Author's Note: So in the three years Lenora and Jacob are missing, the events regarding the league from season 4 to the end of season 5 have taken place. (Malcolm becoming the head, The miniature war in Starling, Nyssa becoming the head, and the disbanding of the league). During this time, as my own touch, Ra's is alive but has been standing back from all of it and training Lenora.
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"Trent, I know that living alone has never been easy for you, but now you've become a drunk?" His mother said from the kitchen in an angry tone.
Trent was looking down at his phone, and displayed on it was a picture he and Lenora took from a waterfall in China. A single tear rolled down his cheek and his mother noticed. She walked over to him and sat next to him on the couch.
"I know you miss Lenora but you know well that she wouldn't want to see you like this. She loved seeing you happy and hated when you would do this to yourself" His mother said with her arm around her son's shoulder.
Trent looked at her and when she said Lenora's name is past tense. "Lenora is not dead! She-" He started before interrupted.
"Trent! We've been over this several times! Lenora's body was found on the ground by Noah when the smoke cleared. There was a poisoned dart in her neck that killed her. As much as I wish it wasn't true, she is dead! Three years after the accident cannot change-".
"Your belief that she is dead! I've had the feeling of life in me ever since Lenora was born. Even when we found her body, that feeling didn't go out and it still hasn't!" Trent said in a sad and angered tone.
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"Why did Ra's summon us?" A man asked who was dressed in league armor.
The woman next to him continued walking towards the hall where they were called. "I am not sure Zalam, but it must be important" She said.
They approached the doors and doors and put her hand on the handle.
"Sterling" Zalam said. The woman turned around and was met by his amber eyes. "You know I love you..right?".
The woman smiled and gave him a tender kiss on the lips. "Zalam, you follow me into every battle although I am more skilled than you. You have risked your life and almost died trying to protect me. I will never forget how much you love me" She said when they pulled away. "Now, let's get going before a group of assassins come looking for us" The woman suggested.
The two assassins walked inside the main hall, where the lazarus pit stood. Ra's and Nyssa were already waiting for them inside. The two assassins knelt before the true demon's head and he motioned for them to rise.
"Sterling, how is the armor working out for you?" He asked the woman.
"It has been the best I have ever worn since I've arrived here. Thank you for having it made for me" Sterling said.
She was wearing armor that was much different from anything the league had created before. The armor was based off of blue and black tones. There was a silver chest plate she wore with a belt that held some hidden daggers. Under the chest plate there was a bodice and shirt lined with Kevlar with long sleeves that lead to the bracers and hidden switch blade. A dark colored hood and cowl had been made for her to hide her identity while she fought. She had a dark blue high low skirt and darker blue leggings. A pair of knee high black boots had been made to hold some extra daggers or smaller arrows for when she was in the field. A black quiver was slung over her back, and angled to the right that held several arrows while angled to the left was a sheath that held her custom made sword. There was no place to 'sheath' her compound bow, so she just held it in her hand.
"I'm glad that has worked for you. Nyssa thought it would be good to have some custom armor made for when you return to Star City. You should be thanking her" Ra's said.
Nyssa tried to hold back a smile, but it slipped somewhat. Sterling nodded in thanks towards the demon's daughter and she nodded back.
"Why is it that you have summoned us here?" Sterling asked.
Ra's smiled slightly and motioned for an assassin to come over. The assassin handed Ra's a box and he pulled the lid off. Inside, there was a small, silver necklace with an arrow charm and a locket.
"When you first arrived here, you wore this under you shirt. We took it from your old clothing and kept it till now, because it was keeping you distracted from what was in front of you" Ra's said. He walked over to Sterling and put the necklace in her open hand, then closed it. "I want to return it to you. After all, you have completed your training and it seems nothing can distract you from what needs to be done".
"Do you know why you have been called 'Sterling'?" The demon's head asked. Sterling shook her head at the question and Ra's explained.
"When the league was first created, someone named Sterling stepped forward and lead the assassins. They were a powerful warrior that never lost a battle but left this earth when they were caught by a plague that not even the lazarus pit could heal. Although the name doesn't have arabic origins like all other league names do, it wasn't forgotten. No one has been called that because they have never met the level of what that name meant, except for you. You showed up here with no training, but still bested me in battle. Now that you have been trained, you have no struggles in battle" He started. "You have completed your training and will return to Starling City with Zalam to cleanse the city of a disease that poisons the whole world".
Sterling was disoriented by this, but tried to keep her thoughts and emotions locked away.
"Sterling, I see you are taken off guard by this but do not be. Nyssa will be accompanying you back to the city. You may keep your existence secret or reveal yourself to your family, but that is up to you later" Ra's said.
"Our plane will be leaving tomorrow morning at dawn. We will stay at a league safe house until we return" Nyssa said.
"We aren't being released from the league, are we?" Sterling asked. Despite what she wanted when she first first arrived here with Jacob, the assassins had become her family, even Nyssa became like an older sister to her. Ra's seemed more like a friendly uncle than a father. She missed her family back in Starling, but felt that if she went back, she would be out of place.
"No, you aren't being released. My daughter and I believe you have made Nanda Parbat a true home and would never think of kicking you out" Ra's said.
He started to walk out of the room before turning back towards Sterling and Zalam. "Get plenty of rest tonight, you will need it when you travel".
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Sterling and Zalam went back to their room and got some things ready for their departure back to Starling. Sterling was packing some small notebooks in a bag when Zalam came up behind her. He put his arms around her waist and turned her around.
"Sterling, you should get some rest. I can pack the necessary items for our trip" He said as he planted a kiss on her forehead.
"Zalam, I know that our marriage was arranged and that I didn't love you at first but now after getting to know you better, I wouldn't think of resting until you were ready as well. We can pack together to speed things up!" The woman said as she kissed her husband back.
Zalam let go of Sterling and they went back to packing until he asked her a question. "Are you planning on revealing your life to your family when we arrive?".
Sterling froze for a second to process the question, then went back to packing. "Whether or not I tell my family I am alive, we will still have to leave when the task is completed. They would try to stop me and might get hurt in the process. They have already grieved my death and I would hate to make them go through something like it again" Sterling said.
Zalam came up to her again and kissed her on the top of her head. "I'm going to retire for the night, feel free to join me when you have completed packing" He said to his wife.
Zalam walked off to the bedroom and started taking off his armor while Sterling stayed behind and finished packing. She pulled out a small book out from a drawer in the desk and started flipping through it. The notebook was a miniature diary that she started writing at the beginning of her freshman year in high school. It was filled with drabble from good and bad days in school. The last page was titled with the date March 18th, 2014. It was now the 16th of July in 2017, which meant that Sterling had been away from starling for about three years.
She put the small book in her bag and went to get out of her armor. She walked back into the bedroom in more comfortable clothing and saw her husband lying in bed, reading a book.
The woman smiled and crawled under the blanket next to him. She put her head on his shoulder, letting her long, golden brown hair cascade down her back. Zalam set the book down and snuggled next to her. Shortly after, the two of them fell asleep to the sound of crickets.
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The next morning, Sterling woke up and found Zalam missing from the bed along with his armor. She got up from bed and put her own armor on, then gathered her things and walked to the air strip.
She walked outside and found Zalam, Nyssa, and Ra's all outside by the plane.
"Good morning Sterling!" Zalam called out as he walked over to her.
"Morning Zalam, ready to depart?" The girl asked her husband.
He nodded back to her before gesturing to Ra's. "Ra's wants to speak with you before we depart".
"Alright…" Sterling said cautiously.
She walked over to the demon and he spoke. "Before you depart, I would like you to have this" Ra's said to her.
He pulled out a small bottle from his cloak containing a clear, watery liquid. "This is water from the lazarus pit. I doubt you will need it, but if you do, use it wisely" He cautioned.
Sterling took the bottle and put it in her bag. "Thank you Ra's" The woman said. She bowed her head to him before turning towards the plane. Sterling quickly whipped around and asked Ra's something.
"Sir, how is the replication of the temporary meta enhancements going?".
Sterling and Zalam had been part of a research group back in Star City that took an interest in meta humans and their abilities. Sterling had taken a further interest in it and looked into some things from STAR labs with the help of her father. When she and Zalam arrived in Nanda Parbat, they were given special access to the library, which had the information necessary to complete the booster. The booster would give the receiver meta powers based on the type of ingredients used to make it. So far they had created sense enhancement, water manipulation, control of flames, lightning direction, air collection, and earth shifting. They had tested it and determined it a success so Ra's allowed them and some more skilled assassins in STEM work on mass producing it so assassins could have an upper hand in battle.
"Yes, the booster you and Zalam created is in the final stages of replication and there will be some sent out to the safe house when there is a sufficient amount" Ra's replied.
Sterling smiled, then bowed her head and continued over to the plane where she met up with Zalam and Nyssa.
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A day and a half later, the group of assassins was back in Starling City. They were all walking to their safe house in some more normal attire when they walked past a screen playing news from channel 52.
There was talk about the group of vigilantes led by the Green Arrow, the city officials new set of laws for taxes on businesses, and something about Bariq Machinery and Supplies new CEO.
Sterling stopped and listened to what they were saying. Zalam and Nyssa noticed because they stopped as well. "Earlier this week, Trent Bariq became the CEO of Bariq Machinery and Supplies after his father retired from the business." The anchor said before the screen switched to his speech.
"As new CEO of Bariq Machinery and Supplies, I will make sure that this company will become something that it has never been before. Something that can help make this city a better place" Trent said.
"What do you know" Sterling said to her husband "My brother has actually become the CEO after years of telling me he wouldn't".
Zalam let out a small laugh as he wrapped his arm around her.
They continued back to the safe house, where extra weapons and supplies were waiting. "You guys will be staying in a room just on the second floor, I can take the one down here" Nyssa said as she dropped her bag with her weapons and armor on the ground.
She then left for her own room, leaving Sterling and Zalam.
"So" Zalam started while looking at Sterling. "Want to take a run on the rooftops?".
The female assassin looked up at him and smiled. "Sounds romantic, let's do it".
They both put on their armor and grabbed their weapons just in case. Zalam recommended they spar while they were up there and maybe get some target practice in.
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Sterling and Zalam were having a race that started on the low rooftops in the glades and made their way up to the city skyscrapers. They jumped over alley ways and onto the top of buildings. Zalam slipped up a few times, but easily got back up to where Sterling was.
She stopped for a moment to catch her breath after running for almost two hours straight. Zalam appeared right behind her when she stopped.
"Sterling, you seem tired. That's never happened before!" Zalam said with a chuckle.
She smiled back at him and spoke. "You try traveling for two straight days, then run on rooftops for two hours and see if you're tired!" Sterling said with a laugh.
Zalam laughed with her as they tossed their weapons to the side and sat down on the edge of a skyscraper.
"Wow.." The female started. "Nanda Parbat is a beautiful and peaceful place to be but, this view is amazing".
Zalam put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. They both sat in silence and listened to the sounds of the city.
In the far distance, a sound of sirens could be heard moving across the city. Sterling perked up when she heard the sound of an arrow being fired in the distance. She picked her head up and watch a man in a hood fly across the tops of roofs.
"Zalam, I think we've got trouble" Sterling said to her husband.
He looked to where she had her eyes locked and saw the hooded figure moving towards them. Zalam helped her up quickly and they both grabbed their weapons and concealed their identity. Zalam pulled a dagger after sheathing his sword while Sterling sheathed her sword and nocked an arrow.
The figure may have seen them because stopped for a moment before coming closer to them. When he landed on the assassin's roof, Zalam threw his dagger but the figure dodged it. The male assassin then ran forward with his sword drawn and engaged in combat with the hooded man.
In the light of the building, they could see this man was an archer with a green hood and a quiver on his back. Sterling stood back with her bow ready as Zalam fought.
The fight was taking too long for Sterling's liking, so she let the arrow go and it planted itself in the man's side. He crumpled to the ground in pain, but he still nocked an arrow and aimed at Sterling. He released it from his bow but Sterling caught it before it landed in her chest.
She smirked a bit before dropping the arrow and drawing her sword to the man's neck, while Zalam watched her.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?!" The hood asked even with a sword to his neck.
"You aren't in a position to ask questions Oliver" Sterling said in a stern voice.
Oliver stammered for a minute before Sterling spoke again. "You have been in this city for over five years, trying to stop the disease but yet you still fail. The man who was going to be Ra's al Ghul failed multiple times. I can see now why he took Nyssa back as his heir".
"W-w-what?! Ra's is alive?!" Oliver said as he stood up. Sterling looked up at him and laughed slightly.
"Ra's has been alive for over three hundred years. Do you really think a sword wound in the chest will kill him? Especially when he had a bottle of lazarus pit water with him, there was no way he would die!".
Sterling turned around and met eyes with her husband and he nodded, then they both took off for the safe house.
Oliver was left on the rooftop with an arrow in his side and a small cut on his throat. He turned on his coms and called for help. "Felicity! I'm on the rooftop of Kord Industries and I need help!"