AN: I got this idea after watching 3X20 so some spoilers are ahead if anyone who isn't caught up on the show decides the read this.
"Al Sah-Him" he hears as Sarab enters the temple.
"What is it?" he asks not turning towards him.
Sarab comes to stand behind him before he states, "I have news out of Starling City." Clearly interested by what he has to say, Al Sah-Him turns towards him and waits for him to continue. "It looks like a vigilante has been spotted running around the city."
"Why did you bring this news to me?" he asks getting angrier by the second.
"Because," Sarab starts while getting Al Sah-Him's full attention, "this vigilante is reported to be dressed head to toe in green leather and wears a hood. It seems someone is trying to convince the city that the Arrow has returned after disappearing twenty years ago."
Al Sah-Him walks toward the Lazarus Pit thinking of the last time he set foot in Starling City and everything that had happened since then. He turns towards Sarab once again saying, "Assemble a group and meet me here in fifteen minutes, we'll leave for Starling City tonight."
Sarab nods and says "Of course," before leaving the temple. Al Sah-Him goes and picks up his bow, holding onto it very tight. It had been a long time since he'd been in Starling City and he had planned on never returning. If for some reason League business forced him to return, he had hoped it would be many years down the road after those he cared most about were gone.
He takes a deep breath as he hears the footsteps of Sarab and the others returning, he turns towards them and says, "I'm assuming Sarab has told you where we are going." The group nods and he continues, "We are going to investigate, that is all. I am the Demon's Head and I do not take prisoners but we are not going to kill this wannabe. Understood?" Once again the group nods and he motions towards the doors "Let's go."
"Ms. Queen is here to see you," her new executive assistant, Talia, tells her as she looks up from her computer.
"Thank you," Felicity replies, "Send her in." Talia nods and leaves the office quickly. Soon the door to her office is open again and she can't but smile when she sees the young women enter. She rises from her desks and goes to give her a hug, "Olivia what are you doing here? What a great surprise!"
Olivia smiles back at her mother before replying, "I finished my last final early so I thought I would drive to Starling and surprise you. Oh and I'm supposed to tell you that Uncle Barry says hi."
Felicity laughs, "Of course he does. He has super speed and still relies on others to give me a message."
Olivia laughs as well as she goes to sit on the office couch, "That's Barry for you."
Felicity goes to sit across from her daughter and starts, "Yes it is…" she stops finally glancing at the paper that has been sitting on coffee table for most of the day.
"Mom?" Olivia asks, "What is it?"
"Nothing," Felicity replies quickly covering up the newspaper so her daughter cannot see what the headline is, "So did you just get into town?"
Olivia nods, "I figured I should stop by and see you as soon as I arrived. That and I…"
"Need the keys to the house?" Felicity asks while reading her daughter like a book.
Olivia nods making her long dirty blonde hair sway over her right shoulder. "You know me so well." Felicity laughs as she gets up and walks toward her desk. "I've been thinking about Dad recently."
Felicity tries to hide the deep breath she suddenly takes as she focuses all of her attention on her purse and finding her spare key. "Really why?"
"A friend of mine recently got engaged and keeps talking about wedding plans," Olivia starts, "Which made me realize that if that day ever happens for me that he won't be there to walk me down the aisle or dance with me. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I don't really know much about him."
Finally finding the spare key, Felicity quickly wipes the few tears that managed to escape from her eyes and turns towards her daughter. "Your father was a hero. He sacrificed a lot to keep the people he cared about safe and I'm sorry that I didn't talk about him a lot while you were growing up. I should have done more so you could feel connected to him."
Olivia looks towards the ground and Felicity knows she is doing this so Felicity does not have to look into her eyes. Her father's eyes. Felicity reaches under her daughter's chin and raises it so she can look at her and try to see the pain she is hiding. Yet another trait she had inherited from him. Sometimes Felicity wondered if there was any part of her in the young woman she was allowed to call her daughter. Olivia quickly wipes her eyes and says, "I'm sorry I shouldn't have brought this up at your work of all places."
Felicity gives her daughter a warm smile as she places the silver key in her hand. "It's okay. I never want you to feel like you can't talk to me about him. I want you to feel connected to your father." Olivia nods as she places the key in her pocket and gives her mother another hug. "Now I think the best thing for you right now would be to go home, maybe take a bath and just relax. I'll be home as soon as I can."
"Okay." Oliva states as she starts to head towards the office door, just as she's about to exit she turns back towards Felicity and adds, "Oh and don't tell Aunt Thea I'm home yet. I'm going to surprise her at Verdant tonight."
Felicity just smiles back at her daughter and nods. Spending time with her aunt is exactly what her daughter needs right now and for once she's glad that Oliver did everything he could to save his sister all those years ago.
"What's the plan Al Sah-Him?" Sarab asks once they all settle in at the warehouse they call headquarters while they stay in Starling City.
Al Sah-Him stands firm as he gives out instructions, "I need scouts throughout the city. We don't know how this copycat runs things. If one of you can catch the vigilante then bring them here to face me. If not, follow them and try to figure out where their liar is located."
The group nods and quickly heads out. Only Sarab stays behind. He glances at the man before him and sees the emotions that are trying to stay hidden behind his mask. "Remember Al Sah-Him it has been twenty years since you took your rightful place. There is nothing left of Oliver Queen which means there is nothing in this city but someone we want answers from." Al Sah-Him nods and turns away from him. Taking that as his cue, Sarab leaves to follow the orders of his master.
"What is it Felicity?" John asks as he takes the personal call while on the job.
"Have you seen the papers?" She asks quickly from the other end, "Is there any way that it's…"
John shakes his head. He had been down this path too many times with Felicity. If getting used to life without Oliver wasn't hard enough, she found out she was carrying his child months later and it had taken a burden on his friend. Every time news of something arrow related was on the news or stories of heroes in the night came up she had a glimmer of hope that Oliver was returning to her. "We've been over this Felicity. He's not coming back. It's been twenty years, if he could have found a way out his deal, he would of by now."
"I know. It's just Olivia's been asking about him and that paired with a copycat running around the city made me hope it was him."
"Listen Felicity," John started, "I wish there would have been another path for Oliver to take all those years ago but he made his choice. Just like you decided not to try to change his mind or get ahold of him when you learned about Olivia. He wanted to you to live your life and be happy. Wishing for something that won't happen isn't fulfilling that wish."
"Thanks John. That's exactly what I needed to hear." She replies.
"No problem," John adds, "Now I have to get back to work. Tell Olivia hi when she gets home."
"I will. Although you might see her before I get the chance. She's going to Verdant tonight with Sara."
John smiles, the fact that his and Felicity's daughters had become close friends over the years always made him smile. "Have a good afternoon Felicity."
"Thanks. Bye John."
"Bye." He hangs up his phone and goes back inside the building where his client works. Going back to being a bodyguard had been hard, the job didn't seem the same when he wasn't protecting his partner.
"How are you expecting to get in if your Aunt doesn't know you're coming?" Sara asks as they wait in line for the very popular Glades nightclub to open.
"Simple," Olivia starts, "I called the bouncer ahead of time. He's known me since I was young and he apparently knew my dad once upon a time. He'll let us in so we can surprise Thea and maybe dance to a song or two but after that we'll have to leave since we're both underage."
"Which I think is so stupid. Your aunt bought this place when she was underage!" Sara replies.
The line moves and the conversion stops. As both girls get their IDs out. When it's their turn, Olivia hands the bouncer her ID and starts, "I called the usual bouncer earlier and told him I was coming to see my aunt. My friend and I shouldn't be long." The bouncer doesn't look impressed. He glances at her ID and then back at her. Reluctantly he nods, the Queen name had fallen from grace years ago and he kind of pitied the young girl. He gives her back her ID and allows them to enter the club.
Once inside, the two girls make their way to the bar and try to order drinks. The bartender shakes her head and says she'll have to talk to the manager first. The girls nod and watch as the bartender disappears. They both smile since the plan is working just the way they wanted it to.
Soon a disgruntled Thea exits her office and makes her way to the bar to confront the underage customers and then fire whoever let them in. When she reopened she wanted to keep business as professional as possible. That included having an age limit and a strict no drugs policy. She had already lost a lot of people she cared about, she couldn't afford to lose her business and the only thing she had left of her brother as well.
"Okay which one of you thought you could get away with lying about your age," she asks the two young women who have enough audacity to still be sitting at her bar.
The blond spins around in her bar stool and says, "It was me. I had to do something to get your attention."
It takes a second for Thea to realize who is sitting in front of her, "Olivia Smoak Queen and Sara Diggle how dare you two pull something like this on me. You could have just surprised me by entering the office, you didn't have to give me a heart attack as well."
"But what's the fun in that?" Olivia asks as she goes and gives her aunt a hug. "Besides I wanted to celebrate that I'm done with my first year of college!"
Thea smiles, "And I'm glad that you wanted to celebrate with me but sneaking into Verdant was not the way to do that. You too can have one nonalcoholic drink each and dance to a few songs but if word gets out I let two underage kids in, it won't be good for business."
The girls both nod. "I understand Aunt Thea. I just wanted to surprise you, that's half the fun of coming home after spending so much time focused on school."
"Well I'm glad that you inherited your mother's smarts. Ollie was a lot of things but academic was not one of them. Four songs and then come up and say bye before you leave." Thea gives the girl another hug before making her way back up to her office. While she was glad that her niece was home, she still needed to abide by the rules she had set in place.
"I can't believe that actually worked," Sara starts as they make their way to the dance floor. "What if she wasn't here?"
"She's always here," Olivia simply replies, "She never leaves. This place is her life, I'm sure she would die if she took a night off." The girls start swaying to the music and having the best time of their lives. When their four song limit comes up, they quickly exit the dance floor and run up to the manager's office.
"How was your time ladies?" Thea asks as they enter.
"Great. Now I know what to look forward to in a few months when I don't have to sneak in," Sara replies.
"It was awesome. Thank you Aunt Thea."
Thea smiles, "No problem. Call me tomorrow, we should get lunch or go shopping now that you're back for the summer."
Olivia gives her aunt yet another hug and says, "It's a plan."
The girls quickly leave the office and sneak out the back door into the alley. "So what do you want to do now?" Sara asks.
"Actually," Olivia starts, "I'm feeling kind of tired. I think I'm just going to head home, I haven't slept in my own bed in what feels like forever."
Sara nods, "I understand. I'm always like that when I come home from assignment. I'll call you later?" Olivia nods and Sara waves as she makes her way to her car, which was parked right next to the alley way. Olivia waits until she drives off before she makes her way to the door that she always wondered where it led to when she was young. She glances back and forth before entering the newly installed security code the door opens. She quickly makes her way inside and gets ready for the night ahead.
While standing on a rooftop overlooking the city, Al Sah-Him remembers a different time when he used to do this every night. What happened only years ago seems like a lifetime ago to him. He feels someone approach him from behind. "What is it?" he asks as he turns around to find Sarab, hoodless, standing in front of him.
"There have been no signs of the copycat yet. It is still early though. We have men all throughout the city, if they make an appearance we'll know."
Al Sah-Him nods, "Good. Now back to your post." Sarab nods and puts his hood back on before disappearing into the night. Once he is alone, Al Sah-Him returns to his gazing while wondering what a certain blonde has been up to the past twenty years. He's always stopped himself from thinking about how she probably found someone new and probably started a family, but now that he's back he can't help but let his mind wander. He told her to move on and live her life. He focuses on the building where he first saw her all those years ago, wondering if she still works there and if there is a chance like that she's working late. Perhaps she is even looking at a picture of someone she cares about and is babbling about how cute they are.
For the first time in what seems like forever, a smile spreads across Al Sah-Him's face.
She watches from above as a mugger advances on a poor girl in a dark alley. She clenches her fist around the bow she believes once belonged to her father and waits until the time I right. She's read stories about the Arrow and how he never missed no matter how far the distance. She knows she isn't as good as he was, but she knows she's good enough to save this girl.
When the mugger gets to where she wants him to be, she fires the cable arrow and slides down it just like her predecessor did. As she reaches where the mugger is, she extends her right leg and braces for impact. When the moment is right she kicks the man in the side and it is enough to knock the breath out of him. He falls to the ground coughing as she lands on her feet and nocks an arrow. "Run!" she yells to the frightened girl in as deep of a voice she can muster.
The girl stands there shocked for a second before her legs seem to work again and then she runs off. Leaving the frightening sight of a green hooded vigilante with bow behind her. The mugger, starting to be able to breathe again, gets up turns towards her. "What are you going to do? Shoot me with a bow and arrow?" he asks, "You don't have the guts."
"That's what you think," she says keeping her voice strong. "We have two options. Which one do you want to take?" The mugger laughs as he reaches towards his belt. "Wrong choice," she says as she releases the arrow and it hits him right in the shoulder. Once again he falls to the ground in pain. This time she clocks him with the flat side of her bow and knocks him out. She quickly grabs a pair of handcuffs from her backpack that doubles as her quiver and slaps one around the mugger's wrist. She then drags him over to the chain fence along the alley wall and locks the other handcuff to it. She slips a robe with the key on it around his neck and makes sure to tuck it under his shirt in case he wakes before the police come.
After making sure he is out cold, she texts the address of the mugger to the police hotline. She takes a second admire her handiwork and then runs through the tunnel of alleyways until she finds a fire escape to climb up. She could fire another cable arrow but she still had to figure out exactly how the Arrow got that work. She scales the fire escape and makes it the roof in record time. She sets her backpack down and takes out her tablet. Thanking her mother for buying her one with built in Wi-Fi, she types in the code that allows her to hear police radio frequencies and see if she can find the next victim that needs help.
When she hears nothing and doesn't see anything pop up on the map she takes a breath of relief. Not every night has been as eventful as this one. If the crime makers in Starling City didn't know the Arrow was back before, they surely would after tonight. Two muggers, a robbery, and an almost run in with the Black Canary would be enough to get everyone talking. After seeing how her mother reacted to the newspaper earlier in the day, it had confirmed her suspicions about not only her father but her mother's involvement with the Arrow all those years ago. If her mother, father, and estranged Uncle Malcolm were in the vigilante business, she could only assume Uncle Dig and Aunt Laurel were somehow involved as well. By tomorrow, not only would those who wanted to corrupt Starling City know about the new Arrow, but her family and friends would as well.
So wrapped up in her thoughts, she did not hear the sound of footsteps behind her until it was too late. A figure grabbed her from behind while another bent down to pick up her backpack and tablet. She tried to fight back but whoever had her was trained far better than she was and before she knew it everything around her had gone black. Instead of seeing the lights of Starling City's skyscrapers all she saw was the bag that was put over her face as the mysterious figures hauled her away.
"We found the copycat Al Sah-Him," the men say as they place the figure in front of him. The men remove the bag and the figure keeps their head down, causing the all too familiar green hood to stay in place.
"Leave us," he commands and the two who had delivered the copycat left as quickly as they had come in. "Stand," he tells the individual before him. They do as he says but continues to stare at the ground. He takes in the figure before him. Looking to be only a little over five feet tall and he can see a bit of a side braid hanging out of the hood. "Who are you?"
"I think," the hooded copycat starts, "the better question is who you are."
"You will answer my question," he demands as he voice gets even lower. "Who are you?"
The figure, who he has realized is a girl, replies, "You know I've heard a lot of stories about Starling City vigilantes and not a single one them talks about a mass of people dressed head to toe in black. You want to know who I am, I am the new Arrow. Who are you and your group of lookalikes supposed to be?"
"The Arrow is dead. He died over twenty years ago, why do you think you can take his place?" he wonders, not too happy with the replies he is getting.
"Why do you think you can tell me what I can and can't do?" she asks.
He steps forward and removes the hood from the girl's head. She look up at him with disdain in her eyes. Even through the mask, he can tell she is annoyed. "I'm going to ask one more time. Who are you?"
"Oh trust me. You do not want to know." She says as she stares straight at him. "I always wondered what meeting you would be like. I had no idea you would be so strange. But I assume I should have realized this was a possibility with you being the first Arrow and all. Knowing that you were probably alive instead of dead like all of Starling City thinks you are, it should have crossed my mind that you would be into some pretty weird stuff."
"You don't know who you're dealing with," He simply replies, "I am Al Sah-Him. But outsiders refer to be as Ra's al Ghul."
"So?" she wonders, "Is that supposed to scare me? I'm a college student who runs around the city kicking bad people's asses all night. If finals and Arrow work doesn't scare me than dark clothing and random Arabic sounding names won't either."
For the first time in over twenty years, he is surprised by the interaction going on. Ever since he assumed the mantle of Ra's al Ghul no one had stood up to him the way this girl was standing up to him now. He hadn't even been challenged to a trial by combat and yet this college student was not even afraid of him. "Why are you doing this? The city does not need a vigilante to protect it."
"So I assume you've also kidnapped Black Canary?" the girl wonders, "and Red Arrow when he's in town? So far this scare tactic isn't working that well."
"Answer the question or I will have to result to other means of getting the information I need."
"Okay fine but once you know, you're going to wish you never knew Oliver."
He is taken a back, no one has called him that in a very long time. Longer than this girl has been alive and yet she knows who he is. Riddled with confusion and annoyance with her games, he asks "Who are you and why do assume this new identity?"
The girl slides the mask down her face so that it is hanging her neck and replies, "My name is Olivia Queen and I'm your daughter."
AN: There it is. Tell me what you think in the reviews.