„You were a mistake." echoed a silent whisper in the room.
Felicity slowly opened her eyes only to gaze into impenetrable darkness surrounding her.
Her head hurt like hell and she was cold from the floor beneath her. Her hands were twisted behind her back and when Felicity tried to move pain in the wrists and loud ´clink´ reminded her of the handcuffs through which she was attached to the iron loop on the wall.
„Let me go." she whispered exhausted.
„I can not do that." answered a soft voice from the darkness.
Light hit Felicity sharp in the eyes and she had to close them and hide her face for a few seconds. When her sight came to terms with the sudden abundance of light she looked up.
About twenty feet in front of her a single light-bulb was hanging on the wiring from the cracked ceiling, casting a circle of light on the floor and in the center of this circle was a lonely wooden chair.
Felicity heart started pounding faster as she heard that soft voice again, this time closer.
„You probably don't know why you are here."
„Probably because you are a sick nutjob." Felicity countered more angry than afraid, but that changed as her captor entered the circle of light in front of her.
He was dressed in an expensive black suit with red flower pin on his chest and on his head, Felicity didn't know how to subscribe it better, was a red... cooking pot? Felicity was at a loss with words as this weird man took a seat on the wooden chair and slowly put his hands on the handles of the chair, tapping with one finger in a slow rhythm. There was something scary polite and calm about him.
„You were a mistake." he repeated his first statement and Felicity noticed that somehow his voice wasn't distorted by his unconventional headwear.
„I really think that the biggest mistake was your choice of clothing..." Felicity answered, trying to throw the man out of his scary calm. „ ... And by the clothing I mean that pot you are wearing."
The man ignored her remark.
„You shouldn´t have been there when Oliver came."
Felicity froze and completely forgot about another snarky comment she was about to make. He knew about Oliver.
„What are you talking about?" Felicity asked, her voice slightly trembling.
„It wasn´t supposed to happen like this."
For the first time Felicity noticed a hint of distress in the voice of her captor.
„What wasn´t supposed to happen?" Felicity asked carefully.
„Oliver Queen is destined to fall in love with Laurel Lance."
Felicity wasn´t sure what surprised her more, the fact that he knew about Laurel or the very thing he just said.
„No one is destined to do anything." Felicity answered coldly.
„That is where you are wrong." man said as he lifted his finger like a proud teacher when explaining to a student how thing works. „There are stories so old that they become a traditions and following this tradition creates the destiny." He took a deep breath and continued.
„In all the stories, in all the worlds, Oliver Queens destiny is to love Laurel Dinah Lance, the Black Canary. It was always like this and it will always be like this."
The man slowly slid his hand into one of his pockets and pulled out a small revolver. Felicity watched anxiously as he slowly put the weapon on a small table to his left.
Wait a moment... that table wasn´t there just a second ago.
Was the table in the shadows and she just didn´t notice it? It couldn´t just appear out of nowhere. A soft voice interrupted her thoughts.
„You my dear are an anomaly. Something that was not supposed to happen. You are a mistake in the thread of destiny."
„Untie me and I will show you a mistake..." Felicity retorted with more confidence than she actually felt.
The man chuckled under the pot and waved his hand.
„Look at yourself..."
Felicity watched as a mirror suddenly appeared before her seemingly out of nowhere. Felicity stared into the mirror, taking aback by what she just witnessed and then it hit her. She was hallucinating. He must have drugged her.
„What have you done to me?" Felicity asked slightly panicked, but her captor ignored the question.
„Look into the mirror, look at who you are." he ordered her with impatient growl, the softness in his voice suddenly gone.
Felicity did as he told her. Her anger disappeared and she watched her own reflection, almost hypnotized by the mirror.
„Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow. He is a superhero, did you really think that he would feel something for a girl like you?"
Felicity didn´t stop to ask herself how the man knew about Olivers secret identity, she was just staring at her own reflection, the voice of her captor sinking deep inside her soul.
„Look at your boring ponytail, your embarrassing glasses, your childish colorful clothing. Do you really think that superhero like Green Arrow could love someone like you?"
Felicity knew she shouldn´t listen to anything that man was saying, but she was unable to say anything in return and her captor kept going.
„Black Canary is a true warrior, tall and beautiful as well as strong and deadly. What is an ordinary IT girl in comparison?" voice of the man shifted into soft whisper, but Felicity could hear every word.
„This was never your story. They are destined for each other, this is a story of heroes, not of an ordinary girl like you."
Her own reflection was staring at Felicity with a resigned expression, eyes empty and tired behind the thick rimmed glasses.
„Will you kill me?" Felicity asked with a hollow voice, eyes still fixed at her own reflection.
„Sort of..." man nodded.
Felicity tore her eyes away from the mirror and her fear clenched her chest. She faced a lot of dangerous situations in the past and she always managed to come on top of them, but it was different this time. This time she felt death breathing on her neck.
„Do you really love him?" man asked as he was sliding his finger across the barrel of the revolver.
Felicity sharply inhaled and swallowed the tension in her throat.
„Yes." She answered with a strong voice and suddenly the grip of fear around her heart lessened.
The man leaned forward in the chair and the mocking tone in his voice glided through the air.
„How could you know? There are a hundreds of women craving for Oliver Queen, for his charm, for his power, for his money and thousands more that adore the Green Arrow, you are no different from them. You are just a girl with a crush."
„Maybe..." Felicity quietly admitted. „maybe everything you said is true."
Few seconds went by in silence until Felicity spoke again, her voice filled with hope as she smiled a little to herself and said quietly. „But it doesn´t matter."
„Of course it does you silly." man chuckled under his pot.
„No, it doesn´t." Felicity countered defiantly, her voice strong and loud.
„Even if everything you said is true, it doesn´t matter. It doesn´t matter if I´m worthy, or if I´m destined to be loved or not. It doesn´t matter what will happen to me, what matters the most is Oliver... it always has been Oliver."
Felicity lowered her eyes as she imagined Olivers smile and sparks of light that were always dancing behind his brooding eyes.
The way he always said ´hey´ in that special soft voice that Felicity liked to think was only for her.
How he looked at every person with an irrational sense of responsibility for their well being, no matter if it was his sister or a stranger he saved on the street.
How he hurt on the inside haunted by the phantoms of his past, unable to see what an amazing man he was.
„I love him." Felicity whispered, her voice quiet but her mind clear as a day.
„Chmph." Man snorted under his pot, stood up and grabbed the revolver.
Felicity body tensed and she pushed her back against the wall, instinctively trying to get away from the danger.
„One thing is still bugging me." Man said and scratched the pot with the barrel of the gun.
„Why you? What is it with you that you messed up this story so much."
Felicity didn´t say anything, she was watching the gun and trying to somehow loosen the handcuffs.
The man continued in his monolog.
„You know it is a rare thing. For a someone like you to just appear out of nowhere and stir so much trouble and even threaten to break a story with such a long tradition as this one. It makes me wonder where the anomalies like you come from."
Handcuffs clinked off the iron loop and man chuckled.
„You see, this is what it´s all about isn´t it? Regaining control. We are both trying to do the same thing. To set us free, regain control."
„You seem like a control freak, so it´s making sense." Felicity countered. „I bet you are really hard into fifty shades of gray, judging by the fact that you have me chained to the wall in your basement or wherever we are."
Mirror to Felicity left disappear, but the whole area lightened up so she could see how the man walked onward and crouched a few feet before her, the revolver still resting in his relaxed hand.
„Maybe this is what he sees in you... I have to give you the credit you have a spine and a smart mouth too. But you can´t talk yourself out of this one."
„Maybe I´m not trying to talk myself out, maybe I´m stalling you." Felicity retorted, her whole body tense. She looked straight to the place where the eyes of her captor were supposed to be.
„He will come for me." Felicity said, fire burning in her eyes.
Man let out an honest smile and stood up.
„You think he will save you?" man asked amused.
„Word of advice psycho... Oliver always comes for me and when he does, you will be sorry." Felicity whispered, her voice more menacing that she could ever imagined.
„Yes..." man admitted, his voice somehow distant. „I was watching Oliver for a long time."
„I saw how he almost killed Helena when he found out she hurt you. I saw how he leveled an entire casino floor filled with armed gangsters just to get to you. I saw the three arrows he put into the man who threatened your life..."
Man put both his hands behind his back towering over Felicity like a menacing shadow.
„Why does he care for you so much... "
Felicity had enough with this psychotic talk.
„You talk about destiny, about what should and shouldn´t have happened. But you are not a god, you probably think you are, but you can´t order people how to behave and what to feel."
The man didn´t say a word for a while, then he slowly nodded.
Felicity suddenly realized that handcuffs around her wrists disappeared. She froze for a while, not sure how that happened. She looked up to her captor, who didn´t seem to notice anything.
Felicity twitched as the man leaned in so the red pot was a mere inches from her face.
„Run..." he whispered.
Felicity hesitated for a brief second, but then picked herself up and ran around the man. Her heart pounded like a bell, her whole body preparing for a shot in the back, but it didn´t come. She noticed that when she ran the whole area somehow brightened, so she could at least see where she was held.
It looked like a huge warehouse without windows or entrances.
Felicity searched for an escape and sprinted forward as fast as her heels allowed her to.
Creepy laugh of her captor echoed behind her. She felt like in a nightmare.
Felicity ran for a minute or two, leaving the laughter behind her. She soon saw a light bulb hanging from the ceiling and a familiar chair.
Felicity stopped and panicked when she realized that she got to the same place that she ran away from. She made a step back and turned left, running in a different direction.
Same thing happened to her again. Same wooden chair and at the same iron loop in the wall. Her brain was trying to realize what was happening, she must have been totally disoriented, running in circles.
„You are not running in circles my dear." Soft voice echoed behind her and Felicity quickly turned around, terrified.
Suddenly seemingly endless warehouse filled with light bulbs and chairs. Felicity´s rationality gave up as she saw the warehouse filled with an incalculable number of light bulbs, wooden chairs and walls with iron loops.
„And you are not drugged either." sounded a soft voice on her left and Felicity watched as her captor entered the circle of light and took a seat on the nearest chair, the revolver still firm in his hands.
Felicity made a step back, breathing heavily, trying to comprehend what was happening.
„What do you want from me?!" she asked, her voice cracking with desperation.
„Right now... I want you to understand what is going on." with these words man put the gun on the ground next to the chair and straighten back up.
„I told you about stories, traditions and destinies. Well behind every story is a storyteller. The builder of the story and in his own way... the god."
Felicity wanted to run away as she watched the man slowly raised his hands and caught the pot with his both hands.
„It´s time for me to introduce myself." He lifted the red pot and Felicity wanted to scream, but no sound besides shocked gasp came out of her mouth.
The man threw the pot on the ground with a loud clunk.
There were no eyes, no ears, no nose and not even a mouth. That man had no face, no hair, only a bald round head without features.
Felicity didn´t even realize her kneels gave up as she ended up back on the floor, staring terrified at her captor.
„I am the Writer." creature introduced herself with a soft voice that was coming seemingly out of everywhere. „And I control this story."
Writer bend over and grabber the gun as he stood up.
Felicity made a faint attempt to crawl away from him, but she realized she wasn´t able to move properly, as if there were invisible chains wrapped around her legs and arms.
„You see, this is not even a gun." Writer pointed out amused as he looked at the revolver.
„It´s only a tool to remove you from the story... It could be whatever I choose it to be, but gun seemed fitting... you can say I have a thing for dramatic."
Felicity watched as gun in his hand changed into long, shiny knife.
„This will be even better." Writer said with content as he slid his finger over the blade.
„Your dear Oliver won´t come for you, because I won´t allow it. You are my characters, my story and I´m setting the record straight." His soft voice echoed from every direction.
„Green Arrow belongs to the Black Canary, not some random IT girl with glasses."
The Writer made a two steps forward and Felicity closed her eyes, preparing for whatever would happen next.
But another voice appeared, a silent, threatening growl Felicity was dying to hear.
„Get. Away. From. Her."
Felicity abruptly opened her eyes and saw Oliver in his Green Arrow costume with a bow ready to fire to her right. He was enveloped in mysterious green light that was seemingly coming out of his eyes as well, making him even more intimidating than usual.
The creature stopped and turned its faceless head toward the archer.
„Get away!" Writer screeched and made a commanding gesture with his hand. Green light around Oliver dimmed a little, but didn´t disappear.
„This is my story! I will tell you what to do!" creature yelled furiously.
„You may be the Writer..." Oliver said and with two slow steps put himself between Felicity and the creature. „But there are more powerful forces in the world than your will."
Felicity caught Oliver´s leather vest and pulled herself up to stand beside him, basking in the green, soothing light.
Creature hissed as a rattled snake and was slowly stepping sideways in a circle, obviously threatened by the green light. Oliver was moving with the creature, never loosing it from his crosshair. Felicity noticed that Writer was slowly becoming more monster-like, his movements now more of an animal than a human, his hands changed into sharp claws.
„You can´t fight your own destiny Queen." Writer whispered with threatening growl.
„Step aside, let me make this right."
„You won´t touch her." Oliver growled in response.
The creature tried to get closer, but quickly stepped back, as if burned by the green light.
„Grr." Monster growled like a bear and then shifted back into his soft, human voice.
„Step aside and I will bring your family back. Your father, your mother, Tommy, Sara, I can fix it all."
Oliver didn´t react.
„Let go of her and I will bring all your loved ones back from the dead." Writer promised with his most human and honest voice.
„I once met a man who made me a promise..." Oliver said with his deep arrow voice. „ And you know how that turned out for him."
Writer hissed with anger.
„You. Don´t. Belong. Together." Creature spat out one word after another.
„I don´t care." Oliver countered and Felicity grabbed his leather vest tighter, green light around them gaining in strength.
„You are ruining everything!" Writer screamed out hysterically. „What is she to you?! She is a nobody!"
„She is Felicity." Oliver answered with a strong voice and draw the bow as much as he could. „My Felicity."
He released the arrow which seemed to be made entirely of green light and watched as it flew right through the creature, creating a big green hole in his chest. Writer screamed out in agony and fell to his knees. Expensive black suit the creature was wearing started to burn with green flames.
„You are not supposed to be in love with her!" creature screamed in a last attempt to change its fate.
Oliver drew another green arrow.
„I ..." first arrow went into the creature´s stomach.
„don´t..." second arrow went through its shoulder.
„care." the third green arrow went straight through the monster´s head.
Writer enveloped in green flames and screamed as he slowly disappeared in the flash of green light.
Oliver put his bow down and immediately turned around to Felicity. He cupped her cheek and Felicity desperately hold onto his arms, fighting against the tears.
„Hey..." Olivers soothing voice enveloped her and she hugged him as tight as she could, holding on to him desperately.
„It´s okay..." Oliver whispered into her ear and softly caressed her neck.
„He said you wouldn´t come." Felicity said, her voice cracking as tears filled her eyes.
„I will always come for you." Oliver whispered.
Felicity quickly woke up and it took her a while to realize where she was. Oliver was sleeping next to her in their bed.
Felicity realized that there were tears on her cheek. As if Oliver knew that something was wrong, he turned around in the bed and murmured with closed eyes.
„Are you okay?"
Felicity looked at his handsome face and scars on his back and softly smiled to herself.
„Yes, I just had a bad dream."
Man slowly raised his hand and pointed a finger at Felicity.
only source of light was a single bulp haning on the wiring from the cracked ceiling.