++++++ Sorry I didn't post last night, I wasn't feeling up to par and very tired. Excuses, I know, sorry.

Highlander348, WinterRain36, Kindleflame5 - you rock my world when I get up in the morning and see I've been reviewed by usually all three of you. My invisible hat off to you!

Now, enjoy this chapter full of characters to which I still do not own ++++++

Twenty-Five

Somehow I don't think Felicity is too happy with me right now.

When I told her that I was going to be the worst drill sergeant I guess she thought I was lying. Now she knows I wasn't. I woke her up at four the next morning and dragged her skinny ass to the Watchtower for her first training session. I found it slightly funny that she was sending me death glares as she rushed to get ready for work.

Her first training session when pretty well, I had the IT girl doing a series of sit ups, chin ups and spent an hour and a half trying to sort out her balance whilst I played with ideas for her costume and looks. It was nice to get my mind off Oliver and a distraction away from the fact that I now had a boyfriend. Gee-moving out of the mansion and finding myself a boyfriend-damn.

Rebel.

I chuckled at the thought.

Diggle called me as I was leaving the Watchtower, letting me know that Oliver wanted me suited up and following Helena Bertinielli. She had been the one that had almost killed his mother but instead of taking her down like we would a normal criminal-Oliver let her go. He was convinced that Helena had to have a good reason for targeting her family.

Sounded to me like the girl was trying to start a mob war-Diggle agreed.

I was tempted to tell Oliver to shove it and take a go at the List but Diggle had a way of keeping the peace between us. So, after catching up on some sleep and sending various ridiculous texts to Roy-whom I now had a date with the following night, I went to the lair and suited up.

"Is something wrong, River?" Oliver asked me as I practically threw my weapons around.

"Yeah," I growled. "Why don't you just kill the bitch and be done with it?" I snapped.

"You mean Helena?" he asked me with that calm tone that made me want to throttle him.

"No, the Queen!" I snapped. "Of course I meant Helena!"

"River, you don't understand," Oliver shot back. "Just do what I asked you and tell me if you find anything out of the ordinary."

I snorted. "You mean my knife in her back? Cause that's out of the ordinary if you ask me."

Oliver glared at me. "River, just do as I ask you, this once. And don't argue with me. Just watch, I don't want anyone dead tonight."

I snatched my mask and wig off the table and stuck my finger up at him. "Fuck you Queen." I pulled them on and turned back to him. "I have a date tomorrow night so if you call me to babysit I will burn the mansion to the ground," I warned him with my best cold smirk.

"Thank you, River," Oliver smiled.

I left, making my way to the Bertinelli mansion where I sat watching the mobster heiress until she up and left. As I tailed her through the city, I noticed that Oliver was also following her as Oliver Queen and not as the Hood.

Helena and Oliver went to a nearby church and seemed to talk until a black van pulled up and Nick Salvati got out, guns at the ready.

I raised an eyebrow and dialled Felicity.

"Where are you?" she asked, answering without the niceties.

"Track my cell," I answered. "Actually, track the cell of Nick Salvati. I want to know where he's going. He's captured Oliver and Helena."

"Well go rescue them," Felicity urged me.

"Oliver said no one dies tonight, and that I was simply watching," I snorted. "I'm gonna give boy wonder there a taste of his own medicine."

Felicity snorted at the other end. "Shade, you two are partners-you should rescue him."

I shook my head. "Nope, I'm more like his sidekick, Cypher. You and me, we'll be a team I assure you."

"Cypher?" she asked me. "Hmm…I like it. And I ache like a bitch, Shade. You weren't kidding when you said you were going to be a drill sergeant-I have the ping on the phone by the way."

"Keep following it," I ordered her. "When they stop, call the cops and tell them what's going on. Oliver can sort himself out."

"Are you sure?" Felicity questioned.

"Yup," I replied, popping the 'P'.

She sighed. "Okay. See you at the Watchtower."

I hung up and climbed down the side of the church.

I was only following orders.

Oliver hadn't been too thrilled with me not opting to jump in and getting the police involved. He and Helena had less than two minutes to make an escape before SWAT stormed the building. He'd called once he and Helena were free and clear, demanding I get myself to the lair.

Oliver needed to learn that I was his equal, not his sidekick.

I'm no Robin to his Batman.

Or Nightwing, whatever the sidekick of the Dynamic Duo calls himself these days.

I headed back to the Watchtower to see what Felicity had been up to whilst I was gone.

She'd pulled down a lot of the plastic that had been hanging all over the place and set up various tables with computers all over the place. There were several clear plastic cases littered about the place housing various weapons and one with a dummy inside for my costume. I raised an eyebrow when I saw extra wigs in a box beside the dummy case and some more masks which made me laugh. There was a section cordoned off for training, a bay set up for medical emergencies, a fridge, two portable cot beds, a chest of drawers that looked suspiciously like they were from Ikea and surprisingly-a cabinet full of liquor.

"If we have to move this is gonna be a bitch," I warned Felicity as she was bent over a container untangling wires.

Felicity got up and turned around, clearly looking flustered. "Which is why I used the shell corporation to buy the building."

I started unbuckling the various straps on my suit. "So what's this corporation called if I own it?"

"Kōngxū," she answered. "It means-"

"Void in Chinese," I cut her off. "Yeah, I know."

"I invested some of your money into stocks at Wayne Enterprises," Felicity rattled on. "And some in the Daily Planet-"

"You've listed the places in the world that have vigilantes working for them," I mused.

"You've already made over a million dollars today," the IT queen pointed out.

I grinned. "You are amazing, F. I think I should hire you as my personal IT girl."

Felicity snorted. "You can't afford me."

"So we've all this space downstairs than," I frowned, "perhaps we should open a shop or something? Saves me having to work for control freak and you could come work for me?" I suggested, pulling my leather top off and tossing it on the table.

Felicity rolled her eyes and picked the corset up to put on the dummy. "I got this thing for a reason, River."

I grinned. "Hey, did you check out the suit?" I asked her, changing the subject.

"I did," she nodded, "and I made a few adjustments but it's gonna take me months before I can road test it."

I shrugged. "I know, F. It's gonna take you a while to get used to the idea, you're in no way ready to be jumping off buildings-years of training will need to be put into that, but the field tech support will come in handy."

"So what kind of shop are you looking at opening?" Felicity asked me. "This does mean that you can't work with Oliver anymore, you know that?"

I nodded. "It's time for a split anyway. He knows Helena Bertinelli is a murderer-she almost killed his mother but he's convinced that she has her reasons." I groaned and pulled of my boots and pants before handing them to Felicity. I glanced down at the scar on my hand where I had promised to be there for Oliver.

Felicity's hand covered mine. "You're not a child, River. Promise or no, you can't let him lord over you. I mean it. You're your own person. You've got a home, a boyfriend, an amazing flatmate-" I snorted and she grinned, "-you're not Oliver Queen's personal assistant. You're River Quinn, daughter of Daniel Quinn and Ella Wilson. Your father worked for Robert Queen, your mother works for Malcom Merlyn. You shouldn't have to work for anyone. Do what you want to do."

In an odd way…Felicity was right…

I don't know what to do…

What should I do…?

++++++ Sorry this isn't formatted like usual, it's doing weird stuff to me tonight. This is the second time I've had to upload this chapter.

WinterRain36 - Thank you for suggesting Cypher. I love it!

Now - what kind of business should these girls open? Nothing obvious like a dojo or a weapons store - I'm thinking a store that has multiple aspects to it and doesn't just do one thing. I have one idea in mind but I'd like it to specialize in a couple different things. And it has to be hip - not a nightclub. Brain storm people! ++++++