This is where the craziness on Lian Yu starts. Although, this chapter is going to be full of character moments. Instead of jumping straight to the action, I would like to explore the dynamic between Oliver and his new team. The real craziness starts in later chapters. Remember, this is my own spin. It won't be exactly the same as 5x23.
Leave a review after reading, please.
Special thanks to kenriot1214, Legion, and mjf2468 for reviewing the previous chapter.
To Jason Hunter: I'm still planning on the Supergirl spin-off. Please, don't leave a review unless it involves the story.
If you want to put a face on Jade Nguyen/Cheshire, try picturing The 100's Marie Avgeropoulos.
Oliver and Laurel were both still shocked at the sight of the Slade Wilson, the man who killed Oliver's mother and tried to destroy his city with an army of Mirakuru-enhanced soldiers. They were also puzzled as to why Slade was traveling with Helena.
"Helena, what is he doing here?" asked Laurel, emphasizing "he" as she looked at Slade with hatred.
"Like I said, he's a friend," said Helena.
"When did you meet?" asked Oliver.
"Three weeks ago," answered Helena. "I was in Coast City. It was during a sleepless night. I heard someone breaking into the hotel I was staying in. I followed the noise and I found an apartment door with the doorknob ripped out. I went inside, and then Slade snuck up behind me with a knife at my throat."
"Reminds me of how he and I met," said Oliver.
"Never forget, kid," replied Slade.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't put an arrow in your other eye," said Laurel, tightening the grip on her bow.
"Let them finish," said Oliver, trying to calm Laurel down.
Helena continued. "He knew who I was. Apparently, he really did a lot of research on you, Oliver. After a bit of talking, we came to an understanding. I've been helping him find a cure for the Mirakuru. We did."
"What?" asked Oliver, confused.
"You were right, kid," said Slade. "That stuff was poison. I saw her... I saw Shado. I remembered what you told me. She was too kind to ever want me to do... everything I've done these past few years. I've been trying to cure myself of the Mirakuru ever since, and thanks to Ms. Bertinelli here..." Slade smiles at Helena, who smiled back. "... I'm free."
"You rejected the Mirakuru?" asked Oliver, surprised.
"Yes," answered Slade.
"And I assume you're here to help Helena help me," assumed Oliver.
Slade looks down with regret on his face before looking at his old friend. "I understand you have your reasons not to trust me."
"Damn right," growled Laurel.
"I'll welcome any help. I need as much of it now given what I'm facing," said Oliver.
"I think I'm stating the obvious when I say I killed your mother," added Slade. "And for that alone, you should've killed me."
"Maybe now is the reason I didn't," said Oliver.
"You and me, kid, like old times," said Slade.
Slade extends his hands forward. Oliver hesitated at first, but then shook his hand.
"Well, if we're finished here, we might as well be gone," said Malcolm, impatient.
"Don't make me cut off your other hand," threatened Laurel.
"You're definitely more cold-blooded than I remember," said Malcolm.
"I admire it, actually," said Nyssa.
On the plane...
Oliver was on the pilot's seat. Laurel was his co-pilot. The rest were on the passenger seats.
"I can understand bringing Malcolm along, but why 'him', Oliver?" asked Laurel, referring to Slade. "He killed your mother."
"I'm not that person anymore, Ms. Lance," said Slade. "I am trying to atone for my sins."
"I trust him," said Oliver. "You forget, Laurel. He and I weren't always enemies."
"You two were like brothers. I remember the stories," said Laurel.
"By the way, I forgot to ask. Who's the new girl?" asked Rory, looking at Jade.
"Jade Nguyen," said the new girl. "You can call me Cheshire. You people seem to have an affinity for nicknames."
"Rory Regan. Used to be called Ragman," said Rory. "Now, it's just Rory."
"Where exactly are we going?" asked Malcolm.
"We're almost there. If you want, you can take a look," said Oliver.
Malcolm and Nyssa get off their seats and head to the cockpit. They can see an island. They knew what island it was.
"Why did your adversary choose to bring them here?" asked Nyssa.
"For that matter, how did he even know about this place?" asked Malcolm.
"Talia," answered Oliver. "She researched me. Probably told Chase everything."
"Great," said Laurel sarcastically.
"Ironic," added Nyssa. "When I was a little girl, my father told me to visit this place. It's where I met Sara."
"Thank you," smiled Laurel.
On Lian Yu...
Thea, Felicity, Curtis, and Samantha are locked up in cages in the middle of the forest.
"Honestly, if I was ever thinking about going back here, this is not what I wanted to be doing," babbled Felicity. "A vacation maybe, but not in a cage..."
"Oh, would you shut up," said an irritated Thea.
"Harsh," said Curtis.
"Well, maybe I should be," said Thea.
"I get you're angry at Chase, but taking it out on Felicity is not gonna get us out of here," said Curtis.
"This isn't about Chase," said Thea.
"Seriously, what is wrong with you? You've been mad at me since Helix," asked Felicity.
"You betrayed us," said Thea furiously.
"Is this really the time to be talking about that?" said Curtis.
"Well, my brother is not here yet, so yes, Curtis, this is the time," said Thea.
"Okay, I get that I betrayed you guys, but I came back," said Felicity.
"You got some nerve showing up back at the Arrow Cave after what you did," said Thea. "Helix abandoned you, yes, but coming back to us, it's like you think we would a-okay with your double-cross."
"Oliver's okay with it," said Felicity.
"And that's exactly the problem," said Thea, agitated. "He's always soft on you, all because you two were in love once. He didn't care about what I said about you, or what Roy said, or what Diggle said, or what Rene said. He just welcomed you back to Team Arrow with open arms."
"You think I deserve to be kicked out?" asked Felicity.
"You're lucky I'm not locked up with you," said Thea angrily.
"How does Oliver keep his team under control?" wondered Samantha.
"Believe me. I still wonder that," said Curtis.
Meanwhile, Earth-2 Laurel Lance, a.k.a. Black Siren, was escorting Diggle and Quentin, both still in chains, to a monastery.
"Nice place. This island got a Big Belly Burger, too?" asked Quentin sarcastically.
"Before the Chinese turned Lian Yu into a prison, it was holy retreat," explained Black Siren.
"And now you're using it for payback for a guy you barely know on a guy you barely know," said Diggle.
"Chase freed me. I don't owe Oliver Queen a thing," said Black Siren.
"That's not true," said Diggle. "Oliver told Laurel not to kill you. You owe him for that."
"No, I don't," said Black Siren.
Black Siren and the prisoners walked to the lowest floor in the monastery, where Roy and Rene were chained up. They tried to pull themselves free, to no avail. The felt a sense of relief when they saw Diggle and Quentin walk in.
"John," said Roy.
"Hoss," said Rene to Quentin. "You okay?"
"Rene," greeted Quentin.
"Okay, everyone calm down," said Black Siren. "The four of you are gonna have plenty of time to catch up."
"You know you don't have to do this, Laurel," said Roy.
"I'm not your Laurel, Arsenal," said Black Siren.
"First, you worked for Caitlin Snow, and now you're allying with a deranged psychopath," said Roy.
"I won't be working with Chase for long," said Black Siren. "After our business is complete, I'm a free woman."
"Yeah and what are you gonna do?" asked Quentin sarcastically. "Pose as my daughter? Take her name? Steal her life?"
"Don't make me hurt you, dad," threatened Black Siren. "Because I really don't want to."
All Quentin can do was stare at the woman who wears his daughter's face with anger.
"See you them," said Black Siren, winking at Team Arrow in a teasing way.
On the shores of Lian Yu, Oliver and his allies have landed. Oliver left for the A.R.G.U.S. prison while the rest offload their weapons and supplies from the plane.
Nyssa approaches Malcolm and says, "You know, if we're going to fight side by side, you're gonna have to at least speak to me."
"I know. It's awful," said Malcolm sarcastically.
"Pity," replied Nyssa with equal sarcasm. "By now, I thought you'd realize that by disbanding the League of Assassins, I freed us both."
"Are you looking for applause? Clapping is a little more difficult for me these days," said Malcolm, holding up his cybernetic hand in front of Nyssa's face.
"Ha ha," said Laurel sarcastically, pretending to laugh.
"Do you have something you wanna say, Ms. Lance? I suggest you let it out," replied Malcolm.
Laurel ignores Malcolm and continues shining her sword. When Slade came out wearing his Deathstroke suit, Laurel glared at him. Slade notices and approached her.
"Look, Ms. Lance, you have every reason to hate me," said Slade.
"Kidnapping my friend, killing my friends' mother, and then cutting off my boyfriend's arm, yeah," replied Laurel sarcastically.
"But I am here trying to make things right," said Slade. "You don't have to trust me. We just have to cooperate."
"Feel kinda awkward being around you folks. Too much history for this girl to handle," said Jade.
"Well, get used to it. We're all my husband has," said Nyssa.
"You two are married?" asked Jade.
"Forced marriage," said Nyssa. "But we are still connected by league law."
"And I'm guessing the League doesn't do divorce papers," guessed Jade.
"Our marriage can only be severed by death," said Nyssa.
"This League of Assassins has some strange traditions," said Rory, coming back from the plane with a case in hand. "But I don't get it. I heard that Oliver was getting married to Felicity last year. Does nobody think it's weird that he almost had two wives?"
"As far as the world is concerned, I don't exist," said Nyssa.
"So basically, Oliver Queen is the only man in the world who can have two wives," said Jade nonchalantly. "Lucky boy."
"If he was still that playboy from before the island, he'd consider himself lucky," said Helena, wearing her Huntress gear. "Nowadays, he just listens to his heart, hoping to find the right woman."
"Well, he can stop looking. The right woman is right here," said Laurel, gesturing to herself.
Oliver soon returns, followed by Digger Harkness, a.k.a. Captain Boomerang.
"Have you offloaded the supplies?" asked Oliver.
"Most. Guns and ammo are still on the plane," answered Malcolm.
Oliver opens a case and sees his Green Arrow suit.
"By the way, what did you need an RPG for?" asked Malcolm.
"Well, like I said, Chase has Talia, an army of her students, Evelyn Sharp, and a metahuman. I have no interest in this being a fair fight," answered Oliver.
"Is that why you released that animal from his cage?" asked Nyssa, glaring at Digger.
"Oh, come on, luv. That is no way to start a new friendship," said Digger, looking at Nyssa flirtatiously.
Nyssa walks towards Digger and looks at him in the eye with fury. "Look at me like that again and I will feed you your eyes," she threatened.
Digger continued to smile and stare at Nyssa flirtatiously.
"You're not here type, anyway," said Malcolm to Digger.
"Alright, that's enough," interrupted Oliver, annoyed. "Let's offload the rest of the..."
Oliver was interrupted when he, along with everyone, heard a weapon fire. They look into the sky and see an RPG. It hits the plane, destroying it in an explosion.
"Hoo. So much for our gear," said Digger sarcastically with a smile.
"Good thing I grabbed a gun while I was in there," said Rory, holding up said gun.
"There goes our ride home, kid," said Slade dryly to Oliver.
Everyone just stared at the wreckage nonchalantly, as if this was just another day for them. All they can do know is arm themselves with everything they got.
This is where this chapter ends. Remember, the real crazy stuff happens in later chapters. I still hope this was a good enough chapter. Leave a review and let me know.