A/N: I do not own Smallville, its characters, or the main plot. This chapter takes place around "Crossfire", in case you're looking for a plot timeline.

Chapter Six: Brotherhood

Oliver Queen was a confused man. He had spent the past month or two carelessly drinking his life away. He had questioned himself and his role in society as not only Oliver Queen, but the Green Arrow as well.

His life was filled with ups and downs. He hit a major down when his parents died, and he hit a major down when he was trapped on a deserted island. Right now, he was back to work as the acting CEO of Queen Industries, trying to fill out some paperwork.

Chloe just pulled him out of the gutter, and he was trying to make the most of it. He was shaving, showering, and showing up to work. His company was back in control these days, but Oliver didn't feel blissfully happy.

After his downward spiral, he felt as if he needed something to give his life a major up. In the process, he attempted to think of the last time his life had a major up.

He started to think about when he first donned the green leather- saving people always gave him an uplifting feeling. He became the Green Arrow to help people, and to keep his archery honed. At first though, it was an act of rebellion against his mentor.

***Flashback***

"Are you ready for the final test?"

"Yes." Oliver said confidently

"First, a practical test." Vordigan said, blindfolding Oliver. "Shoot the target."

Oliver placed his arrow on the string of his bow. He pulled it back towards his cheek, and released it. The arrow hit the target, dead center.

"Good." Oliver felt the cloth around his eyes loosen, and saw the underground dungeon around him once more.

"We are all human. This means that out of everything, we have one weakness- if struck, we can be killed. We battle this weakness by physical training and agility." Oliver nodded. "Fight us."

Suddenly, the men surrounding the room started to attack Oliver. Oliver focused on one man at a time. Kicking one out of the way, he proceeded to throw another down to the floor with one hand.

He back-flipped across the room, and grabbed a traditional looking arrow from his quiver. He shot eight arrows- two at a time for each man that started to approach him from the other side. They found themselves pinned to the wall.

When Oliver saw his own mentor heading towards him, He somersaulted behind him, and pushed him against the padded wall. Oliver quickly whipped out his cross-bow, and aimed it at Vordigan's neck. The men got up, and liberated those who were pinned to walls. They were ready to surround Oliver again.

"Enough" he said, and the men returned to their previous positions.

"Well done. Next, a verbal test" Oliver let him go, and took a deep breath. "What are the three forbidden acts?"

"Acquiring a lover, befriending an ally, and passing on the gift to a disciple not approved by my mentor." Oliver answered

"What is the first sign of weakness?"

"Lack of agility and skill- leading to a near-death experience" Oliver said

"What happens to the archer if this event occurs?"

Oliver froze. He had never heard of this final rule. He wondered what the punishment would be if he wasn't fast enough on a single occasion.

"I don't know, sir."

"They are killed by their successor, Oliver. They find their successor, and challenge them."

"Is the kill necessary?" he asked, waiting for a punishment. Students never answered back, a lesson Oliver learned during his first week.

"Necessary?" Vordigan laughed. "Of course it's necessary. It's tradition. Surely, you don't want to be killed by a stranger, Oliver? It's a shameful way to die."

"Yes, but I would not wish for a student to kill me. To kill is…a traumatizing act." Oliver explained

"There is honor in killing your mentor, to kill knowing that it was their last wish."

"It is murder" Oliver said bluntly.

"To fully join us Oliver, you must agree to all of these terms." He was reminded.

Oliver thought for a moment. "Then, I don't want to join you." He decided

"The time when you had a choice in the matter, Oliver, is long past. You must agree to the terms. You must join us."

"And if I refused?" Oliver asked

The Dark Archer snapped his fingers, and the men started to group together and surround Oliver once more.

"Then, we will have to take your life in order to protect the secret of our society. Survival will be impossible. You are threatening to reveal our secrets, our ways. It can't be tolerated. Is your naivety worth your life? "

In a split second, Oliver grabbed an arrow from his quiver and loaded it into his bow. "I refuse to join you." He said, using the time advantage to shoot one of the guards in the arm.

Oliver tried to run out of the dungeon, but there were too many guards blocking his way. He had to create his own path in order to escape. That's how life worked.

Sighing to himself, Oliver grabbed one guard, and stole his knife before sending him to the ground. After pocketing the knife, Oliver reached for three arrows and released them at the same time. He grabbed a gun from one of the guards, and a sword from another.

Oliver had been around the training center countless times, and knew the battles that lay ahead for him. He needed to be ready. Clearing a path was difficult, there were men everywhere ready to battle him, but he finally got outside.

It was night, and since all of the guards were dressed in black, it was hard to tell right off the bat when they were coming for him. The guards outside had swords, as predicted. He took out the sword that he had stolen, and started to fight.

Oliver used the sword to defend himself, not to kill. Although he disagreed with the some of the brotherhood's beliefs, he still agreed with the general sense- using archery in order to defend innocent people and to make a difference.

He physically couldn't kill anyone- not when he could look into their eyes and identify men that he had befriended during his training. These are men that worked with him and helped him grow. Oliver made a promise to himself that day, that he wouldn't kill, no matter what happened.

Oliver made it past the guards. Now, he had to activate the escape bridge. He lowered a lever by the gate, and threw the knife at a target in order to activate it. 30 seconds. That's all the bridge would be open for, and that's all he needed.

Sprinting to the other side, Oliver was able to make it over the bridge before anyone could follow him. He took out a gun, and shot at the closing target. Almost as quickly as it was available, the bridge closed up again.

Oliver took down his hood for a moment, and stared at the place he just escaped from. 6 months ago, when he was deep into his training, Oliver called it home. Not anymore. Oliver took out the necklace that he was given at the beginning of his training. It was a black leather cord with four pendants. Oliver ripped out the first pendant, tied it to an arrow, and shot it at the gate. The pendant was a small pewter heart. "We don't need lovers, Oliver. They distract, and why bother when you have a strong sense of self-love, and love for the craft?" He heard Vordigan's voice in his head.

He ripped out the second pendant, two vines tied together. "Allies are only there to betray. We only consider our own brothers allies." The voice said. Oliver tied it to another arrow, and shot it beside the arrow on the gate.

Oliver tore the third pendant, a pewter apple with a bite missing "Surely Oliver, you don't want to teach someone that isn't approved by your own brothers? It would be a waste if they learn the craft, and betray you." He tied it to another arrow, and shot it so that together, the formation of arrows would form a triangle.

Oliver looked at the fourth pendant. It was the Gaelic symbol for the Brotherhood. Oliver may have decided against fully joining them, but he would never forget where he came from. He put it in his pocket, and pulled out something else.

It was the letter that his mother wrote to him the day his parents died. When Oliver was stranded on a deserted island, he found the remains of crash. He took three things from the site that day: his parents' wedding rings, and his mother's letter. Oliver carefully unfolded the letter, and read it.

Oliver,

There is something that I wish I had told you last night. Every decision we have made about you was done out of unconditional love. There is nothing more powerful than caring for someone more than yourself. Know that putting others ahead of yourself will bring you all the peace that you will ever need.

With all our love,

Mom and Dad

That was when Oliver made the decision to return to Star City. To go back home, and honor the last wish of his parents.

***End Flashback***

Oliver was still disappointed that he broke his promise to not kill. Maybe it made him just as bad as Vordigan. When was the last time that I was truly happy?, he asked himself. And then he made the relation: the last time that he was happy with his life was when he was with Lois Lane.

***

"I love you Oliver." Lois said. He smiled widely at her, hoping to finally return to a true sense of normalcy.

"As a dear friend" she finished. Oliver's smile fell, and he wrapped up the conversation and went back into the elevator.

As the elevator door closed, Oliver wondered why this rejection didn't hurt as much as it should have. He stared at his reflection in the elevator door, and wondered if maybe he was wrong. Maybe his happiest moments weren't with Lois after all.

Now that he thought about it, he wasn't truly happy with Lois. Not really. He left her high and dry on dinner dates constantly, and needed to shut her up with kisses in order to prevent her from snooping and finding out his secret.

If he was such a "dear friend", then why didn't she try and help him until it was already done? She worked at the Daily Planet- she saw the tabloids and saw Oliver at the fight club getting the life kicked out of him. She knew that something inside him snapped. She only went to him for the Green Arrow's protection though, and not to check on Oliver Queen.

When Lois did discover his secret, he was glad. He thought that they could start over, and trust each other. Lois had other plans. She was willing to keep his secret, but not willing to be with him. She finally had the opportunity to have an honest relationship with him, but declined it.

Now, she was in love with Clark, the little boy-scout that had more abilities and secrets than he could have imagined. And Lois was okay with his lies. Clark stood her up on the first date to save the world, and after the initial hurt, she didn't question him.

In the end, it wasn't about the secrets. It wasn't the lies or the random disappearances that mattered. It was just him. Lois was okay with going to parties and being Oliver's arm-candy, but she wasn't okay with his true personality.

He flat out told her that he hadn't stayed in one place since his parents died, and instead of telling him that this time it would be different- that they could get through it together, she ended it. Lois wasn't the love of his life, just an idea- the beautiful idea of having a relationship with someone where he didn't have to hide any secrets or flaunt his money. He would have to look for it in someone else- someone right.

The elevator door opened, and Oliver stepped out of it feeling like a liberated man. He remembered something that his father told him when he was a little kid: An understanding of yourself is worth more than all the money in the world. For the first time in years, Oliver Queen didn't feel alone- he felt his parents right beside him.

***

"Go, go, go" Oliver told Lois, as they ran up the stairs in order to escape the thugs.

There was nowhere for them to go, and they were being threatened with a gun. Oliver protected Lois, but could not believe that this was the end. He just figured out how to make things better for his life. Dying with Lois in his arms- it didn't feel right. This can't be it! He was not meant to die a weak death, he was meant to die in battle as the Green Arrow. This wasn't right.

Someone's going to save us at the last minute- Chloe, Clark, someone,he thought to himself. Almost like clockwork, Clark super-sped and took the bullets, which were instantly destroyed. There was one bullet that escaped, but Clark stopped it- right before it hit Oliver between the eyes.

Clark looked at the sight before him: Lois in Oliver's arms. Oliver wanted more than anything to explain to him, but Clark disappeared before he could say anything.

***

Oliver opened the door to the Clock tower. It had been a long day, and he wasn't even the Green Arrow for half of it. He opened the fridge for some old takeout, but found all the food gone.

"Sorry Boss, I got a little hungry as we were waiting", a voice said.

Oliver turned around to see Bart, Victor, AC, and Dinah in front of him. He smiled widely at the group "So Chloe did bring everyone back together."

"To bring you back, but we have to go back temporarily. Tie up some loose ends" Dinah told him.

"Tying up loose ends…haven't you guys learned anything? We can't do the big things by ourselves."

"This isn't big stuff." Dinah insisted

"The Chinese mafia is pretty big, Canary. You were kidnapped- there's no way I'm letting you guys go back. What did Chloe say when you told her all of this?" Oliver asked.

"We didn't tell Chloe. We didn't want her to worry or overreact." AC said

"And you thought that I wouldn't? We can't be alone- we just fixed everything. It's too risky." Oliver decided

"We can't always stay together. We have to spread out, do more good all over the country if not the world." Bart said

"You're not going anywhere permanently different without consulting me or Chloe first." Oliver told them

"Fine. No random relocations" Victor added

"Victor, why do you want to get away from here? You were nearly used by your friend! That can't happen again, buddy." Oliver said

"I almost blew up the UN building because I was vulnerable and someone was there to take advantage of me. We have each other emotionally- it's not going to be like last time." Victor reasoned

"Really? What makes this time any different?" Oliver asked the group

"Chloe bugged us all before. Maybe you didn't notice, maybe you did. What's your most prized possession, Ollie- something that you never go on a business trip without?" Bart asked him

"My dad's old belt- even if I don't wear it, I like to have it with me." Oliver said

"Then the device is probably on the back of the buckle or something." AC told him

"I saw that it was bugged weeks ago, but I thought that was Mercy." Oliver said to himself

"Don't be mad at her. I'm glad that she bugged us all. If she didn't, I would probably be dead. The tracking devices saved my life" Dinah told him

"I'm not mad. I'm…impressed- impressed that she knew about it." Oliver explained

"She knows you better than anyone. She went to me first, and I saw it. She had scripts on exactly what you would say, what you would do." Bart said

"Yeah, when you attempted suicide, she didn't sleep for 5 days. She almost died at the thought of losing you." Victor said.

"We needed to literally drug her coffee in order to get her to sleep." AC said

Oliver was silent, trying to take it all in. "What's going to make this time different?"

"The devices- we're keeping them on us at all times. We're keeping the headsets too- that way we'll be verbally in touch at all times." Bart told him

"We'll also stop by on a regular basis- if anything we'll touch base." Dinah added

"And we expect the same communication back. E-mail, call, whatever it is that you have to do. We want to stay in the loop. We're just going to be in different geographical areas. That's all." Victor told him

"The Watchtower is the home-base now. And speaking of, what about Chloe? What are you going to tell her when she realizes that you guys disappeared again?" Oliver inquired

"We'll leave her a note explaining everything before we go." Bart told him

"Okay. But I'm getting you all full-fledged apartments- cleaning service, food, everything." Bart's eyes lit up at the mention of food "Yes food, Bart. I'm not letting you lose your powers again."

"AC, no naked stuff- don't go landing yourself in jail again."

AC laughed "good times."

"Victor, I'm setting you up as one of Queen Industries' IT people. They're a good group, definitely won't program you."

"And Dinah, you're going back to newspapers. No more mafia activity for you- I have good connections at the Star City Gazette. All of you can continue the double life thing, but if there's something big going on, you will tell Watchtower about it and you will get backup. Understood?" he asked. They all nodded.

"Good" Oliver said, as he grabbed a remote and pushed a button. Suddenly, a wall opened up, and his Green Arrow gear was on display.

He belonged with these people now. They were his brotherhood now. Oliver grabbed his headset, wrapped it around his ear and said "Green Arrow, online"

***

Chloe walked in the Watchtower with a smile on her face. She dumped her coat and bag on a nearby table and after grabbing a cup of coffee, she walked over to the computers where a note sat on top of one of the keyboards. Chloe opened it, and read Bart's scrawled, fast handwriting.

Dear Chloe,

We came back and saved Oliver. You brought us all together again, and in doing so you saved us all.

I will never forget how you helped me get my powers back, and I am proud to have been right by your side as we got the team back together. But now, it's time to temporarily part ways. Don't worry; it won't be like last time.

We called Oliver and he reluctantly agreed to let us live separate lives. For Now. We all promised to keep the tracking devices and headsets on at all times in case you ever need us and vice versa.

Chloe, this isn't goodbye. We're going to make a habit to check in every now and then, and there will always be missions. Whatever Tess Mercer is up to, we'll get to the bottom of- as a team. Living arrangements have Oliver's touch (just like before), but now, we all have full hearts and a place to call home- the Watchtower.

I'm heading back to Central City. Oliver relocated some of us to safer places- Dinah's going to Star City to work for the Gazette and Victor's working for Queen Industries as an IT guy. We're locatable, I promise. We're ready now- to fight the good fight and take on the world, thanks to you. Don't hesitate to call on us for anything, and always keep us in the loop.

Always,

Bart Allen

Dinah Lance

Arthur Curry

Victor Stone

P.S.: Take Care of yourself!

Chloe wasn't mad, and she didn't feel abandoned. In fact, she felt more than ever a part of something good. She searched for a pen, and after finding a green sharpie, she put a bracket next to their names, and wrote Justice. Chloe laminated the page, and put it on a desk. Her hard work had changed lives after all. She turned on the computers and pressed a button.

The computer voiced "Impulse, online. Aquaman, online. Cyborg, online. Canary, online. Arrow, online." There they all were, just as promised. Able to be located, e-mailed, and called- she looked up at the screens and saw the pictures. There was her family.

She slipped in her own earpiece, and said with one teardrop rolling down her eye, "Watchtower, online."

***

A/N: Thank you guys so much for the support!