Chapter 7
The Truth
Of Things
Part 2
Disclaimer: Its time for more of this fine story! I've also been thinking of expanding beyond the original intention of this story by basically re-writing the show. But I wouldn't abandon the main important aspect of this fic. Which is the quirks and issues Oliver got after five years away.
2 And A Half Hours Later
"Almost thought you weren't coming back." Mr. Diggle told Laurel after she arrived back down in the basement of the Foundry a bit later than intended.
"Oh, trust me, I would have been back much sooner if it hadn't been for another shoot out happening between the Bertinelli family and the Triad."
Which had forced her to take a detour after an Officer had informed her of what was going on in the aftermath of the shoot out. Mr. Diggle grimaced at that as a concerned Oliver limped over to her. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Or as fine as I can be when I find out someone I've known a long time has become a bow wielding vigilante AND lied about it." Laurel told him somewhat archly.
Oliver grimaced as he could easily hear the ire in her voice. "And I think this is where I'll take my leave for the night."
As Digg didn't want to be around for what was sure to be some yelling from Laurel. "Oh, you don't have to leave on my account, I'm not going to be yelling at Ollie right now. Not when I know he's hurt and probably still needing to sleep off the possible concussion."
Somehow, Oliver wasn't exactly reassured by that as Diggle just looked at him and he nodded. "Alright, I'll just stay upstairs then and listen to the police scanner for any more Bertinelli/Triad fights." Which will be helpful to know whenever its time for Oliver to get back home and the fighting can be avoided for the time being.
Fighting that Oliver had already been involved in more than once in an effort to try and keep innocent bystanders from getting caught in the crossfire. It should be noted that despite the fact that Oliver did help stop local crimes and the like since he couldn't ignore it after some experiences of his while away, his actions were only reported whenever he went after a One Percenter. Which helped paint a not so great picture of him but he didn't exactly mind as he wanted there to be an impression of him when it came to those from the List. A part of him however did somewhat wish that his actions unrelated to the List was known of since he felt it would help provide some hope to the less fortunate that someone was out there fighting for them when able. Silence reigned in the basement as Digg made his leave for a time until Oliver let out a sigh.
"I guess you have questions..."
Questions he both wanted and didn't want to answer since there was a small part of him that was happy she knew his secret finally. As he had wanted to tell her every night since he got home and began his crusade to right his father's wrongs and help out where he could. Laurel let out a laugh but it wasn't one of joy. "Yeah, yeah I guess you could say that. I mean… Where do I even start, Ollie!? Was everything from earlier with the pen and what you said all a lie!?"
"No, I swear to you its not. It was true and a truth I used in order to ensure no one would think twice about me being the Hood again." He told her as he held up his hands, both of which shook a little before placing them down again.
"But that doesn't make sense! How can you use a bow then!?"
It was obvious he'd been trained and there was no need to ask about that. At least… Not yet anyway. Oliver sighed as he sat down in front of a computer and looked at her. "Meditation and a repeated mantra I came up with. One that my first teacher on Lian Yu inspired me to create. 'Breathe and survive, live to be with family another day.' Its helped me a lot." Oliver told her as he stared straight at her with an unwavering gaze.
One that made her a little nervous as she'd never seen such a look from him in the entire time she'd known him. It was such a far cry from the Ollie she remembered before his 'death'. "Why do it then? Why possibly make your hands worse and put your body through more Hell? Why do it when its clearly causing problems between you and your family when you have to lie to them for whatever reason? Why do it when it could get you killed at any time!? Why, Ollie!? Do you have any idea what that would do to your family, to Tommy, and me!? Why not leave this to someone else like Superman, Batman, or one of the other vigilantes that are out there? Just… Why, Ollie?" Wondered the woman almost pleadingly as she came up to him with tears in her eyes.
As while she may still have issues with him, Laurel didn't want him to die. Oliver held her gaze for a moment before breaking away from it for a moment and then looked back at her. That intense, unwavering gaze stronger then ever and making her involuntarily taking a step back. "Because… Ignoring the problem would be what the old, foolishly fearful me would do. A good man doesn't let others continue to suffer if he can do something about it in whatever way possible. The other vigilantes out there have their own cities to watch over and before he died, my father's last requests was that I survive and return home to right his wrongs. What I do as the Hood is half of because of him and I won't stop until that's done."
Forcing himself up, he moved past her to go for his trunk to get something as she stood where she was in stunned silence. Trying to process all she'd been told by the man she still loved and likely always would despite having hurt her so badly with her own sister. That and the fact Tommy hadn't grown up much over the years, even when he got kidnapped in Hong Kong while thinking Ollie was there and alive, hadn't done much to make him grow up, had been why she refused to have much to do with him beyond friendship despite what Thea or even Oliver himself thought to the contrary of the two of them. Something Laurel knew he wasn't happy about but had left it alone so far for the most part out of respect for her and her wishes. His attempts with her had even made Laurel question to herself if he ever actually truly was Ollie's greatest friend as a real one wouldn't be trying to get with the girl their friend had been with for a long time after dying.
Even if he'd been a lying, cheating jackass… She barely registered something being closed and it was enough to get her to turn around. "And believe me when I say that I do have an idea where you, Tommy, and my family are concerned. But the mission comes first, regardless of what it does to my personal health in both the mental and physical sense. Had things not gone the way they did with the pen and some words Digg said to me after, you finding out wouldn't have happened as I wouldn't have been injured had I been a hundred percent focused. Even if telling you about all this has been something I've wanted to do every single night since I started..."
That honestly surprised Laurel and she could hear the weariness in his voice. "How… How come you didn't?"
"Because… I, I didn't want you to possibly look at me as if I was a monster. And since things weren't exactly the best between us as it was after I came home, I wasn't sure if you would have me arrested after telling you." He told her bluntly and while it hurt her to know he thought that way…
She supposed she couldn't blame him for thinking it however. Not when things were as raw and the like as they were with his return home from the dead and all the feelings he'd brought back up to the surface. "So… You're just going to go out there every night as the Hood no matter what? Even though it damns your soul with all the lives you take because in part, it has to do with your father's requests? Isn't there another way!?"
As there just had to be another way that didn't involve killing. There just had to be. Superman had only taken life twice in the entire three decades he'd been active and it was rumored that the Batman of Gotham hadn't taken any either and detested guns more then anything else. That Green Lantern fellow in Coast City also reportedly hadn't taken lives either but since he was rarely there as it is, there was no telling if he really had or hadn't. Oliver let out a sigh as he looked at Laurel. "Contrary to what the Police and the Media would have you believe, and I'm surprised you're even buying into it considering you're a very smart person, Laurel, I don't always kill when I go after someone. I kill if there's no choice for whatever reason but if someone I leave alive dies after I've done what I've come to do? I can't help that. I don't even just keep my activities limited to the crooked Elite members of our dying city as I do help the less fortunate where I can as the Hood."
"If it was possible not to kill at all, I would, but its not and believe me when I say its not something that ever gets any easier for me. I've lived in a kill or be killed world for so long that I can't just leave it at the drop of a hat. Life just doesn't… It just doesn't work like that, Laurel." But damn did he wish it did as life would be a little easier for him.
But as he learned the hard way, that just wasn't a possible thing unless he was dead or completely alone with no one to try and hurt him. Laurel could only stare at him, her heart breaking at how he sounded a little defeated and even more weary over how life had turned out for him the past few years. But it also made Laurel realize that all that he'd been through had got him stuck pretty deep in the sort of thinking he has that Ollie can't see any other way. And she wondered what Mr. Diggle thought of that and if he had tried to do anything about it so far. Along with the success he may or may not have had. Laurel also realized that Ollie's dad had effectively damned him to a vicious cycle of violence the moment he asked his own son to right his wrongs. Making her realize that obviously… Robert Queen had survived the sinking of the 'Gambit'. If only for a short time in order to make his last requests…
Perhaps though… Perhaps had Robert known how his own son would eventually honor those last requests… He might have only given the request of survival before his death. But unfortunately, there was just no way of knowing. And that not knowing would more than likely see the end of the vicious cycle of violence with Ollie's death. Something that didn't settle well with her at all but she knew she couldn't say a word to anyone about this. Not when it would tear up the Queen family and put them at risk for Ollie's actions as the Hood. "You're… You're so deep in the kind of mindset you have that you can't see anything else..." Near whispered the Lawyer from CNRI.
Near whispered or not, Oliver was still able to hear it and he could only nod. "Yeah. And maybe one day I'll find a way out. Or maybe I won't and I'll have my final breath down in this basement. Hell, maybe I'll even tell my therapist what I'm doing and she'll forcibly admit me somewhere for my own good. But those are a lot of maybes and I can't worry about those. Not when it could mean life or death in any given situation and sometimes… Sometimes extreme measures have to be taken."
And even though one could probably consider it a silly notion, a trip for him to the store to buy something could probably be a life or death situation in some way. Granted, that was a line of thought he tried not to visit much on as he seriously didn't want to end up like the type of person who was severely paranoid about certain things. Oliver even had a theory that this is what happened to Amanda Waller for her to be the cold person she is but had yet to voice it to anyone so far. Mostly because he really didn't feel like dealing with her if she was to find out about his little theory! To his and perhaps even Laurel's surprise, he found himself being hugged by his tearful ex. A hug he couldn't help but feel tense over and didn't move an inch thanks to how serious things were between them. Plus, his arm still hurt somewhat and he didn't feel like adding to it by wrapping it around her in a hug.
Seconds, or perhaps minutes later, Oliver wasn't honestly sure of as he just let her hug him, Laurel pulled away with tears trailing down her face. "I… God, Ollie, this is too much."
He blew out a breath at that and had the inkling that when he slept again, he'd be having a nightmare about this. Either that, or it would happen at another time. This had also been a reason for why he hadn't gone through with telling her about his vigilante life. God forbid his mother or sister ever found out… Oliver wasn't sure how he would be able to handle that if it was to happen. "If you… If you need time, take it. If you feel you have to stay away from me now that you know I'm the Hood. Do so. I won't blame you and maybe I won't like it, but I will understand. It'll probably be for the best as it is. I just ask that you please don't tell your father, my family, or anyone else. If not for me, then yours and their safety." He said to her as he tried to keep any emotion out of his voice.
As the thought of being possibly out of her life for good wasn't one Oliver wanted to fathom. But he knew it was a very real likelyhood despite what he wanted. Laurel stared at him for a moment in pure disbelief and shock over what he'd said to her and unable to handle being in the room with him any longer, fled it and him in order to process everything. Leaving a saddened Oliver behind as her footsteps echoed on the metal staircase in her haste to quickly leave. He'd remain where he was for awhile, even when Diggle tried to break him out of it but the man would stick around regardless to keep an eye on him. Something that Oliver was grateful for, even if he didn't say or show it.
Author's Notes: Aww man, I really hope I handled the events and reactions of this chapter well, even with the slight retcon where Laurel and Tommy are concerned. In a perfect world, Laurel would be majorly supportive and unwilling to leave his side despite his sort of thinking he's stuck in, but unfortunately, this isn't a perfect world. That's not to say she won't turn into a majorly supportive person like in the show, but it'll just take some time to happen. Which, as yeah, would make sense. Or so I hope anyway. And if I do expand beyond the initial concept of this story like I mentioned earlier, the Bertinelli/Triad war would take the place of the Undertaking storyline with that one happening at a much later time.
