While I Clean This Slate
Shayera watched in absolute shock as the shadows continued to try and enter her home. She was grateful for Emmett to have hired the extra-hand to protect them after the Metropolis fiasco. She was actually surprised how quick they were to mobilize but once Emmett explained how much was being paid then it was no longer a surprise. Shayera was suddenly pushed back into her room by Canary, who said, "Stay here! Do not come outside."
Dinah and Ollie quickly made their way to the battle, jumping down from the balcony and using the Manor's windowsills to break their fall. They reached the ground and they made their way towards the shadows, Ollie shooting flashbang arrows and Dinah using her canary cry to push them back.
"Who are these guys?" questioned Ollie as he continued to fire more flashbang arrows.
"If we can isolate one, we can ask questions later." said Dinah. A shadow figure had attempted to sneak by her but Dinah quickly performed a rear leg back kick. Ollie fired several flashbangs at the same time, pushing back the shadows. As the shadows tried to sneak past one of the guards, the whole area lit up with industrial light. Dinah blinked back at the sudden display of light and turned to see that it was the Mansion that had lit up with such powerful UVLs. The shadows shrieked in pain and one actually had his shadow aura leave him. Seeing his chance, Ollie fired a trap-arrow and captured the man in a net. As the shadows retreated, everybody retreated back into the mansion.
Ollie made his way to look for Borden as Dinah took the captured shadow back to the Watchtower, intending to interrogate the man. Ollie needed to know why a mansion had Industrial lights set up but first he needed to find Borden. As Ollie walked into the house, he saw several of Sarah Hawkins's band members peeking out of their doors and said, "It's alright, situation has been handled."
The members retreated back into their rooms and Ollie made his way up the stairs back to Miss Hawkins's quarters. As he approached the door, he heard muffled voices and quickly crouched to prevent making more noises. As he neared the doors, he eavesdropped on what was being said on the other side.
"They're gone, you have no reason to fear that she will be demanding your services in this way." said the voice of Borden. A quick scratching sound was heard and silence after before Borden continued to say, "No, The Green Arrow and Black Canary have informed me that Vandal Savage is behind these attempted abductions. I… No, I don't believe that she will employ someone as heinous as Savage to call in your services?"
Deciding that he needed to be there, Ollie knocked on the door and opened it to see Miss Hawkins and Borden sitting around a table. Borden looked at him in surprise but Miss Hawkins was staring at the table with anxious eyes.
"You know something Miss Hawkins?" asked Ollie, She kept staring at the table, not even meeting his eyes.
"If there is something going on here, I need to know. We can't have any surprises sprung up on us, now do you know why you are being targeted?"
Miss Hawkins finally looked at him and he was shocked to see that instead of submission and shyness, or at the very least a little scared, she had this sharp and unmoving look. Taking her writing pad, she wrote 'It's safer if you leave it alone.'
"Ma'am, I need to know why they are after you. Have you ever come into contact with Vandal Savage before?" asked Ollie. Shayera almost flinched at his accusatory tone but pointed again at her notepad. Ollie, angry, asked, "Miss Hawkins, please! You have to see that this is putting your bandmates in danger along with your manager and his family!"
Shayera clenched her fists and angrily looked at the Green Arrow. Borden, seeing that she was about to make a bold move, quickly tried to intervene, "Mr. Arrow I really-"
Shayera though had already made a move, much to his fear. Shayera removed the Egyptian charm bracelet and allowed her new form to be revealed, the one 'blessed' to her by Aphrodite three years ago. Feathers began to grow all around her body, much to Ollie's surprise. Her hands began to grow talons, her fingers fusing until four taloned hands were on each arm. Great, large wings grew from her back and they spread as her mouth filled with fangs. Her clothes stretched at her new height, tearing a little to provide room for her to move. The wings had opened two new holes on her back but it didn't tear away the blouse she was wearing. She grew another foot, her short stature now his height. She gently reached into her eyes and he watched as she removed contact lenses to reveal emerald eyes that pierced a glare at him. Her brown hair turned a magnificent shade of red: a blend of hair and feathers that ran along her back.
Shayera glared at the Green Arrow, but she was mostly angry with herself. Here she had a chance to continue living her new life and she practically threw it away because of her stupid impulsiveness. So much for turning a new leaf. Ollie just gaped at her openly, unsure what to say or think. What was she? Is she alien? She was certainly beautiful to look at though, a dangerous type of beautiful.
"What… What are you?" asked Ollie, cursing himself for his brash words. He really needs to learn when to stop blurting out what is in his head. Sarah Hawkins looked at him and softly scoffed, her attention turned to Borden who had his head held between his hands. He groaned and softly glared at Hawkins before saying, "You're never going to change are you?"
Hawkins shrugged, her feathers comically puffing up with her movement. Ollie looked at them for an answer and Borden sighed and asked, "What do you know about Sirens?"
"S-Sirens? Like the vixens that drag men to their deaths?" asked Ollie.
"The very same." said Borden.
"Are you telling me that people listen and like your music because you put them under a spell?" accused Ollie, again cursing himself for not having a filter in his mouth. The angry look crossing Hawkins' face turned her from a beautiful avian to a snarling and horrifying monster. Ollie quickly reached for his bow and arrow, regretting his instinctive response when he saw Hawkins calm down and just sadly look at him before retreating out into the hallway to go into her music room.
"I was hoping that you might have had a more open mind for a 21st Century man." Said Borden, rubbing his temple as a new headache formed.
"And what does that make you?" asked Ollie.
"An 20th Century man." said Borden.
"Wh… What?" asked Ollie.
"Mother had such a thing for the romantic authors of the time," said Borden.
"Mother?" asked Ollie.
"You may know her as the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite." explained Borden.
"Wait… You're going to have to explain to me everything from the beginning, starting with who are you?" asked Ollie.
"My name is Emmett Borden as you know. You probably know the schtick with demi-gods and their powerful parent background and mythology. What they leave out in the books is that when you gain favor from your favored parent, they tend to immortalize you or prolong your life so you can stick around on Earth longer. I was born to a romantic writer and my father often wrote poetry to mother, thinking that he was making poetry to a non-existent goddess. When mother appeared before him, father and she actually had a life together before I was born. When I was born, father had entered the Great War. I was left alone, raised by his sister but she later died from tuberculosis before the war even ended. Father was one of the many to have died days before the War ended. I was left alone with his poetry and writings. I continued his career, finding love with nature, with people, with many things. Mother appreciated that I held on through the years and had blessed me with a long and youthful life. It was only until I met my wife, Joana, that I asked my mother to allow me to live my mortal life to its fullest."
"You're not afraid of death?" asked Ollie.
"When you live my life, you realize that there is nothing to fear Mr. Arrow except for fear. I have lived through the Second World War to discover that. My mother has blessed my union with Joana and our son is currently blessed with mother's protection. When she visited me one night, she asked that I help a new siren get used to her abilities and to help her integrate it into the world. When I met Sarah, she was alone and terrified of the world. She wouldn't leave the tomb I found her in, in Egypt. She had been ambushed by a military unit that knew her of abilities."
"Division 7?" Asked Ollie, recalling what Batman had told them earlier in the evening. Borden appraised Ollie and asked, "How much of Sarah's background do you know?"
"Just that she is an orphan and that she was a part of Division 7." explained Ollie.
"Those were the lies I created to help her. Sarah had been attacked because a military order had been made when they discovered her existence. When I found her, they had trapped her in the tomb. They were working for an organization called ARGUS but I managed to intercept them before they could harm her." said Borden.
"You murdered them?" accused Ollie.
"No, it's not murder if I had to defend myself. When I rescued her, I had to deal with Amanda Waller and a series of other unsavory men. I basically threatened them the full force of mother's anger on them if they didn't leave us alone." said Borden as he gestured to Ollie to follow him outside.
"What does Aphrodite have on them?"
"There's a reason why even the gods and goddesses of Olympus will never try to trifle with Aphrodite. She can make kings and queens give up their kingdoms for a non existing love." said Borden as they walked up the stairs.
"So they left her alone so she can be a superstar?" asked Ollie.
"She needed to give blessings to Aphrodite and Hathor, and what better way to do it than by singing about love?" said Borden.
"Hathor?" asked Ollie.
"The Egyptian goddess of sky, dance, love, beauty, joy, motherhood, music, fertility, etcetera." said Borden.
"Why and how is she involved?" asked Ollie.
"I need your word first that all that I have said before and after must be kept between us until the time is right." Said Borden, extending his hand out for Ollie to shake. Ollie hesitated. He is a man of honor after all and he kept his promises. Deciding that it will be easier to know things now than later, he shook Borden's hand.
"Hathor and Hera are very good friends," said Borden before he was cut off by Ollie as he asked, "Hera? How big is this conspiracy?"
"Very big, Mr. Arrow. Sarah was originally punished by Amazonian law but Hera spared her the eternal damnation and now Sarah must live her new life as a siren."
"What does Hera want?"
"That is where I draw the line Mr. Arrow. Even I wouldn't push my limits when it comes to Hera." said Borden as he opened the door to the music room. Ollie saw Sarah Hawkins playing a melancholy tune on her piano. She had her charm bracelet back on and no longer had her Siren appearance. She glanced back at her and just stared at Ollie before looking back at her piano. Ollie rubbed his neck in guilt and went to sit down beside her.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, "I shouldn't have been brash and I'm sorry for that." Sarah looked at Ollie, he noticed that she didn't bother to put in her contact lenses so her emerald eyes pierced his. She gave a kind smile and nodded her head.
"May I ask though what brought this on? Why all this secret? I'm sure we can help you in whatever it is that is coming for you." said Ollie, but she shook her head immediately.
"Then can I ask what you've done that brought on the powers of Amazonia, Hera, Aphrodite, and Hathor to you? Why were you punished?" asked Ollie. Sarah only gave him a tired look and reached for a notebook on top of the piano. She wrote, "A betrayal that I could never forgive myself for".
"Do you feel sorry for it?" asked Ollie.
"Everyday of my life. I deserve this punishment."
"What is your punishment? Aside from the Siren look."
"To live a mute life, to never be the fighter I once was, and to live my life serving goddesses for their amusement. I could have had worse so I can't complain."
"You can still sing though." pointed out Ollie.
"A blessing from Hathor. It inhibits all of the Siren magic in me, so whenever I sing with the bracelet then I am just as normal as you. She couldn't get rid of the mute curse, but I can still have a voice while I sing. So long as I continue to serve Aphrodite, Hathor, and Hera through my music, I can still have a voice."
"Still though, to be a slave your whole life…" Ollie looked away to think things through carefully. He looked at Sarah and asked, "Do you ever feel that you've done enough to forget what you've done?"
Sarah studied him carefully before turning to her piano again and began to play. A melancholy tune was heard throughout the area and she began to sing,
In this farewell
There's no blood
There's no alibi
'Cause I've drawn regret
From the truth
Of a thousand lies
So let mercy come
And wash away
What I've done
I'll face myself
To cross out what I've become
Erase myself
And let go of what I've done
Put to rest
What you thought of me
While I clean this slate
With the hands of uncertainty
So let mercy come
And wash away
What I've done
I'll face myself
To cross out what I've become
Erase myself
And let go of what I've done
For what I've done
I start again
And whatever pain may come
Today this ends
I'm forgiving what I've done!
I'll face myself
To cross out what I've become
Erase myself
And let go of what I've done
What I've done
Forgiving what I've done
As she finished she looked at Ollie and gave a sad smile. Ollie smiled back, feeling sad for the woman in front of that was cursed to serve goddesses and wondering who she was before the curse.
Hey readers, I hope you liked the story :) It took me a while to figure out what to write and for that I apologize :) Leave reviews so I know what you guys think :) Have a good night :)
Song: Linkin Park: What I've Done
