Oliver was trapped, nowhere to go and nowhere to run. A dead end alley and quiver completely vacant of arrows. Behind him followed an army of Slade's soldiers who cornered him, grabbed the vigilante billionaire, and beat him to his knees.
In front of him, Deathstroke walked slowly up to him and threw back Oliver's hood revealing him in his black mask and a bloodied face.
"Try not to pass out, kid. What happens next is entirely up to you." Slade removed his own mask and brought out his sword from behind his back from its holster.
As he walked back a few feet from Oliver, two of the soldiers each brought out someone with Slade masks over their faces and forced them to their knees. Slade positioned himself behind them as Oliver looked on at the madmen with two hostages before him.
"It's time for you to choose." Slade did the honor of removing both masks at the same time and tossed them each aside. Oliver's heart raced seeing who was beneath them and couldn't believe his eyes; It was the Lance sisters, Laurel and Sara.
Oliver struggled to fight free but it was no avail, the Mirakuru infected soldiers single-handedly kept him at bay. His eyes connected to each of theirs.
"Slade, don't do this! This has to stop!"
"Choose, Oliver."
Slade waving his blade to the side of Laurel's head and then to again over to Sara's head. Their eyes were filled with tears knowing one of them were going to die and Oliver could do nothing to save them.
Oliver looked at Sara who has already once survived this situation back on the island. She was crying but her eyes were also filled with something else; honor. If she were to die, it would be a soldier's death in her mind and wouldn't mind dying for the ones she loves.
His eyes then rotated to Laurel's with the exact opposite of what Sara's told. Her eyes showed pain and suffering, the two lovers gazing into each other's soul. All of the things Oliver wanted to make up with Laurel rushing into his thoughts didn't help the situation. He failed both of them.
Slade took note and gripped his sword and raised it high almost above his shoulder about ready to strike. He could see that it was Laurel that Oliver cared about the most out of the two girls. Once Oliver realized Slade's intentions, it was too late.
Slade brought his sword behind Laurel's back with the tip about a foot away from entering her body. The sword was lunged back ready to shoot forward into Laurel Lance's body.
"NO, STOP! SLADE, NO!" Oliver shouted at the top of his lungs begging for mercy. Slade lunged the sword forward. "NOOO!"
Oliver awoke with a loud gasp for air, his heart pounding against his chest with Laurel standing at the edge of the bed using the blankets to cover her body up.
Nightmares were nothing new to Oliver, he's had them almost every night since he came back home. They were usually affiliated with the island in some form but this time was different.
"Ollie?" Laurel slowly climbed back into her bed keeping herself covered, a concerned look of worry played across her face. It surprised her that Oliver had the same look as well. "Are you okay? You kept mumbling and mumbling and..then you shouted yourself awake."
Oliver was confused for a shallow moment and leaned up against the backboard of her best. His scars and cuts along with his tattoo were showing above the blankets thinking of about what had just happened. But the most important thing that came to mind was that Laurel was with him right now, safe and alive.
"I was...it was just..." His words were low and soft, feeling as though his heart was ripped from his chest by none of than Slade Wilson himself. Before he knew it, Laurel's lips were against moving along their bodies slowly forming into one again. All of the pain and fear washed away with one kiss after another for reassurance.
"I'm here for you, it's okay." Laurel planted one more kiss on him and proceeded to rest her head against his chest. Oliver wrapped his arm around her bare shoulder and slowly kissed her temple, ushering a smile on her lips. "Was it the island again? Slade?"
"Worse." Laurel didn't even know to comprehend what could be worse than what happened to him on the island. Whatever they were right now, Oliver agreed to having no secrets between them anymore. "Slade had you. And Sara. And I couldn't do anything about it. Right in front me."
Laurel picked herself up from his chest and brought her lips to his again. "You are not going to lose me, okay? Not again. We've gone through it too many times already."
"Laurel...with the life I lead, it's complicated."
"Everything with us has always been complicated, Ollie. And as crazy as that even sounds, we always get through it together."
Oliver kissed her again as a thank you to helping him feel slightly better than before. It was just her specialty, somewhat. There was nothing in this world that Laurel Lance couldn't help make better for him. And it wasn't just because of the night they had before either.
"I promise, I am always going to be here for you. Whether you're Oliver Queen or The Arrow." Laurel straddled her legs around Oliver's waist and inched a kiss into the crook of his neck.
"I love you." Three strong words escaped Oliver's mouth that have been true every time he has said them to her. He stretched out his body and turned momentarily to look at the time to see that Laurel had to leave for the office pretty soon. "We have to get you ready for work. The DA office wouldn't feel complete without Laurel Lance there."
Laurel smirked in his neck and eased herself to sit in his lap. "We've got time." Oliver tilted his head to the side and let out a small chuckle just before their lips crashed into each other again. He flipped her over onto her back and pulled the covers over the two of them.
"You can come in and see him whenever you're ready to. He's already had a few visitors."
"Thank you, miss."
Oliver gave a nod to the doctor informing him about Diggle who had just become conscious not too long ago. Felicity had already been inside with him all morning. Before her, even Lyla had stopped by to see him overnight to check on him until another A.R.G.U.S mission awaited her.
He shifted through the doorway finding both of his partners in the room, Felicity sitting close to the bedside with John. The click of the door sprung their heads towards Oliver who offered a generous smile towards them.
Diggle didn't look as beat as he was the night of the incident with Slade. His cuts were mostly healed up, he was moving around fine. It was his forearm with the cast still on it that worried him. That along with the silence that suddenly flushed the room.
"Oliver, let me explain." Diggle was met with a head shake form Oliver. From the moment he awoke, John tried to plan how to approach Oliver with this conversation about going after Slade alone disguised as The Arrow. It wasn't the easiest of conversations to bring up.
"Diggle...the only thing that matters is that you're alive and Slade didn't kill you." Oliver grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and took his seat next to Felicity, who chose to keep her mouth closed so far. "I'm just glad you're okay."
John looked at himself and where he was, if only he could've stopped Slade. He sighed contently feeling it just wasn't good enough.
There was more to it than just stopping Slade Wilson and saving everyone they know from his wrath. John took this personally. It wasn't another assignment in Afghanistan or a suicidal mission that he would agree to do for the sake of The Suicide Squad.
"Nothing more than a shattered wrist is all. Few bruises here and there." Diggle stiffened up in the bed showing no other real signs of crucial pain. "No broken ribs either. Trust me, doctors tend to confuse bruised and broken. I've had both, I know the difference."
"Funny how even the professionals here can get a simple x-ray wrong." Felicity chose to speak up. To everyone's surprise, she was away from her laptop. It was closed and rested on a table behind her, but it was a start.
Diggle thought back to his fight with Slade Wilson on the rooftop, how he came so close to defeating him. It would've taken a heavy load off of his back.
"Oliver, I chose to fight Slade for a reason." Oliver brought his head up in curiosity thinking there wouldn't even be an explanation for his untold actions. "Remember when you killed, or thought you killed, Deadshot? Well, when I found that out I was thought to myself that...that I owed you something. I was in your debt for stopping my brother's killer. I thought by stopping Slade Wilson myself, I could repay you. I almost did it too."
Oliver remembered firing that lone arrow into Floyd Lawton's eye instantly killing him, so he thought. Even he could admit that it was a great feeling to help out in some way. After that, he thought nothing too much of it.
Silence fell in the room again making it ridiculously awkward for the three of them. It never happened often between the three of them as they sort of just came and go.
"What about things with you and Laurel?" Diggle broke the silence out for once making Felicity fuel up with her own excitement.
"Oliver confessed his love for her last night and they made up. It was so cute." The blonde tech-wiz outburst before Oliver could even slip one word out about the matter. Both he and John looked at her which sort of made her uncomfortable, more to the fact of how she knew.
"Felicity?"
"Sorry. I was using Slade's cameras against him to try and pinpoint a location and I forgot there happened to be some he placed in Laurel's apartment." She fixed her glasses and gave Oliver a gentle smile. "I saw you two make up and I, like a little school girl, kept watching thinking it was a romance movie."
Oliver was defeated in holding back a smile of his own for her. Felicity Smoak, at her finest.
"Oh don't worry. I noticed things were starting to heat up and I looked away. Shut them down, went on to the next ones." She keeps wondering why she accidentally puts herself in these awkward situations in the first place. "I feel like I major in Embarrassing Myself 101 every single day."
Felicity was met by a touch on her shoulder followed up with a light squeeze. "Hey. You know we love you, Felicity. We're a team." Oliver always knew what to say in these moments with Felicity. It felt with her and Diggle he's known them for years already.
"Well, I'm happy to hear about you two. Congrats, Oliver."
Off behind them, Felicity's laptop elicited a unique tone from it causing her to rise from her seat and opening it. She pressed a few keys which brought up a silent video on her screen. Rolling the knob on the side and reading the headline, her jaw dropped down a little.
"Guys, problem." Felicity whipped her head around drawing attention to both of them. "I think someone just committed robbery at Starling Labs." She brought the video to full screen and cranked the volume up.
"We are still receiving information on just what happened here at Starling Labs. Many reports that we are getting are suggesting that as many as four men were involved during the crime scene. One of the security guards who fell victim to their attacks managed to describe the men wearing masks. Half black, half orange masks. And that these men were incredibly strong."
Another short silence fell upon Team Arrow. Slade and three of his Mirakuru soldiers dismantled Starling Labs and its security. Oliver wanted to know why and what for. He reached over to the computer and exited out of the video, giving a look to Felicity to try and find out what was taken by Slade.
"Slade's got henchmen now? Are they as strong as him?" Diggle questioned.
"We think he's using his blood to transfer the Mirakuru from his body inside others one at a time." Oliver tread lightly imagining what it would be like if Slade had enough soldiers to overrun the city. He was determined not to let that happen.
His mind lead him to the island where Slade was first injected with the Mirakuru thus becoming this monster. Ivo told him that once this monster was unleashed, it was nearly impossible to stop him. His research and devotion to the Mirakuru is what got them into this situation.
That's when it hit him square in the face.
"The Mirakuru." He stated. "Slade stole the Mirakuru from the labs in order to create his army."
Felicity halted her hacking and web browsing almost achieving what Oliver wanted her to find out in the first place. "Why would he do that if he's already making his own army by himself?" Anger and adrenaline flowed through Oliver's veins as he unveiled Slade's plan one piece at a time.
"When I was on the island, Ivo's research explained that the Mirakuru can only be transferred when one person is injected with it. It can't be transferred by someone who's already received it from someone else. Ivo always did extensive research about this, his whole life seemed dedicated to it." Oliver explained to his partners. "If Slade injects a few soldiers at once, they'll be able to transfer their blood to others much faster."
Felicity pulled up the files on the computer that Oliver had her search for on their last mission. They were locations, addresses, and blueprints for rather large buildings in Starling City that could act as a base for Slade's army.
"These two here..." Felicity pointed to Oliver on her monitor. "I think would be the most ideal places Slade would try to keep however many men he has." She looked at Oliver and Diggle with a hint of worry in her eyes. "This...doesn't mean what I think it means, does it?"
Oliver didn't like the thought of it either but what had to be done, had to be done. "Yes, it does." He told her sternly and tried to make her see that everything would be fine.
"Roy and I will search the buildings tonight for Slade. The best we can do right now is to steal the Mirakuru back and buy us some time."
"And me?" Diggle cut in from the side of both of them. He knows he's more than recovered enough to back out there. If not for revenge against Slade, then he will do whatever he can to make sure they don't lose this time. The other two shifted their heads towards him but didn't say a word. They didn't need to because neither of them wanted John to get hurt again.
"I wouldn't feel right to let you and Roy go by yourself. You don't know how many men Slade has right now. It took him and three others to rob the labs." Oliver thought that by nightfall, it was possible Slade could have at least ten or twelve soldiers injected alone. Without Sara, they needed all they could get.
"I'm not going to stop you." Felicity shot Oliver a rather expressed look until she snapped out of it. After all, she didn't stop him the night Slade almost killed him. "I just would like to keep you from harm's way this time. I'll be at the foundry waiting on Roy."
"We'll be there soon after the paperwork is filled. Signing out, typical hospital things we tend to avoid all the time, you know?"
Oliver flashed Felicity a signature smirk as he exited the room, pulling out his phone, and calling his partner for tonight.
Two blocks away from where one of the suspected places Slade was building his army slowly but steadily. Roy Harper paced himself forward to a particular meeting spot where Oliver instructed him to go. Beside the building he was standing at, Roy popped his hood over his head and waited almost impatiently.
Thanks to the Mirakuru heightening his senses, he heard Oliver drop into the alley beside him compound bow in hand and ready to fight and ready to endure whatever Slade has for them. He also heard the click of Oliver's voice changer power down not needing it for the time being.
"Right on time. I trust that you're ready."
"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't ready to do this. I'm always ready for a fight." Roy angrily grunted.
"Good. We're going to need it tonight."
Roy tagged along behind Oliver down the narrow alley closely as their target building was only a short distance away from them and being stealthy was their main goal. Slade knows how Oliver maneuvers around and when to, it was difficult to out-think him.
Back on the island, Oliver and Slade were like brothers and even traded the name towards one another. The friendship they once had could be described as something like the one Tommy and Oliver shared or Slade and Billy Wintergreen, Slade's former partner.
Things were different now. Their friendship crumbled and Slade driven on pure revenge against Oliver, studying his ways and how he works. After all, Slade is the man who taught him everything he knew.
"I don't know how much longer I can keep lying to your sister about this. Sooner or later she's going to find out that something is up." Oliver listened but didn't acknowledge his partner and only kept himself focused on his task. "Hey!" Roy grabbed ahold of Oliver which stopped him in his tracks.
The staredown between Roy and Oliver didn't last too long where the billionaire dropped his hood down and offered a gentle smile. "Roy...after tonight, you won't need to lie to Thea about anything anymore." Oliver felt Roy's grip on his arm loosen up and pulled away to put his hood back up.
Roy froze in his tracks momentarily at a loss of words struggling to think if he just heard that correctly. "Wait what? This is my last mission before you kick me out of Team Arrow?"
"We still don't call ourselves that." Oliver reassured him. "Our mission tonight is to steal the Mirakuru that Slade and his men stole earlier today from Starling Labs and stop him from creating his army."
"I don't get it. That still doesn't-" Roy managed to get out.
"With the Mirakuru is also the cure to it. Meaning once we steal it back, we can destroy the serum itself and use the cure on you. Roy, you'll be a free man who still has the chance to live a normal life with Thea. The normal life I chose not to lead when I came back." Images of Laurel flashed into his head reminding him of vast history he has with her. The life they used to have, what they could've had if the Gambit never shipwrecked, and what they're willing to go through now.
The two vigilantes of Starling City continued to stealth their way closer to the abandoned building until it came into plain sight. On the outside it plainly just looked like a dead and closed down factory building something that would be found down in the Glades. But on the inside, Oliver had the biggest gut feeling that Slade was here.
Oliver and Roy knelt down behind a broken cement wall checking the place out from the outside. Roy attempted to hear something from within with his hearing up but he was met with nothing.
"You need me, Oliver. Whether I'm juiced up on this stuff or not. The team needs me and I need the team to help make a difference."
Oliver sighed and turned towards Roy beaming at him with his eyes under the hood and through the dark mask. "I'll leave the choice up to you. Stay poisoned with the Mirakuru in your body that strengthens you but also controls you if you let it. Or to cure yourself of that poison and never having to lie to Thea again or worry about if the streets are being kept safe."
It was a tough choice Roy was thinking about to either pursue the life he felt destined for when Oliver saved his life or to give it up so he could be with Thea, who he believed could be the love of his life. Now he saw how difficult it was for Oliver trying to lead a normal life after this.
There was no time to respond after that. Oliver retrieved an arrow from his quiver and loaded it into his bow. He threw a nod to Roy and mobilized ahead towards the building. Oliver found it strange that he had no security watching outside of the place. Slade always worked in mysterious ways.
Roy followed quickly behind him easily doing his best to get his mind out of other situations as they both sneaked right inside. It seemed dead quiet all of a sudden. Roy had his fists clenched for a fight behind Oliver who had his bow aimed ready to fire at any sudden movement.
As they moved forward, the hallways started to get get brighter and brighter as they moved forward. Then came the noises, footsteps, everything got louder.
They both halted around a corner as Oliver peaked his head around to see what was going on. Unconscious men were laying on hospital-like beds with needles stuck into their skin. They were surrounded by a count a five guards that Oliver saw. He then counted six when Slade came into view holding a case that hold the Mirakuru and its cure.
Roy took a step forth letting his anger get the best of him until Oliver crossed his bow over his chest to get him to stop.
"Go on, kid. Let him go. Let's see if you trained him as well as I once trained you." His thick accented voice boldly shouted out loudly calling Oliver and Roy out. They both looked at each other for a moment in shock and awe before ascending from their corner to Slade.
Immediately, Oliver fired an arrow towards Slade only for him to react accordingly and caught it with his hand. Slade then snapped the arrow in half like it was a toothpick to his great strength. the five guards aligned themselves on both sides of their master.
"Dispose of them. I have an army to make and a city to fall on its knees to me."
"We'll see about that." Roy muttered under his breath with anger surging throughout his entire body ready to strike. It took everything in him not to lose control right there.
"Hold." Oliver whispered to him.
The five Deathstroke guards began their way towards them like a giant wave that was coming towards them. Slade had already turned away from the scene to work towards transferring the serum in the case into his next victim soldiers.
At the right moment he chose, Oliver swiftly loaded and fired two explosive arrows at the same time towards the ceiling, bringing debris down that crushed three of the five guards burying them beneath concrete.
Roy charged forward towards the soldier on the right while Oliver took the one on the left. Oliver brought his man down fast shooting an arrow into each of his knees, followed by choking the soldier form behind and breaking his neck. This was followed by an arrow through his eye.
Oliver stopped momentarily and replayed what he just did in his head. Slade's soldier was the first person he has killed since The Count. He wanted to do whatever it took to stop Slade but wanted to do it without killing.
As Oliver turned towards Roy to help with his bout, one of the soldiers buried underneath the rubble broke the the concrete and began to push it off of him. Without hesitation, Oliver loaded his bow up and fired it watching as it pierced through the soldier's skull.
His heart rate picked up along with the quickness of each breath. Oliver looked between the two bodies he just took the lives out of two men he didn't know. Oliver felt like he was back to his old ways before Tommy died or worse, even back on the island where he had to kill to survive.
"Oliver!" Roy shouted making Oliver snap out of the trance he was in. Looking over, he saw Roy get kicked and knocked back against the wall and look over to him. "I got this, go after Slade! I can handle this!" Roy dodged two fists flying towards his face that put two holes in the wall.
Oliver rushed after Slade who seemed to have fled the scene and leaving his almost soldiers behind like they were nothing. Before he traveled any further, Oliver inspected the very machine used to filter the Mirakuru into Slade's almost army. There were vials in place filled with the substance that surged through tubes and into needles connected to the men's arms.
Oliver searched the device quickly and found the control box tightly screwed up. He backed up, loaded a special arrow into his bow, and fired. The arrow pierced through and short circuited the machine and powered it all down. His eyes set down the hallway and Oliver darted down it with his mind set on Slade.
"Stop, now!" He found Slade setting up his escape with a zipline hanging from the window form the other building and the briefcase holding the cure in his hand. Oliver aimed precisely on Slade ready to put another arrow through his eye if he needed to.
Slade shifted his head to the side before turning his entire body towards him. "You keep thinking you're going to put an end to me. You never were too bright, were you?"
"Stop talking and hand the briefcase over."
"The only way you're getting anywhere near this is if you get it yourself. And you and I both know what happens my you try to match up against me, or your team for that matter. It never ends well." Slade threw him a smirk proud of the mind tricks he uses on Oliver. "Are you going to fire that arrow at me or do I have to make you?"
"I got a lock on the target. Holding until your go."
Oliver smirked and lowered his bow down to his side. From behind, Roy caught up and stood by Oliver's side, impressing him that he got the job done on his own without any problems.
"Ah, Mr. Roy Harper. I'm shocked to say the least. Oliver's sister lets you run around with her brother all night. I'm sure she's proud to have another untruthful person in her life."
"Shut the hell up." Roy gritted through his teeth, feeling his body begin to heighten up with anger and frustration leaving it up to him to keep things under control.
"Oliver?"
Roy stepped up ahead of Oliver causing Slade to draw his trusty blade in his hand and pointing it towards him. "Are you sure you want to do that? Don't make the same mistakes the Arrow has made."
"He won't." Oliver interrupted and shifted his movements waiting for the perfect opportunity. "When are you going to stop underestimating us?" Slade shot him a look as if he he was asking another dumb question like he would on the island. "Fire when ready."
Before Slade could even backfire a comment or two back, the briefcase was shot out of his hand and slid across the floor. Roy dashed forward and snatched it up into his hands. Oliver raised his bow and fired an arrow and then another towards Slade only to have them ricochet off of his armor.
Roy took off down the hallway with the briefcase not even thinking in his head about stopping. Oliver stepped in front of the hallway to block it off in case Slade wanted after him. Instead, Slade drew a pistol from his side holster and fire at the rooftop building across from them, where John Diggle shot from.
When the last bullet slammed into the concrete missing, Slade turned back to Oliver and wielded his blade in his hands. Oliver struck first, done waiting this encounter with Slade after all this time. He loaded up and aimed for Slade's head and fired. The arrow shot fast but Slade was much faster chopping it down.
Oliver kicked himself off a tiny pillar and attempted to catch Slade in the face with a straight punch. Again, Slade knew Oliver too well and was quick enough to catch Oliver and slam him down on the pillar. Raising his sword, he slashed downward.
Oliver hovered his bow over his body and clashed it with Slade's sword. With the Mirakuru in Slade, Oliver couldn't hold up against him for too long seeing the the blade nearing closer to his body. Looking at the blade, Oliver saw a red dot shake along the length of it. Before he and Slade knew it, Diggle had shot it making it easy for the archer to slip away and fire two more arrows.
When Oliver reached for a third arrow, he soon found out his quiver was empty. It made his heart stop into his chest for a split second.
"How do you expect to kill me now when you are defenseless?" Slade cackled out as he dug the arrows that shot into his arm and broke them both into two pieces and dropped them to the floor. "You're out of arrows, Mr. Harper is long gone and Mr. Diggle's couldn't stop me if all those bullets went through my skull. You lose, Oliver. You always will and you will never learn."
"I will never let you win."
"I've already won. Did it feel good to take the lives of my men back there? The rush of adrenaline flowing through your body, guilt rising within you after you made a promise not to kill again? The knowledge that their last breaths will live on with you until you take yours."
"I'm sick of playing games with you, Slade. The moment I reinstate that promise is the moment after I kill you and make you draw your last breath." Oliver dropped his compound bow to the ground in exchange to Slade sliding his sword back into its holster. "And I will make sure even if it means that I give my own life to stop you...I will."
Oliver threw his fists at Slade with all he had. Remembering all the training and fighting techniques he's been taught and what he's taught himself came into play. Back and forth they went with each blow hitting each other becoming harder than the last. Slade landed three straight jabs cleanly against Oliver's jaw that brought him to his knees before Slade.
Oliver wasn't finished yet. He brought his fist to Slade's jaw with an uppercut that stunned him long enough for him to find one of the arrows he shot at him before on the ground. Oliver swiped it up and jab it forward, stopping just before Slade's eye as he stopped it.
Slade gripped one hand on Oliver's wrist and the other firmly around the archer's throat and lifted him into the air. Oliver fought to get free but Slade was way too strong for him to get away and his quiver was empty of trick arrows this time.
Deathstroke brought his old friend to the window he shot at Diggle through and held him there, squeezing the life out of him slowly. "I want you to remember in the last few seconds your life flashes before your eyes...and you see each time you've gone up against Slade Wilson and failed."
"You might want to swing to the left in the next five seconds, Oliver. And keep your eyes shut, trust me."
Oliver bled through his nose looking in the eye of Slade as he stared evil-like back at him. From the corner of his eye, he saw Roy steadied himself against a wall wondering if he should strike now or wait for Diggle's call.
The five seconds ticked down in Oliver's head and made his move as Diggle suggested to him. He swung his body over to the left and shut his eyes tight as instructed.
On the other side of the building, John Diggle aimed through the scope of his rifle right to Slade's chest where a strap of grenades and flashbangs hung. Recognizing the correct one from having his fair share in the line of duty, Diggle fired and quickly ducked down to avoid any effects hitting him.
The flashbang blinded Slade forcing him to cover his face from the flash. Oliver fell to the ground and began to slide out of the large window but he caught himself quickly. He hung on for his life realizing at the height he was at, it was possible he could die if he let go. His quiver was empty, there would be no chance of escape.
A loud yell rang out through everyone's ears and Oliver pulled himself enough to see Roy charging at the still stunned Slade Wilson. Putting his head down and his shoulder out, Roy rammed into Slade at full force. Slade flew off of his feet and stumbled with his footing until Roy delivered one final uppercut under his chin, knocking him out of the window.
Oliver looked down watching the man he once was proud to call his brother fall before him. He felt something grab his shoulder and turned his head to Roy offering his hand to help him up. Oliver took his hand and was lifted up and easy back up to Roy's side.
"Good work." Oliver groaned out while tending to his injury around his midsection but patted Roy on his shoulder. "Dig, meet us downstairs."
"I'm on my way."
"Roy, where's the Mirakuru?" Oliver asked while walking over to where his compound bow laid for him to retrieve it.
"It's safe, trust me. I don't think he's going to get to it after that fall anyway."
"Grab it and meet us downstairs."
Oliver looked down out of the window one last time around for Slade's body lying somewhere below.
He didn't see any sight of him.
Back at the foundry, Team Arrow didn't find themselves as cheerful as they had hoped to be after tonight. Oliver and Diggle tended to their wounds, Felicity began analyzing the Mirakuru and its cure, and Roy sat down at their table constantly looking over at the cure.
There was still one thing on everyone's mind that they wished they didn't have to think about: Slade Wilson is still alive.
Oliver removed his upper part of his costume leaving him shirtless as he looked to bandage himself up more. Apart from all the scars previously from his island encounters, Slade's blows gave him a bit of bruising. Felicity shot her eyes up for only a moment and caught herself blatantly staring at Oliver. She stopped the moment Roy came over to where she was and took one of the vials with the cure in it.
"Whoa. Roy, I think you should wait until I completely analyze that before you think about taking it." This brought the attention of Oliver and Diggle over to the two of them.
"Why would the labs have this if they weren't sure it was the cure? Trust me, there's not much more this can do to ruin me than the actual Mirakuru already has." Roy responded bitterly.
"Is this you're way of telling me that you made your decision?" Oliver cut into their conversation. "If this is what you really want, none of us will force you to stop."
Roy looked around at each and every one of his team members, still getting used to Sara already being gone. He then looked down to the cure in his hands, the cure that could lead him into the normal life he once had with Thea before.
"Not yet." Roy told them and placed the vial back over by Felicity. "Not while Slade is still out there stronger than I am. If I walk away now, I have a feeling I'm going to regret it for the rest of my life."
"That's how I felt when I thought about leaving this behind back when I had the chance to." Diggle spoke out. "And now I get to hold over Oliver's head how many times I've saved his life."
"Likewise, Dig." Oliver smiled over to him and Felicity, which without her everyone would be lost. He turned his head back to Roy and placed his hand to his shoulder. "Making this decision is tough and I'm sorry to have to put it on you. Even I chose to make a tough decision tonight. Killing...is not something I like or want to do. It is a dark place to go."
"You're telling me after I twisted that guy's neck the other night." Roy pulled his hood down from his head and let out a deep breath. He doesn't want to make the wrong decision but feels like no choice will be the right one to make.
"I am, and it will haunt you and drag you down into that dark place if you let it. I just don't to see my mistakes repeated through you."
Roy's phone beeped in his pocket causing him to pull it out and read a text from Thea asking where he is and is late for their date again. "I gotta go, it's Thea. I...I won't kill, okay? It's not me."
"We all believe in you, Roy. And I personally wouldn't doubt myself for a second on that." Oliver offered his hand out to him and Roy shook it, shooting nods towards his other team members. Roy released his hand from his partner's and exited the foundry leaving the three original founders of this team alone. "I guess with that being said, we should all head out of here. We've done more than enough for tonight and I'm damn proud of that."
"I guess my question is that now that we have the cure, wouldn't it be an option to use against Slade for the next time we go against him?" Diggle asked as Felicity helped bandage his torso up with white gauze to help the rest of his body heal.
Oliver thought for a moment how that would be the right road to take. All this time he's been wanting to kill Slade but now he has a chance to stop him without killing and plunging him further into the darkness he wants to avoid.
"It's an option I'm considering at the moment. If justice truly seeks out Slade Wilson, it will find him. And I personally want to be the one to deliver it to him. But if I have to choose to kill him again, I won't hesitate for one second to."
Diggle slid his jacket on slowly still feeling some effects from his encounter with Slade but it wasn't enough to keep him down anymore. "Whatever it is, he's going to get what's coming to him no matter how many times it takes." With that, Diggle thanked Felicity and walked towards the exit giving Oliver a nod as he walked by him.
Felicity immediately began going back to work on the serum as she was before while Oliver jumped back into his normal clothes out of view. When he came back, he closed the case with a gentle smile towards Felicity. "That means you too, Felicity. Tomorrow's another day."
Felicity tensed up and was flustered for a moment but shook it off. "Right, yeah. I've just never worked with a super strength giving madman creating serum before. No offense to Roy."
Oliver took the case and hid it somewhere away from their work station. If anyone tries to come in and steal it, the alarm Felicity set to everyone's phones will go off indicating to them that someone is inside. They both grabbed their jackets and shut the lights off to the foundry.
Oliver walked with Felicity to her car as he always did to ensure her safety from whomever. He didn't feel at ease knowing that Slade was out there even by himself. Oliver knows better than to underestimate a man like him.
"Late plans with Laurel tonight?" Felicity asked knowing that that was probably the case. "Not that it's still any of my business."
"You're fine." Oliver grinned and checked their surroundings for anything out of the ordinary. No sign of anyone, no sign of Slade. "She probably got out late again tonight at the office so I'm sure she's waiting for me."
Felicity nodded and unlocked her car. "If nothing comes up, you're free to swing by my place. Strictly as work associates obviously. Or friends. Or protection. Not that you need any protection from anything I was just..." Oliver couldn't help but shake his head and try not to chuckle at her rambling.
"I got it, Felicity. I'll do my best to stop by and check on you. Without Sara here, it makes it a little more difficult to keep track of everyone."
"I'm worried about her. Do you think she's safe?"
Oliver took in a deep breath and wondered the same thing in his mind. "She is. Sara's a survivor and I know that in more cases than I should." Felicity sat down in the driver's seat and gripped her steering wheel feeling somewhat uneasy.
"Not that I'm one to crack under pressure or anything here, Oliver, but I don't feel good about Sara and her archer girlfriend out there being hunted in one place and we're stuck here fighting Slade instead of helping her." He nodded not liking the situations they're in either.
"That's why I am so driven to end this with Slade now before anything else happens. I can't let him keep getting away."
"And you won't. Like you told Roy, I believe in you. We all do."
Oliver and Felicity gave each other small smiles to each other as Felicity started her car up. "All of this will be over soon, you have my word." He shut her door for her and told her to drive safe as she drove off.
Losing track of time in the now empty parking lot, Oliver dug his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. He cursed at himself for it being so late and was hoping Laurel wouldn't mind since she knows how his double life can be.
He highlighted the name 'Laurel' with his thumb and pressed it to call her, bringing the phone to his ear waiting for her to pick up.
After a few rings went through on the dial tone, Oliver finally heard the line pick up on the other end.
"Laurel, hey." He spoke first in an instant feeling bad about making her wait. "I'm sorry it's so late right now but I just wanted to give you a heads up that I'll be there in just a few minutes." Oliver waited a few seconds her for to respond but heard nothing on the other end. "Laurel, you there?"
"Oliver, hey sorry. You just caught me getting in actually. I don't want to make you mad but I am just so swamped from work that I have to cancel tonight. I'm sorry."
"No, that's completely fine. So maybe I'll stop by tomorrow before you head in then."
There was another small pause but Oliver figured that Laurel was probably just setting her things down or getting ready for bed at this hour. "...Yeah, that sounds great. I'll see you then, Ollie."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow. Sleep well, alright?"
"Thanks, I'll try. You too."
The line cut dead just before Oliver could tell her that he loved her. Something seemed off to him but he didn't want to push it too far. He got into his vehicle and decided that tonight he'll stay over at Felicity's to keep watch and give Diggle the night off from it.
"No, that's completely fine. So maybe I'll stop by tomorrow before you head in then."
Laurel brought her hand to her mouth to keep her voice from breaking and alerting Oliver in any way. Once she composed herself, she brought the phone back to her ear. "Yeah, that sounds great. I'll see you then, Ollie."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow. Sleep well, alright?"
"Thanks, I'll try. You too." Laurel hit the end call button on her phone screen quickly as tears began to fill her eyes.
"Why the tears, Miss Lance? You just saved his life and possibly your sister's too." Slade Wilson said while he aimed his gun towards Laurel against her will. "Come tomorrow if Oliver makes the right choice, you will all be set free and no one has to get hurt."
