The blaring alarm was what woke Oliver up with quite a bit of annoyance. He groaned as he rolled over to his other side and turned off the obnoxious beeping. Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose while looking up at the ceiling, but then glanced over to his left where Nyssa was supposed to be, but found her side of the bed empty and cold.
"Nys? You in here?" Oliver said to the empty bedroom, but heard no reply
Oliver sat up in bed and looked around. It was still dark outside and his clock read six in the morning. He knew that no matter how hard he tried, those numbers wouldn't go backwards so he got out of bed. First, Oliver walked out of the bedroom, while still dressed in his tee shirt and sweats, and walked into William's room. When he stepped inside, Oliver saw William still hidden underneath his covers, obviously fast asleep
"William, buddy" Oliver said as he nudged his shoulder "Time to get up"
"Just….ten more minutes….!" William groaned
"Sorry buddy, but you're going to have to leave a bit earlier this morning. Mr. Ramirez and Zoe are picking you up, remember?"
"Right, right yeah" William said as he sat up "It's Monday, right?"
"Yeah"
"Dam-dang it"
"Watch it" Oliver warned before walking out of the room "Oh! They'll be here at 7:40 to pick you up"
"Okay! Got it"
While William got out of bed, Oliver walked to the staircase and into the family room. To his surprise he didn't see anyone in there, or the kitchen. Oliver walked over to the area where his office was and where the piano was, but still didn't find Nyssa. The next stop was the basement, so he walked over to the door that led downstairs. Oliver only had to take a few steps down the stairs before he saw sitting at a small table that was set up near the corner of the room
"Nys?" Oliver asked once he had come to the bottom of the stairs "What are you doing?"
"Oliver" Nyssa said as she turned around "Wait, what time is it?"
"Little past six" Oliver replied "How long have you been down here?"
"Since two, maybe three. I couldn't sleep"
"And what's all this?" Oliver asked while looking at the map spread out in front of Nyssa "Is that Finiks Jurf?"
"Yeah. We're expanding and I needed to figure out how I wanted to position certain watch towers"
"Couldn't you have done that today?"
"I was supposed to do it yesterday but with everything currently going on, I didn't have time"
"You know, sleep is important too" Oliver said as he put his hands on her shoulders "You should try it"
"I can't sleep when I know something needs to be done. Believe me, I've tried" Nyssa replied
"You're writing in Greek again" Oliver said when he saw all the Greek scribes on the map
"Don't worry, they're just coordinates and details regarding the function of the area marked. Nothing you need to be concerned about" Nyssa started "I'm assuming William's p by now. Are you ready to go?"
"I'm in my sweats" Oliver said with a small laugh
"I know, just thought I'd ask" Nyssa said as she stood up "I'm going to go get changed. Oh, and you'll want to bring your suit or at least your old set of league armor. Do you have one of those with you?"
"Yeah, I had a feeling you would say that so I brought my suit home last night. It's upstairs in our room"
"Great, bring that with because if you just go dressed in that, you'll freeze your ass off"
"How warm should I dress?"
"You'll probably want your heavier coat, and maybe the next thickest one after that. Oh, and you'll want to also bring a hat and gloves. You'd be surprised just how fast you can freeze without the proper coverings" Nyssa said as she started walking up the stairs
"Wow, um, okay" Oliver said to himself before walking after her
It wasn't until around an hour and a half later when there was a knock at the door. Oliver, who had been leaning up against the counter with Nyssa while William sat at the counter eating his breakfast, got up and walked over to the door. He opened it and smiled when he saw a shorter brunette standing at the door with her father behind her
"Hi Mr. Queen!" Zoe greeted "Is William ready to go?"
"I think he will be in a minute. Why don't you two step inside. It's a bit chilly out there" Oliver said
"Thanks hos" Rene said once he and Zoe were inside
"No, thank you for doing this" Oliver said
"Not a problem at all. Zoe hates mornings but she was actually happy to get up today"
"Hmmm" Oliver said with a slight smirk "We'd better watch those two"
"I don't really have anything to worry about. William's a good kid and Zoe knows the rules. Maybe just a refresher every morning but I think she'll be okay" Rene started "But from what I hear, you're going to be stuck in negative degree weather today"
"Yeah, Nyssa said it got cold but I didn't think she meant that cold" Oliver said while trying not to shiver at the thought
"Well, at least you don't work there, or live there for that matter"
"Yeah, at least" Oliver trailed off "Did you want a coffee or something?"
"That would be pretty nice" Rene admitted
Oliver then led Rene into the kitchen, where Zoe, William, and Nyssa were. Nyssa was dressed in her league armor, but didn't have any weapons on her so it actually made her look like a normal person.
"Hey Nyssa" Rene greeted as he sat down at the counter
"Good morning Rene" Nyssa said "Thank you again for agreeing to take William today"
"It's not a problem, really. Although, Oliver, I will be redeeming that favor sometime this week" Rene said with a smirk
"Oh boy" Oliver chuckled "Can't wait"
"Don't worry, it's not as bad as you may expect" Rene said while Oliver slid him a coffee cup "Thanks hos"
"No problem" Oliver said before turning towards William, who was drinking the last bit of milk from his cereal bowl "You almost ready to go buddy?"
"Mmm!" William hummed before putting his bowl down "Yeah, let me get my stuff from upstairs"
"Hey Will" Zoe called "You got a little….something"
"What?"
"Milk mustache"
"Oh" William said before dragging his sleeve over his mouth "Did I get it?"
"Yeah, you're good" Zoe said while blushing slightly, but obviously William couldn't see it
"Cool, thanks!"
While Oliver, Nyssa, Rene, and Zoe were still in the kitchen, Oliver slipped his left hand behind him and subtly gave Nyssa a small high five. She merely turned towards him and smirked before giving her attention back to her cup of tea.
"So hos" Rene spoke up after taking a sip of his drink "Hmm, good coffee. Anyway, besides following Nyssa around all day, what are you two planning on doing in Finiks Jurf?"
"Not entirely sure. Nyssa's been pretty closed off about the whole thing" Oliver said while looking towards her
"You want to know what we're doing today?" Nyssa asked, receiving a small nod from Oliver "Okay then"
"Wait, you wrote it on your wrist?" Oliver asked when she pulled up her right sleeve
"I always write it on my wrist, then there's no way for me to forget because if I do, I'd probably screw someone over" Nyssa replied "Watch tower locations, EW medical protocol, Commanding position exams, my work with Nazaria, and we're going down to Kigoma today"
"Kigoma, where's that?" Rene asked
"Tanzania" Nyssa replied
"And you're just mentioning this now?" Oliver questioned with an eyebrow raised "I'm really starting to question your priorities"
"It's not anything big really. Our stationed troops have just been having a wildlife problem and we're going to be looking into it and then using those same methods across other bases around Africa and India to avoid future problem. Zayn and I are going down there but you're welcome to stay in Norway"
"No, I said that I'm going to go through a whole day like you do. I'll come too" Oliver replied
"Very well then" Nyssa said before taking another sip of her tea
"Shoot, look what time it is" Rene said "You ready to go Peanut?"
"Yeah, I left my stuff in the car" Zoe replied
"William!" Oliver called "You coming down?"
"Coming!" William shouted as he thudded down the stairs "I'm here! We're not late are we?"
"Nope, you're fine" Rene said "Why don't we get going so none of us are late this morning"
"Sounds good" William said before walking towards Oliver "Hey Dad, can you scoot over a little"
"Oh, right"
Oliver stepped to the side, allowing William access to the cupboard where he kept a box of his favorite granola bars. He took out one, stuffed it in his Flash backpack, then turned back towards Zoe and started walking towards the front door
"So you'll pick him up when you get back?" Rene asked
"Yeah, I'll swing by" Oliver said "Thank you again for doing this"
"Not a problem. See you tonight then"
"Bye Dad! Bye Mom!" William called before opening the door "Have fun in Norway!"
"Bye William! You and Zoe have fun today!"
"We will!" Zoe called back
Rene gave one last wave before stepping out the front door with the two teenagers. Once the door was closed, Oliver looked over towards Nyssa, who was still giving her full attention to the warm cup of tea in her hands
"You're more focused on that tea than you normally are" Oliver noted "Something wrong?"
"No, not especially"
"Nyssa"
"I'm fine, really" Nyssa started "But we need to get going too. You'll want to grab your suit and don't forget a hat. I'll meet you downstairs"
"Okay then"
While Oliver started walking upstairs to their room to get his things, Nyssa took one last sip of her tea, then started walking towards the basement after setting the cup in the sink. Since she had only a couple main weapons on her, Nyssa didn't keep it in a duffle bag like Oliver. Instead, she had a small rack set up where her sword, bow, quiver, and a couple knives were. One of the many perks of running a league was that you could have custom weapons made, so everyone of Nyssa's weapons was coordinated with a silver blade, a black base, and golden designs that matched the ones on her armor. While she was putting the last knife on her belt, she heard the sound of footsteps behind her
"I keep telling myself I need to get a rack like that" Oliver said "But I didn't forget a hat"
"Wonderful" Nyssa said before turning around
"Not trying to critique how you do things, but wouldn't you want to keep your hair down to keep you warm or something?"
"It gets in the way when fighting. Being a bit colder is better than losing my life" Nyssa replied "Are you ready to go?"
"Sure, ready as I'll ever be" Oliver said as he moved his duffle bag over his shoulder
"Great" Nyssa said as she stepped into the middle of the room "Stand close but still keep a safe distance"
"I thought we were just going by phoenix"
"We are, but there's fire involved and you should know that fire is dangerous"
"Right, right sorry"
Nyssa turned so she wasn't facing Oliver, then stomped only her heel on the ground. A small swirl of golden orange flames moved away from her foot, then Nyssa moved her right hand upwards. The flames that had been low to the ground followed her motion upwards, then with a simple action similar to pointing, the flames shot in Oliver's direction. They started to swirl around him, then Nyssa split the fire and it did the same to her. Oliver didn't have time to question anything before he saw the white light and felt the rush of warm air. When he opened his eyes, he and Nyssa were both standing in the main entrance hall of the league's base
"New trick" Oliver noted "How long have you known that?"
"About a week and a half" Nyssa replied
"Nyssa!" A voice called from behind
"Hey" Nyssa said when she turned around to face Elena, who was dressed in her league armor that hid the full extent of how far along she was in the pregnancy
"You weren't kidding when you said you were bringing Oliver" Elena said with a small laugh before looking towards Oliver "Guess you need a proper welcoming. Hello, welcome to Finiks Jurf. We only have two rules. One, don't do anything to piss off Nyssa and two, don't do anything overly stupid"
"There are actually more unspoken rules" Nyssa muttered
"Yeah yeah, but he gets the idea" Elena said "Anyway! Hayden needs to know where you want to position the towers by the end of the day so he can start the actually planning"
"Okay, I can get on that" Nyssa started "But how are you doing?"
"Pretty decent. Morning sickness still sucks but I did get that ultrasound after you left"
"And?"
"Andrew and I are going to be the proud parents of…." Elena said with a dramatic pause "A little girl and a little boy!"
"Oh my gosh! Congrats!" Nyssa said happily "It's about time you found out the genders! Now I have to tell Dakota"
"No kidding!" Elena said while laughing "You're going to see him over thanksgiving, right?"
"Supposedly, yeah"
"Great! You can convey the good news then!"
"And I'm guessing you've already picked out names?"
"Goodness no! There's so much to do and I only have four months!" Elena said "Not to mention Andrew. He's excited but not exactly the most helpful. He's a hot mess"
"Well if you need anything, just let me know"
"I will do that" Elena started "Oliver, you've been oddly quiet"
"Just hanging back" Oliver replied
"True, but I'll let you two get going. By the way, Zayn's finished the sabers. He's requested a testing with you this afternoon"
"Great, I'll get on that" Nyssa said while turning back towards Oliver "I don't suppose you have a pen in your pocket?"
"Actually, I do" Oliver said while taking it out of his coat pocket and tossing it towards her "Here"
"Okay, thanks" Nyssa said while she wrote another note on her skin
"You should just keep a piece of paper on you" Elena said
"I have tried that several times but I always end up losing it half way through the day" Nyssa said before tossing the pen back to Oliver
"Huh, only six things today" Elena said before Nyssa rolled her sleeve down "Seems like a light day! I'll let you get going. I have my own things to work on"
"Okay, but don't try to get on a horse again" Nyssa said
"What? It wasn't that bad"
"Lena, you're five months pregnant and that horse was almost two times your height. I'm surprised Andrew took it as lightly as he did"
"Okay okay, point taken, but I'm still going to spar" Elena said, but Nyssa gave her the same look that Oliver recognized as the one he got when he would try to eat the last of the Thai leftovers "Fine, half an hour instead of two"
"Better, I'll see you around" Nyssa said before turning back towards Oliver "You want to ride Charisma?"
"Right, the white pony" Oliver smirked "Sure!"
"You two have fun" Elena said before walking out of the room
Nyssa made a small motion for Oliver to follow her and he did so without question. She led them both outside of the main hall, and down the Cliffside trail that led to the stables near the water's edge. When they got inside, Nyssa was quickly able to find Charisma and let Oliver brush her coat while she went to find Sahim. She walked around the corner a few minutes later with Sahim, all saddled up.
"I still don't know how to saddle a horse" Oliver said
"Then you'll learn" Nyssa said as she released her grip on Sahim's reins, then pulled Charisma's saddle from the tack room
"So do I just put this on?" Oliver questioned after Nyssa set it on the floor
"Goodness no" Nyssa called from the tack room, then walked out with the saddle blanket and reins "This is a saddle blanket. You put it on before the saddle and it acts as padding for the horse's back while also keeping them cool"
"Okay, so how and where do I put it on?"
"Right up to the wither, which is the part that looks like the shoulder blades" Nyssa said, but then glanced outside "Shoot, we have to speed this up. I'll teach you another day, just step aside"
Oliver stepped aside and watched as Nyssa quickly saddled Charisma in a matter of minutes. After she finished adjusting the reins, Nyssa brought two fingers up to her mouth and made a quick whistle. Sahim came trotting over and Nyssa pulled herself up into his saddle
"Please tell me you know how to get into a saddle" Nyssa said
"Yeah, I know that much" Oliver said before getting into the saddle in a similar fashion as Nyssa
Nyssa didn't say another word before giving Sahim a quick kick. The stallion responded by blazing out of the stable. Oliver was expecting it this time and was only a bit startled by how quickly Charisma ran after him. They rode down close to the waterside for a bit before Nyssa pulled Sahim to the left and towards a trail that started going up the Cliffside. As they got higher up, Oliver was provided with a stunning view of the setting sun and all the warm colors that seemed to dance across the twilight sky. To say he was in awe wouldn't have described what expression was crossing his face, but when Nyssa turned back slightly to see if he was behind her, she smirked slightly, thinking about just how much he'll love midnight
-(=+=)-
"Jacob, don't you dare!" Lenora said as she took a step back from the stove
"I won't hit you, I promise" Jacob laughed as he shook the pan a little "Ready? Three, two, one!"
With a quick flick of his wrist, Jacob set the pancake that was in his pan flying up into the air in a spinning motion.
"I got it! I got it!" Jacob called as he took a few steps to the left
Jacob ended up stepping right in front of Lenora and holding the pan over her head, just in time to catch the pancake
"Well it didn't land perfectly" Jacob said while looking at the lopsided pancake "But that's pretty good compared to last time"
"Last time it landed in my food!"
"Okay, but this is still better"
"Yeah, I was almost killed by your cooking. Can't wait to tell your mother"
"I don't think she would mind" Jacob chuckled
"I would certainly mind if my son's cooking killed someone" Lenora said, but then heard a knock on the door "I wonder who that is"
"I have a pretty good guess" Jacob smirked
Lenora walked to the front door and didn't really hesitate when she opened it. Standing in the doorway was none other than Connor, but he was dressed in a pair of jeans and a tee shirt
"Morning Connor" Lenora greeted "Are you here to harass us for breakfast?"
"Yes and no" Connor said as he stepped inside, Lenora shutting the door behind him "Of course I'm here to see my baby brother-"
"Hey! I'm more mature than you!" Jacob called from the kitchen
"Likely. You're over there still trying to learn how to flip a pancake" Connor chuckled
"Riiight, and I'm sure they taught you how to flip pancakes in the corps"
"No, but I could still do it"
"Prove it!"
"I'll prove it when I finish what I'm saying" Connor said, then turned back towards Lenora "I'm actually here for you"
"Oh?"
"A certain someone would like to see you"
"You called the FBI on me for parking two minutes over the meter time, didn't you?" Lenora smirked with an eyebrow raised "Oooh, I've KNOWN you wanted to call them on me since the day we met!"
"I didn't, I swear" Connor started while laughing "They actually wanted me to arrange this, not the other way around"
"And who is this mysterious-" Lenora started, but was interrupted by another knock on the door
"See for yourself" Connor said as Lenora started to open the door
"Hey sis!"
"Oh my gosh, Trent!" Lenora said with a huge smile when she saw her older brother standing at the door "You're back!"
"I've only been back for around two hours" Trent laughed before hugging her "How have you been?"
"Pretty good. How was Europe?"
"Ugh, so many business meetings. More than enough to last me a lifetime" Trent chuckled "Although, I did see something on the news about a plague going through the city. What was that about?"
"Oh right" Lenora started "Yeah, someone came through the city and released a plague to get revenge on someone who has family here. That's all I've learned from Nyssa and Oliver"
"Ah, and were you guys able to stop them?"
"We didn't do anything to stop them, but we would have loved to help the SCPD" Lenora said while giving a subtle motion towards Connor "Jacob and I got hit with the plague before we could offer our services"
"I see" Trent noted
"Jacob, you said some pretty weird stuff while you were sick" Connor brought up
"Please…don't remind me" Jacob groaned "Anyway! I've got pancakes! Do you two want any?"
"Sure, what the heck!" Connor said
"I've got the day off" Trent shrugged "Let's see just how good you're cooking is"
"Better than it was a couple months ago for sure" Jacob said as he slid a plate over the counter, which had a pancake cut into four pieces
"Good shape" Trent said as he picked a piece up
"What? Did you become a pancake snob while I was away?" Connor chuckled
"Nah, Europe just does that to you" Trent laughed "Dad taught me all about proper steaks when we were in France"
"Rich boy" Connor snickered "Join me in the corps! We'll teach you about properly dining on an MRE and how to use an AR-15 at the dinner table"
"Gee, thanks Connor" Trent said as he gave his old friend a slap across the arm, then went back to the pancake "Not bad, not bad at all"
"Definitely better than the last batch" Lenora said after swallowing her bite "I give seven out of ten"
"Seven and a half out of ten" Connor said
"Six and three quarters" Trent said
"The rich boy knows his fractions" Connor teased
"Gun sniffer" Trent snickered
"Oh you're bringing that insult back" Connor laughed "You play by the books!"
"I try my best"
"They're like best friends" Jacob whispered to Lenora "How'd that happen"
"They were roommates in college" Lenora whispered back, getting an odd look from Jacob "What, you didn't know?"
"Nah, Connor never told me anything" Jacob said as he went back to the stove while the two older brothers continued their conversation "Do we have any whipped cream?"
"Of course we do" Lenora said while going through the fridge "We're not savages"
"That's it! Trent laughed "It was tent savage!"
"That's my favorite!" Connor laughed before slapping Trent across the shoulder "You came up with the best insults!"
"This is definitely a different friendship" Jacob whispered to Lenora
"You don't say"
-(=+=)-
When she came to the outside of the stables, Nyssa pulled Sahim to a stop and waited a moment before Oliver stopped Charisma at her side.
"That was….something" Oliver commented as he and Nyssa both got down from their saddles
"Definitely" Nyssa said while walking with Sahim towards his stall "What time is it on the clock over there?"
"Uh….nine sixteen" Oliver said "But it got dark really quickly. I thought it would be lighter outside"
"Welcome to the north" Nyssa sighed while looking at her arm, which she had written on earlier "We're really behind. We should have been back almost an hour ago"
"It seemed too fast almost. We looked at over fourteen different locations for the towers so how was that slow?"
"There are only so many hours in the day Oliver" Nyssa said as she put Sahim in his stall, then quickly took off his saddle and reins "Can you take care of Charisma?"
"I, uh…"
"Never mind, just leave her there. The stable boy can handle her. Just give her some oats to keep her occupied" Nyssa replied
After Oliver had given Charisma a hefty helping of oats, he quickly followed Nyssa out of the stables and up towards the trail that led back to the main hall and other caves.
"What's next on the list?" Oliver asked
"I need to drop these coordinates off to Hayden, then we're going towards the training hall where I'll run a weapons test with Zayn, then I've got to test the new commanders"
"Commanders? Are those the assassins you arranged to have trained so you didn't have to lead a bunch of missions?"
"Yeah, the first few phases of their training were completed and before I send them out in the field, I want to make sure they know what they're doing so there aren't any stupid causalities"
"Reasonable" Oliver muttered "And after that?"
"I'm talking with Abigail on the EW medical protocol, I'm working with Nazaria today, and then we're leaving for Kigoma. After that, we should be done"
"Okay, sounds pretty straight forward" Oliver said, but Nyssa just rolled her eyes with a small sigh that he didn't pick up on
When they came to the entrance of one of the caves, Nyssa turned into it and walked up a staircase that led to the second level. On their way towards one of the workrooms, they passed several assassins that weren't actually dressed as assassins but more like normal scientists and other workers. They came to a large set of double doors, which Nyssa pushed open, revealing a large workroom. Up ahead, Oliver saw a man with chocolate brown hair looking over a large map pulled up on a TV, along with three other people
"Hayden" Nyssa called, making them all turn around to face her
"Ah! Morning Nyssa!" The chocolate brown haired man said as he walked over "You got the locations?"
"Yeah" Nyssa said as she handed him the piece of paper
"Oh, perfect" Hayden said before passing the paper off to another person, who started inputting the coordinates into the computer "We'll have a plan for the extension to you by the end of the week"
"Excellent, but as for requests that you asked me to add if I felt it necessary"
"Yes?"
"The main opening to the fjord, we need to add something like a bridge over that along with some gate"
"I agree. Something to act as a barrier for ships other than our own" Hayden said before pulling up another map on a different computer screen "So we were thinking about adding a port over here in this opening, and then making a larger cave up in the stone that will extend back towards the sixth one we have built in this main channel"
"Sounds good, but we might want to add something up above the main caves for other transportation" Nyssa said while pointing at a different location on the map
"Yes, I see your point" Hayden noted "We'll get to work on it. I believe Zayn is waiting for you in the training hall. He told me to pass that message"
"That's where we're heading next" Nyssa said before walking towards the door "Thanks again"
"No problem" Hayden said before Nyssa walked out
"That was quick" Oliver noted "So we go to Zayn next?"
"Yeah, he's been waiting long enough" Nyssa replied
Without another word, Nyssa led the way out of the cave dedicated to the science division and towards the one that was dedicated to training. When she stepped inside, she saw several groups of assassins completing basic training. Nyssa completely ignored them and went up a large staircase that led to the levels above. They passed the second and third level, but turned off the fourth level. There was a long hallway that they walked down with several rooms branching off where other groups could train, but up ahead, there was a large set of double doors. Nyssa came to the doors and when she pushed them open, both she and Oliver were given a perfect view of what was going on in front of them. Zayn stood in the middle of the room with a couple tables set up and was walking around with some other assassins that Nyssa recognized belonged to the science division.
"Nyssa!" Zayn said happily when he saw her walk through the doors "Okay, I've been waiting to show you this for the past week"
"You seem more excited than when we usually run a weapon test" Nyssa noted
"With good reason" Zayn replied, then turned to his assistant "Dylan, can you please pass us two?"
A black haired assassin that only looked to be around sixteen walked over to one of the tables and picked up two things that looked like metal hilts of a sword, but while Oliver stood back and watched, he could have sworn that he had seen those hilts before. Dylan handed both Nyssa and Zayn a hilt and then walked back over to the table.
"So what is this?" Nyssa asked while looking down at the hilt
"I've been working on this weapon for almost four months and up until I got those bo staffs completed, this was more of a side project" Zayn said while lightly tossing the hilt in the air "This is similar to the sword with the retractable blade I made a few months ago, but this blade is made entirely of lasers"
"Sorry, what?"
"The sword has a core powered by dwarf star alloy and a combination of laser systems from some of the most cutting edge technology worldwide. When activated, the hilt will release a concentrated laser through the top and using the natural pull of gravity, it will keep the laser at a certain length and shape. All you have to do, is this"
Zayn took a few steps back from Nyssa and hit a small button on the hilt of the sword. Immediately, a green laser shot out from the top and kept a length of about 32 inches. He swung it around a couple times to show off the stability of the blade
"Dylan, bring me the test subject" Zayn said
Dylan turned back towards the table and a couple seconds later, be came back with a jumbo sized marshmallow on a metal rod.
"The core functions in a way where it keeps all the heat from the blade towards the internal part of the laser so not as much is emitted when activated" Zayn explained as he held the marshmallow over the blade, but it was still turning a golden brown rather quickly "But obviously, it's still hot"
Nyssa looked down at her own hilt and pressed the same button that Zayn had used to activate his. When she pressed hers, a cyan laser rose up from the top of the hilt. She swung it around a few times before looking back towards Zayn with a smirk
"Holy shit!" Oliver said from the side
"What is it?" Nyssa asked
"You created a lightsaber!" Oliver said with a weird smile
"A what?" Zayn asked
"Wait, seriously?" Oliver questioned, only getting weird looks from both Zayn and Nyssa "You haven't seen Star Wars?"
"No. I'm an assassin, a technological physics scientist, and head of the science division. I don't have time for such things" Zayn replied
"Wow" Oliver said with a small gasp "One of the iconic parts of the movie series is a weapon called a light saber. It looks EXACTLY like those and nobody has been able to actually make one"
"It's not that hard. They just don't know how to do it properly or don't understand basic sciences" Zayn replied "Anyway, I haven't tested the weapon in an actual match so I wanted to try it out with you since you can actually defend yourself if something goes wrong. Once I perfect it, I want to start training people to use them after I find a way to disguise its heat signature"
"Sounds good" Nyssa said as she took her stance "Any guidelines?"
"Just a normal sword fight" Zayn replied as he took his own stance "Dylan, stand back a little. You remember sparks sometimes fly"
"Yes sir" Dylan said as he took a few more steps back
Once both Dylan and Oliver were at a safe distance away, Nyssa and Zayn ran towards each other. As soon as the blades made contact with each other, an array of bright sparks shot out in all directions, but because of the armor that each of them was wearing, Zayn and Nyssa weren't affected. While Zayn tried to take offensive swings, Nyssa blocked them with defensives spins and soon, they came to a stale mate.
"So far, I like it" Nyssa said as they walked around each other in a circle
"Good, but there are still some changes that I want to make that will make it even smoother" Zayn said
Once again, Zayn ran towards Nyssa and this time, she snagged the offensive for a bit. While she was still advancing on him, Zayn pulled a more quick move and stepped behind her. He forced her into defensive and while he was advancing on her, Nyssa was forced to take some steps back. Zayn decided to try a fancier maneuver he had been working on and started to increase the speed of his attacks. Nyssa wasn't being given enough time to counter them and had to step back at a much faster rate. She had just tried to avoid a head shot and while she was still recovering from that move, Zayn swung his sword near her chest. Nyssa stumbled backwards and fell, but her leg ended up getting caught near Zayn's, bringing him closer to the ground as well. Unlike Nyssa who had landed on her back, Zayn was still on his feet but was starting to fall towards her fast and while his sword was still activated. Nyssa didn't have time to jump out of the way and saw a bucket of water off to the side, so she immediately shot her hand out in front of her. The water from the bucket sailed across the room and froze as soon as it made contact with Zayn's arm and the floor. While Zayn's arm was still frozen in place in the small wall of ice, the saber in his hand clattered to Nyssa's left, making her pull her hand away immediately
"That was…..unexpected" Zayn said from where he was still frozen in place "I got carried away. Apologies"
"It's fine" Nyssa breathed as she started to stand up while holding her left hand
Nyssa made a downward motion with her right hand and unfroze the water that was holding Zayn's arm in place. He stumbled forward and if Dylan hadn't stepped in to move the saber, he would have fallen right on top of it
"I think the sparks and the heat should be contained a bit more before trying this out with other assassins" Nyssa noted "But I think it will come in handy when it is ready"
"Well that's good to hear, but yeah, work definitely needs to be done" Zayn said "Did I hit your hand?"
"Small burn. It's fine" Nyssa replied "I have to get going. I'm already behind and I know Abigail and Ishaq are waiting in the main hall"
"Okay. I'll probably have it ready for testing again by next week. Thanks for agreeing to do this and sorry about burning your hand"
"Not a problem" Nyssa said as she turned back towards Oliver
"Are you alright? Lightsabers and cool and everything but that didn't look fun" Oliver said as they walked out of the room
"I'm fine. Things happen during testing but it will all be worth it in the end" Nyssa replied "Could save a life one day"
"True" Oliver replied
From that point on, they walked in silence through the midnight air and back towards the main hall. When they stepped inside the large entrance hall, Nyssa saw Ishaq and Abigail standing by the edge of the largest pool of eternal water, which was elevated about seven feet above the main floor. Oliver hung back a bit while Nyssa walked up a small staircase built into the sides of the pool and just watched the water as it fell down the waterfall, into the main pool, then flowed down the series of pools and into the two rivers that led outside the main hall.
"Hey" A voice said from Oliver's left "I didn't expect to see you guys back here by this time"
"Hey Elena" Oliver greeted "What do you mean this time?"
"Nyssa creates schedules for herself and tries to follow them, but things always come up and other things get scattered" Elena started "It's amazing she can keep this up, and for this long"
"Wait, what?"
"She hasn't told you?"
"Told me what?"
"Huh, even with that's she's told me about your work life, I would have imagined she did" Elena started "For the past two months or so, she has just been going at it without any breaks. Before that, her and I would get something like lunch but ever since she started the training of the new commanders, more and more things have been coming up that she has to deal with personally. As far as I know, she's barely getting any sleep because whatever she doesn't have time to finish here, she ends up doing back in Star City. She's made it quite clear to me that even though she has all these things to do, that she's always going to be home in time for dinner and to actually be a mother"
"She hasn't told me any of this…."
"Probably because you've expressed how busy you are with all your meetings, appointments, speeches, the vigilante team, and being a father. She didn't want to make you even more stressed out by worrying about her"
"But if she just told me-"
"Hopefully you've figured this out, but Nyssa doesn't know how to tell you that, or anything regarding the league for that matter"
"So she's just been keeping it to herself this entire time?"
"Pretty much. Occasionally, which is now only once every three weeks or so, we can actually sit down and talk and that's when she tells me this stuff"
"And on top of her not knowing how to tell me this stuff, we're always busy at home. Between my work from the office, the basic family schedule, and the work with the team there's never any time"
"Hopefully all that will stop at some point. I'm honestly surprised she hasn't collapsed yet. I've tried to give her a day off to just catch up with a real life but every time she's close to getting that day, something always comes up, I swear"
"Is there anything I can do?"
"As far as I know, you don't know how to run a league"
"What about you? Can't you take over for a day?"
"Believe me, I've tried, but every time I have failed miserably. It's not exactly a breezing doing what she does, but to add on top of it, I'm carrying two children and I can't see my feet" Elena said with a slight smirk "But, I still do what I can. Andrew's doing the same but Nyssa gets a bit pissed off when she has to try to explain to us what we have to do. Understandably too, she's been getting nine things she has to finish by the end of the day on average"
"I only get five max and those are usually small things, then I get to work ahead" Oliver said while he continued to watch Nyssa talk with Abigail and Ishaq "Is there anything I can do?"
"Hmm, if you see her sleeping, don't bother her and if you can do something yourself, do it" Elena said "But I think the main thing for you would be if you want to complain about something, keep it to a minimum. Obviously she's got her own things to-"
"Nyssa!" A voice yelled from the entrance
Nyssa, Abigail, Ishaq, Elena and Oliver all turned around to see an assassin running as fast as he could towards the pools of eternal water while trying desperately to regain his breath
"Nyssa….the East Bratva….the troops you have stationed there…..they've been over thrown…." The assassin said while trying to get his breath back
"What? What's going on over there?!" Nyssa demanded
"There's an uprising…..taking place over…..a weapon…the Bratva planned…..to use it against….this base" The assassin breathed "From what the message said…the assassins weren't able to get to the weapon…before they were all taken out….the weapon still needs to be adjusted before launch, but it sounds like it could level this place"
"The Bratva got ahold of a nuke?" Ishaq questioned
"Or another missile of sorts" The assassin breathed
"It doesn't matter what it is specifically, we just need to get it deactivated" Nyssa said "Go find my team and get them on a cargo plane to the location of the uprising. Abigail, find Zayn and tell him to get on the coms. Ishaq, you're with me"
"I'll get the computer sciences division ready to deactivate something remotely" Elena said as she quickly walked out of the room
"I'm coming with you" Oliver said as he jumped to Nyssa's side as she walked towards the exit
"Beloved, no" Nyssa said bluntly "If something happens out there, I need you to stay here and get back to William. He can't just be left alone, not after the island"
"You're not going to die out there and I'm going to be there to make sure of it!"
"Fine!" Nyssa said after a minute "Get your suit and meet us at the runway. I don't have time to argue this"
Oliver quickly followed Nyssa to the runway with his duffle bag in hand while she continued to bark orders at the assassins that were working to get the last minute flight up into the air. It wasn't even ten minutes after the news had been delivered when a cargo plane with a team of fourteen assassins was in the air, heading straight towards the site of the Bratva's launch.
-(=+=)-
"Okay, so it says that a parallelogram has a perimeter of 44cm squared and an area of 64cm squared. It's 5x+4 long and 3x+2 wide. Find X" William read aloud
"Ugh, I always have trouble with these ones" Zoe said as she shifted her position into a criss cross on the couch "It's the squared part that always gets me"
"Same" William said
"Daddy?" Zoe asked
"Yeah Peanut?" Rene asked from his desk
"Do you know how we should do this problem?"
Zoe got up from the couch and brought her text book over to Rene's desk. He pushed his paperwork aside and looked over the problem that the two teens were stuck on
"If I were you, I would start by breaking down the squared amounts into normal amounts so 44 would become 1936. From there, I would do 2(3x+2)+2(5x+4)=1936 and then from there, simplify for X" Rene explained
"Okay, thanks Daddy!" Zoe said as she almost skipped back to the couch, where she had been settled while William sat on the ground with his things spread out on the coffee table
Besides William and Zoe's muttering from the side of the room and the sound of Rene flipping papers over, it was mostly quiet and peaceful in the deputy mayor's office. They were all still working when Rene's phone started vibrating on his desk top, causing him to jump slightly after being heavily concentrated on his work. He picked up the phone and immediately picked up when he saw the caller ID
"Hey Hos, what's going on" Rene greeted when he picked up
"Hey Rene, what time is it in Star City?" Oliver asked
"Uhh…." Rene started "Almost four o'clock in the evening. Why?"
"Can you please take William home with you? Something incredibly unexpected came up here and right now, I'm on a plane with Nyssa heading to Bratsk, Russia. I don't know when we'll be home, but hopefully it will be before midnight if everything goes well"
"What's going on exactly? I'm sure someone will have questions"
"There's an uprising and a possible missile or even nuke attack on Finiks Jurf. We literally learned about it less than a half hour ago and this is the only chance I've been given to actually fill you in"
"Okay, you do what you have to do. Me and the kids will stop by your house on the way back to our apartment and pick up anything William would need in case he has to spend the night"
"Thank you Rene. There's a key in a small planted on the side of the house to the left of the deck if you're looking straight at it from behind. It's in the one with the sugar snap peas too. William knows where it's at too"
"You got it hos. He's more than welcome to stay with us, but I think he would appreciate it if you would call him after you finish stopping that threat"
"I'll do that. Thank you again Rene, but I have to go"
"I get it. You and Nyssa go end that problem and show those fools who's boss!" Rene cheered "See you two later"
With that, Oliver and Rene both hung up and when Rene put his phone down, he saw William and Zoe both looking over him with a look of curiosity, but also hidden fear
"Are my parents alright?" William asked
"Yeah, they're fine and they're going to be fine. Your dad just called to let me know that he's going to be getting home a bit later tonight, before midnight mostly, so he asked me to have you stay at our place until he gets back, just to be safe" Rene replied
"But, they are coming back, right?"
"Yes, they will be coming back. You dad said that once they stop this threat, then he'll call you and let you know he's coming home, so keep your ringer turned on"
"Okay, thanks Mr. Ramirez" William said, then turned back to his homework
Zoe flashed her dad a small smile, then went back to writing down the rest of a math problem. Rene also turned back to his work and tried to get back to it, but as he did, his mind kept drifting to the question of 'what would happen to William if something happened to those two?'
-(=+=)-
"Keep your coms on. We'll stick together and once Zayn gives an exact location on the weapon, all of us will split off into teams of two and meet up at the location. Any Bratva members that you see, spare no mercy. They could be the death of our people if you aren't willing to take the first shot" Nyssa instructed while the plane started landing on Russian ground
"And what happens if the missile is launched while we're still in there?" An assassin asked
"Then warn Zayn and the rest of the computer division as soon as humanly possible. They'll start to disarm it remotely and we'll do what we can to disarm it from here. If all else fails…..then we have missile protocol set up that I'll implement" Nyssa replied
After she said that, murmurs started to pass between the thirteen assassins that belonged to Nyssa's team. Oliver, who had been standing next to Nyssa looked down at her and noticed that she seemed a bit more distant than usual. No doubt it was the thought of all she had worked for in the last ten months being destroyed in a single second, not to mention the hundreds, almost a thousand, or so people that were there at this very moment
When the plane landed, Nyssa led the way outside and onto the old runway where they landed. Thankfully, Zayn had sent the coordinates of the launch site to the pilots so they could land the plane as close to it as they could.
"Launch site is two blocks from here. Let's go" Nyssa said as she pulled up her hood
Oliver and the rest of the assassins pulled their hoods up and followed Nyssa towards the launch site. After some maneuvering around nearby warehouses, they soon came to the outside of the one where that was being used as a launch site. Nyssa and the other assassins were easily able to confirm that after seeing a large, open hole in the roof.
"Nyssa, from heat signature, there are around thirty to forty Bratva members in there, and that's just in the general proximity of the nuke. That is definitely a nuke in there by the way so even more motivation for you to stop it" Zayn said over the com
"Okay, what about in the other areas inside?" Nyssa asked
"I can't tell. There is some type of signal blocking layer in the roof and I can only see near the nuke because of that opening. From my guess, there could be almost a hundred in there"
"We'll resort to explosives to clear the area out initially, then go into hand to hand" Nyssa instructed, but this time over the universal channel so everyone could hear
"Nyssa, explosives?" Oliver questioned on their private channel "Are you sure that's a good idea"
"Zayn was the main producer of them. I trust him and his word completely. It'll work" Nyssa reassured "But we have to move in. I doubt they'll hold off a launch any further"
With that, Nyssa started to walk around the side of the warehouse, spotting her assassins at random points. When she was near the entrance, she saw several assassins ready their explosives on their custom bows. Once they all had them aimed towards the door, Nyssa used her own explosive arrow on the door. When she fired it, the metal door was thrown open and immediately, her assassins started firing their explosives inside. An array of smoke started to pour out of the warehouse. Nyssa raised her arm into the air and ordered a cease fire. When she did this, all the assassins jumped down from their positions and ran into the ware house with Nyssa. Oliver followed close behind and when they were inside, they saw several defeated Bratva members and some that were recovering. The assassins that were in the front quickly ran towards the recovering ones and ended them on the spot without any hesitation, them having the same motivation as Nyssa.
"This sections clear" An assassin announced
"Move in" Nyssa commanded
The other assassins followed Nyssa into another section of the warehouse, where they were met by around forty more Bratva members. With the combined efforts of the fifteen people from Finiks Jurf, they were all able to get past that section and moved into the one which Zayn had reported as the last, and also the one where the nuke was.
The group had come outside of a set of heavy metal doors with a series of locks. One of the assassins leaned forward and put a small circular device on the lock. The small light on the top flashed white three times, then turned to a dark blue as the lock clicked. The assassin took it off the lock, then a couple of them pushed the doors open in a flash of movement.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to get here" A man said he turned around to face Nyssa and her team "Daughter of the Demon and-"
"Anatoly?" Oliver muttered
"Oliver Queen" Anatoly remarked with a small laugh "Who would have thought"
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Why would I tell you what I am doing. Our connection ended two years ago after you used the Bratva to your advantage and screwed me over" Anatoly said firmly
"I'm here for my wife" Oliver said in his gruff tone
"You married the assassin? Not that blonde" Anatoly chuckled "You certainly have an odd taste in women"
"Anatoly. Last chance" Oliver growled "Step. Down"
"Not a chance. See, your wife has been causing my organization some troubles as of lately, as I'm sure she's told you" Anatoly started "I'm simply here to end it, once and for all"
"You know I could stop you in an instant" Nyssa said as she stepped forward, taking her hood off in the process
"They all say that" Anatoly remarked before glancing towards Oliver "I can see why you chose her over the blonde"
"Keep him distracted. Computer division is working in the launch system of the nuke and we need a bit longer" Zayn told Nyssa and Oliver over the coms
"Anatoly, we've tried this peacefully. We've given you over eight months to comply and this is your final warning. Step down, or we will come in with our full forces" Nyssa growled
"In case you haven't figured this out, this is a nuke" Anatoly said while gesturing towards the missile, which was pointed up right "When I hit this button, that nuke will launch and destroy everyone and everything in your little base, along with all the cities within a 19 mile radius will be destroyed"
Nyssa quickly drew an explosive arrow from her quiver, aimed it at the detonator, and fired. The arrow immediately hit the device and destroyed it in an array of sparks. Anatoly dropped it and just chuckled
"Do you really think I wouldn't have a backup plan?" Anatoly smirked "You are more naïve than you look, and to think you run a league. It's sad really"
"Last chance" Nyssa growled as the thirteen assassins behind her, plus Oliver, all pointed their bows with nocked arrows at Anatoly and what remained of his men in the room
The only response they got was Anatoly's men rushing towards Nyssa's team. A fight soon broke out with each assassin taking on at least two of Anatoly's men. While everyone else was engaged with one of the henchmen, Nyssa ran towards Anatoly and started throwing her punches at him. They exchanged several blows and Anatoly even tried to shoot her a couple times, but Nyssa was able to dodge all his bullets.
"Nyssa, we were able to disarm the nuke's launch system remotely, but there is still a backup that can be activated. That needs to be stopped on sight. You can do so with that skeleton key that you guys used on the door. We'll start reprogramming it" Zayn said over the coms as Nyssa continued to fight Anatoly
"You make a worthy opponent" Anatoly noted when they jumped back from each other in order to take a short break
"I haven't even begun" Nyssa growled
"Hmm, that's unfortunate" Anatoly said as he pulled a lighter out of his pocket and activated it "I'm sure you've noticed the floor is wet by now"
Nyssa looked down and noticed that indeed, the floor was covered in some clear liquid that almost looked like water, but had an oily appearance to it. When she was finally able to notice its presence and just what it was, it was already too late. Anatoly was already leaning down with the lighter so on instinct, Nyssa tried to reach towards him to put out the flame but found herself frozen, like she was completely stuck in fear. Anatoly's lighter made contact with the ground and immediately, the entire floor burst into flames. Everyone that was fighting, regardless of side, broke away from the fight and desperately tried to get out of the room where the flame was growing larger and hotter. Nyssa and Oliver both started running towards the exit and since he was a bit further ahead, he ran through the exit first, but as soon as Nyssa was about to go through, the ceiling shook and a large pile of metal used for support in the ceiling fell down, trapping her inside.
"I-Is…..anyone there?!" Someone called out into the fire while coughing
Nyssa covered her mouth with her sleeve and walked deeper into the blazing room. She maneuvered around all the piles of fallen debris until she found the source of the voice; Ishaq
"Ishaq" Nyssa coughed
"M-my leg's….stuck" He coughed out
Nyssa looked over a bit and saw that Ishaq's leg was stuck underneath a large pile of metal that had fallen from the ceiling. She bent down and started pushing off the debris, just enough for Ishaq to pull his leg out from underneath it
"We have to go" Nyssa said as she pulled his arm over his shoulder
"Thank you" Ishaq coughed out as Nyssa started to lead them out of the room where the fire was heaviest, but it had already spread to the rest of the warehouse "Nobody in the original league….would have done this"
"Then they need….to straighten out…their priorities" Nyssa coughed while guiding them around the flames
Nyssa had to get them both over some obstacles, but after around three minutes of walking through the flames, they soon got outside to where the rest of the assassins and Oliver were waiting. As soon as they were in a safe zone, both Nyssa and Ishaq dropped to their knees while trying to breathe in the pure air. Two of the assassins saw that Ishaq had been injured, so they got to his side and started helping him back up and towards the plane. Oliver got down to Nyssa's side and gave her a hand in standing up
"Where's the skeleton key!" Nyssa demanded
"Right here!" An assassins said as he quickly passed it to her
"Nys, what are you doing?" Oliver asked
"The nuke. There's another way for Anatoly to launch it on site after reactivating it. Zayn said this is the only way to stop it and I'm not going to just leave it here and risk the lives of the people in Finiks Jurf!" Nyssa replied
"Nyssa! Fire and a nuke in the same room is bound to end horrifically!"
"Then so be it! Better my life lost than a thousand innocent ones!"
"Nyssa, wait!" Oliver called, but Nyssa had already run back into the building
"Zayn, what's going on?" Nyssa asked over her coms
"We've reconfigured the skeleton key so we can use the tech inside to get access to the nuke's main control panel, but Oliver was right, this could end horrifically" Zayn replied
"Tell me what I have to do"
"There's a large control panel on the side of the nuke. Find it, pull it off so the internal tech is exposed, then place the device smack dab in the middle"
"Got it"
Nyssa jumped back into the burning warehouse and as soon as she did, she could tell that the flames definitely got hotter. She worked her way around several obstacles and more sections of falling ruble until she got back to the room where the nuke and control panel were. When she stepped inside, Nyssa saw that the nuke was completely surrounded by flames except for one section. Her luck couldn't get any better because right in the exposed section was the control panel. Nyssa quickly walked through the room while not trying to breath in the smoke but wasn't able to avoid it completely
Once she was standing right in front of the control panel, Nyssa pried off the top revealing the complex tech on the interior. She pulled the device from her side and pressed it against the side of the nuke
"I need you to activate the on button and the reset button at the same time" Zayn instructed
Nyssa put her fingers on the two buttons and once she pressed the down at the same time, the light on the top changed from white to a light green shade
"We're in. Just stay there for another minute in case something goes weird"
Nyssa was still standing there in the middle of the blazing room when a loud shaking echoed from above her. She had just enough time to jump out of the way of a pile of falling debris, but had to skid out of the way of another before it landed right where she was standing less than three seconds ago
"Z-Zayn….I-I can't!" Nyssa said over her com "I can't stay in here much longer"
"It's okay, we got it, just get out of there!" Zayn replied
Nyssa didn't second guess him and started making her way towards the exit of the warehouse, but found she was having a hard time due to the quickly rising temperatures, the falling ceiling, and all the smoke that was filling the room. Her normal route outside had been blocked off by more debris, so she planned on going a different way, but when she turned around, Nyssa felt a quick heat rise up her back. She bit her tongue and stumbled out of the way before she had a chance to make a sound but despite the setback, Nyssa kept on moving
She struggled to get through, but after around five minutes of desperately trying to escape, Nyssa saw a small opening towards the side of the wall and almost ran towards it. When she got through it, she stumbled to the ground and immediately started to breathe in the pure air. Nyssa sat up from the ground and turned around to face the warehouse, or what remained of it in that matter
"Zayn, tell me you have good news" Nyssa said over her com
"We got the best news. Shortly after you left, we completely disarmed the nuke. It's nothing but a large piece of flaming scrape metal now" Zayn replied
"Thank god" Nyssa breathed
"Nyssa!" An approaching voice shouted from her right
"Oliver" Nyssa said in relief as Oliver skidded to his knees and brought her into his arms
"A-Are you alright? You aren't hurt, are you!?" Oliver questioned
"I-I'm fine" Nyssa stuttered "Zayn got the nuke disarmed. They can't use it against us"
"Good, good" Oliver said with a small sigh "Please don't ever do that again. You scared me to death!"
"I promise I won't do anything stupid beloved" Nyssa said with a small smile "Now that we've finished what we came here for, we should get back to Finiks Jurf"
"Okay, that sounds good" Oliver said as he got up, then pulled Nyssa to her feet "Wait….Nyssa"
"What is it beloved?"
"Your hair" Oliver said as he picked up a lock of it from Nyssa's ponytail, showing her that the ends were burnt to a crisp almost four inches up
Nyssa looked at the lock of hair disappointedly before realizing that that was what she had felt burn on her back. She moved her hand behind her head and picked up another lock and found it was exactly the same as the last; fried
"It's just hair. It will grow back" Nyssa said, although she still seemed disappointed "I'll do something about it when we get back"
"Okay, if that's what you want to do"
-(=+=)-
Nyssa and Oliver walked down the steps from the runway and onto the trail that led to the main hall. Oliver had changed out of his suit and was back in his regular clothes, which were indeed keeping him warm in the freezing weather, while Nyssa remained in her league attire. When they walked into the hall, they both saw Elena, Zayn, and Andrew sitting on the steps to the risen platform. When they caught sight of the Queen couple, all three sprung to their feet and started walking towards them
"If that wasn't good team work, then I don't know what is" Zayn said as he joined up with Nyssa and Oliver "Great job you two did out there! I'd say that was our best nuke destruction mission yet!"
"Our first and hopefully last. Glad to see you're both safe" Elena said as she pulled Nyssa into a hug, but pulled back slowly while holding a lock of Nyssa's burnt hair "My gosh, what happened?!"
"Warehouse caught fire and I got caught in a smaller fire" Nyssa explained "It's not a big deal, I'll just cut it off later or something"
"No, you're not going to cut your hair, I am"
"What?"
"Last time you cut your hair, you used a knife out in the field and it broke off part of my soul. When you've got a task such as this one, I'm not going to let you screw it up and accidentally give yourself a pixie" Elena said as she started pushing Nyssa to the side "Come on! Let me fix it!"
"Okay okay, I'm going" Nyssa said after resisting
"Elena sure looks passionate about this" Oliver noted once Nyssa and Elena were out of the room
"She used to be a hairdresser, nonprofessionally that is" Andrew replied "She made an appoint to teach me how to cut my own hair because it was bothering her"
"Sounds like Elena" Zayn said with a small nod "Anyway! Glad you're safe, now I have to get back to my workshop. I've got my own projects I'm working on"
"And I have a coordination division that's waiting on me" Andrew said "You're free to do whatever you want Oliver. The kitchens are usually serving breakfast around this time, but I'd hurry up, the eight o'clock rush is due soon"
"Got it, thanks Andrew"
-(=+=)-
"I don't even know what to say about this" Elena said while looking at Nyssa's hair "Four inches were burned to a crisp"
"Okay, so can you just cut those ends off?" Nyssa asked from the chair she was sitting in
"I wish, but initial burn only goes up four inches. The actual damage goes up for another four to six so a grand total of around nine inches need to be cut off, then there's just the general end evening since some areas of the burn are more severe"
"Just do what you have to, but please don't cut it all off. I actually like my long hair"
"I do too" Elena said "It was beautiful which is why it's actually painful for me to cut all of this off"
"That doesn't help my confidence at all"
"Sorry!" Elena said while picking up a pair of scissors from the table to her side "But please, forgive me for this. I actually think you'll look really good in the end"
"Okay…..just do it"
Elena didn't give Nyssa any more time to question her judgement but right before Nyssa could say something else, Elena picked up a large piece of hair right in the back of her head and cut it off without a second thought. Nyssa immediately looked down at the floor and saw the eight inch long piece of hair lying on the ground
"Aww, this is going to be harder than I thought! I'm not used to changes like this!" Nyssa said before turning away so she could see the lock of hair
"Don't worry, I won't fail you Nys" Elena laughed "Besides, you'll look like a French model when I'm finished"
-(=+=)-
Oliver stood out on the cliff just outside of the main hall, looking down at the lake, river and waterfalls beneath him. He was still admiring the sight when he heard footsteps behind him. Oliver turned around and saw Nyssa approaching him, but her normal long, brown hair that he was used to was almost completely gone. The hair that had fallen to the middle of her back had been reduced to an inch past her shoulders. It still had it natural lighter brown highlights and wave to it and even though it wasn't what he was used to, Oliver couldn't help but smile
"Elena was right" Oliver said as Nyssa stepped to his side "She promised to make you look stunning but she ended up turning you into a goddess"
"You flatter me beloved" Nyssa said with a small smile "But yes, I'm glad Elena did this because it looks much better than if I were to do it"
"Heh, right" Oliver started "Out there, in the field, I saw you and Anatoly right before he lit the pace up. You had an opportunity to stop him but you froze"
"Guess this is the great day of reveal" Nyssa sighed "I choked. I couldn't do it"
"Couldn't do what?"
"Couldn't bring myself to use my powers"
"What? Why?"
"Because I'm….terrified"
"Of what?" Oliver asked "Nys, you can tell me anything. You know that"
"I-I know it's just…." Nyssa started before releasing a nervous breath "When I first got these powers, I was thrilled to learn just how far I could go with them but as I've been training more and more, I've seen the true power of them and…I-I'm scared that one day I'll lose control and end up hurting someone….or multiple people"
"You're scared that these powers are going to control you" Oliver muttered, receiving a nod from Nyssa "Nyssa, you don't have anything to be afraid of. Whatever could happen, you have no reason to fear it because every single one of us; me, Elena, Andrew, Zayn, Dakota, William, and everyone back on the team in the city are here to help you, no matter the extent"
"Thea mentioned to you the story about the child in Kuwait, did she not?"
"She did"
"That child….her name was Annabelle. She was such a sweet little girl who didn't deserve what happened to her" Nyssa said before wiping a small tear from her eye "I was down there about three years ago on a more personal mission. A fight between me and my enemy broke out and Annabelle's family was pulled into the crossfire. I ended up becoming close friends with her and her family but one day, my enemy took a strike at Annabelle's parents as a way to get to me. As her mother died, she asked me to watch over Annabelle….too keep her safe. I did everything in my power to keep her safe, but my efforts weren't enough. My enemy came and attacked me, but like her parents, Annabelle was pulled into the crossfire and….."
Nyssa wasn't able to finish her sentence before she finally broke and let tears stream down her cheeks. Oliver instinctively pulled her closer and held her close in his arms, almost like he was trying to protect her from the outside world
"Nyssa, it's alright, I get it" Oliver soothed
"It was all my fault…" Nyssa cried softly "I let a little seven year old girl die because I wasn't careful enough to see what was happening right in front of me"
"Nys, its okay" Oliver said "She's in a better place now, where no one else can hurt her"
"I wish I knew for sure"
"On day, we all will but she's up there with her parents"
"Who I promised I would keep her safe" Nyssa muttered "I was dragged into their lives and ended up getting them killed"
"There are just somethings that happen that are out of your control. I'm still having a hard time accepting this as well, but it's true and I wish I had seen it sooner because the more guilt you're carrying on your shoulders, the harder it is to function as a human being" Oliver started "Is this why you didn't want kids, really? Because you're scared something will happen to them and you'll be at fault"
"Innocent children don't deserve living in fear"
"They won't have to, because I get it now" Oliver said "We're just not cut out to raise a young child
"Wait, no" Nyssa said as she pulled away "Oliver, I want a child or two of my own, but I can't physically do it right now with everything that's happening"
"Okay then? What are you proposing?"
"I want to have a child, but when I'm not being demanded by the league every second of the day. They would deserve that much"
"I agree, but when do you think things will slow down"
"Around November or December of next year probably. Getting past the first year is the hardest and from then on it's a learning curve with a more structured schedule"
"I see, so you do want to have kids?"
"Yes beloved, more than anything. I love children and I'd love to have one of my own"
"So….is it settled?" Oliver questioned "We'll just wait until a proper time so we can give them the attention they deserve"
"Yeah, that's what I want to do, if it's alright with you"
"More than perfect, it's been my dream" Oliver said with a small laugh "But were you ever mad at me when I said I wanted children?"
"No, I was mad at myself for knowing I couldn't give one the care they deserve, but I was only mad at you when you kept pushing and pushing"
"Because of all of this, right?"
"Yeah"
"Nyssa, why didn't you just tell me about everything?"
"Because you were already stressed out about all of this. I did not what you do add something else that didn't need more attention than it already had. I was handling it just fine"
"Can we make a promise to each other"
"Of course?"
"Let's promise that we will always tell each other the truth. The whole truth and nothing but the truth"
"I agree with that" Nyssa said "It'd be nice after all of this"
"I'm glad" Oliver said before pulling her into a kiss "I love you Nys"
"And I you beloved"