A/N: I'm very much appreciating the love that I'm getting from the onset of this story. This story is simultaneously much bigger and yet more personal than my first Green Arrow story and I'm hoping that you enjoy it.

Also, first major appearance of Ray Palmer in this story.

WARNING: The beginning of this chapter contains a personal description of a sexual assault. It won't be too graphic because it did not happen to the character involved. However, the emotional impact of it is going to be disheartening and I felt that you should be warned before you started into this.


In the weeks after the election, Oliver had hardly had a minute to breath. As a result, his thoughts on the future of The Green Arrow remained unanswered. Instead, he went on patrols as often as possible as he slowly started the transition from wealthy business magnate to mayor of Starling City.

Three days before Christmas, Oliver received a call from a number that he didn't recognize. Wary, Oliver answered the phone.

"Hello?" Oliver said nervously.

"Oliver, glad you answered. This is Ray."

"Roy?" Oliver asked, now confused because he had Roy's number memorized.

"Not quite, Oliver. Ray, Ray Palmer. You know, CEO of the company with your family's name on it."

"Oh! Ray!" Oliver said, doing his best to recover from his slip. "I'm sorry, you caught me off guard."

"Not surprised. I haven't really talked to you since the transition."

"Not to belittle you but I've had other things going on. As long as you aren't burying QC, you probably won't hear from me much at all."

"That's not a problem, Oliver. However, I did want to have a meeting with you and Felicity before you take office."

"I think we can make that happen." Oliver said before leaning his head out of his office door. "Michael, can we fit a meeting in with Ray Palmer today?"

"Let me check." Michael replied before accessing Oliver's online calendar. "Yeah, it looks like you actually have a fairly free afternoon. Any time after two works."

"Thanks." Oliver said before readdressing Ray. "Check with Felicity's schedule and if she has a free time after two, schedule it."

"Will do, Oliver. I'll see you this afternoon."


Try as he might, Oliver couldn't remember the last time he had been in this office. More than likely, it was just prior to the press conference where he had announced his resignation as CEO of Queen Consolidated. Either way, Oliver and Felicity sat quietly in the office while waiting for Ray Palmer to actually show up.

Ironically, this is what it was probably like to wait for Oliver when he was late for a meeting.

"Is Palmer typically late?" Oliver asked Felicity.

"He's not late." Felicity said, checking the time on her phone. "Meeting was at 2:30 and that's 2:45 on Ray time."

"I figured as much." Oliver replied as he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Sure enough, it was Ray Palmer himself, marching in.

"Sorry, I'm late." Ray said as he came in and took a seat behind his desk. "I think I just worked with our Medical department to vastly improve the effectiveness of our cancer treatment drugs. Working on that kind of stuff makes you lose track of time, am I right?"

"I guess." Oliver said, a slight grin on his face. "I didn't even think to ask what this meeting was about."

"I'll tell you in a second." Ray whispered before standing up and meeting his assistant at the door. "No, they do not need any coffee. However, I do need this file taken directly to the server room right away. They'll be expecting you. They're going to look over it and then send it back up with you for my approval once they've approved it. Understood?"

"Yes, Mr. Palmer." his assistant said before disappearing towards the elevator. Quickly, Ray made his way back to his seat where he began talking.

"Thanks for coming," Ray said, although his eyes had not left the door behind him. "I couldn't wait to meet with you, blah blah blah blah blah." Suddenly, Oliver could hear the sound of the elevator dinging, signifying its arrival at the top floor. For a few seconds, Palmer simply sat and watched the door.

Finally, whatever Ray had been waiting for had passed as he turned back to Oliver and Felicity with a grin on his face.

"Alright, so Green Arrow and Sentry, I'm glad you could take this meeting."

Suddenly, Oliver felt that the room was very warm. Also, Oliver's legs got very restless as he began to squirm in his seat.

"Ray, I think-"

"Oliver, I know that you're about to go into some very practiced speech about how you're not the Arrow and you were acquitted of those charges years ago and blah blah blah. Can we just cut through that? I sent my assistant on some BS mission to the server room because it's in the basement. That should give us roughly 14 minutes to have this conversation before she returns."

Well, this was certainly not a side of Ray that Oliver had seen in the interview process with Walter. Mildly intrigued, Oliver moved forward.

"Alright, say I am the Green Arrow. Why did you call us here?" Oliver asked.

"Oliver, I have so much proof that you're the Green Arrow that I could get you sent to prison until your grandchildren pass away." Ray countered quickly. "As for you, Ms. Smoak, you are obviously a little tougher to pin down. However, the radio system that you use, while very good, is not exactly impenetrable. Plus, you still sound like you on it."

"How did you hack it?" Felicity asked in concern.

"After looking into The Green Arrow, I did the math. He has obviously always been very concerned about the Queen Family. He saved Oliver Queen, he's gone after Moira Queen a few times and was there to save Thea Queen and Roy Harper on numerous occasions. He's always worked very closely with our new district attorney, Laurel Lance, and five years ago, The Arrow got a new running partner right about the same time that Sara Lance came back from the dead. Then, she disappeared for a few weeks right around the time that Sara Lance died in a motorcycle accident."

"What's your point, Ray?"

"My point is that it smelled like Queen so, as QC's CEO, I started digging. Turns out that our equipment here can be used to tap into your systems. And by can, I mean could, I've seen to it that the security needed to get through to your systems now would need someone on your level, Felicity, to get into it. It may make a bit more of a pain to access it remotely but I figured you would appreciate the fix."

Oliver's head was spinning. Ray Palmer was no average man, that much had been certain from their interview with him. He had been glad that he had recorded all of the interviews because he actually had to show that one to Felicity so that he could understand even 1% of what the man had been talking about. However, Ray's curiosity now had Oliver worried. Was he going to try and blackmail them? Or had Oliver just unknowingly hired another Isabel Rochev, someone whose only desire for running QC was to run it into the ground.

"So you know, Ray, what now?"

"Now, you help me." Ray said before hitting a button on the underside of his desk. As he did, the room went black and a projector lit up the room, coming out of the floor. What it projected was amazing: a suit of body armor that looked like it belonged in some sort of science fiction movie.

"This is a blueprint for something I've been working on. Originally, it was an android network system code-named OMAC for Observational Metahuman Activity Construct. Ms. Smoak approved the plans after the particle accelerator incident in Central City proved to have created a number of people with exceptional abilities, including your friend, Barry Allen."

Quickly, Oliver looked at Felicity before snapping back to Ray.

"We can do the math on that one later." Ray replied before resuming his gaze on the projection. "Besides, your secret is safe with me. Either way, the program would have been remarkably expensive and kind of a possible invasion of privacy. Either way, neither her or I liked the idea so within days of my taking over here, we scrapped the plans."

Suddenly, the projection changed with the image shrinking in size until Oliver could hardly see it anymore.

"However, when she and Applied Sciences had come up with the designs, they realized that the amount of processor support to operate this system would have been massive. Basically, this android system would have been a hive-mind of like model androids with the ability to sense and incapacitate rogue metahumans. Like I said, the processor support would have needed to be massive so Applied Sciences came up with a model to shrink the components of the processors themselves. Now, we are not talking about just using smaller parts."

"What are you talking about?" Oliver asked in confusion.

"Using fragments of white dwarf stars that had fallen to Earth, we were able to come with a way to literally shrink things." Felicity answered for Ray. "Basically, and we still aren't 100% sure how this is possible, a white dwarf star occupies less space than its volume should be able to. Its density is almost impossible to imagine. However, using the same characteristics of the white dwarf star particles, we were able to come up with a process that would energize matter using the energy of the white dwarf star to shrink them."

"Exactly." Ray said before standing and making his way to the projection. "That's what this exosuit does. Once I discovered this, I was re-purposed OMAC, not as an android but as an exosuit. It retains all of the previous abilities of the android, increased stamina and strength, mild flight abilities, while also have worked in the energizing process of the white dwarf star. This means that at a normal size, the wearer is every bit the man or woman that you usually are plus some but it also gives you the ability to shrink down to the size of a six inches, giving me an option for stealth where it is necessary."

"You?" Oliver questioned.

"Honestly, that is the biggest reason why I called the two of you up here." Ray said as he returned to his seat. Another press of the button and the room returned to normal. "You're taking the Mayor's office soon and we both know there are going to be times when The Green Arrow will be at a press conference or a banquet or any number of places where the Mayor of Starling City just can't disappear."

"So you're going to go out there in this suit?" Oliver asked skeptically. "Ray, I don't mean to be a downer but it's more than just throwing on a suit and calling yourself a hero. Even those this...what exactly do you call that?"

"That model is The Advanced Technological Operating Mechanism."

"The Atom." Felicity whispered, mostly to herself, before looking back at Ray. "Ray, this life we lead. It isn't a glamorous one. There are a lot of sacrifices to be made. Family, friends, a normal life: those things don't happen when you do what we do."

"I'm aware." Ray replied firmly. "And don't get me wrong, Oliver, I know that I'm no hero. Right now, I'm a man in a suit of armor. What I need from you to become more than that."

"You want training." Oliver said shortly.

"I do." Ray confirmed. "I want to know that before I would go out there wearing ATOM that, if for whatever reason the suit failed, I am still capable."

"That's the thing, Ray. It's not about the suit...or the hood. Or the bow and arrow. It's not about the bike or the bo staff or the knives." Oliver said before standing up and pacing the office for a second. Finally, he turned to Ray and finished his thought. "It's about this." Oliver said, pointing at his heart. "It's about having something to fight for. You're going to get knocked around, things are going to go wrong and plans are generally going to get fucked up. If you don't have the heart to overcome those things, you or the people you love or the city you protect, they die."

"I have that heart." Ray said firmly.

"How can I know that?" Oliver challenged. The fact that Oliver was even considering this had Oliver on edge. Rarely was it that someone caught him off guard and that alone made him respect Ray. But like Oliver said, if the man simply didn't have the heart to fight for his city, then there was nothing that could be done. "I'm just supposed to let you out there with me and my team? I can train you all I want but if that fire isn't there, there's nothing I can do."

"Oliver, I can promise you, without a shadow of a doubt, that I have that fire." Ray said, his voice dropping its normal cheery nature.

"HOW CAN I KNOW THAT?" Oliver shouted, pounding on Ray's desk, causing Felicity to flinch next to him.

"BECAUSE SHE'S DEAD!"

There it was. The fire was most certainly there. Standing before him, rage in his eyes, was a man that would fight for his city. Oliver didn't need anymore convincing. However, he would need information.

"Talk."

"A little over five years ago now, Slade Wilson attacked the city." Ray said, his voice dull as he took his seat. "His soldiers swept high and low, killing indiscriminately. Of course, I had no idea at the time how bad things were going to get that night."

As Ray spoke, Oliver was instantly transported back to the horror of that night. While Ra's may have caused more death, Slade's siege of the city was personal. Each death was directed at Oliver Jonas Queen and Oliver had a bad feeling that he was going to be included in another story of death from that night.

"My fiance, Ana and I, were walking back from dinner. We were in the financial district, normally the safest part of the city, when out of nowhere, these men in orange and black masks come racing down the street. One of the grabbed a man and just threw him, like a doll, into a second story window. We could hear his bones crunch as he smashed against the bulletproof glass. I did my best to hold them off but one of them caught me from behind and broke my leg."

Watching, Oliver could tell that Ray was no longer in the room. His eyes were dark and lifeless as he was transported back to that evening. It was a look that Oliver had frequently seen in himself and it had only been recently that he had been able to get over.

"I watched...I begged and pleaded with them but they wouldn't listen." Ray said, his eyes glistening with held back tears. "One of them grabbed her and threw her to the ground. Another grabbed me and held my head up. Her head was bleeding from where they thrown her down. I knew what was going to happen and I couldn't stop it. I fought, I called out for her but I wasn't strong enough. They made me watch as they raped her."

At this point, Ray was very much back in the room, his normal cheery voice replaced with something far more likely to come out of Oliver's mouth.

"They took turns, all three of them. One held her down, one made me watch and another had their way with her. I don't know how long it took but when they were done, they took a large knife and stabbed her in the back. They left me there to watch her die. With the madness that was going on, there was no EMS, no paramedics. Despite my leg, I crawled over to her and I stayed with her. She told me to never give up and to never let my light stop shining. I did my best to control the bleeding but there was nothing to be done. She just kept repeating those words over and over and over again. "Never give up." "Never let your light stop shining." It took her nearly twenty minutes to bleed out. She died in the street, defiled and discarded like a piece of trash."

"My god." Felicity whispered as she took Oliver's hand.

Just the telling of the story shook Oliver, he couldn't have imagined being there. Immediately, his mind tried to jump to Felicity but he pushed it away. Dark thoughts like that would serve no purpose at this point.

"I could have let myself wallow in my own pain on that day or any day after it." Ray continued, his tone changed to one of strength. "But I knew that I would have failed her if I had done that. So, a week after her death, I went back to work. I have given my wealth, my time and my life to this city. I have given my future wife to this city and I am willing to fight and die for its safety if I need to. No person should ever have to go through what I did on that day and whether I get your approval or not, I am going to save this city."

Oliver needed no convincing. Simply, he stood and extended his hand to Ray.

"5PM, the day after Christmas, Queen Mansion."

"What's happening there?" Ray asked.

"Your training to become The Atom begins."


Christmas morning in the Queen household was a different affair that in previous years. In the first year after moving back into Queen Mansion, Oliver had spent Christmas with Thea and Roy before they moved to Keystone while Felicity had been visiting her mother in Las Vegas. Last year, the pair had spent Christmas day on their own.

This year, however, Oliver had decided that he wanted to spend his Christmas with his entire extended family. So, Oliver had dismissed the home care staff for the week of Christmas so that Oliver could prepare for Christmas the right way. It was why Oliver had woken up at 5 AM on Christmas morning to start fixing breakfast for the family.

Rare were the times that Oliver got to spend on his own. He loved how much time he got to spend with Felicity but it was the silence of the morning where Oliver just could let silence rule that he really loved. In fact, Oliver had spent the previous four hours working on the breakfast, enjoying the silence, that he hadn't noticed that his entire family had shown up and was conversing in the other room.

Around 9 AM, Laurel walked into the kitchen.

"Breakfast almost ready?" Laurel asked as she walked in.

"Almost." Oliver said, almost surprised that he had barely heard her come in. Laurel had gotten very good at being stealthy after two and a half years of being The Black Canary. "Is everyone here?"

"John and Lyla just came in. They looked upset about something."

"Really?" Oliver said in confusion. "Any idea what?"

"Not at all." Laurel said as she come to stand next to Oliver. "Heard from Thea?"

"She and Roy are busy in Keystone." Oliver said sadly. He had called his sister three days earlier to see if they could fly into town for Christmas. Unfortunately, her duties as the President of QC-Keystone were going to prevent her from coming back home. It wasn't the first time he hadn't seen her on Christmas since his return to Starling City but it was the first time that he was hosting his entire family and the only blood relative that he had left that he actually cared about wasn't going to be there.

"I'm sorry, Ollie." Laurel replied. "Now, let's grab some of this stuff and bring it into the other room so you aren't hiding from everyone in here."

"I suppose we can do that." Oliver said with a grin. "Thanks for the help."

"It's Christmas, Ollie. It's what family is for." she replied before planting a small kiss on his cheek. In the past, Oliver may have been confused by this interaction. He may have looked into it further and being unaware of its meaning. However, for the first time in his life, Oliver knew exactly where he stood with all of his family.

His interaction with Laurel had always been the most confusing for a variety of reasons. First, their own history together, including Oliver bringing Sara on The Queen's Gambit, was not exactly simple. Second, Oliver's history with Laurel as the Hood or the Arrow had complicated things further. When Oliver had returned from the island, it was clear that Laurel hated him for what he had done. On the flip side, she loved the Hood for what he did for the city. Once she realized that they were one and the same, things got even more complicated.

However, Oliver had come to a realization about a year earlier. He loved Laurel and he always would. There was too much history between the two of them for that to be the case. But now, that love manifested itself as almost a sibling-like bond. Frequently, Oliver and Laurel would get lunch together and simply talk. It was a healthy thing for the two of them and it was something that they both cherished as it was their opportunity to be out of the world and just be Laurel and Oliver.

Following Laurel's lead, Oliver started bringing the food to the dining room. Although it took nearly ten minutes to bring everything out that Oliver had made, eventually it was all there and ready for consumption. Looking around the table, Oliver couldn't help but smile as he was surrounded by the only family he had ever entirely understood.

Obviously, Oliver and Felicity were there. It was their house.

Laurel had come as had John, Lyla and their son Andy. Andy, in Oliver's eyes, may have been the most active three year old in the history of the world and among the most inquisitive. However, he was also exceedingly polite and, unlike most three year olds, was fairly content to simply sit and be quiet, choosing to listen rather than speak.

In Oliver's opinion, he was the best of both of his parents.

As the Team Arrow family dug in, Oliver couldn't help but think of those that weren't there.

"Excuse me." Oliver said softly, getting everyone's attention by standing up. "Before we get started, I want to take a moment to remember those who aren't here. Thea and Roy are busy in Keystone and I couldn't be more proud of them, despite how much I miss them. It's funny because they basically moved into my mother's backyard and yet she doesn't get to see them either. I'm sad that because of the choices she made that she can't really be apart of our lives anymore."

"Not that you're really missing out on much." Felicity said softly.

"True." Oliver answered before continuing. "However, it's those that aren't living that we can't forget. Sara and Quentin, Andy, even Tommy and Slade how we want to remember them, they're all the reason we do why we do. Each day we live, we honor their memory and thank them for what they gave us."

"Absolutely." Diggle replied with a grin. "Now, I may eat the tablecloth if you don't let us eat something."

"Dig in." Oliver replied with a wink in John's direction.

For the next thirty minutes, the part of Team Arrow that was there ate and talked about their lives. Much was asked of Oliver's new role as Mayor along with Laurel's new role as DA. However, about thirty minutes into breakfast, Lyla's phone went off. She quickly stepped away to answer it.

She was gone nearly twenty minutes before returning, a strange look in her eye.

"What is it, baby?" Diggle asked softly.

"That was Trevor." Lyla replied before taking her seat, staring ahead blankly. "Waller has been terminated."

If Oliver had expected anything to come out of Lyla's mouth, that was not it.

"What? How?" Felicity asked in shock, a feeling shared by everyone at the table.

"She hadn't reported into headquarters this morning. We all knew Waller, no family, no life outside of that building. She'd never missed a day since she'd been hired on at ARGUS nearly twenty-five years ago." Lyla said, the blank look still on her face. "When she hadn't shown up, Colonel Trevor sent someone to her apartment. Apparently, she had been murdered in her sleep."

"By whom?" Laurel asked. "She doesn't seem like someone that would be easy to kill."

"She's not. The only thing I can think of is the case she had been working on recently." Lyla answered. "It all seems strange now."

"What does?"

"Rarely did Waller herself actually do the legwork to investigate a case." Lyla explained. "However, a case recently caught her eye. Some sort of rogue artificial intelligence was rampaging its way through secure databases. It was basically tearing about some of the military's best digital security networks as well. I think that Waller thought that this wasn't the case of a rogue AI any longer."

"She thought that the AI was designed specifically for that purpose." Oliver filled in. "Someone built an AI to attack government databases and networks and she wanted to know who."

"She must have gotten too close." Lyla reasoned. "Otherwise, there's no reason to come after her. Waller's death won't be reported in the news but for those of us in the intelligence community, it's a big loss and someone is going to want some answers."

"I got the feeling that Waller wasn't like at ARGUS." Felicity said shortly.

"Liked? Absolutely not. Hell, I was her most trusted agent and I couldn't stand her. However, she was very well respected. No one doubted her commitment to keep the US safe, even if they hated her or her tactics. She got the job done."

"She most certainly did." Oliver muttered, his mind flashing back to Hong Kong. "Who's next in line?"

"Colonel Steve Trevor will almost undoubtedly be placed in charge of ARGUS. He's current second-in-command and he's got the ear of the President. They were in the Air Force together. Trevor is a wild card. He's undoubtedly a better person that Waller but he has morals and in this job, that could certainly kill you."

"Better than being alive without them."

"You say that now but he's now got access to the restricted files. Files that include the secret identity of every single masked hero in the country."

"She knew who we all were." Laurel asked in fear. "I don't believe it."

"Maybe not all of you but she certainly knew everyone in Starling City."

The thought of a new ARGUS director worried Oliver. While he had certainly be on uncertain footing with Waller at times, they had understood each other and stayed out of their way. Now, Oliver was going to have to figure out a way to deal with a new director while also asking himself one question.

Who stood to gain the most out of Amanda Waller's death?


The day after Christmas was going to be a stressful one. Oliver had known that from the moment he had woken up. Not that it had stopped him from complaining about it.

"Mike, has Roman been in yet today?" Oliver said as he stepped off the elevator at his campaign headquarters. Until he was officially sworn in on January 1st, Oliver was using his campaign headquarters as his mayor-in-waiting offices. He'd already had several meetings with current Mayor Donner there to ensure a smooth transition between the two.

"Not yet, Mr. Mayor." Michael replied, smiling as always whenever he used that term. Oliver had taken a liking to Michael. He was quiet, smart and resourceful. However, on the several occasions when Oliver had asked him to express his mind, he had done just that.

"Well, when you see him, direct him in here." Oliver said before closing his office door. That morning, with the exception of his meeting with Roman, Oliver had committed himself to reading nearly 200 pages of briefings on the current financial state of the city and its current relationship with the state's financial planning committee.

If the 21 year old version of himself could see him now.

Nearly two hours passed before Oliver heard a knock on his door.

"It's open." Oliver said without looking up from the report on the city's produce import/export report for the previous year.

"Queen, Mike said that you wanted to see me."

Queen. Gritting his teeth, Oliver looked over his report to see Roman Sionis, as expected, standing in his doorway. Breathing deeply, Oliver set his report down and motioned for Roman to sit down.

"Roman, I have a question to ask you." Oliver said, starting the meeting.

"Alright." Roman said cautiously.

"I'm not a huge stickler for protocol. In fact, it is likely that the lawyers of City Hall are going to turn to drugs and alcohol during my first month there as I do my very best to ignore every normal protocol that's done in that building."

"I can imagine."

"However, something that's always stuck out for me is how you address me. Queen. Never Oliver, Ollie, Mr. Queen, Mr. Mayor or anything like that. Just Queen. You've worked my campaign for nearly six months and have worked for the infant stages of my administration for another six weeks. In that time, you have only addressed me by Queen."

"Is there a question somewhere in this?" Roman said, biting back adding Queen to the end of that question.

"Why?"

"Why does it matter?" Roman replied. "You said it yourself, protocol isn't your thing and it's certainly not mine. You wouldn't be the first candidate I've addressed by their last name only."

"Yet there have been some you have called on a first name basis."

"Certainly." Roman answered quickly as if it was the most obviously thing in the world.

"OK." Oliver said before reaching into his desk. "You've taught me a lot, Roman, but if it's one thing you've taught me, it's to know the people you're dealing with."

Quickly, Oliver threw the file across the desk at Roman, letting it float gently onto the desk in front of him.

"Did you do this?"

The look on Roman's face gave away nothing. Slowly, he looked up and matched Oliver's gaze, silent.

"Did you or did you not look into the possibility that Adam Donner had an extramarital relationship with a man?"

"Well, Mr. Quee-"

"The only words I need to hear are yes or no." Oliver said, cutting him off. "I remember you bringing this up in June. I told you to bury it. I told you that's now how I play. I expressly forbid you from looking into this any further. Am I correct?"

"Yes." Roman said simply.

"What about this?" Oliver said, pulling out another file and stacking it on top of the original. "You looked into Maxwell Lord's finances. Again, you mentioned something about a potentially illegal revenue stream for Lord in March. I told you to leave it alone."

"You did." Roman admitted.

"Then how is it that I have a file stating that you looked into just that?" Oliver said before retrieving yet another file. "Or one on Laurel Lance."

The look on Roman Sionis' face suddenly stiffened. If he had known that the other two were going to get him in trouble, this one could get him killed.

"You told me that my relationship, both past and present, with Laurel could hurt my campaign. I told you about everything. I had her come in and tell you everything, filling in even more gaps. When that was done, I told you that you were done with that particular investigation. So how is it even vaguely possible that I have this file?"

"Because I ordered it." Roman replied defiantly. "There's information in there that would make your hair curl, Queen. She's been working with The Green Arrow for years now. She's been suspended twice for giving information to him. How do you know that she's not giving any information to anyone else?"

"ENOUGH!" Oliver barked, slamming his hand down on his desk. The resulting force was so large that the mug that Roman had brought it with him leapt from the table and crashed to the floor, breaking into dozens of pieces. Despite the crash, Roman never even considered breaking eye contact with Oliver, staring him down.

Calming himself back down, Oliver leaned back in his chair.

"I never really liked you, Roman. You're dirty and cheap. I know that may win you points with other candidates but it obviously wouldn't win you points with mine."

"It earned you City Hall, you moron." Roman snapped back. "My tactics may not be pretty and they may not be fair but I fucking win!"

"No," Oliver replied calmly. "I won. I am Mayor of Starling City and you are unemployed."

For a second, Roman looked as if he had been shot. However, he quickly snapped out of his stupor and replied.

"Excuse me?"

"You will go back to your desk and remove any personal belongings you have." Oliver said slowly. "I had every single file you have on your desk categorized yesterday and inventoried. If a single thing is missing, I'll have my new friend in the District Attorney's office prosecute you."

"You think that you can survive without me?" Roman scoffed. "I got you this far and you're just going to dump me."

"Myra will be my chief of staff and Pete will be my primary adviser and communications director." Oliver said evenly. "I asked you earlier why you called me Queen but I knew the answer. It's a matter of respect. You don't respect me. You think that I bought this position. Without my money, I wouldn't have even been a plausible candidate."

"It's the truth."

"It doesn't matter." Oliver shot back. "What matters is that I am now the Mayor. I became a plausible candidate and I did it with your repeated attempts to go behind my back and do exactly what I asked you not to do."

"I was doing my job."

"Your job was follow my orders followed in a distant second by getting me elected." Oliver answered. "Now, a story is going to leak to the Starling Gazette about this. It will not name who you went after or what exactly you did. However, it will note that you have been fired for insubordination."

"That's bullshit, Queen, and you know it." Roman replied, rolling his eyes. "I'll refute that and I'll have my own evidence to proof it. I'm getting fired because you didn't like my tactics."

Finally, Oliver pulled out one more file. This one had ROMAN SIONIS in giant red letters on the front of it.

"This one I'm holding on to." Oliver smirked. "You're getting fired for insubordination or this file gets sent to the Gazette and to Laurel Lance. Do you really want them looking any further into the death of your parents? Or what about that waterproof makeup that Janus Cosmetics produced before it was bought out from underneath you?"

Standing, Roman made his way around Oliver's desk until he stood next to him. Reaching down, Roman attempted to grab Oliver's collar. However, Oliver was quicker, standing in an instant and grabbing Roman by the neck and slamming him against the wall of his office, shaking the walls of his office.

"You will get out or I will have you sent to jail for life." Oliver said softly, the threats coming out in a terrifying whisper. "Am I clear?"

"Very." Roman growled.

Slowly, Oliver released Roman who quickly straightened his jacket and made his way to the door. Opening the door, Roman turned back to look at him one final time.

"You don't belong in this world, Queen. It's too tough for you and one day, someone is going to come after you and they're going to tear your heart out. But you know what's going to the most disappointing part about that?"

"What?"

"That I won't be the one ripping your heart out myself."

With that, Roman slammed the door and disappeared from Queen Tower forever.


After granting Ray what amounted to emergency-only access to the ArrowCave, Oliver and Ray stood at the edge of the training mats, ready to begin their first training session.

"Physically, you're ready already." Oliver said as he stood patiently at the edge of the mat. "You have the strength, the speed and the stamina. But the mental fortitude is what's going to make this work. Now, pick up the sword next to you."

At the edge of the mat lay a sword that Ray slowly reached down and picked up, the weapon obviously uncomfortable in his hands.

"That is a dull katana. A dull katana is still sharper than most blades." Oliver explained evenly. "Now, you're going to try and hit me with that."

"Won't that hurt if I hit you." Ray asked in concern.

"Probably but there's no chance of you hitting me today." Oliver taunted. "The point of this exercise is pain. You will learn this lesson quickly and yet it will takes weeks or months for it to truly burn into your brain. Once that happens, you would be able to go out on the streets in jeans and a tank top and protect your city. That's when you'll know that it's time."

"Everyone you've ever trained did this?" Ray asked as he stepped forward.

"No." Oliver answered. "You're the first person that I've trained in nearly three years. Laurel and Roy went through the same training process that I did. John was Special Forces so he was trained there. No, you're the first person to get trained with this particular method."

"What method is that?"

"Previously, everything I was taught, everything I learned focused on control." Oliver replied. "Physical control, mental control, emotional control."

"And what's this?"

"This method comes from the understanding that control is important. However, what's more important is resilience."

"Resilience?" Ray asked in confusion.

"We're going to get knocked down. We're going to lose at times. We'll be too slow, not smart enough, not strong enough. We'll fall short in some way. Resilience is what keeps us going when we fail."

"So how is this going to help?" Ray asked. "So far, we're just standing here."

"Computer, fire."

Suddenly, a crossbow from behind Ray fired, striking him in the left leg. Instantly, he fell to the floor, crying in pain.

"What the hell!?" Ray shouted.

"Fight me." Oliver said, stepping towards Ray.

"Are you insane?"

Oliver hated doing this but he needed to understand. When Ray didn't get up to defend himself, Oliver took one of his training staffs and swung, crushing him in the side of the head, knocking him unconscious before he hit the floor.

Forty minutes later, Ray woke up to Oliver standing over him. Oliver watched him as he came to and realized that he still had an arrow sticking out of his leg.

"Ahhh." Ray groaned. "What the hell is going on?"

"Resilience." Oliver said simply before kneeling down to his level. "You weren't paying attention to the fact that there are no less than fourteen loaded crossbows aimed at you when you walked into the room. Then, when you failed, you crumbled."

"This was a test?" Ray exclaimed.

"Everything is a test." Oliver admitted. "Awareness, control, resilience: those are the three keys to doing what we do. Awareness keeps you from making mistakes, control allows you to react in the face of the unknown and resilience forces you to bounce back."

"You're kind of messed up, Queen."

"Ray, this is the way our world works. You want to do this? This is something you'll understand. If you don't, I can't let you out there on my streets."

Quickly, Oliver pulled the arrow from Ray's leg, causing him to grimace in pain.

"Your streets? A bit possessive, aren't we?" Ray said as he stood gently.

"I've been protecting this city for nearly seven years now and I'm the city's Mayor." Oliver said with a smirk. "They're my streets."

"Fair enough." Ray said as he lifted his sword. "What next?"

"You prove your resiliency." Oliver answered.

"How?"

"I'm going to hit you with this staff, repeatedly." Oliver said. "It's going to hurt a great deal. But you're going to keep fighting and you're going to lose."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you can't win in this particular battle until you've lost more times than you can count. You can't win until you've been stripped bare. You're going to come down here every night, Ray, and every night, you're going to lose. Until one day, you're going to hit me with that sword. On that day, you'll be ready."


January 1st had been an interesting day thus far. At 12:01, Oliver had a city judge come to Queen Mansion with a few reporters to be officially sworn in as Mayor. After answering their questions, Oliver had gone to bed to wake up only a few hours later and appear on several early morning TV/radio programs. With an exceedingly brief address to the crowd gathered at City Hall, Oliver had marched up the stairs to the District Attorney's office where he had been present to help swear Laurel in as the new DA.

For the next two hours, the pair of them had discussed several open cases and the process by which Laurel would appoint her new Assistant DAs. Finally, as Oliver expected most of their meetings to go, their discussion turned to their night jobs.

"Rumor has it that Captain Cold is in Starling City to get his revenge on Team Arrow."

"If by rumor," Oliver said through a full mouth of BLT. "you mean that you spoke to Caitlin, then she also warned me that Snart would be coming."

"Damn. I wanted to have intel before you for once." Laurel joked.

"Laurel, I literally sleep with our intel." Oliver replied. "If I need intel, I roll over and ask Felicity. She pulls out her tablet or her phone or her laptop or just her giant brain and I have intel."

"See, you have an unfair advantage." Laurel chuckled before changing her tone a bit. "I've also heard a rumor that someone is not so hot on the idea of going on nightly patrols anymore."

Internally, Oliver considered noting that he needed to talk to Felicity about who she spread his secrets too. However, Oliver realized that he didn't need to keep secrets anymore and this least of all.

"You may have heard correctly." Oliver admitted before continuing to eat his lunch.

"You're seriously considering hanging up the bow?" Laurel asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Maybe." Oliver said before instantly changing course. "I honestly have no clue, Laurel. It's not as simple as just walking away."

"Did you ever think it was going to be?" Laurel countered. "Why now?"

"That's the easiest part. No Ra's, no Merlyns, no Slade and it appears that we've taken down the Starling Mob. If we can work our day jobs and get Whale put away, all we have to do is make sure that no one takes his place."

"Easier said than done."

"Maybe but now that we know that Whale was the one that consolidated power, we can be on the lookout for someone occupying a similar role. There are going to be dead giveaways that someone is trying to replace him."

"That's the only reason?" Laurel asked.

"No." Oliver admitted nervously before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small black box. Oliver had been holding onto it for weeks now, waiting for the right moment. "This is the real reason."

Slowly, Laurel reached forward and opened the box. As she had guessed, inside was an engagement ring. Oliver had spent weeks sneaking out of the campaign office to go shopping while she was at work. He'd been able to have Diggle or Pete cover for him while he was gone and although Oliver suspected that she knew that something was up, he was very confident that she didn't know exactly what it was.

The ring was simple. The entire ring was a silver band that looped around the finger, not quite coming back together. In between the two ends of the band were three diamonds lined up in a row, completing the loop. To the average person, the ring looked fairly simple. However, the silver and diamonds were both top of the line. The ring itself cost just under forty-five thousand dollars.

"Oh my god." Laurel said as she opened the box. "It's gorgeous."

"She's going to love it." Oliver said evenly. "But since I bought it, I can't help but think that every time I go out there, I may not come back to give it to her."

"Then stop waiting, Ollie. Give it to her tonight."

"The Welcoming Ball? We both hate those kind of things." Oliver said in disgust. "There's nothing special about that."

"The fact that you both hate them is a unifying factor." Laurel countered.

"I guess."

For a couple seconds, Laurel continued to look at the ring before sliding it back in the box and giving it back to Oliver. As he took the box back and put it into his pocket, he noticed that Laurel's demeanor had changed entirely.

"Laurel?"

"I'm fine, Oliver."

Oliver? She never called him that. It was the largest sign that she was not, in fact, okay.

"Laurel, spit it out." Oliver said, calling her out.

"It's been years but there is still a small part of me that's a bit upset that you aren't giving that to me." Laurel admitted. "I'm so happy for you, Ollie, I really am. But for years, that was going to be us."

"It never was going to be us, Laurel." Oliver admitted sadly. "And it's not really us now. The version of Oliver Queen that you were in love with for so long never came back from that island. He died when his father killed himself on that life boat."

"I know." Laurel said softly. "It's just strange. Either way, you need to give that ring to her. She deserves it and so do you."

"We'll see." Oliver answered. "I just want to be able to give it to her and have her know that I'm all hers."

With that, Laurel actually chuckled to herself a bit. When Oliver gave her a look of confusion, she stopped laughing long enough to clarify what she found so funny.

"Oliver, you could put down the bow and for the next four years at least, she's playing second fiddle. We both know that she's the most important thing in your life but she's not the most pressing concern. She knew all of that when she told you to run in the first place."

"On that you're probably right." Oliver said as he stood up. "Alright, I have a meeting with my senior staff in five and then a meeting with my security staff."

"Oh I'm sure that's going to be fun." Laurel replied sarcastically.

"What? Security staffs and I get along just fine."

"I'll remember to check with John and see what he thinks about that."


That "meeting" with Oliver's senior staff basically turned into an entire day of policy planning with Pete and Myra. The meeting with Oliver's security staff had originally only been blocked for thirty minutes. Originally, that left Oliver with four hours of reading and prep before his meeting with his new security staff and then a trip home.

Now, it had left the head of security staff waiting outside his office for a half hour before he could escort Pete and Myra out and invite him in.

The head of security for City Hall and The Mayor was a relatively young man by the name of Cole Cash. Cash was in his early thirties and a recently retired member of the armed forces, although Oliver wasn't exactly sure which branch. He had been the man in charge of City Hall Security for the last year and was personally tasked with keeping Oliver safe at all times.

Unfortunately, Oliver had some information for him that he wasn't going to like.

"Cole, please come in." Oliver said from behind his desk as Pete and Myra finally vacated his office.

Standing from the waiting area outside the Mayor's Office, Cole stepped into Oliver's office. The first thing Oliver noticed was the man's height: he was practically a giant. He stood several inches taller than Oliver and was one of the sturdiest looking men Oliver had ever seen. Certainly having a man like that around would help quell most threats on Oliver just by having him near Oliver.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Oliver said as he shook Cole's hand."The pair of them get to talking and it's nearly impossible to get them to stop."

"Not a problem, Mr. Mayor." Cole replied respectfully.

"Please, in private, it's just Oliver. Now sit." Oliver said before sitting down himself. "So, I know that I have to meet with you. I'm just not sure why."

"Well, Mr. Mayor, as the head of City Hall Security, protecting you and your staff is my prime responsibility. We're here to discuss the matter of security at your home and other locations that you frequent."

Here's where the bad news began.

"I figured that's what you were going to talk to me about." Oliver admitted. "I know that you aren't going to like this but I am going to retain my personal security staff at home."

"Mr. Mayor, I really must insist that we take over your home security." Cole countered. "It will provide a consistency for how you deal with us and how we can learn your mannerisms. Plus, I can't ensure your safety if my men are not there."

"I thought you would say that." Oliver said before waiving to Diggle, who had been waiting outside of the office, to enter. "Cole, this is John Diggle. Diggle is the head of my home security force."

"How are you, John?" Cole asked politely.

"I'm fine." Diggle answered simply. "Trust me, you don't want to watch this guy any longer than you have to."

"He's lucky he's also my best friend." Oliver muttered. "John, can you give Cole the rundown of the security protocols at the Mansion?"

"Absolutely." Diggle replied before turning to Cole. "Day shift is simple. Four guards at every entrances, armed with M-16s and high voltage tasers. Eight guards floating the perimeters of the property. Six guards manning rotating guard locations at the exterior of the home and four guards located inside the Mansion, although they tend to remain in the control room for privacy reasons. Every inch of the house is on an internally encrypted surveillance server set up by Queen Consolidated's best security specialist."

Oliver grinned internally, knowing that "security specialist" was his OCD girlfriend.

"And at night?" Cole pressed.

"Still four at every entrance with sixteen guards floating the perimeter and another eight floating the area closest to the mansion. Sixteen guards at fixed locations on the outside of the building and another eight located on the inside. Again, they tend to remain in the control room but they are there for support in case of a break-in of some kind. The security system is state of the art. If someone so much breathes on a window wrong from the outside, it goes off to the security room. Every single system blip is reported and investigated."

"I do have to say that all sounds very impressive." Cole admitted. "However, I can't say that I'm comfortable with you having your own security outside of us."

"Cole, this really isn't up for discussion." Oliver said shortly. "I'm telling you this is the way things are going to be and there's a reason for that. How many years did you serve?"

"Eight with the United States Navy."

"Rank upon retirement?" Oliver asked.

"Senior Petty Officer." Cole replied. "I declined two different promotions because I knew that I was retiring after eight years."

"Nicely done." Oliver answered before turning to John. "John, what was your rank when you retired?"

"Major."

"Anything else?" Oliver asked. "I mean, you may have been ranked higher in your respective branch but that doesn't really say much of anything."

"Five years as Special Forces Weapons Sargent, cross-training and two years with the CIA's Special Activities Division."

"That's basically US approved secret agent, right?"

"That's the layman term, yes." Diggle grinned. "Top secret clearance with the FBI, ARGUS and CIA."

As Diggle spoke, Oliver pulled Diggle's file out from his desk, something that not even Diggle knew was coming.

"He's also won the Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal, the Bronze Star twice, the Silver Star, two Purple Hearts and twelve different Army Commendation Medals." Oliver rattled off quickly before looking back up to Cole. "Mr. Cash, you are looking at one of the most decorated men that went into a war and came out the other side. Now, I understand that you may not enjoy the fact that I have my own security but take comfort in two things."

"What is that?"

"One, that is the man protecting me. He's my best friend."

"Don't let Felicity hear you say that." Diggle joked.

"OK, he's my best male friend." Oliver corrected with a smile. "He's also been doing this for nearly seven years now."

"What's the second thing I'm supposed to take comfort in?" Cole asked, obviously still not impressed.

"He's been added to your staff as well."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, you see the city contracts the security off the Mayor and City Hall to your company. However, I technically run the city and city hall. So, when I realized that this was going to be a problem, I figured out the best solution to counter that."

"And undermining me and hiring your own head of security onto my staff was the route you came up?" Cole challenged.

"I know, it seems bad when you word it that way but I promise that it will all work out." Oliver said, doing his best to reassure the man. "John will work here as my doorman, just like he did while I was at QC and Verdant. However, he works with your men and he works under your guidelines. Now, I'm sure that he will have suggestions and I do expect that they are heeded but that does not place him in charge. You will listen to what he has to say but you make the decisions here. When we are somewhere away from City Hall but not at Queen Mansion, the pair of you will work in tandem. At Queen Mansion, John is my head of security, no questions asked."

Obviously, Cole was going to have problems with this. However, Oliver really wasn't going to leave him much choice. He hated putting pressure on people but he was very good on it when he had to be and this was one of those times. With his nightly activities, he had to have Diggle by him at all times, both for updates and for excuses for him to run out of the room at a moment's notice.

"I suppose I don't really have much say in this, do I?" Cole finally said despondently.

"You certainly do." Oliver countered. "However, you have to understand that I have a certain amount of familiarity with John and my home staff. I've worked with them since my return to the island. As it is, I'm already going to have to be working under an entirely different of rules with you here and anywhere else we may go. I'm not about to have my home adjusted at the same time."

"I can see the value you in that." Cole replied before turning to Diggle. "The only thing I request is that we are made aware of any changes to the policies that you laid out for me today. Also, I would like to double-check every person you have on staff."

"We can do that." Diggle said. "I will also inform you of any potential threats or incidents that may occur."

"Perfect!" Oliver said, standing up with feigned enthusiasm. "I really am sorry to have to do this to you, Cole. Things are already crazy enough without my home life being drastically adjusted."

"I can understand that, Mr. Queen." Cole said as he also stood. "If there's nothing else, I'm going to check in with my staff before I send most of them home for the evening."

"Do that." Oliver replied. "What time do we leave for the Welcoming Ball?"

"The Ball begins at 2000 hours." Cole said shortly, looking at his watch. "We'll want to leave here thirty minutes prior. It's only a few blocks away but traffic will be bad. We can move some of it but you aren't the President, there's only so much we can do."

"Fine. I'll have myself and Felicity ready at 7:30."

"Thank you, Mr. Mayor." Cole said before walking out the door, shutting it behind him. Instantly, Oliver collapsed into his seat, his brain nearly fried for the day.

"I thought the first day was supposed to be easy." Diggle mused.

"So did I."


The Welcoming Ball, a tradition for new Mayors of Starling City, was everything that Oliver Queen would have normally found boring. It was rich people flaunting their wealth and talking down to each other in that tone they knew how to use just right so you knew they were better than you. It was hundreds of "hanger-ons," people with much less wealth but was friendly with someone who did. They spent their evenings talking about themselves, self-conscious in a crowd full of people who were more successful than them in every way.

But it was the masks that everyone wore that bothered Oliver most of all. In the room with him were nearly a thousand people, most of which Oliver had met at some point in his life. Most of them had scowled at him and been generally condescending to him at one point in his life. Whether it was the pre-island version or the post-island CEO, most of them had found a time and place to let him know just how little they thought of him.

Now, they all smiled, asked how his family was and wished him good luck. Now, when they realized that he was the one calling the shots, they were pleasant and welcoming. It really was too much for him. Oliver spent most of his life in a mask but when he was Oliver Queen, that's who he wanted to be. He had known all of this when he had chosen to run for Mayor and he would easily be able to handle it.

It just reminded him that for most of the people in his social circle, wealth wasn't the indicator of respect. Power was and right now, Oliver had it.

The evening had started out fine with a brief speech for Laurel, welcoming Oliver to City Hall. He had specifically asked Laurel to do the welcoming speech as someone who had a certain amount of political power and was also a close friend. Normally, the deputy mayor/head of city council would give this speech. However, Starling City was going to find out over the next couple of years that Oliver Queen did things a little differently than everyone else did.

Once Laurel had finished, Oliver had stepped up and given a speech on new beginnings or something like that. He had found through the course of the election process that Oliver rarely remembered his speeches once he had given them, at least for the rest of the evening. Then, he would go back and review the video footage of the speech and make sure that he remembered anything important he had said. So far, that strategy had worked fairly well.

Then, there had been a dinner with Oliver and Felicity seated at a table with Frank Pike, Starling City Chief of Police, and his wife along with the head of the Starling City Fire Department and the Deputy Mayor, a man named Mark Shaw, and his wife. Thankfully, this was a fairly varied group of people and therefore the conversation during dinner bounced from left to right, never getting to that terrible boring place it often found itself during most of these kind of dinners.

Finally, this event was known as a Welcoming Ball and as such, it was expected that the Mayor and his wife grace the dance floor first. Well, as Oliver was the first unmarried Mayor in nearly a century, Felicity was going to have to do for the time being. Taking her hand, Oliver led Felicity to the center of the dance floor where some slow song that Oliver couldn't recognized was played by a string ensemble in the corner.

Smiling, Oliver placed his hand in the small of Felicity's back, bringing her in as close to him as he could. Taking her other hand, Oliver slowly started their simple step. Knowing that this was coming, Oliver and Felicity had taken a few dance lessons together. Nothing too complicated, they just didn't want to step on each other's feet.

"Overall, this has not been a terribly boring evening." Oliver muttered.

"You mean other Pike's wife spending forty minutes talking about how terrible The Green Arrow is." Felicity countered.

"Yeah, I could have skipped that part." Oliver grinned. "But other than that, not awful."

"I know. This would even seem very romantic if you didn't have to be here."

"It can still be romantic." Oliver said softly as he leaned in and kissed her forehead. "You just have to forget the fact that there are around a thousand people watching us."

"Oh yes, because I've always been one for big crowds." Felicity answered.

"Unfortunately, being around me means big crowds."

"I don't know what you're talking about. They're all looking at me." Felicity said, giggling softly. "They're just wondering who that guy with the Mayor's girlfriend is."

"They should be looking at you." Oliver whispered in her ear. "I can't take my eyes off you and I've been having trouble keeping my hands off you."

Suddenly, Felicity leaned back, whispering in Oliver's ear.

"Then why don't we give these people a real show." Felicity whispered before pulling back, an evil smirk on her face. Felicity's demeanor had changed so much over the last couple years. She was always still as talkative and prone to rambling as always but there was a new side of her. This one was bolder and far more likely to challenge anyone whether it was truly aggressively or the kind of sarcasm that she had just displayed.

"What if we put on a different kind of show?" Oliver asked, suddenly very nervous. He had been thinking about what Laurel had said to him earlier in the day and hadn't been able to get it out of his mind.

"Like what?"

"Like this." Oliver said as he nodded his head to the people behind Felicity. Suddenly, Laurel, John and Lyla were standing at the edge of the dance floor, watching closely. Once they were in place, Oliver stopped Felicity and placed her hands at her side.

"What are we doing?" Felicity asked, suddenly very nervous.

"You'll see." Oliver said, fidgeting as he stood. "You know that I love you, right?"

"Of course. I love you too." Felicity replied, obviously very confused as to Oliver's sudden change in behavior.

"Good, good." Oliver muttered before snapping back to reality. "I can remember the exact day that I started loving you. It was the day that my mother was found not guilty."

It was also the day that the Count took her hostage, Oliver thought to himself. He could see in her eyes that she understood exactly what part of that day he meant.

"I knew in that moment that I would do anything to protect you." Oliver whispered to her. "For awhile, I thought that meant keeping myself away from you. Me being who I am and what my life was, I never thought there was a chance for us to work."

"We know how silly you were about that." Felicity said softly before leaning in. "I mean, I can understand where you were coming from. You were wrong, which happens a bit more often than you'd think, but I can understand. I certainly didn't-"

"Felicity." Oliver interrupted. She had started rambling. She was nervous.

She had no idea how nervous he was.

"When we finally gave in to this right before The League came to Starling, I realized what a mistake I had made."

"Huh?" Felicity uttered in shock.

"The mistake was trying to keep you out. Once I let you in, I finally understood was I was missing and over the last two years, I've realized that's something that I can't live without."

"Oliver?" Felicity asked, a single tear falling from her eye.

Kneeling before her, Oliver pulled out the box that he had shown Laurel earlier. Opening it, he presented in to Felicity, whose reaction was to cover her mouth in shock.

"Felicity, I don't know what I would do without you. I may not even be alive if it weren't for you." They both knew he wouldn't. "I certainly wouldn't be the man I am today and I've decided that I don't want to take the risk that you get wise and run away from me. I want you to myself until we're both old and gray. Felicity Meghan Smoak, will you marry me?"

Oliver looked up at Felicity, waiting for an answer. Suddenly, she went to take a breath, ready to speak, when Oliver noticed something moving behind her.

It was Diggle, sprinting in slow motion. Confused, Oliver saw that Diggle was pointing at something. As everything continued to move in slow motion, Oliver's head turned to the balcony above where he spotted a man with a pistol aimed at him. Looking down, Oliver saw a laser sight pointed straight at his chest. Moving as quickly as he could against the flow of time, Oliver moved, grabbing Felicity just as Diggle got to them.

The second Diggle made impact with them, all Oliver heard was a single gunshot and then everything went dark.