Star City, October 30
"Hey," Chloe spoke as she got into her rental car.
"How was the flight?" Ollie asked while unpacking the box she sent.
"Great, I should be home in a couple of days."
"Good I miss you." He smiled into the phone.
"I miss you too, before I forget, there was a warning with the ring." She spoke while waiting to pull into traffic.
"What kind of warning?" he asked.
"Don't put it on, it's cursed."
"Put it on? Honey you're breaking up."
"Don't put it on! It's cursed," she shouted. She heard the familiar beep,beep,beep, and her call was dropped.
"Chloe?" he asked and looked at his screen and saw, call dropped. He fished through the things she recovered from the 33.1 site in Belgium. He came across the ring and set it on his desk as he took the bigger box out of his office. He then went to the kitchen and made himself a sandwich and then came back to sit at his desk to get some work done.
He kept staring at the ring box and then would ignore it to go over more files. Finally hours later his curiosity got the better of him and he pulled in onto the center of his file stack. He studied the box from all angles then opened it. It was a simple silver band. He pulled it out of its cozy spot and studied it. There was an inscription, 10/31 dia de caninum. He thought it was odd that it was a mixture of Spanish and Latin. He set the ring on the tip of his finger to get a better look at it and what happened next freaked him out. The ring expanded and slid down his finger and then it got warm.
"Ahhhh, oh god!" Ollie shouted as he tried to get the ring off his finger. It wouldn't budge. He got up to go into the kitchen to see if he could use dish soap.
--
"Dr. McMichaels?" Chloe asked the only person in the lab. A young woman with a lab coat that had her back to Chloe; she turned and slid her glasses back down her nose.
"Chloe Sullivan-Queen?" she asked.
"That's me, I called about the ring?"
"Oh yeah, the Fido Curse." Chloe laughed and the woman gave her a disapproving glare.
"Sorry,"
"That ring has been around for ages. The curse is really benign,"
"Really?"
"Have you ever seen the shaggy dog?" the scientist asked.
"Well yeah, classic Disney."
"That's what the ring does, all the person who's affected has to do is an unselfish act to break the curse."
"Simple enough,"
"One would think. The curse is only active on Halloween too." She spoke.
"That helps, now the inscription makes sense, 10/31"
"Is there anything else I can do for you?" she asked.
"No, I'm good, thanks for your time." Chloe spoke and left. She beat feet back to her rental car. She made good time back to the airport to catch an early flight back to Star City.
--
"Hello!" Ollie spoke still trying to get the ring off his finger. He was in the Green Arrow room trying to use a bolt cutter.
"Hey, what's wrong you sound agitated?" Chloe asked curious.
"I can't get this damn ring off my finger." He growled.
"Oh, please tell me you're talking about your wedding band." Chloe groaned.
"Why would I want to take that off love? Nope, I was looking at that ring you confiscated, I had set it on my finger to get a better look at it and the damned thing got bigger and slid down my finger. Now I can't get the bugger off." He hissed.
"Ohh shit!" Chloe cursed.
"What?" he asked stunned by her expletive?
"What did the inscription say?"
"It had 10/31 and then it was an odd mix of Spanish and Latin, day of the dog,"
"Oh honey, that ring is cursed, that's a literal inscription,"
"Sorry?" he spoke.
"I was meeting with the foremost expert on the ring, have you ever seen the shaggy dog?" She asked trying to convey a little humor.
"Sorry? Come again?"
"It's cursed and it's only active on Halloween…"
"Are you freaking kidding me? I'm gonna be a dog for Halloween?" Ollie started to hyperventilate. He left the Green Arrow room, shut it, and then bolted up the stairs to their bathroom.
"Now don't panic, there is a way to break the curse,"
"Can't ……breath,"
"Ollie listen, all you have to do is an unselfish act."
"Really can't breath,"
"Look, I'll be home in an a few hours."
"That will make it Halloween," he sighed, looking at the clock. "Its 9pm now."
"Look, we'll figure this out,"
"Uh, maybe you should just stay away; I don't want you seeing me like that?"
"Like what?"
"Not even the man you married, I'm gonna be a dog," he spoke trying to calm down.
"Oliver, I…."
"Oh shit," he spoke and the phone went dead. Chloe bit her lip, she couldn't call anyone, she didn't want to embarrass her husband, she just hoped that he still thought like her husband when she got home.
The ring got really hot and glowy than it was normal again. He looked in the mirror to study his face, everything was as it should be. He had 3 hours, he went down to his office again to finish some work, went to the gym to work out, then came back to chill on the couch. He was determined to wait for Chloe to get home.
Nearly 10 of midnight, he woke up and decided to head to bed. He went upstairs to brush his teeth and have a glass of water. He filled his cup and when he brought the cup to his mouth, his tongue rolled out of his mouth to lap the water. He immediately set the cup down and looked in the mirror. His tongue was now sticking out one corner of his mouth.
He grabbed hold of it and tried to roll it back in his mouth but it kept falling out.
"Holy, thit?" he lisped. He tried to close his mouth but his tongue wouldn't cooperate.
Oh thit, Oh thit!" he began to panic. He looked at his watch and it said 00:01. "Oh no."
he looked back into the mirror and gasped, his nose was black, and becoming more dog like. His eyes were crossed as he looked at his new facial feature. He started to hyperventilate, but all he was doing was panting. He brought his hands to his face and gasped again when he saw he had fur going down his arms to his wrists. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The hair on the top of his head was longer and more feathery. He touched where his ears were and gasped when that area of his head felt smooth and the bushy hair he had grown well were now floppy ears.
He peeled off his shirt and his normally smooth chest was covered with a fine layer of fur. He shucked off his pants to see very hairy legs. He turned to look in the mirror and he couldn't he had shrunken. 'Oh Chloe' he thought and his butt moved. He looked toward his back and he had a bushy tail. He dropped to all fours and started circling trying to get his confounded new appendage to stop moving. He sat on his haunches. 'Oh shit, I have haunches.' He thought and brought his hands up to watch in terror as they shrunk and turned into paws. He looked down his face to his new muzzle. He tried to shout but all that exited his mouth was a helpless woof. He collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.
--
"Ollie?" Chloe yelled. Looking at her watch she wasn't sure if 'Here boy' was a more appropriate call. She heard what sounding like whining coming from behind the couch. There was a golden retriever, with his paws covering his head. Chloe gasped. "Oh no," she spoke while kneeling to try and pet him. He just moved back from her.
"Now wait just a minute, what kind of attitude is that?" she argued. The dog sat up and she would have sworn if he could talk he would have said, 'Look, I'm a dog.'
"Ok, sorry, but how am I supposed to react?" again the same look. "Will you at least let me pet you?" The dog shook his head.
"Baby!" she spoke. He whined at her. "Sorry, I, this is by far the weirdest thing to happen, and that's saying a lot knowing where I came from."
"Woof,"
"Don't take that tone with me," she sighed. "Look, honey I'm sorry, I'm tired, are you going to sleep down here or up stairs?" she asked. He took off, ran past her up the stairs to sleep on the floor at the foot of her side of the bed. Chloe came up stairs and frowned. "Sorry?" she spoke as she started to change for bed. Ollie again put his head down and covered his head. In his head he was counting to one million in Latin to not look at his wife getting undressed.
"So we can't call you Ollie, that's just weird." She spoke as she slipped into bed. "How about Hero?" she asked as she fluffed up her pillow, he sighed and flipped his tail. "Alright, Hero it is." She yawned and fell asleep.
'I am a friekin' dog.' He thought. 'Wierdest day ever.' He thought. He sniffed deeply and then yawned. He made a mental note to by Chloe more of her lotions and bath gels. The
fragrance was so good mixed with her natural fragrance. His eyes got droopy as he got very sleepy and he drifted to sleep….
--
Oliver woke the next morning to the very pungent odor of coffee. He sat up and stretched. Sleeping on the floor was not something he wanted to do ever again. He looked up at the bed and Chloe was still asleep. That only meant one thing. The JL guys were over and invading their home. Chloe rolled over so her hand was draped over the end of the bed. 'I'm not going to lick her hand, I'm not going to lick her hand,' he thought as he decided to nudge her palm with his nose. "Not now Ollie, I'm sleepy," she whined. He tried to laugh but it only came out as a sneeze. Chloe sat bolt up right and looked at her husband. "Ohhhhhhhhh?" she whined. She reached out to pat him again and he still backed away from her. "Come on, I know its weird, but…" she heard the laughter down stairs. He was backing into the corner. "Oh know you don't! Those guys are our family." He growled slightly. "Come on, it'll be just like pulling off a bandaid, better to do it quickly." She spoke putting her robe on. Chloe quickly fixed her hair and went to the door. "Come on," she smiled at him. He shook his head. "When you're back to you, I'll still rub your belly." She laughed. He growled softly again and followed her downstairs. "Brat!" she told him.
--
"I don't know," Bart spoke. "It was really weird," he spoke of the last mission. "Didn't you think it was weird?"
"Dude you think your own shadow is weird," A.C spoke. Chloe entered the kitchen her companion at her heals and A.C was the first to notice. "When'd you get the mutt?" he asked Chloe. The dog growled and Chloe shot him a look.
"Well he followed me home," she smiled, giving the dog a quick side long glance.
"Pickin' up strays seems to be your thing mamacita," Bart spoke laughing as he got out of his chair to crouch in front of the dog. He held out is hand, "Come here boy, who's a good fella, who's a good boy?" Ollie just looked up at Chloe who was covering her mouth with her hands to hide the laughter. "He's not very friendly," Bart spoke returning to his chair.
"Usually isn't before his first coffee," she muttered under her breath.
"Sorry?" Vic asked.
"He hasn't been well socialized yet, we were gonna go for a walk after breakfast."
"Hey so where's the boss man?" Bart asked as he zoomed to the fridge and back to his chair with a left over sandwich.
"He…umm. Had to go to the office today, he said he would probably be home later,
much, much later."
"Ohh, ok,," A.C spoke. The new pet in the house was growling as A.C was drinking the milk out of the carton in the fridge and put it back. "Do you want me to take Rover here for that walk for you?" Oliver shot his friend a look and had to stifle the growl in his throat.
"Umm no that's ok," Chloe spoke barely able to keep her self from laughing. "And his name is Hero." She spoke.
"You alright Sidekick?" Vic asked.
"Oh, I'm good." She bit her lip. "Look it's Halloween, go out and play, Vic your boy is dressing up this year, right?"
"Yeah, I wanted him to be a ghost, Kira wanted him to be a pumpkin, so we compromised."
"Really?" A.C spoke looking at his friend suspiciously.
"Oh yeah he's gonna be a pumpkin." The whole room erupted in laughter. "That reminds me, if the boss isn't gonna be around Ty has a t-ball game at 11a."
"T-ball, dude he's like 3 the bat is as tall as he is." A.C teased.
"I know and it's so damned cute." He laughed kissed Chloe on the cheek and left.
"Yeah I'm out too; parties to rest up for," Bart spoke and disappeared.
"Chloe if your dog's disposition doesn't improve maybe he needs to be neutered?" A.C asked. Hero whined and left the room. Chloe bit her tongue and counted to fifty. "Umm, thanks, but I think….if I get him," she took a deep breath and finished, "outside to socialize we should be ok." She smiled.
"Ok," A.C kissed her cheek. "Tell the bossman I'll check in tomorrow." He spoke and left. Chloe lost and was laughing her butt off. She went to the living room to find Oliver hiding behind the couch.
"They're gone, and no you're NOT getting neutered." She spoke knelt down next to him and he still wouldn't let her pet him. "What's the big deal?"
' Embarrassing that my wife pets my head like, like, I'm a dog,' he thought. 'Sure glad those guys were having fun, just wait….' Chloe notice his distraction and slowly grabbed one of his ears to pet. It caught him by surprise and he groaned as she started to massage the ear.
"See not so bad, what kind of owner would I appear to be if I didn't at least touch you." She smiled, leaned, kissed the top of his head and stood up. "I need to go shower, then we can go to the pet store. I have to get you a leash and collar." He backed up and barked in protest. "Hey, don't sass me Mr. You know as well as I do there are leash laws in this city. That's all those princesses bitch about at those dinners is fluffy having to be on a leash." She smiled and winked at him and then went up stairs.
An hour later the humiliation just kept getting worse, he was sitting in the back seat of her car, on a blanket to not get fur on the upholstery. She even opened the window in case he wanted to stick his head out. Which he swore he wouldn't do, and then like some magnetic pull, he did and hated to admit that it was kind of fun, 'Never gonna live this down,' he thought.
He had to wait while she went into the big pet store. She came out with a green leash and collar. He backed away from her as she tried to put it on him. "Ok look, I get that this is embarrassing for you. I do. I swear, but so you don't get tossed into the pound you need this. Look I even got you a personalized tag." She showed him the metallic bone that said, 'HERO' on it. He put his head down and shook his head.
"Now the way I see it we can head to the park, watch Tyler's baby t-ball game and maybe just maybe you'll find some way to do an unselfish act?" she smiled. He sighed and lay down on the seat. "It's really not like you to give up on a challenge," He again gave her the, 'I'm a dog,' look. "Oh I know, I'm sorry, I'm just trying to be positive, this is weird for me too," she ruffled the hair on top of his head and then closed the back seat door. She hopped into the driver's seat and took them to the park.
--
"Hey Kira." Chloe spoke as she and hero found Vic's wife sitting on the bleachers watching the game. Vic met his wife at a tech conference in Hawaii. She was one of the Polynesian girls giving out Lei's to the guests. He found her again in one of the coding classes and it was love at first megabyte after that. "How's Ty?"
"Hard to tell who's having more fun, him or his dad." She spoke. She saw Vic down on the field running the bases carrying his son. There were a lot of other dads there that were doing the same thing. "So he told me you got a dog?" she spoke looking over at Hero. "Very nice, didn't really see that coming. Ollie doesn't seem like a dog person."
"Oh he is now!" Chloe smiled at Hero; he just woofed at her remark.
"So have you told him yet?" Kira asked. Chloe sighed and shook her head. Oliver got lost in his thoughts as he was watching the kids play. It seemed the game ended quickly cause all the little tykes came over to him and started to climb all over him and were pulling his ears.
"Nope, I mean it's only been a few days right? It's not like I'm gonna be showing tomorrow." She smiled.
"Ohh I'm so excited for you." She smiled. Chloe looked down to see the lil monsters climbing all over her Hero. Vic came up with a tennis ball. He pulled his son off of Hero's back and then unhooked the leash. He then tossed the tennis ball.
"Go on, go get it." Vic spoke and looked at Chloe. "You're dog isn't very bright."
Hero looked at Chloe, "Go on, go get it." She smiled. He stood and ran to get the ball.
"He's brighter than you think, just very, very stubborn." She smiled. Vic handed Ty over to his mother. He squealed with delight. Hero returned with the ball in his mouth. Vic took it from him and tossed it again. He again went to retrieve it.
"So, you guys are gonna bring Ty Trick or Treating in our neighborhood?"
"Yeah, my nephew is flying in to visit and he's 9 so why not take him out to." Kira spoke.
"Cool," Ty became very interested in Chloe and was reaching for her to hold him. Chloe took him and blew a big raspberry onto his cheek causing the boy to scream with delight.
"Baby we should go and get him fed and try get him to take a nap today." Vic spoke taking the boy from Chloe.
"You're right, girl we'll see you tonight." Kira spoke as she hugged Chloe. Hero returned spit the ball out and sat next to Chloe panting.
"Poor baby is tired." She teased. "Come on lets go check out the park. They spent the day in the park. They had lunch, instead of torturing him with dog food; she bought him hot dog and a bottle of water, which he could drink, sort of.
By late afternoon, they were back at the house. Chloe flopped onto the sofa for a nap; he flopped onto the floor next to her for the same purpose.
He was having nightmares that he was being chased by an 8 ft tall tennis ball that was sick of being chewed on.
"Ollie," she spoke, softly. "Ollie, wake up." He woke up and sat up a little disoriented.
"Must have been a heck of a dream, you were whining and paddling like you were chasing something." She spoke. He sniffed at her comment. "Oh come on, I'm only teasing, gosh your such a crank. And yeah I know 'you're a dog.' Look Vic is going to be here soon, it's nearly 7. Bart said he'd come over to give out the candy so we err I could go out with the Stone's." He sighed went to the door and waited. Chloe came with the leash and attached it to his collar. They headed out the front door and saw the Stone's coming up the walk. Ty was so cute dressed as a little pumpkin. Chloe laughed.
"Come on lets head on over to the Tate's, she's an old bitty, but she really does have a soft spot for kids." Chloe laughed. The group wandered slowly through the hood. There were tons of kids. This neighborhood is Trick or Treat by invitation only. The neighbors usually pick a charity and have those kids come for the candy and then a Halloween Party at the guest house. This year was the neighborhood was hosting the Starlight Foundation's.
Ollie was dragging behind the group. He raised an ear, he heard something weird, than out of nowhere he heard a, "Peter get back here!" and then the rev of an engine. He turned to see a little boy standing in the street and a car coming straight for him. Ollie pulled away from Chloe sprinted into the street and pushed the boy out of the way and got hit by the car.
"NOooooooooooooooooo" Chloe yelled. "ohnonononononono" she cried as she gently petted the injured dog.
--
Oliver was now upright in his bathroom. He was looking at himself, the Oliver Queen, in the mirror. He was also buck ass naked. He ran into his bedroom through on a sweat shirt, jeans and his runners and bolted out of the house by way of the side door. He ran to where the golden retriever lay panting and whining. Chloe was at the dog's side and crying. Vic was giving the driver of the car an ass chewing and sirens were heard in the distance.
"Ooohh, Hero," Chloe sniffed. Ollie leaned over her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Why don't we take him to the Vet?" Ollie asked. Chloe gasped and looked up over her shoulder to see her husband. She stood and hugged him tightly. "Shhh, I'm ok," he kissed her head. "And look the ring is gone." He showed her. He hugged her again and kissed her. "Now let's get Hero to the Vet?" She looked up at him and nodded. "Wait here, I'll go get your car." He smiled and ran back to their house.
--
It was 3a when the got back from the Pet Emergency Clinic. Hero had a broken shoulder and some bruises but would be fine. Ollie led Chloe up to their bed room and smiled and shut the door slowly.
"Well that certainly was an usual day." Chloe spoke getting undressed.
"Tell me about it. I have so much ammunition against the boys and YOU!" he smiled. Chloe laughed.
"I knew that was coming. Come on lay it on me."
"Ohh nononono, wife of mine, it will be saved for a later date." He pulled off his sweat shirt and stalked to her. As he reached the bed, he took her face in his hands and kissed her seductively. "If I ever forget to do that daily, you can divorce me. Not being able to touch you was a horrible reality." He pulled her t-shirt off her and admired the view. She was stunned to silence. "I have also come to realize a few things." He spoke as he reached around her to play with her bra clasp. "Most guys are boob guys, and don't get me wrong?" he purred and then kissed and nibbled across the top of her breasts, that were being pushed up by her bra. "Yours are incredible; I do have to say that I'm sure now that I'm a leg and ass man." He spoke as he flicked her bra open. He then slid the straps off her shoulders. "Being only a few feet tall, all I could really see were your legs and butt and let me tell ya, I have a new found appreciation for them." He kissed her again, and she groaned into his kiss. "Why so quiet wife?" he teased as he scooped her up and lay her on the bed.
"I missed you ." She smiled with tears in her eyes. He toed off his shoes and then crawled onto the bed next to her.
"I'm here now," he whispered as he nuzzled her neck. "Within your very wicked reach." He purred as he kissed down her throat and down her chest to her belly. He laved her naval. "Anything you want to tell me?" he smiled while he undid the snap of her jeans with his tongue.
"You know?" she asked sitting up.
"I'm not that oblivious wife." He sat up. "I knew something was wrong." He smiled as he moved to quickly shuck off her jeans and panties.
"I just,"
"I couldn't." he kissed one hip bone, "Be more," he kissed the other, "Ecstatic." He whispered as he kissed just above her thatch of curls. He grinned and then crawled up her body, leaving kisses in his wake. "I love you Chloe Sullivan –Queen and I'm gonna show you how very social I really am," he teased as he again kissed her senseless……
--
10/30—One year later, Upstate New York
"Come on Logan, why do you have to be so cranky?" Marie asked of her husband. They had been married a little over 2 years. It wasn't a perfect romance but it was theirs and they were truly in love. They were walking the perimeter of the estate. Something they always did together, it ended sometimes with love making or serious making out. They came onto a pile of trash that had blown into the yard. Marie was picking up some stuff when she found a ring box. "Hey baby, look at this." She shouted and Logan came over to her. He took the ring box from her and opened it. He pulled the ring out to look at it.
"What does it say?" Marie asked now standing next to him.
"10/31 dia de caninum" he spoke. He slipped the ring on the tip of his index finger to get a better view and both watched in horror as it got bigger and slid down his finger.
"Oh shit," they said in unison. Logan scooped Marie up and ran with her back to the school.
"Proffessor! Proffessor!" she could be heard shouting all the way back to the main quarters.
Fin—or is it?