Oliver could wake up next to Laurel like this every day for the rest of his life and it wouldn't be enough.
The two were facing each other, allowing him to stare at her as she slept peacefully, complete with a small smile on her face. Just the thought of her laying there combined with the thought that their daughter, their beautiful, perfect daughter, was just one room over made him happier than he'd been at any point after his first return.
He knew that today wouldn't be a relaxing day, though. Laurel had yet to catch him up on any changes from his world to the new one, but he knew it would have to be drastic if Tommy had gone to work with his father. After his previous experience with the Undertaking, Oliver would've been surprised if Tommy was willing to poke his father with a 10,000 foot pole.
Oliver was startled from his thoughts by a knock on the door just before the door opened. In an instant, he had to put his guard down as Olivia ran into the room and screamed before jumping on the bed right between them, making the bed buckle and waking Laurel up.
Laurel quickly grabbed her and started tickling her, making Olivia thrash in her arms as she started laughing. Oliver was quick to jump into the mix as well, tickling her in the spots that Laurel couldn't quite reach while holding her. It was so instinctual that he didn't even realize he was doing it at first.
He almost pulled away at that thought, but seeing the look on both of their faces, the pure joy, made him pull them into a hug instead. It was awkward, but it was perfect anyway. He was perfectly fine with making his problems wait for a little while.
Now was the moment of truth. The singular meeting that would tell Tommy whether or not he was successful in his mission.
He had gone out as Prometheus for the first time last night, and it had been invigorating. The pure adrenaline from being in a pure fight to the death and not a spar with his father was more intoxicating than literal alcohol. It also helped that his target was someone that he'd wanted to meet for a long time.
Daniel Brickwell, commonly known as Brick.
Laurel had caved after Brick started rising to power in the Glades. Apparently, in the original world, Brick had basically took over the Glades, and that was when they learned that Brick killed his mother. Laurel had tried to go after him on her own, but he managed to get away after leaving her bleeding in the street. They considered calling Flash and his team this time around, but they had been busy trying to keep Barry's girlfriend from being killed by some speedster named Savitar.
Thus, Tommy had decided to try his luck and had gone after him alone. Not only did he do a great thing by preventing that uprising, but he had finally gotten justice for his mother and left a note for Quentin explaining Prometheus's goal along with the gun he needed to link the murder to Brick.
He had never felt better. The only issue now was hoping that Malcolm didn't realize who had done the deed.
Tommy walked out of the elevator on the top floor, coffee in hand, ready for the usual Monday morning meeting.
The suit felt perfect on him, like a second skin he never knew he needed. As he sprinted from rooftop to rooftop towards the warehouse where Brick currently stayed, he felt his adrenaline slowly rise. He forced it down; if his adrenaline spiked too soon, his powers would activate and he'd be stuck in hyperawareness until he could calm himself down.
He gave a nod to Erika the secretary as he entered his father's office. Malcolm was standing behind the desk, looking at the newspaper. By the look on his face, he was reading an article about Brick's apprehension by a mysterious new vigilante calling himself Prometheus. Malcolm gave him a look and a genuine smile as he walked in.
The warehouse was discreet. Brick certainly knew how to keep himself hidden from the authorities that he didn't bribe. There were no windows and only one door, so if he had a security system it was easy to track who came in and out. He certainly wouldn't expect someone to have explosives to enter through the roof, at least.
Tommy sat his coffee down on the desk and gave his father a questioning glance. Malcolm quickly started talking: "Tommy, long ago I thought I had killed the man who murdered your mother. Well, it appears I was proven wrong."
Compared to the spars with his father, the thugs in the warehouse were nothing at all. He landed on one when he entered through the roof, immediately threw a throwing star at the two thugs in front of him and got them both at once, pulling out his sword and swinging behind him to get the thug that tried to sneak up on him.
He pretended to look shocked at the news. Tommy already knew that Malcolm had killed someone before joining the League, he had just never heard specifics. "What does that mean? Did the bastard get caught?"
Malcolm's smile sent a chill up his spine, even almost triggering his powers on complete reflex.
Brick was arrogant and foolish. His tough bones were an obstacle, but one that didn't deter him for long. The fact that he could break the skin was all he needed.
After all, just because Brick's bones couldn't break didn't mean his muscles were safe.
Two throwing stars and sword swings later, Brick had slices on his wrists and ankles. He laughed like he was still in control, but that didn't last long when he realized that he couldn't stand up. All of a sudden, Brick was looking nervous.
Malcolm came around the desk and patted Tommy on the shoulder in a way that Tommy knew he would've given anything to feel before the Undertaking. "Yes, Tommy. Justice has finally come for that monster. He's never going to see the light of day ever again."
After all these years, his mother's killer went down that easily? Tommy was almost disappointed. "You may be tough, but you're still human. I hope you like prison, cause that's all you have for the next 25 to life."
With three strikes to the head, Brick was unconscious on the warehouse floor.
Tommy kept up the act and hugged his father. Malcolm eagerly reciprocated and hugged his son, both having rare moments of emotion in front of the other. For a second, Tommy almost forgot the monster his father was.
He quickly wrote the note to Detective Lance, making sure to say that he was on their side. Lance might not believe him, but it was better than nothing.
He looked back at Brick, lying on the floor unconscious. For a brief moment, he felt like going further. Killing Brick before he could get arrested, finally getting justice for his mother.
He shook his head, terrified that he even thought of that. It was that vengeance that led to the Undertaking in the first place, and he would never be like his father. Before he could change his mind again, he caused a small explosion to get the police's attention and fled the warehouse.
Malcolm let go of him and walked back behind the desk, ready to go back to work like the emotionless workaholic he was. Tommy cleared his throat. "So, uh, who caught him? Black Canary? Wildcat? The Flash?"
Malcolm didn't even flinch at the mention of the heroes. Both had openly admitted that the vigilantes were accomplishing more than the police ever did. "No. Apparently, there's a new vigilante in town. Someone calling themselves 'Prometheus'."
He kept up the act as best as he could. "A new player? Where'd he come from?"
Malcolm reached into his desk and pulled out a small file. It was a file of all the information he could gather on the heroes that had popped up in the past three years. The only identity he'd completely uncovered was Barry's, but their separate cities stopped Malcolm from going after him. Luckily, Lance and and Joe West were perfectly willing to falsify witness statements to throw Malcolm off as much as possible, otherwise Laurel wouldn't have lasted long at all.
He opened the file and grabbed a blank piece of paper, with nothing but the word Prometheus written across the top. "No idea. He clearly has League training, hence his sword skills, but throwing stars are not a normal League weapon. Whoever this person is, they must have been a member of the League but managed to get away from Ra's to continue their training. I didn't even think that was possible. This person must be a deadly threat. Brick never stood a chance."
He looked at his son. "You might not stand a chance against him either. I need you to promise me that if you somehow encounter this person, this vigilante, you will get away from him by any means necessary." Tommy's heart leapt to his throat; Malcolm didn't suspect him. "You're training is strong, but minimal. I can't lose you, Tommy. Not after everything else I've lost."
Tommy bit back his immediate retort of Pretty easy, considering you've killed me before, and instead gave a shaky nod like the concerned child in front of his menacing father. Malcolm bought it and gave him a strong hug, one that Tommy only returned to keep his cover. The thought that the man he was hugging, his father, was someone he detested being so close to almost made him cry real tears.
Laurel was driving Olivia to school and Tommy had a meeting with Malcolm, giving Oliver the time he needed to decide how he was going to explain everything that had happened after their deaths. He assumed that Laurel filled him in up to her death, but explaining Genesis, Prometheus, Cayden James, and Ricardo Diaz would be tough.
To put it shortly, he was not looking forward to any of it. Tommy-X in particular would be difficult to get through.
He was also not looking forward to hearing all of the changes this world had. He couldn't help but notice that Sara and Dinah weren't around the previous night, making him wonder where they were, and he had no idea if his father still being alive had changed anything at home.
Tommy's car pulled up to the apartment building, so he didn't have much time to prepare himself before getting to hear all of the differences created by hopping universes. He managed to calm himself down, but thinking about the fact that he was literally universes away from where he was born still made his head swim.
In far too little time, there was a knock at the door. Out of paranoia, he still checked the peephole to make sure Laurel wasn't being attacked again and saw that it was Tommy, so he opened the door and looked his best friend in the eye for the first time in five years.
Yesterday had been in passing. Not only had he not been there long, but he had thought that Tommy was a stranger he'd have to get to know again. Sure, the universes weren't supposed to be that different, but it was still a completely different universe. If there was one thing that Barry had taught him, a lot could change with only minor interference. Such was the strength of the butterfly effect.
But what little he'd seen of him had left little doubt. Even before he knew this was his Tommy, this was still the Tommy Merlyn he knew and loved. Not the fabrication wearing his face like Tommy-X.
Oliver ushered him inside so he could shut the door behind them before grabbing him in a bear hug that Tommy eagerly reciprocated. Oliver had a brief flashback to reuniting with Tommy the first time due to the fierceness, but he shook that thought off. No point in dwelling in memories he didn't already have to relive.
Although the two of them took a few seconds to stay where they were, eventually they both pulled away. Neither of them had any idea what to say to the other, both of them having a thousand thoughts flowing through their minds, but eventually Oliver broke the silence.
"I'm sorry. It should've-"
Tommy cut him off immediately. "Don't you dare. Were you the one who decided to destroy part of the city? No. You weren't. And it's not like you could do anything about a building falling on top of me. I made my choice and I don't regret it."
Oliver managed to keep his face calm, but on the inside a huge weight he didn't even realize was there had lifted off of his shoulders. He obviously knew that Tommy's death was something that he carried with him, but he didn't think it had effected him as deeply as it did.
Regardless, he kept his stony face and forced down his emotions. It wouldn't be good to get too wrapped up in his thoughts when he still had to hear what had changed between his world and the new one.
Tommy could see the worry in Oliver's eyes and figured what it was. "You still need to hear what's different, don't you." It wasn't phrased as a question, but Oliver nodded anyways. Tommy only sighed, which was not a good sign. Regardless, both Tommy and Oliver needed to get it over with, so they both sat down in Laurel's living room, sitting across from each other like old times, ready to discuss timeline differences between parallel universes.
Oliver was already getting a headache