A true hero

AN - I promised myself I wasn't going to write resolutions between episodes anymore but once this got in my head I simply couldn't NOT write it. Pls note this is just a "snapshot" view of the possible finale and doesn't address or resolve everything!

WARNING: Any S2 episode is fair game for use herein as are any internet rumors, spoilers, etc! Also, there is a CHARACTER DEATH! Pls continue reading at your own risk as this story isn't for everyone!

DISCLAIMER: No, I do not own CW's Arrow (which on the plus side does mean this is unlikely to ever happen)!

It started with the three of us and I guess it will end with the three of us.

However, that night we had help from all sides. We came together, all of us, to fight Slade and his army. We came together to defend our city, to save its citizens, and to save ourselves. Sara returned with Nyssa and several League assassins, Roy survived the cure and choose to stand with us again, the SCPD led by Detective Lance provided back-up, and even Amanda kept her ARGUS army at the border and allowed us time to act. We planned our offensive quickly and moved together through the streets engaging Slade's army and saving lives.

It went better than I could ever have anticipated until it didn't.

We got a lead on Slade himself and we again moved together to end this once and for all. We had planned for this very moment and I knew this was our chance to win. It was my chance to finally put Shado's memory to rest, to finally allow myself to bury the past and move forward. I was wrong.

We found Slade and he wasn't alone - we expected the soldiers but not her. Laurel was supposed to be safe at SCPD headquarters but instead she was kneeling in front of him crying and pleading behind her gag as he swung his sword carelessly behind her head. I will always remember his next words.

"Oliver Queen! She is the reason you lived through the Lian Yu. She gave you hope while you suffered through purgatory. Did you think I'd forget that you kept her picture even when you were with Shado? Did you think Shado didn't know you loved another woman?"

Slade growled his questions, his voice rising with each word but I stayed quiet hoping he would continue to rant and give us time. I avoided Sara's eyes and the accusation, guilt, and fear I knew would be there. I focused on trying to find a solution, any solution. No one was close enough to stop Slade though. I had thought he would keep talking and we would have time but he moved too quickly. Slade brought the sword hilt down on the back of her head and she crumbled to lay at his feet. The silence was deafening afterwards as Laurel was no longer crying.

Slade wasn't finished yet though. He moved while we were all frozen and before we could strike against him we found ourselves suddenly staring at Felicity. Slade pushed her down hard but she didn't cry out, she wasn't even crying. She met my eyes and I couldn't look away from her. I saw her glance briefly at the others before she was again looking at me. Her eyes begged me not to give up, begged me to let her go, but before I could even yell my denial or offer myself for her Slade spoke again.

"It's true that the Lance girl got you through Lian Yu but this one is your inspiration now. I've watched you kid, I've watched and planned for years. You came back angry and shut out the world. I knew I couldn't hurt you then because you didn't care about anything or anyone. I waited though and imagine my surprise when I watched you fall in love again. I watched you first seek her company but then her help and finally her approval. I watched you change for her just as you had done for Shado. I knew last year that Felicity was the key in fulfilling my promise. I knew that to break you I would have to kill your new love, your hope for the future."

There was silence when Slade stopped speaking as if time itself had stopped. The image of Slade's smirk as he held the sword next to Felicity's neck is burned in my head, in my heart forever. For a single heartbeat of time, my entire world was balanced on the edge of a single sharp blade.

Then life erupted around me and everything happened at once. I fired at Slade just as Diggle did – we attacked at the same time that Slade lifted his sword and thrust it toward Felicity's back. It was the very same moment that Detective Lance landed on Felicity as he tried to protect her.

All hell broke loose then as Sara screamed for her dad and the League spread out to engage Slade's army. Roy moved quickly to take out those closest to us and to clear the path for Diggle to focus on Isabel Rochev as I rushed toward Slade firing arrow after arrow. I knew I couldn't kill him but I needed to keep his attention focused on me instead of Felicity. Slade was still standing when I reached him and slammed the injection into his neck but at least he hadn't been able to strike at Felicity again. He continued to fight me just as his soldiers did though so it was several minutes before I was able to defeat Slade and kneel down next to Felicity.

She wasn't crying then but I could see the tear tracks down her cheeks. Lance was no longer on top of her but instead she cradled his head in her lap. She was gently and repeatedly stroking his face with blood stained hands as she stared at him and rocked slowly back and forth. His eyes were closed and with only a glance I could see he was dead. With only a glance I could see Felicity was broken.

The funeral brought us all together again only days later. The city had barely survived Slade and fear and chaos still reigned so none of us had gotten any rest since that final showdown. We had won but there was no time or energy to celebrate. Instead it was a group of weary, hollow eyed soldiers and survivors who surrounded the coffin and bid Quentin Lance a final farewell that day.

I was proud to stand there and call him my friend, to call him a hero. I was proud to stand by Sara and Laurel as they stood strong together. Sara and Laurel were devastated by their father's death but they were working through their grief together. They would continue to help put Starling City back together but only after they took some time together to heal. I knew they would both be okay though just as I knew that Detective Lance's personal honor code of protect and serve would live on in his daughters.

It was Felicity who worried me, who worried us all. She remained in the hospital as she healed from her physical injury - Slade's sword had sliced through her side after going through Lance. Mentally and emotionally though she hadn't yet begun to heal. However, she still showed up at the grave site and walked slowly toward Sara and Laurel. I stood and moved beside her as she pressed Lance's shield into Sara's hands and spoke to them both.

"He wanted me to tell you both that you are heroes in his eyes. He loves you so much and he is so proud of both of you. He wanted you to know the past isn't important..." Felicity's voice faltered here but she continued after a brief moment. "It's what you do today and each day that follows that's important. He wants you to be good and be good to each other."

Felicity gave them both a sad smile and then she turned to place a single flower on the coffin before she moved away. It took me several moments before I moved after her. Felicity had barely spoken more than one word responses since Lance's death so to hear her trembling voice speaking of Lance in the present tense pierced my heart. I had to find my breath before I could even move to follow her.

When I caught up with Felicity and stopped her I felt Diggle near us and Felicity's glance past me confirmed that. She didn't look back to me but I knew she wasn't meeting his eyes either. This Felicity now didn't ramble, didn't touch, didn't even make eye contact. We lost a part of her when we lost Lance but she wasn't completely gone yet. We still had a chance, I still had a chance. I had already spoken to Digg and we had a plan.

"Felicity. You weren't supposed to leave the hospital. You should have called us." I watched closely but I couldn't see any reaction as she remained silent. This woman who had once been so open, so expressive was now only a shell.

"Okay then, let's go." I glanced back and nodded at Diggle as I took Felicity's arm and moved her forward. It was time to put our plan into action. It was time for us to take care of Felicity as she has always taken care of me, of us.

Felicity flinched when we got in the first plane but she barely reacted at all when we reached the final leg of our journey. I strapped the parachute to both of us as I repeated the familiar words.

"Hold on tight to me Felicity."

I was relieved when her eyes met mine even if there was no other response. She remained locked away from me, frozen in purgatory. Returning us all to Lian Yu just put Diggle and me in purgatory with her. It is just the three of us now so either we all make it out or none of us do.

It started with the three of us and I guess it will end with the three of us.

AN2 - Okay, this rambling little AU piece came from several PM conversations with several different readers and writers. For the record, I absolutely love Det. Lance and don't want him to die but I could see him giving his life for Felicity. I do see him as a hero and I had to write that! I was also fascinated with the idea of Felicity not being physically injured as much as emotionally injured. I liked the idea of Oliver and Diggle taking care of her. Enough rambling, thank you for humoring me and reading this little piece of madness! :)

AN3 - BTW, in my own head, I do see the Oliver and Diggle saving Felicity, bonding together as a Team, becoming even stronger and then returning to Starling City as our favorite superhero trio!