Disclaimer: I do not own or have the rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer or The Arrow.
Chapter 2: New In Town
Buffy enjoyed the new freedom she'd earned the past five years. There were so many slayers in various hot spots across the world that she no longer had to run the show. To defeat the First evil and to close the hellmouth in Sunnydale, Willow had channeled her magic into an ancient, magical scythe and turned all potential slayers in the world into actual slayers. All over the world in one moment in time slayers everywhere had been awakened. Willow could feel them all. New ones were born or activated all the time. Normally, when they reached fifteen or so, the slayer power in them was awakened. Giles, Xander, and Andrew had gotten the Watcher's Council back up and running after the First had destroyed it. They really didn't need her for the day to day stuff. They hadn't in several years really. Buffy had earned the right to do what she wanted. Since her last relationship had inevitably fallen apart more than two years ago, she'd been traveling solo recruiting new slayers. She liked traveling to new places and meeting new people without the pressure guarding a hellmouth always brought. Sometimes she felt restless with her nomadic existence, but nothing had yet tempted her to stay in one place for long.
The new slayer Buffy had come to Starling City to make contact with was eighteen. Willow had felt her two years ago, but they had been unable to spare any resources to hunt her up. Willow had identified who she was, though, and determined she was safe where she was at. She was also very high profile-Thea Queen, the daughter of a billionaire, the first slayer to come from such a background. Her mother's involvement in the recent events in her town had damaged the family name, yet Thea Queen had stayed in the city. Buffy assumed she'd either dismissed any college plans or had put them on hold. She had channeled all that slayer energy into work.
Buffy frowned as she watched Thea Queen give orders to her bartender. For the past week, Buffy had been coming into Verdant, the club the elusive Oliver Queen had started. After the Glades fell, the tortured playboy had left town. His best friend Tommy Merlyn had died in the earthquake that his father and Moira Queen were behind. Buffy couldn't help but admire Thea Queen, who not only stayed but managed to open back up her brother's club. Inner strength was definitely a quality a slayer had.
After observing her, Buffy wasn't quite sure how to proceed. It was clear that Thea had her hands full with her mother's trial coming up. Buffy wasn't sure taking her out of Starling City was the best course of action. Undecided how to approach the girl, she once again left the club before it got too rowdy or before she'd managed to make contact with Thea.
Buffy had found a cheap hotel not too far away. She normally walked to the club. It was getting harder and harder to ignore the chaos in the Glades. A beat cop walked toward her.
"Ma'am, the Glades aren't safe at night. Hell, they're not safe in the day time now a days," the cop said in disgust.
Buffy smiled at the man. She always found it endearing when a guy got all protective with her. There was a time when she found it annoying. But since she hit 30, she'd decided to take it in stride. Now it amused her.
"I'll be okay," she said, flashing the officer a smile. He was cute with amazing eyes. He looked to be around forty or so.
Quentin frowned at the attractive blonde woman. She was entirely too pretty to roam around this part of the city at night. "Attractive women are at extreme risks. Since the earthquake, the number of street thugs have risen. They target the weak or anyone walking alone," he said.
"So you think I'm weak?" Buffy asked, arching an eyebrow.
Quentin winced and tried backpedaling. "Uh..no, ma'am. I mean you're alone. It's dark. It's not a good idea," he said weakly.
"Officer?" she asked, trying to read his name tag in the poor light.
"Lance. Quentin Lance," he said, giving her a small smile. He held out his hand.
Buffy took his hand. "Buffy. Buffy Summers. It's nice to meet you. I'm new in town, but I do know that the crime has risen in this town. I'm always careful. Not to mention I've had a lot of practice in self-defense," she said. She started walking and wasn't surprised when he kept pace with her.
"So has my daughter, but I still would object to her walking around the Glades at night," he said.
Buffy glanced at his left hand, looking for a ring. "You have a daughter? How old is she?" she asked.
He seemed surprised at the personal question. "Oh, well, she's probably close to your age," he said.
Buffy stopped walking and looked at him in amazement. "You have a daughter that's thirty-six?" she asked in surprise.
Quentin's mouth fell open. "You're thirty-six? I thought you were about a decade younger," he admitted, looking sheepish.
Buffy broke out into a huge smile. "That's so sweet! I have this weird metabolism that keeps me healthy and younger looking than I am, but it's nice to hear anyway!" she exclaimed.
She turned back and resumed her walk toward her hotel. He kept up with her. They walked a block in silence. Quentin kept looking around, obviously vigilant. "So I bet your wife hates you working these late nights," she said, trying to make conversation. She was also a bit curious about his marital status. She'd been alone for thirty long months.
"I'm divorced," Quentin admitted. "A few years now."
"Well, at least you managed to find someone to marry. I can't seem to find one man to put up with me long enough to marry me!" she said with a self-deprecating smile.
"Why don't I believe you?" Quentin asked, a grin on his face. "I bet you have a trail of broken hearts following you everywhere you go."
Buffy laughed. "A few," she admitted. "But not in a while." She stopped in front of her hotel.
Quentin glanced up. "You are staying here?" he asked in distaste. "It's not a good choice."
"It's cheap. It's close to the club," she said with a shrug.
"So are you here on business or relocating?" he asked
"Business. I scout out potential clients and try to recruit them for my company," Buffy said carefully. "I could afford a better place to stay, but this is convenient." She decided she better cut the conversation before he asked more. "Thanks for walking me safely to my door."
He tipped his hat at her and stepped back. "Be careful," he said. He stayed and watched her walk through the hotel. Shaking his head, he walked down the road. There was no point in speculating about her. Despite being older than she appeared, she was still too young for him, and she was obviously more foolish than brave.
******The Next Night******
Felicity had spent the first two weeks of Oliver's absence just going through the motions. She couldn't believe he'd really left. He'd not contacted them at all except for a short email telling them he'd arrived at his destination in one piece. Of course, he wasn't telling them where exactly that destination was. A week ago, Felicity had finally discovered the ridiculous sum of money Oliver had left in her checking account. When she'd called Dig, he admitted to the same thing in his own. Although Oliver mentioned it before he'd left, she either hadn't believed him or his words hadn't registered. After she saw the insanely large amount Oliver had left, she and Diggle had met up for dinner and begun to make plans. Both agreed that they needed to be ready for Oliver's eventual return. It was a given that he'd be back. They just didn't know how long.
Felicity was eager to show Diggle what she'd done to their lair as she liked to call it. A total upgrade all around.
"Impressive," John Diggle said, looking around. He saw the new Arrow suit in the glass and laughed. "Not very subtle are you?"
Felicity grinned. "Well, I figured if I'm going to go all out, I shouldn't hold back!" she said with satisfaction. She pointed to the new computer. "These new upgrades are so amazing! I can do anything with them!"
Diggle laughed at her enthusiasm. "Well, put them to work to locate Oliver. The publicity of his mother's trail is getting uglier by the day. He needs to come home soon. He's been gone over a month," John said.
Felicity's smile slipped some. "What if he doesn't want to come home?" she asked. It was the fear that haunted her. He'd started something and felt like he'd failed. However, since he'd left, the city had grown worse. Some believed the Hood had died in the quake.
"His family is here. He'll come home eventually. They need him. He just needs some time," John said, trying to sound more confident that he felt. "I got to meet Carly for dinner. Can I walk you to your car?"
"No. I need to do some work down here," Felicity said.
"It's not a good idea to be in the Glades after dark," John said with a frown.
"I'll leave in a bit. It's not even dark yet. Don't worry," Felicity said.
"Call me if you need me," John told her. She nodded and he left.
She meant to keep her word, but she got caught up. Before she knew it, three hours had passed. When she noticed the time, she winced. She shut down the computers and went out the side door. Her car wasn't far. However, she was apprehensive. The Glades had become a nightmare since the quake. It was like the world had gone insane. Nighttime was definitely the worse time to be in the Glades.
When she made it outside, she walked briskly to her car, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. She'd almost made it to her car when she was surrounded by a group of teenage boys.
"Ooh, lookie here. A sweet little bird all alone," one of the guys said.
Another guy tried to grab her purse. Felicity instinctively clutched it to her. "I don't have any money on me," she said quickly.
"That's okay. We take credit," one of the said with a snicker.
Felicity called out loudly. "Anyone out there? Call the cops! I'm being robbed!"
One of the guys gave her an angry look and pulled out a knife. "I think we can do better than robbery!" he said with a malevolent look.
Her heart pounded with fear. She felt helpless. One or two she could possibly escape from, but there were five of them. She backed up until she hit her car. "Please don't hurt me!"
"Nothing I hate more than bullies," a voice said from behind them.
The guys and Felicity all looked at the newcomer. Felicity groaned when it was just another petite blonde female like herself. "Call the cops!" she cried out.
"I don't think that'll be necessary," the woman said with a smile. Then Felicity's mouth fell open as the girl proceeded to effortlessly take on the guys. She knocked three of them unconscious in less than three minutes. One of the guys ran off. The final one with the knife grabbed Felicity and used her as a shield, the knife at her throat.
"I'll kill her!" the guy threatened.
A voice behind Buffy called out. "Are you guys okay?"
"Call the cops!" Buffy called back. Then she turned to the guy. "Put the knife down before you do something you can't take back." Buffy kept her voice calm. She didn't have much experience dealing with the criminal element. It was hard for her to understand how humans with souls could be so cruel and vicious. However, she knew there were people in the world that cared nothing for others. They didn't mind hurting or killing the weak or any who got in their way. It was the police's job to deal with them. Buffy knew this. Nevertheless, she was incapable of walking away from a victim of violence.
"Back off or she dies!" the guy screamed.
Buffy held up her hands and took a step back. Felicity decided she had enough. Remembering what Diggle had taught her, she stomped down hard on the guys foot with her chic half boots. Then elbowed him hard in the stomach before pulling away. As soon as the guy lost his shield, he took off running.
Buffy snickered and bent down and picked up a rockāthe Glades were full of pieces of buildings since the earthquake. She pitched it, and the rock struck him in the back of his head. He fell to the ground.
"Are you okay?" Buffy asked the girl.
Felicity blinked up at the woman who saved her. She regarded her in awe. Breathing heavy, she asked, "How-how did you do that?" she asked.
Buffy shrugged. "I've had some training. I grew up in a rough town myself," she said. She held out her hand to help the girl up. "I'm Buffy."
"Felicity," she replied.
"Felicity?" a voice said. The two women turned to see Officer Lance quickly approaching. He recognized Buffy. "Are you two okay?"
"Detective Lance, you need to arrest those guys," Felicity said, pointing. "They surrounded me, tried to mug me. And that guy over there, pulled a knife on me and threatened to kill me."
Quentin looked around at the prone men. Two other officers approached. "Cuff those guys," he ordered. He turned back to the women as he bent down to turn one of the guys over and handcuff the man's hands. "Do one of you want to explain how these men ended up unconscious?"
Felicity glanced at Buffy. "I've been taking self-defense classes," she said proudly. "Buffy came along and lent a hand." For some reason, the desire to cover up the extent of Buffy's skill came to her naturally. Buffy gave her a grateful smile and a wink.
Buffy allowed the young woman to talk to the officer since she appeared to know him. She noticed Felicity had called Officer Lance detective.
"So the two of you took out five guys?" Officer Lance asked them, the disbelief apparent in his expression.
"I told you I could handle myself," Buffy said with a saucy smile.
Quentin shook his head as he hauled up the guy. He handed him off to another officer and took out his notepad. "Start at the beginning," he said.
Felicity gave Buffy an apologetic look. She didn't want to lie to Quentin. She had deep respect for the man. "Well..."
"Look, I approached," Buffy cut her off, a bit impatient. "I saw a girl surrounded by five guys. I took care of two of them. One ran off. The other engaged me while his friend put a knife to her throat. After I knocked out the remaining guy, she managed to disarm him. As he ran off, I threw a rock at him, knocking him out." A decade ago, Buffy would've made up a story. These days more women existed that were strong and capable. Women were even allowed on the frontlines in war. She was tired of pretending to be weak and found she had very little patience with acting the role of helpless female.
Quentin looked skeptical but didn't say anything as he wrote down her statement.
Inside the club, Roy was told by a bouncer that the cops were nearby. He went outside to investigate and saw the gathering across the street in the club parking lot. He recognized one of the girls as an employee of Queens Consolidated. She'd been at Tommy's funeral. The day he'd found out the Hood's real identity was seared into his brain. As he looked at the girl, he moved closer. He heard Detective Lance call the girl Felicity. Then he realized this was most likely the Felicity Diggle had been referring to when he was talking to Oliver about the earthquake. Lance and she had stopped the second device that Merlyn had. He eagerly joined them, hoping to connect with the Hood's accomplice.
"Detective Lance, is everything okay?" Roy asked.
"Why do they keep calling you detective?" Buffy asked him.
He ignored her question and began telling Roy what had occurred.
"He was a detective, but he got demoted for risking his life disarming one of Merlyn's earthquake devices," Felicity said, still disgusted by his circumstances.
"Seriously?" Buffy asked.
"He ignored a direct order from his superior," Felicity whispered as Lance glared at her.
"Tell your girlfriend that everything's under control. The perpetrators are in custody," Lance said.
Roy nodded. "Ladies, do you want to come inside for a drink? Or do you want me to drive you home?" he offered.
"My car is right there," Felicity said, pointing. "I'll be happy to take Buffy home."
"That's a good idea," Lance said, giving Buffy a pointed look. He warned about the violence on the streets of Starling City. She got lucky this time. She might not be so lucky the next time. Walking alone at night was a way to tempt fate.
Buffy knew things would go smoother if she just agreed. Plus, she wanted to make sure Felicity was really okay, so she nodded in agreement. It's not every day that a girl gets held hostage with a knife at her throat. Although the girl looked remarkably composed, Buffy felt compelled to make sure she was really okay.
Roy really wanted to talk to Felicity, but he knew now wasn't the time. "Ladies, I know my boss would be upset to know you were attacked outside the club. Please, come by tomorrow. Drinks will be on the house," he offered.
Felicity smiled at Roy. Diggle had told her that Roy was now aware of Oliver's identity as the vigilante. So far he'd kept his word. Oliver's secret was still safe. "I'll try," she said.
"Is that it?" Buffy asked Officer Lance.
"Yes. Tomorrow I'll need you both to come down to the station and give an official statement," he said.
"Will you be there?" Buffy asked, smiling at him.
"Well, no. I'm off tomorrow," he said. "But any officer can take the report. They'll pass it on to me."
"So you're free tomorrow?" Buffy inquired.
"Free?" Officer Lance asked.
Roy snickered. "I think she's trying to ask you out," he said.
Felicity couldn't help but admire the woman's boldness. Of course, it shouldn't be surprising that a woman with her skills would be bold when it came to men. She wanted to be like that someday.
Lance looked startled and glanced at Buffy who looked amused. "Life's too short to be coy," she said with a shrug. "I'm new in town. I don't know anyone. I thought maybe we could have dinner."
"Well-uh-sure," Lance replied, feeling like a school boy. It'd be a long time since a beautiful woman not related to him wanted to spend time with him.
Buffy smiled in pleasure. "Then we can meet Felicity here for drinks afterward," she suggested.
Felicity gave her a surprised but pleased smile. All the time helping Oliver had caused her to drift away from most of her friends. They'd stopped inviting her out. She'd never had a lot of friends, but the ones she'd managed to cultivate in Starling City had mostly forgotten about her. "If you don't mind a third wheel," she said.
"Nonsense!" Buffy said dismissively. "The more the merrier."
"That's fine," Quentin said. Another person around would probably take off the pressure.
"Well, we should go," Felicity said to Buffy.
"Pick me up at seven," Buffy told Quentin.
"Ah, what room are you in?" he asked, feeling awkward with both Roy and Felicity there observing their exchange.
"Twenty-nine," Buffy said, smiling. He was so adorable when he was flustered.
She opened up Felicity's passenger door and got in. "I'll see you guys tomorrow," Roy said waving at them before leaving.
Quentin walked Felicity around to the driver's side of her car. Before she could open the door, he asked, "I haven't spotted your friend lately. Did he survive the earthquake?"
Felicity wasn't sure how to reply. Finally, she said, "I hope so. I haven't heard from him, though. But I'd like to believe he's still out there somewhere. If he was hurt, I hope he's healing."
"I can't believe what we did. I'm still waking up in a cold sweat," he admitted.
"You and me both," Felicity said. "I just wish we'd known about the second device."
"How could you have known?" he said.
Felicity looked sad a moment thinking about all that had died. "I guess we have to be grateful that we stopped one of them or the destruction would've been much worse," she said. She opened her car door.
"Very true. Be careful out there," Lance said.
Buffy watched Felicity slide into the car. She couldn't help but notice the very serious looking conversation the woman had been having with Officer Lance. "Is everything okay?" she inquired. "You two were looking quite serious there."
"Just reminiscing," Felicity said as she started the car. "I'm good with computers and stuff. Detective Lance called me when he located the device. I talked him through the disarmament since I had access to Queen Consolidated's schematics." She figured there was no harm in telling that to Buffy, a newcomer to the town.
Buffy looked impressed. "Wow! That's amazing!" she said. "I just live a few blocks down the street. But you've had a terrifying experience. Would you like some company?"
Felicity normally wasn't so trusting with strangers but had learned to trust her instincts when it came to people. She had with Oliver and hadn't been wrong. Buffy had a spark, a confidence that made Felicity trust her. She suspected that Buffy had a few secrets of her own. Without Oliver in town, she had time to make a new friend.
"You know I really would," she said, smiling.
******Chapter End******
In several ways Felicity reminds me both Willow and Dawn, so I can totally see Buffy being drawn to her. I hope you liked this. I love reviews! I know you probably missed Oliver, and we will see a bit about what Oliver is up to in the next chapter.
