Part 28
Outer Space
Watchtower
The moment Dinah returned to Watchtower she informed everyone that Kara had been working with Oliver. John Jones remained calm and played the part as being surprised as everyone else. He could not let the other know that he already knew. He didn't know how Dinah had found out. Not that it mattered. The secret was out and there was little to do. He just hoped that Kara had enough sense to stay away, because if she didn't he wasn't sure if he would be able to protect her, not if she wanted him to keep the promise he had made to her.
The revelation of Kara's deception had hit Clark the hardest. He distant himself from the group staring out a window with his eyes locked on his adopted world. He couldn't believe that his beloved cousin would ever betray him like this. She was his family, his flesh and blood. How could she have done this? He didn't want to believe it was true. This had to be some kind of mistake, but in the pit of his stomach somehow he had known. There had been something different about her. Things he had chosen to ignore. That is until now...
"She's been deceiving us," exclaimed Andrea angrily to the others. "Who knows how long she has been feeding Oliver Queen information." There was no telling what she could have told him. She could have easily told him where they were keeping all the criminals and then some.
"Let's not jump to any conclusions," announced Victor calmly. "Maybe there's a perfectly good reason." Victor wasn't ready to give up on Kara just yet. There had to be more too this. "Maybe she was only pretending to be with Oliver to see what he's up to."
"I wish that were true, Victor," sighed Clark heavily. He would love nothing more than for Victor to be right. That this was just all a misunderstanding, but he knew his cousin. He knows how she thinks. She's kept secrets from him before. Gone off on her own, with her own agenda in mind.
"So you're saying Oliver, got to Kara, and somehow convinced her to spy on us," exclaimed Bart, not being able to believe that this was true. "I mean that's pretty low, even for Oliver..." Bart's known Oliver to make some questionable choices in the past, but he never believed him capable of something like this. Oliver knows how important Kara is to Clark, she is Clarks link to a world and family he would never known. He just couldn't see Oliver using Kara to get back at Clark.
"It sounds exactly what he'd do!" hissed Dinah crossing her arms against her chest. Once again she would have to prove to them just who exactly Oliver Queen truly is and if they couldn't see it then she could do nothing but pity them for the naive fools they were. "None of you know Oliver like I do... And in truth, maybe I never really knew him. Maybe none of ever really knew him..."
"I'll admit Ollie isn't perfect, but maybe we should hear him out," announced Victor.
"Really Victor?" questioned Dinah as she looked him hard in the eyes. "After what he did to you?" She walked up to him staring him down. "He planted a virus into you the first day you met," she reminded him. "...and that's not all he did." She looked around the room eying each and everyone of them. "He has files on every one of you, on all the Justice League. Not just our strength and weaknesses, but also about our past, our friends and families. Our whole lives..." She had seen the files with her own eyes, but thought nothing of it at the time, but now she sees it as proof that Oliver never trusted any of them and would use any means necessary to stop them if he saw fit. "And he will use the information against you, just like he did with Victor, ….only this time he may stop you for good."
"We should regroup, call Stargirl back in and get to a more secure location," announced John Jones.
"That's what he'll be counting on," announced Clark as he turned to face the group. He knows Oliver well enough to know how he thinks and what his plan of attack would be. If they were going to put a stop to Olivers plans they would have to be one step ahead of him. "He wants us to react to him. To pull back and go on the defensive..." Clark knew they couldn't do that, not if they wanted to win this fight. He would have thought by now Oliver would have come around, but now he sees that will never happen. "Oliver's always likes being the one in charge of any situation. He thinks he's the one with all the knowledge with that smug superiority of his, always prepared..." Clark tightened his fists together. He wished things didn't have to be this way, but Oliver had made his choice and now it was time for him to make his own move, to put a stop to this once and for all. "Not this time!"
"What are you planning on doing Kal?" asked Andrea as she locked eyes with Kal and gave him a smile letting him know whatever it is she was behind him all the way.
"What I should have done from the beginning," he announced before turning to Victor. "Victor, switch on to the Emergency Broadcast system on all devices."
"Where?" Victor asked as he sat down in front of the computer.
"Everywhere..." Clark wanted to make sure everyone, anywhere and everywhere would hear what he had to say, whether it be on TV, tablet, computers, smart phone or radio.
"All right," announced Victor as he turned around in his chair to face Clark. "It's all ready for you big guy."
Clark thanked Victor and made his way to face the camera where his face was being shown live all over the world. He took a deep breath needing to remind himself why this needed to be done. This was not something he wanted to have happen, but Oliver had left him with no choice. "People of earth!" he exclaimed promptly knowing it would gain their attention and stop them from doing whatever it was they were doing at that exact moment. "I am sorry to inform you, but we have been betrayed by one of our own. ….And I am even more sorry to say, I have kept something from all of you for some time." He had thought he was protecting a friend, but he has come to realize that may have been a mistake. It was a mistake, because it had cost him of everything he has ever held dear. "Green Arrow, who you all know is Oliver Queen has manipulated my own cousin into spying for him, telling her things about me that are not true..." It broke Clarks heart more than words could describe what he was feeling inside at that exact moment.
Star City
Queen Residence
Training Room
Oliver, with Zatanna standing behind him watched on the screen listening to each and every word that was coming out of Clark's mouth. They could both feel their hearts racing. It was very clear that Clark was more than just angry by what happened he was furious. He was hurt and those two together could be a deadly combination.
"Oliver lied and manipulates those around him to get what he wants," Clark announced angrily. "And doesn't care who gets hurt in the process, ….but no more!"
"What is he up too?" asked Zatanna having no clue what Clark expected to gain from this. What was he up to, but she had a feeling that wherever it was it couldn't be good.
"Oliver may have come out years ago to reveal himself as Green Arrow, but that was not the only secret he has had hiding in the closet..."
"Oliver..." exclaimed Zatanna feeling her heart skip several beats. There were only one of two secrets Clark could be referring too and one of those secrets really wouldn't work right now. Though she suspected at some point Clark would do something about that, but right now there was only one thing he could be talking about. And she knew it would not end well for Oliver if that secret ever got out.
"Damn you Clark!" exclaimed Oliver knowing what Clark was planning on telling everyone and that he only mere moments to put a stop to it. He quickly worked his way typing a code into the computer.
"The real reason why Winslow Schotts was able..."
"Protocol Icarus!" exclaimed Oliver to the computer, within seconds the screen went blank and it wasn't only blank there, but on everything device throughout the world.
"What did you just do?" asked Zatanna.
"I bought us some time," answered Oliver.
"Time for what?" asked Zatanna not understanding. What exactly was Protocol Icarus?She had never heard of any protocol before, but then again Oliver was known for keeping secrets. "And what it Protocol Icarus?"
Oliver couldn't look her in the eyes. He wasn't happy by his actions, but he felt it was the only thing he could do to buy himself the time he needed. Time he did not have. "Oliver what did you do?" he heard Zatanna ask him and would continued to ask until he gave her an answer.
"Protocol Icarus is Watchtowers Space Base, contingency plan, a fail-safe in the preventive emergency of sensitive information falling into the wrong hands," he took a deep breath and sighed heavily as he finally found the strength to look her in the eye knowing that just wasn't all it was.. "It's a manual shut down of Watchtowers power."
"But that would mean?"
"Yes," Oliver answered knowing very well what it meant and how much of a bad guy it made him look and how it could likely end any chance of ever working things out with Clark and fulfilling the promise he had made to Chloe. But what else could he have done? It wasn't like Clark was giving him a whole lot of options. He truly hoped there was still a way to save his friend, but right now he had to worry about keeping him safe, so that there would still be someone to save Clark from the path he has fallen on. "They have less than ten minutes to evacuate Watchtower..."
"Oliver..." exclaimed Zatanna not being able to comprehend what he had just done. She couldn't believe that he could ever do something like this. "How could you? We have friends up there and not all of them are like Clark..." Zatanna knew that aside from Clark and John Jones the rest needed oxygen to breathe.
"We both know Clark wont let anything happen to them," answered Oliver knowing for well that Clark would die before any harm came to those closest to him. Oliver wasn't looking to hurt anyone, he just needed to buy himself some time and maybe at the same time shut down a base of their operation, even if only temperately. "I don't expect you to understand..."
Outer Space
Watchtower
"What happened!" demanded Clark wanting to know why all the lights had gone out and the video feed had gone dead.
"It's Watchtower!" exclaimed Victor who used his own senors to do a quick scan throughout Watchtower to see what had just happened. "Oliver, he somehow was able to shut all of Watchtower down." He knew he shouldn't be surprised that Oliver had snuck in some manual code so that he could shut down Watchtower when ever he wanted. "I should have known he had some backdoor control to shut down everything."
"Is the teleporter working?" asked John Jones knowing that only, Clark and him would be able to fly out and return to earth safely, but everyone else would need to teleporter in order to get back down to earth.
"Everything is offline!" exclaimed Victor urgently. He could feel his heart pounding against his chest. "Including the life support systems1" The very thing that kept all those of them who were human, powers or no powers alive.
"What?" exclaimed Bart. He couldn't believe that Oliver would go to such great length to stop something he didn't agree with. "He knows were up here. Right?" There had to be some kind of mistake, sure Oliver could be a bit bold headed and a bit of a jerk, but he would never in a million years suspect the guy who pulled him off the streets all those years ago to be capable of doing this.
"We must get Watchtower down to earth before those of you that need oxygen run out," announced John Jones. "but we can't go outside without breaking the hull." It would be a little more complicated than that and John Jones knew that time was something they did not have. They needed to act quickly before their problem got worse than they already were. He turned to Clark as he felt his heart racing fearing for the lives of all those around him. "Kal-El, you and I must-"
"NO!" exclaimed Clark angrily. He was beyond furious that Oliver would do something like this. He understood that Oliver didn't agree with how they wanted to handle protecting the earth, that he was still grieving over Mia's death, and missed his family. But Oliver was not the only one grieving. Clark knew first hand what grief felt like and doesn't want anyone ever again to fell the pain he is carrying. He had tried to explain himself to Oliver, tried to work things out, but Oliver wont hear it. There was only one thing left for Clark to do and that was to tell the world the truth. It was time for Oliver to own up to his sins and pay for his choices.
"No," gasped John Jones stunned, not believing his own ears. "What do you mean no?" Didn't Clark know what was happening here? That time was not something they had?
"He wants our hands full. He wants his secrets! Oliver is buying time so he can put together his contingency plan in order, exclaimed Clark as he meant the eyes of everyone around him wanting them to know that he wasn't about to let that happened. Oliver will not destroy everything they have worked towards. He would make sure the world knew the truth about just who Oliver Queen really is and just what he has done. "I will not give that to him. ….Let me finish addressing earth."
"Without power, Watchtower has no way to communicate with the earth," answered Victor who had tried everything he could to get power up and running, but whatever Oliver had done prevented him from being able to turn the power back on, including the backup power systems.
"Hold on a sec! You're pretty much a living computer," exclaimed Dinah her eyes meeting with Victors.. "You're telling me you can't get ten or so words online?"
"Well... I suppose we could give it a try," answered Victor. He had never done anything like this before, but he was willing to give it a shot. Within moments Victor Stone aka Cyborg, was able to connected to Superman social page and was able to finish getting what Clark had started and told the world the truth about Oliver Queen and how he knew what Winslow Schotts was capable of.
'OLIVER QUEEN, COULD HAVE PREVENT METROPOLIS TRADEGY IF HE TURNED TOYMAN A FORMER EMPLOYESS, IN YEARS AGO, BUT MONEY WAS MORE IMPORTANT TO HIM'
Within seconds the short message was all over the world shocking people beyond belief. It was no secret to anyone that Winslow Schotts had once worked for Oliver Queen, but what no one knew was Oliver Queen had known all along what Winslow Schotts also known as Toyman was capable of.
"It's done," answered Victor, whether for better or for worse he didn't know. Only time would tell.
"All right!" announced Clark as he turned to face the others. "Now we can bring down Watchtower."
"Are you all right?" asked Andrea as she gripped Clarks shoulder giving him a concerned smile.
"Oliver made his choice," answered Clark. "And so have I."
"And what about Kara?" she asked.
"I will deal with Kara when the time comes," answered Clark. With that said Clark made his way into the center of Watchtower where John Jones was waiting for him. Together the two would bring Watchtower down to earth. "Prepare for reentry!"
"Go slow guys," announced Victor his voice both alert and concerned. "We're not running out of oxygen at a high rate. I think we would all like to make it back to earth in one piece, Watchtower included." The last thing Victor wanted to have happen was anymore complication. "I want to try and fix whatever Oliver did to Watchtower and get it back up in space asap."
Star City
Queen Residence
Bedroom
Oliver was packing a bag, when Zatanna came bursting into her room just as he heard the loud sound of copters outside his home, no doubtingly the word had gotten out that he had known the truth about Winslow Schotts bomb making hobby. Now everyone would be out to get him, not that he could blame any of them. There was no one he blamed more than himself for what happened in Metropolis, because just maybe if he had informed the FBI, the police whomever that his former employee was constructing bombs, that just maybe ….just maybe none of this would be happening.
"Oliver..."
"I know I can hear them," he answered as he zipped up his pack. He then grabbed a family photo of Chloe, him and their son. He stared at it for a few seconds before breaking the frame where he took out the photo and folded it up before sliding it into his pant pocket. "I'm sorry Zatanna, ….I should have never gotten you involved in this." He sighed heavily, realizing the mistakes he has made in his life and wishing there was something he could do to change them all. "Any of you..."
"I'm a big girl Oliver," answered Zatanna with a faint smile. "I knew exactly what I was getting into when I agreed to stick with you."
"Well speaking from past bad publicity," he answered. "It might be wise for you to stay clear of me." The last thing he wanted now was for some bad to happen to her, because of him. She really was the only friend he still had left and he would never be able to forgive himself if something happened to her.
"Now why would I do a thing like that?" she answered as she leaned closer to him and kissed his gently on the cheek. "You wouldn't want me to be breaking a promise now would you?"She had promised Chloe that no matter what she would always be there for Oliver and have his back. She had no intentions of turning her back on him now, because now it seems he would need her more than ever.
TO BE CONTENUED
