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Thea wasn't around to defend herself or explain why she had chosen not to enlighten her brother and his team of the anomaly in the poster, because she had skipped town almost immediately after their meeting at the Foundry. Laurel had been clued in, and was entirely unapologetic when confronted.

"Sucks to be left in the dark, isn't it?" Laurel asked, twirling her batons in a way that told Oliver pushing the issue would result in getting hit with them. And she had been trained by Nyssa and had Thea, who was relentless, as her regular sparring partner, so he felt he had every right to be wary of her weapons.

"This is dangerous." Oliver told her. He paced the rooftop in which he had found her. "The League of Assassins aren't kidding around, they're not all like Sara. Nyssa's dangerous. They're dangerous."

"Oh, we know." Laurel assured him. "I've asked Nyssa, and she reassured me we won't be involved."

"You can't—"

"Can't what, Ollie? Can't trust her?" Laurel countered. "I'm supposed to take your word on who and what can be trusted?"

"I know you still don't understand why I did what I—"

"No. Stop! Stop explaining." Laurel snapped. "That's where you're wrong, because I get it. I get it. Greater good, or your interpretation of that. But you're not the only word on right and wrong, Ollie, and unlike you, I've learned to try and listen to different sides of the story."

"Did she tell you why there are two heads of the demon?" Oliver asked, wary of the topic.

"No." Laurel shook her head.

"Is she one of the heads?" Oliver pressed.

Laurel laughed. "Can you imagine if she were? You'd be in serious trouble then."

"Laurel!"

Laurel shrugged at him. "I'm not the one who's on Nyssa's hit list, Ollie. Frankly, you'd think after all this time you'd realize your bad decisions can always come back and bite you in the ass."

Okay, fine. Maybe he deserved that. But being on the hit list of a group that called themselves the League of Assassins didn't lend itself to warm and fuzzy thoughts, and the fact that they had been able to sneak into the Foundry without a trace was enough of a warning to him that he hadn't been vigilant enough.

Yes, he was aware of the irony.

The question, and one that nagged him and in turn he posed to Diggle, Felicity, and Lyla (and even baby Sara when he had to stay while Felicity would babysit), was who, exactly, were the two heads of the demon? Nyssa apparently hadn't said anything to Laurel, the last time she had been in Starling, and he wasn't about to ask Malcolm Merlyn about it. It didn't make sense.

Well, he supposed there was one way it could make sense, but Nyssa loathed Merlyn more than she hated Oliver; and he was pretty sure their marriage was technically still valid in Nanda Parbat.

Except for one thing.

"You should see this." Lyla said, barging into the Foundry one day, and after getting permission from Felicity, started typing in an remote access code to a satellite feed.

"You still have access to—?" John began, but Lyla gave him a look.

"Don't ask." Lyla warned, finishing typing in commands and stepping back as the feed played on one of their monitors.

On screen was the smoking ruins of Nanda Parbat.

"Oh my…" Felicity gasped, staring at the image, unable to believe her eyes.

"Call Laurel." John told her, even as Felicity made the call.

Oliver turned to her. "What happened?"

"I don't know." Lyla admitted. "But ever since the two demon heads I've been sending out feelers to people I know about the League of Assassins. This morning I received word that one of their rumored locations was gone. These were the coordinates they gave me."

"This is live?" John asked.

Lyla shook her head. "Reports say that it's been like that for weeks, but there are still explosions every now and then."

"Wait," Oliver paused, and turned to look at her. "'One of their rumored locations'?"

"Nyssa Raatko, or al Ghul, didn't become a wanted woman overnight, Oliver." Lyla pointed out. "She's a top-level threat and on the wanted list of every intelligence agency in any country. She and other operatives rumored to be with the League are kept on watch, and some agencies have pinned down at least one safe house or other."

"If that's true how does she get in and out of the country?" Felicity asked. "Just, out of curiosity."

"We don't know." Lyla confessed. "Their fakes are pretty much untraceable. We've only figured out that when they use a passport that won't pass security it's to send out a warning to their target, because no amount of warning helps."

"That's really not comforting." Felicity admitted. Lyla nodded her agreement.

Laurel's reaction to the smoldering ruins of Nanda Parbat was confusion. "Who would blow up the headquarters of the League of Assassins?"

"We've also been thinking about the 'why'," Felicity told her.

Laurel nodded, because that confused her, too. Only an intelligence group would have a reason to blow up Nanda Parbat, and according to Lyla, the only reason why they wouldn't was to so they could keep surveillance over one concentrated target instead of sending out an army of assassins into the unknown and have no idea where they are and who they could be. She considered calling Nyssa, but the Heir to the Demon was inconsistent about returning phone calls.

But for all of Oliver's efforts in finding her, Nyssa found him first.

"Who are the heads of the demon?" Oliver demanded.

"No hello?" Nyssa asked dryly, handing him the arrow he'd shot at her (and she'd caught) before he had recognized her. "What does it matter?"

"Nyssa." Oliver growled.

"You forget your place, Mr. Queen." Nyssa said flatly. "I loathe your very being, but I do not believe that is any way to greet your wife."

"Ex-wife." He corrected.

"I do not recall any recompense for your betrayal."

"I'm not playing games."

"Neither am I." Nyssa returned. "Laurel said you're looking for me."

"Who are the heads of the demon?" Oliver asked again.

"Have you truly not figured it out?" Nyssa questioned, her casual demeanor indicating that she wasn't taking this confrontation seriously. "Is the all-knowing Oliver Queen at a loss on the failure of his powers of observation?"

"Stop playing games."

"I've already said." Nyssa shot back, "I'm not playing."

"Who destroyed Nanda Parbat?"

Nyssa paused, and frowned at him, gazing at him as if he were a scientific wonder. "Are you truly this dense? This… vacuous? Is ineptitude your new heightened ability?"

Oliver was getting tired of being insulted by people not on Team Arrow (Thea's disparaging term for them, unfortunately, had stuck). "Are you saying you destroyed your home?"

"It was hardly my home, not after your asinine actions." Nyssa spat. "To answer your question, yes: it was by my hand it is destroyed."

"Why?"

"Because the Demon's Head wished it so."

"I won't ask again."

"And yet we both know you will." Nyssa pointed out.

Oliver scowled.

Nyssa tilted her chin up, reminding him of the haughtiness of being Heir to the Demon, back when he'd first met her. Her casual and coy demeanor diminished, replaced by a seriousness that should have been sufficient warning. "Your betrayal of the League of Assassins has stripped you of the name of Al Sah-him. Your negligence had led to the murder of Ta'er Al-Asfer, and you assisted her murderer to commit crimes against the League. Your attack of the Heir and the death of the Head have declared yourself an enemy. Consider yourself warned, Mr. Queen."

"You might once have been an ally, Nyssa, but I won't let you destroy my city."

"Your city, Mr. Queen?" Nyssa queried, her tone almost mocking. "The same city you have stopped protecting in lieu of capturing someone who keeps the streets safe for ordinary people? The city constantly targeted by those whom you have declared enemy?" She shook her head at him, as if in a scolding manner. "Starling City was the home of my Sara. I would not betray her memory so. My quarrel is not with Starling City, you may rest your mind with that knowledge." She turned to walk away, apparently confident in the belief that he would not direct an arrow to her back.

"Does Merlyn know what you're doing?" Oliver called after her.

Nyssa paused her stride, and glanced at him over her shoulder. "The Magician is dead. Malcolm Merlyn does not live to harm another soul ever again."

"Does Thea know?"

Nyssa turned back to him. "That reminds me: Thea Queen is under the protection of the League. I strongly recommend against any attempts to find or approach her unless she calls for you."

"What do you want from her?"

"Only to provide her with protection and guidance, Mr. Queen. The way she does not seem to be willing to receive from you."

"Did you kill Malcolm Merlyn?"

"Al Sa-Her is dead. That is all that matters." Nyssa replied.

"If Merlyn is dead, who else is Head of the Demon?" Oliver asked.

"And still you ask." Nyssa noted, before disappearing over the edge of the rooftop.

She was infuriating. He had no idea what Sara Lance had ever seen in her.

"Nyssa is Head of the Demon." He announced to those in the Foundry, to the absolute surprise of no one.

Laurel, who was discussing something with Lyla and Diggle, looked up at his announcement. "Are you honestly surprised?"

"Did you know?" Oliver asked her. Demanded, really. This kind of information was pivotal, so why were people not sharing information if they had it?

"No, but it's kind of obvious, isn't it?" Laurel returned. "Who else would it be?"

"Did she at least tell you who the other Head is?" Felicity asked him.

Oliver kept his gaze on Laurel. "She said Thea was under the protection of the League."

"Well. Nyssa's been chatty." Laurel noted. "I figured that, too."

"Where is she?"

"I don't know that." Laurel answered.

"Laurel."

"Yeah, that growling thing you do isn't going to work." Laurel told him. "I can't tell you what I don't know. Thea just calls me to tell me she'll be leaving, and not to worry. And she knows that the only way I wouldn't worry about her is if she's with someone I trust, and she doesn't come back looking like she came from Spring Break, so I figured she's not with Roy. And you're all here, so…"

"We can try finding her." Felicity suggested to Oliver.

Oliver turned to face her. "Nyssa said she strongly recommended against doing that."

Felicity frowned. "So what are we gonna do?"

Lie in wait, was the only thing he could think of. Just because Thea was under the League's protection didn't mean she wasn't out of harm's way. After all, the League had its own code and sense of justice, and he knew from his experience back when Nyssa was trying to get Sara to return to the League that nothing and nobody was sacred in pursuit of their own brand of justice. And Nyssa had apparently killed Malcolm Merlyn, who was Thea's father, and she had declared Oliver an enemy, which really could mean Thea was the best way to vent her anger on. So even if there were no ransom calls, or cries for help, he couldn't help but worry about his sister.

It didn't help that every attempt Felicity or Lyla made in trying to trace Thea or Nyssa were fruitless.

The streets are safer, especially with their unknown vigilante on the loose, and even organized crime has taken a lower profile in how they conduct their business. The economy and business is booming with the rise of Queen Consolidated as an entity under the leadership of Lilian Tate. Starling City is a city rising from the ashes of the past few years, and people have begun to question, with the presence of a safer, more lawful vigilante going around, if maybe the entity known as The Arrow had harmed the city instead of making it safer.

Lilian Tate appears on not a few debate panels voicing that very question.

"Who is this woman?" Oliver grumbled, because the woman who had reinvigorated the city's economy is treated as a savior and saint, and her word had weight, especially when bringing to light how the hooded vigilante's activities have coincided with a rise in criminality, in contrast to the current situation of how to solve crime beyond legal law enforcement without increasing the mortality rate; her questioning was casting doubt on the vigilante-formerly-known-as-The Hood's effectiveness, and in turn making the city question his very presence.

Felicity smiled sympathetically at him. "A mirakuru-less Isabel Rochev, from what I can tell, without Slade Wilson's strings."

Oliver glanced at the television, which Felicity was watching with equal parts interest and dread, because in one previous interview, Lilian Tate admitted that while she detested Malcolm Merlyn's actions, it was her responsibility as a member of Merlyn Global's board of directors to ensure his actions did not disrupt the lives of the rank and file, those whose lives were dedicated to their work and not at all involved in their CEO's personal life. Felicity made it a point to watch Lilian Tate's interviews because from their one meeting, she could sense Lilian Tate was not above dragging Oliver's name through the mud.

Which she hadn't. Yet.

Felicity worried that it was only a matter of time.

She worried so much that she became superstitious, believing that if she watched Lilian Tate's interviews, the woman wouldn't mention the Queen family; if she didn't, then that would be when the Lilian Tate's attack would happen.

It did not help that Lilian Tate was well-spoken and highly intelligent, clever and sharp during interviews. She used her words effectively, and while still completely professional, she was not entirely aloof when in front of a camera. And there was her sob story: born and raised by her mother, to an absent father whose only regard for her was to ensure she was fed, clothed and sheltered. She was sent to the best schools, and despite his absence in her life, her father demanded perfection from her, expecting only success. It was why, she often said, she valued family and the home, despite her own focus on business and success. If Felicity hadn't come face to face with the viper that lay underneath the charm and empathy, she'd be all over Starling City's latest savior, too.

She should have known that it was probably inevitable for Lilian Tate and Oliver Queen to be in the same room at one point.

It was a fundraiser for the Glades, with people in fancy dress feigning politeness and camaraderie with each other, and Oliver was there because both Thea and Felicity were invited, and he had hoped he could have a second to talk to his younger sister during the event.

It didn't help that the first time he saw his sister, she was conversing with the new chairman of Queen Consolidated.

Thea was nonplussed when he confronted her about her choice in conversation partner. "She's on the board of two companies I own shares in, Ollie. What am I supposed to do, ignore her?"

Fine. But, "Where have you been?"

"Away." Thea said flatly. "I thought Nyssa told you to stay away from me."

"Nyssa is dangerous." Oliver reminded. He honestly had no idea why people kept forgetting that Nyssa had been Heir to the Demon, possibly currently the Demon's Head, of a group that called themselves the League of Assassins. That Nyssa's kill count far exceeded his own, and that Nyssa killed for a living. Were the women in his life logically impaired?

"Not if she's sworn to protect me."

"And did she?"

"In exchange for my allegiance, yeah."

Oliver balked. "You—"

"I'm not part of the League, if that's what you're trying not to ask with your constant tone of disapproval." Thea retorted. "You started a war, I swore allegiance to Nyssa so that whatever happens between you two, I'm out."

"I didn't start a war." Oliver protested.

Thea gave him a disbelieving look. "You took away her birthright, killed her father, and placed the guy who had her girlfriend killed as her boss. I'm pretty sure she wants you dead."

"I was trying to protect you!"

"Yeah. Good job." Thea said sarcastically. "And before you ask, no. I don't know if she's one of the Demon's Heads. Yes, I figured out the clue and didn't tell you because honestly, you had it coming. No, she hasn't told me who are. And yes, swearing my allegiance to her means I'm not going to stop her if she tries to kill you. But I think she likes me, and she thinks family's important, so who knows where you fall in her list of priorities of people to kill."

"You can't be serious."

"But I am. Like a sword to the chest." Thea replied. "So I'm not telling you what it means for me to be under the protection of the League of Assassins. Because, you know, to protect you."

Oliver frowned at her.

"Oh, and in case you're going to bring it up to convince me that she's evil and can't be trusted? She told me she was going to kill Malcolm." Thea told him frankly. "And I gave her my blessing."

The world's gone insane.

And about to get crazier.

"Younger sisters can be so stubborn, aren't they?" Lilian Tate queried, sidling up to Oliver as he watched Thea walk away.

Oliver turned to her and forced a pleasant smile. "We haven't been introduced."

"Oliver Queen. Your sister pointed you out earlier." Lilian informed him.

"And you've been all over the news networks." Oliver countered.

"Lilian Tate." Lilian offered her hand, which Oliver shook.

"Pleasure." Oliver said placidly.

"Quite." Lilian returned. She motioned to the direction which Thea disappeared to. "She seems mighty displeased."

"Younger sisters." Was all Oliver said, hoping that put the matter to rest. He didn't like Lilian Tate's apparent acquaintance with Thea, nor her interest in the younger Queen.

"Indeed." Lilian agreed. She took a sip of her champagne. "One can only hope that in time their cooperation would be recompense for their stubbornness."

Oliver paused, Lilian reminding him of something familiar but he was unable to place exactly, and turned to face her and look her in the eye to gauge her sincerity. "You already have Queen Consolidated. What do you want from Thea?"

Lilian met his gaze evenly, a hint of a sneer on her lips as she answered in a tone that gave no measure of mirth. "Given her name and experience? Only to protect and guide her, of course."

Oliver froze.