Title: Operation: Arrow
Author: Miranda Aurelia
Pairing: Chloe/Oliver
Summary: Great. My best friend has a floating disorder AND my mom is having an affair with Green Arrow! - Cassie Queen is not having a good day.
Chapter 4
"What do you think you're doing here?" Green Arrow was definitely not expecting the girl tapping her feet impatiently next to his bike.
It took Cassie three tries that month before she finally located the elusive archer. Nathan had tagged along and they had used his new-found speed to their advantage, mapping out possible areas in the vicinity that Green Arrow would stash his bike.
"I need to talk to you."
"Not here."
Judging from the lights that were starting to flicker on in the building Green Arrow had just exited from, that wasn't a surprise. She nodded.
"Hold on tight," was all he said after she scrambled onto the back of his bike behind him. Her eyes met Nathan's for a brief second before the bike took off down the alley.
Cassie squeezed her eyes shut as she held on for dear life as they weaved in and out of traffic. Once the bike finally stopped about two blocks from Queen Tower, she quickly climbed off and leaned against the wall of the building next to them.
"There are these wonderful inventions called helmets. And speed limits. You should look into them!" was the first thing that came out of her mouth.
"Never mind that," Green Arrow seemed unusually agitated, "How long have you been sneaking out at night? I bet your parents certainly aren't aware of this."
"For your information, this was only the third time this month!" Inwardly, Cassie thought that in normal circumstances, she should have been more intimidated by his presence, but indignation was the overruling emotion at the moment.
"The third time?!" Green Arrow thundered, "Young lady, you are in so much trouble! So what is it? I hope you have a good reason for hunting me down and putting yourself in danger!"
"Stay away from my mom," Deciding she sounded a bit too blunt, she added, "Please?"
"What are you talking about?" Green Arrow sounded a bit confused by this abrupt change in topic.
"I saw you and my mom the other night," her words came out in a hurry, "And I won't have my parents adding to America's great divorce stats. So whatever it is between you and my mom, it stops now."
"And if it doesn't?"
Cassie glared at him. The lighting wasn't that great, but she could have sworn that she saw the corner of Green Arrow's mouth twitch a bit.
"I'll, I'll-" she stamped her foot, "I'll use all the resources Queen Industries has to make your life a living hell! So there!" Was the stupid green man laughing at her?
"So you're not going to turn me in?"
"As if anyone will believe me," she muttered, "Although you really do need to change your M.O. Think about it! If I can find you, what's to say that thousands of other reporters, bad guys or whatever can't find you?"
"Any more tips about my job you'd like to give me?"
Cassandra glanced irritably at him. That was definitely a smirk on his face now. For some reason, his stance was strangely familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
She huffed. "I violently dislike you."
That was when Green Arrow's voice took on a more serious tone, "You're way past your curfew, young lady."
"It's all your fault! You don't work during the daytime…and, and, I have school!"
The green-leather vigilante looked at her. While his eyes were blocked by the shades, Cassie couldn't help but feel like he was scrutinizing her.
"I didn't want you to find out this way," he finally said.
"Well, you and my mom shouldn't have been doing it anyways."
"I'm not talking about that." Cassandra watched as he turned off the voice distorter and removed his sunglasses.
Her jaw dropped to the ground. "Dad?!" she squeaked, "You're Green Arrow?" And then, "Connor knows everything, doesn't he? The jerk."
When her father gave her a stern glare, she looked down. "Well, it's true," she mumbled.
A sudden thought occurred to her. "Wait, that means I really did see you and mom…." A grossed out expression appeared on her face, "Now I'm really mentally scarred."
"You're also grounded."
"But, but, Dad!"
He just glared at her.
"How long am I grounded for?" she asked meekly.
"We'll talk about that later."
A few seconds later,
"Dad?"
"Yes?"
"You really should wear a helmet. I think it's like, illegal to drive without one"
"Cassie, you do realize this part-time job of mine isn't exactly all that legal either?"
"....Good point."
"Besides, it messes up the gel."
"You can't tell anyone. This is like one of the biggest secrets ever and if you do tell, I will personally skewer you!"
"Okay…." Nathan and Tina watched Cassie expectantly. Nathan had lost track of them halfway through, so he'd sped back home to the Kent apartment instead. He was beyond relieved when Cassie finally called him early in the morning.
Cassie took a deep breathe. "My dad's Green Arrow."
".....Well, that explains a lot."
"It's true though! I can't believe I didn't see it all along. It's so obvious now that I think about it." Suddenly Cassie scowled, "And Connor knew all about it too and he never told me! Can you believe the nerve of him?"
"How did he find out?"
"Oh. Apparently Dad and Mom were going to tell me after I got into high school, but still!"
"On that note, I also have a piece of news to share," Nathan smiled wryly, "Guess who's related to Superman?"
"Really?"
"How did you find out?" Tina asked.
"I asked my mom."
The other two just stared at him.
"That's it?" Cassie sounded incredulous, "You didn't have to leap off a tall building or something?"
Nathan rolled his eyes, "Just because I'm curious doesn't mean I like wasting my nights scouring the city for random vigilantes. Unlike someone I know," he muttered the last part under his breathe.
"I heard that," grumbled Cassie, "But seriously, it couldn't have been that easy. Even if you are as subtle as a brick at times."
"Well, I guess I should mention Mom kind of caught me trying to hack into her computer..." Nathan glared, "And I'll pretend I didn't hear that last part."
Tina cut in, "Wait, are you saying Uncle Clark is Superman?!"
"Shh!!" Nathan looked around to see if anyone had heard, "Not so loud!"
"That's just crazy!" breathed Tina.
However, a grin appeared on Nathan's face, "But that's not the best part!"
"So what is it?" Cassie asked impatiently when Nathan declined to elaborate.
"I'll probably be able to shoot lasers out of my eyes later on! Isn't that cool or what?"
Cassie rolled her eyes. "You're such a guy."
"So I guess I'm the only one not related to a superhero then?" Tina mused, "I have to say I'm kind of disappointed by that."
"Maybe you are. You never know." Suddenly a thought occurred to Cassie. "You think my dad is hot! That's just wrong!"
"What?"
"You think Green Arrow is hot, ergo, you think my dad is hot!"
"Well you think Nathan's dad is hot, so there."
Nathan looked a somewhat disturbed by this.
The two girls stared at each other.
"No more superhero posters."
"I know. We should stick to something safer, like, I don't know, boy bands. Like...I don't know, the Jonas Brothers or something."
"Wait, what if it turns out that we're related to them too?"
"...There has got to be someone famous that we're not related to!!"
To: connor queen AT fas. harvard .edu
From: cassandra queen AT queenindustries .com
Subject: Hilarious
I can see why you didn't want me finding out about dad's other job…
Mini Arrow!
ROFL.
To: cassandra queen AT queenindustries .com
From: connor queen AT fas. harvard .edu
Subject: Re: Hilarious
That's just a nickname and Uncle Bart was drunk when he came up with it!
Besides, I know that my extremely annoying baby sister would never make fun of her beloved brother's (temporary) superhero name.
Your email has probably been hacked.
To: connor queen AT fas. harvard .edu
From: cassandra queen AT queenindustries .com
Subject: Re: Re: Hilarious
Nice try. Love you too, bro.
P.S. Who are you calling a baby?! You're only six years older! Jerk.
To: cassandra queen AT queenindustries .com
From: connor queen AT fas. harvard .edu
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Hilarious
You do realize my name is Connor, not Jerk, right?
To: connor queen AT fas. harvard .edu
From: cassandra queen AT queenindustries .com
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hilarious
Your full name is Connor J. Queen. Obviously the J stands for 'Jerk'. =)
To: cassandra queen AT queenindustries .com
From: connor queen AT fas. harvard .edu
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Hilarious
I'm so telling mom you said that. Brat.
To: connor queen AT fas. harvard .edu
From: cassandra queen AT queenindustries .com
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hilarious
What are you? Nine?
To: connor queen AT fas. harvard. edu, cassandra queen AT queenindustries. com
From: green arrow jla. org
Cc: watchtower jla. org
Subject: None
Any more name calling and you're BOTH grounded.
To: green arrow jla. org
From: connor queen AT fas. harvard .edu
Cc: cassandra queen AT queenindustries .com, watchtower jla. org
Subject: None
Dad,
1. I'm not home.
2. I got into Harvard, for heaven's sake! Surely that includes the privilege of not being grounded.
3. I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE READING OUR EMAILS!!
4. I have a dream. A dream of a world where parents don't read their children's emails!!
Connor
To: green arrow jla. org
From: cassandra queen AT queenindustries .com
Cc: watchtower jla. org, connor queen AT fas. harvard .edu
Subject: None
You know what Connor said in his last email? I totally agree.
Mom!! Help us out here!
To:cassandra queen AT queenindustries .com, connor queen AT fas. harvard .edu
From: watchtower jla. org
Cc: green arrow jla. org
Subject: None
Cassie, you're still grounded. And don't call your brother names. Connor, I hope all those online-gaming hours you've racked up means you've finished studying for your midterm next week.
Ollie, you really need to stop distracting me when I'm trying to type emails to the kids.
To: green arrow jla. org, connor queen AT fas. harvard .edu, watchtower jla. org,
From: cassandra queen AT queenindustries .com
Subject: None
MOM!!! Can you and Dad please stop with the-
Ah, nvm. I give up.
Continue making out. I'm just going to pretend I don't see anything.
The End.
A/N: Thanks to everyone that took the time to read this fic and/or leave a review!