Arrow – None So Lonely
Darhk made a mistake
The Shadow of the newly named Star City surveyed Damian Darhk's home.
It was a little too sweet for such a destructive force, but then again, the man had a wife and daughter, so just as well. If a man like him felt the need to have a picture perfect family while creating an evil master plan, as it were, then it was Oliver's duty as the protector of Star City to destroy him and everything he cared, or pretended to care about.
Smoak had been unwilling to join him in his endeavor, until Darhk went and killed Tommy because he thought he was Oliver's best friend, and how else could he shake the Shadow? It only served to traumatize Laurel, who'd witnessed him being kidnapped, provoke Quentin, who had grown to care for Tommy as a son after he married Laurel, and enrage Thea, who loved Tommy as much as she loved Oliver.
As much as Tommy had once been something of a brother to him, it was no longer the case, so he had to pretend to be broken by Tommy's death. Once he stepped into his underground hiding hole, Smoak turned to look at him, and Diggle crossed his arms, his face a mask of coldness and expectance.
Darhk wanted to play with the Shadow, it was too bad he did not realize Oliver wasn't the kind of person to play around.
Diggle got his wife's support in their mission, as much as Lyla did not agree with their vigilantism, and Amanda Waller herself told Oliver to take care of Darhk, or she would bring Star City down. Naturally, he took a moment to remind Waller that while he appreciated A.R.G.U.S. stepping up and helping them, but nevertheless, he was still the protector of Star City, and she should think twice about threatening to do any harm to it.
Her smirk was something he had always liked about her, as well as the respect that always shone through her eyes.
So they went, they followed Darhk and eventually got to his wife, a woman that Oliver could recognize as intelligent and all too willing to follow along Darhk's plans. She was not an innocent in the least, and Smoak, who had grown colder and ruthless over the years as Oliver and Diggle's support system, said that if she knew about Darhk and still she wanted to be with him, then she could have no sympathy for her.
Not that Oliver needed her to finally understand what he had to do, but it was... Interesting.
Naturally, as had been the case for a while, Diggle was silent and deadly beside him, shooting with as much precision as Oliver when they raided Darhk's house. He held his own quite well when Oliver started planting the devices, and was quick on his feet when Oliver took up the offensive to cover for him.
When he returned from the island, Oliver never would have imagined protecting someone who was more than willing to protect him, but he knew how to roll with the punches.
Finally, Oliver and Diggle had placed all the devices and Darhk had finally come back home. He laughed like Malcolm Merlyn would have before Oliver stuck a knife in his chest, and started a monologue about how he was going to gut Oliver after he was done with every single person he had ever known, loved and even talked to.
The Oliver of once would have shot back that if he was going to kill all the girls he had screwed, it would be a long list, but this was the Shadow of Star City, the list of people he actually gave a shit about was dwindling. Darhk should have known that, and that alone showed how silly a villain he actually was. Magic or no magic, he was exactly the kind of man Oliver could and would kill with little to no effort.
As soon as he blew his house up, that is.
Diggle and Oliver ran from the house as Darhk tried to attack them, but Oliver had come in contact with John Constantine for a little magical assistance, so they were able to just get the hell out of dodge, or at least far enough not to get hit by the massive blast that their explosive devices caused. Oliver took a tinge of pleasure by the shock in Darhk's face as he turned to his house when the first device was activated, only a moment before the others.
Back at their lair, as Smoak sometimes flippantly called it, she was hard at work trying to delay emergency responders. She said it would only make a few minutes of difference overall, but Oliver was satisfied either way. Less chances of Darhk and his family surviving, and Smoak finally felt like the type of person he couldn't quite mind having by his side. She wasn't like Diggle to him yet, and would never be unless she stepped up her weapons and hand-to-hand training, but she was a far cry from the naive, wide eyed girl he'd bullied into helping him, all those years prior.
Oliver attended Tommy's funeral like any best friend ought to, he cried almost on cue with his family and friends, he hugged the distraught Laurel and rubbed the trembling Thea's back gently. Diggle hovered nearby like the good little bodyguard he was paid to be, his eyes alert all around.
Darhk had died the night before, A.R.G.U.S. had so kindly made sure of it, but still it didn't hurt to be vigilant. The man had had a massive following, and while Oliver doubted he had been the kind of person to gossip about the Shadow of Star City's true identity, Tommy's funeral was exactly the kind of place he would strike out of revenge.
Then again, Smoak was at ready with enough automatic guns and explosives, plus several A.R.G.U.S. agents. If anyone were to attack Tommy Merlyn's funeral, they would be quite sorry they even tried.
And BOOM! Also yes, Oliver totes killed Darhk and his family in one ruthless switch of a button. Also yeah, he killed Malcolm back in would-be S01.
This is a sequel to A Lonely Game. I may end up writing more stories within this Universe, maybe in other characters' POV.