
"Been a long time since you have been under any other roof" William commented.
"I went with Felicity to Smoak Tech from time to time," Oliver said defensively.
"William is not attacking you, dad" Mia said. "We both just want you to go back to Star City".
"Why is that?" Oliver said.
"Because it's your home. Mia deserves to see the city you grew up in, the city you saved" William answered.
"Let's talk about it later" Oliver insisted. "All I want to do is watch Harry Potter with my two favorite people in the world.
William had picked which film they would watch with his eyes shut, just like every father's day. He picked "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". Oliver and his kids had watched this movie so many times that it bored Mia to death. She had fallen fast asleep against Oliver's chest. "This remind you of anything?" William whispered to Oliver.
"When she was a baby" Oliver nodded. "I remember thinking when The Monitor showed up and told me I would die saving the world, I just knew that that would be okay because she was going to be okay. I have always loved you two more than anybody else. I knew the both of you were going to be better than me".
William frowned. "Dad, we only turned out to be people you are proud of because you made us who we are. I love you for that. You also saved Star City and made it possible for it to be the city it was when you were growing up". Oliver shook his head. "Dad, you said we would talk about it later".
"Now isn't the time" Oliver insisted. "How would you know anything about Star City anyway".
William took a deep breath. "Laurel and the canaries contacted me using the hozen Felicity gave me" Oliver's eyes widened. "I went to Lian Yu where I reunited with Roy. We came to Star City and we have been investigating with the Canaries, mainly Laurel. She still wants justice for Felicity".
"And she didn't come to me?" Oliver asked.
"Laurel told me you shied away from her after Felicity's murder. She said that all you wanted to do was stay here with Mia, the two of you would never leave this property. She would come close and sometimes watch for a while, but she decided to pursue getting justice without your help".
"Felicity was my wife," Oliver said coldly.
"And she was Laurel's best friend. You, you were too. She tried to be there for you, dad. You rejected her, you only let Mia and myself in" William complained.
"Your Laurel's number one fan, why don't you go to Star City and celebrate Laurel's day," Oliver said out of frustration and William's face softened.
"Or we can go together. She wants to see you, you know" Willaim suggested.
"Dad, I love you. You helped rebuild my crumbling life after what happened on Lian Yu when I was 11, I want to help you now. Not because I owe it to you, because I love you".
"William's right you know" Mia tiredly mumbled against Oliver's chest.
A moment of silence passed and Oliver shifted and stood up and Mia sat up straight. "It's father's day, and seeing as the two people who made me a father want me to go to Star City" He paused and looked at William. "You can drive".
Oliver dozed off in the back seat on the ride to Star City. Mia sat in the passenger's and she looked like she was losing her breath at the sight of everything.
"Just wait until we get to the city" William chuckled.
"I can't help it. I'm gonna see auntie Laurel again. I'm gonna see her outside of the little cabin that I have lived in all my life. Will, you've seen what's outside that place. For me, it's a dream come true" Mia explained to her brother.
William smiled as he drove. "I'll admit I have been trying to convince dad to take you to Star City or even to visit me for years. But Dad has always been stubborn, and I know he always thought that he was doing what was best for you".
"I think what we're doing now is what is best for both of us," said Mia.
She lightly rubbed Oliver to wake him. "Daddy?"
"Yeah! What is it, Mia? Are you okay?" Oliver asked, frantically.
"No, dad. Will and I are fine. We're here, in Star City" Mia replied.
"This? This is Star City" Oliver questioned.
"Yup," William shared. "And this is not even The Glades".
Oliver wrinkled his forehead and whispered to himself "what happened?" then out loud Oliver asked: "Who is that on the ground?"
William's eye's widened. "That's one of the Canaries," he said. All of a sudden, William grabbed his sister and father and pulled them behind a dumpster. Mia gave her brother a look that said: "what the hell?"
William mouthed: "Someone is coming"
Oliver and his kids did their best to be silent. Mia peeked at the man who approached the canary's body. He was dressed in full gear, and his breathing sounded similar to Darth Vader.
She turned back towards her brother. "What is he doing" she whispered. Before William could reply, Mia whispered: "We need to stop him".
"Mia, no" Oliver growled, but Mia stood up. When the right moment arrived, she powered up a device similar to a T-sphere, created by her mother and she tossed it torward the man. He spun around and took the device out by throwing the dead canary's bo staff at it.
"So much for plan A" Mia grumbled and she jumped over the dumpster and engaged the man who was armed with two knives. Oliver tried to stand up and join his daughter, but William held him back, shooting him a look that told him: "Mia's got this".
Mia pulled the bo staff from the device. She swung it towards the man's helmet and he blocked it. Both parties blocked several blows from knives and the bo staff. Mia landed a punch on the man's chest and a kick on his right thigh. She assaulted him, punch after punch to his neck, chest, and stomach. Oliver smiled watching the fight. He knew how hard Mia had worked. He hadn't known if she would ever be able to use what he trained for.
The man decked Mia in the face and threw her to the ground. He pulled out his gun and pointed it at Mia's head. Oliver was just about to break free from the hold that William had on his bicep when William let go to cover his ears. Oliver covered his too, and watched as the man who had threatened his daughter was thrown through the air and knocked out cold. Oliver and William stayed where they were for a moment while The Black Canary jumped down from a fire escape on a nearby building. Mia looked up at her. "Thank you," she said. "And that jump, that was badass"
"Well, 21 years is enough time for anyone to learn how to really make an entrance" Laurel grinned. "Kid, what the hell are you doing in Star City? Especially at this time of night on Father's Day..." Laurel's voice trailed off and Mia followed her eyes to where Oliver and William had just come out of their hiding spot.
Laurel hadn't seen Oliver in 6 years. After Felicity was kidnapped and murdered and Oliver could not save her, he just put all of his focus into Mia. She visited the cabin a few times, but she could tell that Oliver was just not in the place to want anyone around. She got the feeling that he had assigned part of the blame for Felicity's death to the Canary Network for not being able to stop Archer. Laurel felt guilty for it too, the more and more she learned about Archer. But she didn't except the blame entirely. It would be a hell of a lot easier if the Green Arrow was around.
Oliver got close enough and Laurel couldn't hold back the impulse to throw herself into his arms. He hugged her and closed his eyes. This was the first hug in a very long time. This hug felt similar to the hug she had forced when she came out pretending to his Laurel. She would never be his Laurel, but at this point, she was his other Laurel.
Laurel pulled back a little to look in his eyes. "It's been a long time," she said.
"Too long," Oliver said. "I'm sorry"
"We all really missed you" William said as he hugged Laurel.
"You, I haven't seen since you left on your paid-in-full ride to college. I am glad you answered my message, I didn't know you had the hozen. I thought it was you" Laurel said while looking at Ollie.
"Oh so you did intend to inform that The Canaries were doing an off-the-books investigation to find out who killed my wife," Oliver said.
"Ollie, we have to. The police are a joke, and I think Felicity's murder was premeditated" Laurel replied.
"What?" Mia asked.
"Yeah," William said "I'm sorry, Mia"
"William, how much do you know and how much have you been keeping from me and your sister?" Oliver asked.
"Well, what The Canaries, Roy and I have been figuring out is – well you remember that security system Felicity made-Archer?" William asked.
"Yeah, but she destroyed that," Oliver said.
"But unfortunately, Felicity was not only one who knew Archer's algorithm," Laurel said.
"Alena" Oliver said to himself.
"She recreated it a few years back because she thought that it was helping, but the program immediately became a target on her back", Laurel explained. "She gave it Felicity to destroy, but she was found and murdered for it before she could".
"Now Archer powers the city, particularly The Glades," William said. "And the mainframe is built into the wall protecting The Glades".
"Does my mom's creation do good for the city at least?" Mia asked hopefully.
"It would've if it hadn't been corrupted," Laurel said.
"Who corrupted It?" Mia snarled. Laurel was silent and Mia repeated. "Who?"
"Well, Keven Dale, CEO of Galaxy One, William and I think his company is a front. We think he is part of or maybe even leading Eden Corps" Laurel revealed.
"I thought Veronica Dale disbanded that group after The Flash stopped them from blowing up Central City," Oliver said skeptically.
"Yup. Everyone did" Laurel replied.
"Why didn't mom tell us?" Mia asked, looking at Oliver. "You could've protected her".
Oliver shook his head. "I guess that your mother didn't want you caught in any crossfire". Oliver looked at Laurel and asked: "Anything else I should know?"
"Rene Ramirez is an associate of Keven Dale. He is the mayor of The Glades" Laurel said.
"Just The Glades?" Oliver asked.
"Well, the city... but The Glades is the only relevant part of the city, mostly due to Rene".
"Well does Rene know that Keven is corrupt?"
"No way of knowing, but Zoe Ramirez is a canary and I think he knows that. He does know that Archer is being used to control and "bring structure" to The Glades" and ruin the legacy of superheroes" Laurel explained.
"We have to stop Eden Corps. I don't live here, but I grew up here. Star City is the home of Queen Consolidated and The Queen Mansion, where Tommy, and Laurel, and my mother died, where Team Arrow operated. And it is the city that you and canaries work around the clock to defend".
"You also met mom here" Mia added and Oliver smiled slightly.
"Does Rene have information we can use to shut down Archer?" Oliver asked.
"There are access codes but he refused to give them to Dinah and Zoe," Laurel said.
"Well he won't refuse the Green Arrow," Oliver said, earning a huge smile from both of his children.
"And the Black Canary" Laurel said as she grabbed Oliver's hand and he smiled at her. Mia couldn't tell if her brother was thinking the same or not, but the way her dad and Laurel looked at each other, there was something there ...maybe there always had been.
Mayor Ramirez was leaving the office for the night, hopefully, he could get a drink with Zoe. He felt bad that he had to turn her down for all of her Father's Day celebration efforts. He was needed at City Hall though. The Archer program had been powering the city for a few years, but Keven Dale had been talking a lot about using the program to its full potential. "Re-branding" Star City. Rene didn't see a problem with it. He knew that a major intention of using the program was to ruin the legacy of superheroes, and he was okay with that. The Green Arrow was gone, The Flash was gone, Arsenal, , Firestorm, and KillerFrost, they were all long gone. And they hadn't saved the world or stopped evil. Rene felt like he'd been a fool in his younger days.
He used his keys to unlock his car when a high-pitched scream shattered the headlights and all the windows. Rene heard someone landing on their feet behind him. He turned around to see his old green-hooded friend. "Oliver? Or did William takeover?"
"Rene Ramirez, you have failed this city" Oliver grumbled in a low voice as Laurel walked over to join him.
"Give us The Archer program's access codes" Laurel demanded.
"And what makes you think I have them" Rene argued and Laurel punched him in the neck.
"I won't ask again" she growled.
Rene smiled and Oliver grabbed him by the collar and slammed him down on the hood of his car. "You son of a bitch. I always had a feeling about you, that I shouldn't trust you. You let them kill Felicity" he spat.
"I didn't know they were going to kill Felicity, Mr. Dale told me after it was already done. I told him that it wasn't a problem" Rene said with a sneer.
Oliver repeatedly smashed Rene's head into the car. "Tell me the codes" he shouted as he felt something sharp pierce his leg. Rene had pulled a knife and stabbed Oliver's thigh.
Oliver stepped backward and when Laurel saw what had happened, she stepped forwards and kicked Rene in his jaw. Rene landed on his butt and lost consciousness. "I'll text Zoe to pick him up," Laurel said. She took Oliver's bow and a grappling Arrow from his quiver and said "grab on".
The two vigilantes joined Mia, William, and Roy in the Arrow-cave which Oliver hadn't seen since he, Diggle, and Felicity left Star City in 2019. "Whoa" Oliver whispered to himself. There was no electricity or heat, and there was mold everywhere. Definitely not the way he left it.
"We use this sometimes when we're desperate" Laurel informed him.
Oliver just took a moment to take everything in and then he hugged Roy. "Hey man," he said.
"Long time, no see" Roy replied.
"Where is my sister?" Oliver asked.
"I wish I knew but Thea and I lost touch a long time ago," Roy said with sadness in his eyes. Oliver simply patted his shoulder.
"So I guess no access codes?" William theorized.
"Ramirez is crooked" was all that Oliver would say.
"Dad, you have always been the best planner I know, what is plan B," Mia asked.
"The canaries- The canaries figure out a way to get to the mainframe?" Oliver asked.
"A grappling Arrow could get us up there but not undetected, unfortunately" Laurel revealed.
"We don't need to be undetected," Oliver said with a smile.
Several of the Eden Corp guards were making their usual rounds. Suddenly one of the guards was kicked with such force that he went falling to his death. A high pitched scream paired with powerful sonic waves knocked another off. This distraction gave Mia time to kick in the server room door for her brother before engaging with a few more guards. Roy went inside with William and he quickly incapacitated the server room guard while William started to attempt to break the encryption on the Archer program. Felicity had taught him a lot about the program when he was a teenager. He hoped that Green Arrow and Black Canary could still last as long as they used to in a fight.
Laurel threw punches at guards and let out long cries to make them fall or at least stun them. Oliver delivered vicious and painful kicks and bow strikes to the guards and Mia was also holding her own, punching and firing arrows.
"Yes," William yelled as Roy shot an arrow and took out a guard who was charging towards the server room. "Encryption broken" William turned on his comm. "Dad, I just reconfigured the detonation commands. This whole mainframe is gonna blow up in 60 seconds".
"Great job, Overwatch. It's Green Arrow in the field" Oliver teased, and William had a huge smile on his face after being called by his stepmom's nickname.
Roy covered William, protecting him and shooting arrows at guards who weren't already engaged. He launched a grappling arrow at the ground and he had William slide to safety. Then he, Laurel, Oliver, and Mia fought off remaining guards. Mia pushed a guard to his death and William said through the comm: "THERE IS NO TIME LEFT" Oliver, Roy, and Mia were tethered so they jumped off the wall. Laurel jumped to and Oliver quickly grabbed her to ensure her safety. The mainframe exploded behind them as they fell through the air.
The group of five made it back to the Arrow-cave after destroying Archer and were checking each other for serious injuries. "I'm impressed, Mia," Laurel said. "I thought I would be patching you up a lot more. Ya know, you would make a fine canary".
"That was the best night of my life," Mia said. She walked over to Oliver and hugged him. "Happy father's day".
"Thanks, Mia," he said and he pulled William in for a group hug. "Thank you both". Roy got up and he hugged Laurel and then he hugged Oliver. "Where are you going?" Oliver asked.
"Back," Roy said.
"Ba-back to Lian Yu?" William asked and Roy nodded.
"N-" William began to say, but Oliver stopped him.
"You don't have to do that, Roy" Oliver said and after a pause, he said, "but if you feel like you have to, we'll understand".
"Thank you," Roy said and he extended his hand to William.
William shook his head. "No, that's not how I roll," he said and pulled Roy in for a hug.
After Roy left, Oliver asked: "Hey Laurel, there is one more thing I want to do in Star City. Do you wanna come?"
She smiled. "Actually, I shouldn't. It's father's day, and you're not my father. I'm gonna visit Quentin, then, I have to regroup with the Canary Network".
"Okay," Oliver said and hugged Laurel. She pulled back slightly and looked at him, smiling, "Don't be a stranger" she said.
"Trust me, you'll be seeing a lot more of me" Oliver promised and then Laurel hugged Mia and William.
William, Mia, and Oliver walked in and both of Oliver's children were surprised that they were in a bar. "A bar, dad?" William asked.
"Just one beer for each of us" Oliver isisted so Mia and William took seats on either side of their father. "I used to come here with a good friend of mine". Oliver said having his kids' full attention. "His name was Barry and he was one of the best people I knew. I would've died for him and I tried to sacrifice myself to save him... only months after you were born, Mia".
"What?" Mia asked.
"I wanted to save Barry and your mom, and the two of you, so badly and I was told the only way I could was to die. So I accepted it" Oliver admitted.
"Well, I am glad that your sacrifice didn't work," Mia said. "because I couldn't imagine my life without you, dad".
"Yeah, same here. I love you and I would miss you so much" William added as he took a large sip of his beer.
Oliver smiled and he said: "Part of me is glad it didn't too. I would've missed out on today. Seeing your kids become heroes and save Star City. I couldn't be prouder of you two".
Mia kissed Oliver's cheek. "We are who we are because you are our father," she said, "I love you, daddy and I always will. And Dad?"
Oliver looked at his daughter to give her his full attention.
"Thank you for saving our city"