Hi, my dearies,
Here I come with a new story. The inspiration came first after the promo for 'Legends of Tomorrow' was released and it was confirmed that Sarah was back thanks to the Lazarus' pit. Then saw a live tweet from City of Heroes saying that Stephen Amell wants Oliver to put Tommy in the pit. So, my question was: if they're bringing Sarah back, why not Tommy?
This drabble is a speculation (or wishful thinking, if you like) of other way that Tommy can be brought back.
Hope you like it. All the likes and reviews are deeply appreciated.
BEHIND DOOR NUMBER 55
"Southwest corner, cleared."
Felicity heard Oliver reporting his advance through the compound. Along with John and Laurel and Barry, they've infiltrated a H.I.V.E station just outside of Coast city. For months to no end and using all her IT skills, it took a miracle to finally discover the location. As soon they got it, a plan was made and put into action before Darhk and his minions could foresee what was happening.
It had become a personal matter for her, beyond her bruised hacker ego and stopping the threat looming over them and the world. Since a year ago, when she discovered that her dad was no other than Damien Dark, Felicity was determined to make everything within her possibilities to undo her father's reproachable deeds. But it turned out to be much harder than she thought. She had to admit that the level of expertise of whoever was in charge of their digital security rivaled hers. An aggravating fact. She almost gave up hacking into H.I.V.E's network, when finally she had a breakthrough.
Felicity collected all the data she could in the few seconds that the connection was safe. It took her another ten days to decrypt the info and make some sense of it. There was still plenty to work on, but something that repeated several times was the aforementioned station.
Finding out why that compound was so important, and perhaps disable it, could be a great hit against H.I.V.E. One that unequivocally would lift the team spirit. They've been taking a lot of blows lately. It had started to feel even worse than when they were at war against the late Ra's Al Ghul and the League of Assassins.
"John, a group of men are heading your way from the right," Felicity warned her as she kept her eyes wide open looking at the A.R.G.U.S' satellite thermal imaging in the screen of her tablet.
"Copy that."
He was moving from North to South, through the main corridor of the facility. Laurel was closing in from the East. A level below her team, and with Barry as bodyguard, she was heading to the facility's mainframe. She had created a virus that would fry all H.I.V.E systems and erase all the data in their network. It was a risky move, but it had to be done. That could be the only chance for them to accomplish such triumph. And the only way to do it was for her to plug in her table directly and upload it.
She suggested it when they were planning the attack. The response she got was not what she expected. None of the team was too happy to let her wander in an enemy HQ alone, Oliver was who least liked the idea. The plan required all of them focused on their assigned tasks and there was no one who could serve as her chaperon.
Even Thea had a job to do in Starling City, serving as a distraction for the contingent of H.I.V.E men that were on their tails. It was just after she reminded them that it wouldn't be the first they did a similar job, and The Flash had appeared very timely in their doorstep, that her participation was finally included.
"Felicity, are you there yet?" Oliver's taut and gravelly voice on her ear made her jump.
"Almost."
She walked faster, shortening the distance between her and the door at the end of the hallway. Barry followed her closely, attentive to any unwelcome company. When they reached the closed door, Felicity worked fast as she could open the electronic lock. She breathed in relief when the latch opened, giving them access to the room. "I'm in," she told Oliver.
Immediately, she plugged in her tablet and upload it the virus. She took a second tablet from her backpack, connected it as well, and searched for the security camera feed. In just a few seconds, she got the image of Laurel, who had joined John, and they were fighting H.I.V.E. men.
Kicking their asses, could be a more accurate to say.
Oliver was doing likewise at the opposite side of the level. The alert of breaking in had been giving them away, and there was more men drawing near them. "Guys," she said, and gulped, unable to masked her trepidation, "huge incoming your way."
She went through the feed of the different cameras, trying to find out a point where she could deter them. However, at some point, she stopped switching cameras and angles. She stared at the screen in a state of total disbelief. "Oh, my God," she breathed.
"What is it, Felicity?" Barry questioned behind her. "Isn't that...?" he said, then stopped himself. He had fallen in the same incredulous state as she.
"Yeah, I think he is."
##########
While Oliver shot another deadeye arrow taking down the last men near him, he wondered why Felicity was taking so long. Darhk's men seemed to be ants coming at him from everywhere. Soon, they'll be more attacking him. For what he could hear through his earpiece, John and Laurel were in similar circumstances.
He wanted to take everybody now, before the situation got out of control. That was when he heard the shocked whisper, coming from Felicity. "Oh, my God."
"What's going on?" when she ignored him, he insisted. "Talk to me, Felicity. Are you ok?"
"Oliver, you have to see this. You need to go upstairs. Take the stairs, 60 feet ahead of you. At the end of the corridor the second last door. It's marked number 55."
"What?"
"Just do it! You won't believe it until you see him."
Intrigued, Oliver did what she suggested. On his way, he defeated a couple of men by the stairs, then traveled through the hallway, with dread rising in his chest. At the door, he paused a moment while Felicity gave him access, worried about what he would find inside. Nothing could prepare him for what waited inside for him.
He got in with an arrow ready to shoot. However, he lowered his bow when a pair of green eyes he had known practically all his life returned the gaze at him. The last time Oliver had seen them, death had extinguished their light. It had been the night when Oliver lost his best friend in life.
"Ollie."
"T-Tommy?"
"Hi, buddy."
Oliver couldn't believe his eyes... or his ears. Tommy Merlyn was in front of him, alive and well, but even so his mind and heart couldn't erase the moment when his friend drew his last breath; the night Oliver couldn't save him.
"You can come close. I'm not a ghost, I'm alive, you know," some of Tommy's charm and humor were still there, but, Oliver knew from experience that, whatever his friend went through to be resurrected, and being held prisoner had left a deep mark on him.
Oliver finally shortened the distance between them and hugged Tommy. "I missed you, buddy," he echoed the words that Tommy had said to him when he came back from Lian Yu.
"Ha! And you also want a t-shirt that says "My friend came back from the dead and all I got was this crappy shirt"."
The moment was broken by the appearance of John at the door. "We got to roll, Oliver. Barry already took Felicity out. Time to go."
"Ready to go home?" Oliver asked Tommy.
"What do you think?"
##############
Twenty four hours later...
Charlotte Meyer, Channel 52 newscaster, waited for her signal, looked at the camera, and spoke, enunciating each word carefully. "Tommy Merlyn is alive."