Author's note: I don't know what I am doing. I haven't written a fic in 6 years, but I couldn't get this idea out of my head. I have no beta, so if you someone out there would like to help a girl out, I'll be eternally grateful.
Anyway, I'm pretty proud of this so far. Again, keep in mind that I haven't written anything other than research papers in 6 years. When I first started posting on I was 13 years old. I am now 28.
My plan for this is to be 6ish chapters.
Thanks for reading!
Summary:
Eight months after their broken engagement, Oliver and Felicity are trying to move on from one another, and failing miserably. Felicity is dating and Oliver is giving her space while he tries to navigate being the mayor of a city still healing from the attack by Damian Darhk and the vigilante who watches over the city at night. As they slowly make their way back to each other, a new problem arises. Her name is Black Siren. Dinah Laurel Lance of Earth 2 is looking for the doppelgänger of the man she lost on the Gambit all those years ago, and will stop at nothing to find him. Her mission: to reclaim what she feels is rightfully hers - her lost love, the man whose death propelled her into becoming The Black Siren.
Black Siren's Song - Chapter 1
She was actually doing it.
Here she was, dressed in her favorite dress, the red, knee-length one with the slit that went to her mid-thigh, sitting across from her date for the evening. In the eight months that she had been a single woman, she hadn't gone as far as this. Casually flirting with the opposite sex? Definitely. Sitting across from one and making small talk? Yeah, that hadn't happened since you-know-who.
In all honesty, her date was a pretty good catch. Jake Malone, who up until tonight she had fondly called Detective "Too Good Looking to be Real" Malone, was at least 6 ft tall, with an impeccable smile that reached his eyes in a way that made her cheeks flush. He was every part the gentleman she expected, and she had immediately found herself drawn to him.
He talks animatedly about his fairly new career within the Star City Police Department. He's an old beat cop from Steel City who was looking for a fresh start after surviving a close call that took the life of his partner and dear friend. Seeing the turmoil Star City had been in, and hearing about the need for detectives within the SCPD force, he applied for the position, getting it immediately. She hadn't had the heart to tell him that detectives within the SCPD didn't tend to stick around long and that the SCPD was probably happy with whoever they could get at the moment. She didn't think that would have gone over well on the first date.
Her thoughts go back to when she first met this guy. In the five months since Damian Darhks attack on Star City, her attempts to regain control of Palmer Tech have all but failed. Instead, she'd decided to turn her focus to making a name for herself by opening her own business, Smoak Incorporated. With Walter Steel backing her financially, she'd managed to create her little start up company in Oliver's old campaign office, as he'd since moved on to an office in City Hall. She tells herself that working in Oliver's old office is practical considering that the bunker is right underneath it. That it makes explaining why she's there late at night easy, but part of her knows that she has trouble letting go of the real reason why the office is important to her.
While moving her things in, there had been a break in in the middle of the night. The irony is not lost on Felicity Smoak. Not only did she beat herself up for not having the security system up and running first thing, but she also had a hard time believing that the Green Arrow hadn't realized there was a burglar right above him.
Said burglar had made off with some pretty expensive computer parts, and she had decided immediately to go the legal route, instead of involving her big green friend. She reported the theft to the SCPD and in walked Detective "Too Good Looking to be Real" Malone. After taking her statement, and her following up sporadically with phone calls and random visits to his office at the SCPD headquarters, (which may or may not have included a little flirting on her part to get the case sped up a little), her flirting got her an invitation to dinner, not a closed case.
And here they are, having dinner at a fancy restaurant in downtown Star City.
As Detective "Too Good Looking to be Real" continues to talk, Felicity finds herself feeling out of sorts. Dating never did come easy for her, and since her break up with you-know-who 8 months ago, she hadn't even seriously considered what it would be like to date again. But she had found herself agreeing to this date before her mind had caught up with her mouth, and now she's sitting here trying to move on with someone new, even if nothing more came from tonight than a hug or kiss on the cheek.
It had been too long since she had had either one.
Suddenly, guilt worms its way into her subconscious. It's a Friday night. The busiest night of the week for the green vigilante who relies on her to be that voice in his ear, guiding his way through hostile territory. Here she is on a date, while he's probably sharpening his arrows or mending tears in his suit in preparation for the night of patrolling ahead of him. Things between the two of them are by no means what they used to be, but Green Arrow business is still important to her, and she hopes above all else that he is careful tonight without her there.
She sighs, but her date takes no notice as he continues to talk about some of the people he's gotten close to on the force. Felicity's mind wanders back to her vigilante, or the vigilante (he's definitely not hers, and she doesn't even know where that came from). Since ending their engagement, things between them are strained in a way she didn't think they ever would be. They're friendly, of course, but there's this indestructible wall between them. Oliver is very careful around her, never asking too many questions, always giving her a ton of space, maybe more than she would like him to. She hasn't really felt this far away from him in, well, ever.
Rebuilding the bunker had been tough with this distance between them. Before she had decided to create her own company, she would come in early during the day while he was at City Hall, and leave before he got there in the evening after he left the office. She would come back late to man the coms, but other than this brief interaction that was really all business, their everyday communication was stunted.
Now that she's working right above the bunker, she's there all the time, oftentimes bringing him dinner. If he eats with her, it's almost always in silence. If he doesn't she, more than not, finds the food she brought him in the fridge untouched the next day. That thought upsets her more than anything. She knows that he's retracting into himself again, one of his default settings. She's come to the conclusion that there is no changing him and his ways, and she has come to terms with the fact that their romantic relationship failed for this exact reason.
Detective "Too Good to be Real" is staring at her expectantly, and Felicity realizes she has no idea what he had been talking about. Feeling her cheeks burn in embarrassment, she sticks her spoon in the crème brûlée dessert she had ordered and smiles sweetly as she takes a bite.
Thankfully, her date lets it go.
As the date concludes and they walk slowly out of the restaurant, Felicity can't help noticing that he puts his hand on her lower back, and her thoughts immediately go to all the times that Oliver had done the same. She realizes at that moment, as her and Detective "Too Good Looking to be Real" walk out of the restaurant, that the majority of this date was spent with her thinking about her ex fiancé. She feels guilt creep up again, this time for an entirely different reason than leaving her ex to patrol the city on his own. She realizes that maybe she wasn't quite as ready to move on as she initially thought, and hopes that this guy doesn't ask her for a second date.
As her date opens his car door to let her in, a figure dressed in green leather and wielding a bow and arrow watches from his perch on the apartment building across the street from the restaurant. Felicity and her date drive off in the direction of her home.
The weekend passes in a blur for one Oliver Queen. On Monday he sits in his office at City Hall with a stack of papers ten inches tall awaiting his signatures. Unfortunately, he's lost all interest in signing them. His mind wanders to Felicity and what he had seen only a few days before. Although he's seen her since, once on both Saturday and Sunday prior to his patrols, and had her voice on the com in his ear on both nights, he can't help but feel like his chances to win her back are over. She's moved on, and he's still sitting here pining over her.
He feels like a fool. He honestly believed that space was what she needed, so he gave that to her, although it pained him to distance himself from her so much. He thought that giving her what she wanted would be the catalyst for her to give him another chance, to see that he was trying to be a better man, one she deserved. Instead, it had done the opposite. The space he had created had caused a cavern so wide that there was no possible way for him to traverse it.
A knock at the door brings him back to the present, and he answers with what he hopes doesn't sound like too solemn of a "come in". He is greeted warmly by his visitor, and stands politely to offer the woman before him the seat across from him at his desk. Kate Spencer, Star City's new District Attorney, smiles as she does as instructed and sits to speak with the mayor of the city she has sworn to protect.
"DA Spencer, what brings you here?" Oliver asks with a genuine smile on his face. Truth be told, he likes the woman who has taken up Laurel's legal mantel. The petite woman, not much older than himself, with striking blue eyes and jet-black hair, is more than just a pretty face, she's got grit. She has a willingness to go above and beyond to get to the truth, and she doesn't scare easily. It's something Oliver can respect.
She pushes forward a manila folder with the title "Hive Trial" written in black ink. Oliver immediately sits up in his chair and opens to folder to examine its contents. He hears her speak as he begins to read the report she has handed him, one that contains all of the financial information specific to Star City's restoration, the restoration needed because of the devastation caused by Damian Darhk and his men.
"In four days time we will be in Central City persecuting the remaining members of Hive. I know that moving the case outside of Star City is not ideal, but their lawyers are hoping that a change of venue will help their case, as most people in Star City are biased. I just want to make sure that you will be there to testify to the devastation that Hive has caused." Oliver looks at her with all seriousness and determination evident in his eyes.
"Of course. The city is still reeling from what Damian Darhk and his followers did. The damage and loss of lives is something I don't see this city healing from for decades. This information needs to be made public." DA Spencer nods her head in understanding.
"We have the few survivors from Havenrock issuing a statement as well. With your testimony and their statement, we can put these murderers away for a very long time, if not forever."
"Good."
"In the meantime, the city needs to know that you will do whatever it takes to see justice served. I'm very grateful for your assistance with this case, Mayor Queen, and I am sure the city is thankful for it too. What time can I expect you to arrive in Central City? I'd like to meet with you to go over your testimony before you take the stand."
Oliver takes a moment to look at the clock. He had planned to leave first thing in the morning on Wednesday to get there by lunch, the drive being a few hours if he didn't hit traffic. He schedules to meet with her right after lunch on Wednesday, which just so happens to be the day before the actual trial, and the two conclude their brief meeting.
Standing up and shaking Oliver's hand, the new DA leaves the room, but not before she gives the mayor a gentle smile and small wave goodbye, causing Oliver to smile in return. The rest of the mayor's day is uneventful, as he returns to signing paperwork that he really doesn't want to sign.
That night in the bunker, things run as they always do. Felicity arrives with dinner, but Oliver casually opts out, explaining to her that he had had a late lunch and wasn't hungry. If he noticed how Felicity's shoulders slump a bit, he acts as if he hadn't, and Felicity lets it go, finishing her dinner alone and then heading over to her base of computers so that she could get a head start on their mission for the night.
When Oliver goes out in the suit that night, he is short with her, and chatter over the coms is nonexistent. They work in silence, Felicity only hearing the occasional arrow release, scrape, and grunt. It's a silence that feels far more awkward than she's used to, and when Felicity can no longer handle the silence, she pipes up.
"Are you okay? You seem upset about something. I mean, you've seemed upset about something for weeks now, more so days, but you're not really giving me much to go on here. Is it work? Do you want to talk about it?" On the other side of the line, Oliver tries to hold in his sigh. He had hoped she wouldn't have commented on the mood he had been in. Truthfully, it had been hard to be in the same room with her since he stumbled upon her and her date the other night. Instead, he grumbled out a quick "I'm fine", and with hopes that she takes the hint and quits asking questions.
She hadn't taken the hint.
"You just seem upset about something. You definitely do not seem fine. Maybe I can help you with it. Why don't you…"
"I'm fine, Felicity, just drop it." He grounds out and immediately regrets it. Her brief sigh at the end of the line is indication that she's completely on to him, but surprisingly she, again, lets it go.
When the night is over, the mission a success, and a known drug dealer is brought in to the SCPD to be charged with solicitation of illegal drugs, he returns to find the bunker shrouded in complete darkness, and Felicity long gone.
He finally releases the heavy sigh that he'd been holding since their bickering on the coms, and collapses bonelessly into her chair at her station, his guilt for what transpired between them as prominent as ever. After stewing over it for a few minutes, he opts to take a shower and then decides that the bunker is where he plans to sleep tonight. The large house in Star City suburbia with light blue shutters, innate furniture, and sprawling gardens Felicity would have loved, just didn't feel much like home, even if Star City mayors had resided there for decades. At least here he could still smell her perfume, floral and so uniquely her, the same one she had purchased on their trip to Bali over a year ago. If that's the thought he had as he fell asleep on the twin bed in the lower level of the bunker, well, only he would know it.
Four hundred miles north of Star City, a woman sits in a cell in the lower levels of Star Labs. Only a month ago the woman had been free, resorting to petty theft to get by. Now, she sat in her cell with nothing but her thoughts and the occasional rip from the woman in the cell next to her. Pam, or Mouse, as her boyfriend lovingly calls her, had been caught trying to steal a rare diamond from the Central City Museum. How she ended up in a pipeline with villains of the meta kind, while she was not (a meta), she didn't know, but she was sure this went against every legal right she had.
The woman in the cell next to her was a frightening stoic woman. Dinah Laurel Lance of Earth 2, the Black Siren, was incredibly cold and calculating. Little Mouse had listened in on the various plans that Black Siren had conjured up to get out of the mess they were in, most of which ending in pulling Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow apart limb by limb. Although none of the plans had worked, it wasn't for a lack of trying.
Mouse leaned against the side of her cell, absentmindedly tossing a blue bouncy ball to the other side and then catching it when it was within her reach. After a few minutes Black Siren groaned, and shot Mouse a heated look.
"Stop doing that!"
Mouse jumped a little at her neighbor's sudden outburst. She quickly put the ball in her pocket, placing her hands up in what she hoped would resemble a surrender.
"Ohhhhkay, okay!"
Black Siren, her black lipstick perfectly applied and her skin-tight leather leaving little to the imagination, looked over at her neighbor. Little Mouse, five feet tall with beady little eyes and a button nose, had her short brown hair swept back in the tiniest of ponytails. Mouse faced Black Siren and stretched her arms above her head.
"So what's the escape plan for today, BS? I'm getting antsy." Black Siren rolled her brown eyes and shot Mouse a venomous look.
"I told you not to call me that."
Mouse smiled.
Her friendship, if she can really call it that, with Black Siren is definitely different. Being around such a strong and intimidating woman was not exactly part of her plan when she decided to rob that museum. But she kind of likes being around Earth 2 Dinah Laurel Lance. She makes Mouse feel empowered, womanly, and downright badass. If Black Siren could be her friend, then maybe she was cooler than she thought she was.
Black Siren crosses her arms over her chest and looks at Mouse in all seriousness.
"I'll think of something. There has to be a way out of here, and when we're out, you, me, and that idiot boyfriend of yours are taking back what is rightfully ours."
Mouse's eyebrows crinkled at the mention of her loving boyfriend.
"Leave Giz and me out of your plan for world domination. I just want to get out of here and hightail it out of this city. I'm sure Giz is working on a way to get me out of here as we speak."
"I'm sure he is." Black Siren replied sarcastically. Mouse found herself frustrated by her neighbor's lack of trust in her boyfriend.
"He is!"
"Right."
"No, really!"
"I said sure."
"Gahhhh!"
As Mouse's frustration with Black Siren began to surmount, the lights that surrounded them all shut off and plunged them into darkness. Without warning, a voice projected through the speakers on the wall of their cell. Black Siren found herself immediately on edge.
"Did you miss me, Babe?" the shrill male voice of their savior chimed.
In the cell next to her, Mouse immediately began to jump up and down in her cell as the voice of her sweet Giz fizzled through the speakers.
She made it a point to yell an "I told you so" to BS, who blew a puff of air indignantly as a response. Within moments, Mouse's cell door is open and she's preparing to run down the hallway. Black Siren yells out to her before she can make her escape.
"Hey! You can't leave me here! We planned to get out of here together!"
Truth be told, Dinah Laurel Lance of Earth 2, the Black Siren, means very little to Mouse in this moment, but she absolutely has a point. Mouse may be a thief, but other than that discretion, a discretion that she only takes part in because she needs money to live, she's a fairly honest person. She stomps her foot petulantly because she really would rather be out of here by now, but reaches up to enter the code she's seen Cisco enter countless times when serving them their meals. The door to Black Siren's cell opens, and the impressive woman walks through it, a satisfied smile on her face. The two take off in the direction of the exit, the other metas locked up in the cells around them yelling and banging on their cells for the two of them to release them also. Mouse and Black Siren, smelling freedom and knowing what lies outside of the doors, ignore them and make their way out of Star Labs.
Later, Mouse would regret letting Black Siren out of her cell, but for right now, she is just happy to be free.
The two of them meet Giz outside the lab in a get away car. Giz, in his whole 5 ft 5 inches with nerdy tech glasses and freckles gracing his cheeks, may not be very menacing, but his mind is sharp and Mouse is more than excited to see his face after 32 days in a cell.
They jump into the car and drive off to a safe house that Giz had rigged up to keep them from watchful eyes. He's a bit confused as to the extra person his girlfriend brings along with her, especially because the woman is silent and a bit too scary looking for his tastes, but he says nothing, too focused on reuniting with his girlfriend and making the necessary plans to ensure that they aren't caught.
When they arrive at the safe house, Mouse, after sufficiently greeting her boyfriend and while still straddling his lap, asks how he did it.
"I broke into their servers, turned off their alarms, hacked into their speaker system, opened your cell door, and let you out. It wasn't easy, but it worked."
Mouse smiled at her marvel of a man. "You are so brilliant, my love!" All the while, Black Siren watches in silence and with a twinge of disgust at their corny endearments.
As the night progresses, Mouse and Giz move on to the only bedroom in the dank apartment that is serving as their safe house, and Black Siren starts making plans to get out of her predicament as soon as she can. Moving to the other side of the room, she turns on the TV only to be bombarded with the photo of a man she hadn't seen in nearly ten years.
"Mayor Oliver Queen of Star City will be testifying during the trial of the remaining members of Hive. The case, which was moved to Central City in an effort to curve judicial bias, is still high profile. Adding Mayor Queen's testimony makes it even more so…"
Dinah Laurel Lance, the woman underneath all of the leather and fishnet, stares at the face of the man she considered her first love; the man who she lost ten years ago when he stepped on a yacht with his father for a business trip. After his death, something broke within her. It was almost as if her heart turned to ice at the very moment she had learned of his death. It was his death that led to her ascension into the Black Siren and she swore to herself that she would never be with another man, never fall in love with one. For ten years she succeeded, but as she looks at this man who shares so much with the one she lost, although ten years older, the same blue eyes and dirty blonde hair stare back at her on the television screen, and she feels her pulse quicken.
She needs to reclaim what is rightfully hers.
The Black Siren suddenly has a new mission,
She needs to find this Earth's Oliver Queen and make him hers. And if anyone gets in her way, she'll destroy them, just like her true love's death destroyed her.