Remember that Barry is NOT the Flash yet in this timeline, so don't be expecting that. I do reserve the right, however, to write a Flash/BTVS crossover featuring Buffy someday. I did begin a short one for those that follow the story but not me. Check it out on my profile page. It's called "Beyond Metahuman".
Chapter 36: Thea Knows
******Queens Consolidated******
Oliver was trying to contain his irritation. The Barry guy and Felicity—his girlfriend—had been talking a mile a minute about things he could barely follow, let alone understand. It was starting to piss him off to no end. Barry had explained his belief that the break-in was done by only one person. He'd used a photo to convince Quentin of the possibility. He'd also pointed out that the bolts were ripped off the doors, not cut. Oliver said nothing, not wanting his own knowledge of a super serum that gave men extraordinary powers to be known. The guy even figured out what was missing—an industrial-grade centrifuge.
When they made it back to his office, Felicity discovered footage of a single man carrying the unit. They were convinced that Barry was on to something. Oliver couldn't dismiss the man out of hand. Diggle came into his office, noticing Oliver's preoccupation with Felicity and Barry at her old desk.
"So Barry does work for the Central City police department, but I couldn't confirm his boss sent him here," Dig said. "But he is who he says he is."
"That's good," Oliver said. "We should probably let Buffy know that there's a super powered individual running around since that's her area of expertise."
"You going to tell Thea, too?" Dig wondered.
"She's helping Mom get settled back home," Oliver said. "I'll take Buffy with me later."
Felicity came into the office, leaving Barry at her old desk. Oliver had asked his new assistant to let her use it for a bit. The woman took an early lunch. "Oliver, Barry and I are going to go back to the warehouse and make sure we didn't miss anything, okay?" she asked.
"I think the cops got it all," Oliver argued.
"Barry wants to get a soil sample," Felicity explained. "He's been tracking this kind of thing for a while."
"Okay. Dig's going to let Buffy know what's going on. She can help me track this guy down since he's more on par with her in strength."
Felicity gave him a beaming smile. "That's great! Then I won't have to worry about you getting your spine crushed or something," she admitted.
"I don't need Buffy to protect me, but I'm also not going to throw myself against some drug crazed super powered thief," Oliver said with a half-smile.
"If you didn't have glass windows, I'd kiss you," she said with a glint in her eyes.
"I'm standing right here," Dig reminded his two friends who seemed to only have eyes for one another.
"Don't you have a phone call to make?" Oliver asked pointedly.
Dig chuckled. "Fine. I can take a hint," he said. He turned and left.
Oliver reached for her hand, hoping Barry would see that she was taken. "So now that you're not working for me, is it okay if I kiss you at the office?" he asked with a hopeful smile.
Felicity looked at him curiously. Then she grinned. "You're not jealous of Barry, are you?" she asked.
"Of course not!" he said quickly.
"I've never had anyone be jealous of me before," she said proudly. "I think I like it!"
Oliver bent closer to her, stopping her with his lips.
Barry watched them from her desk, a stab of disappointment went through him. She was so awesome. He had never felt such instant connection with another person. She was so great. He sighed. Oh well. It wasn't like he wasn't already madly in love with someone else himself. If Felicity got her happy ending, maybe one day he would, too.
******Queen Mansion******
Thea had settled her mother in her room to rest. She'd toyed with the idea of a party, but Buffy said Oliver had called about a new criminal with super strength. The Buffy thought that he could be a demon of some kind, so she and Thea hit the streets looking for him. Willow went with them, so they used it as like a tour. Oliver followed along at the roof tops, scouting ahead. After several hours, they called it quits and went back to the mansion while Oliver met back up with Felicity and Barry. Thea's mom was up, so she introduced Buffy and Willow to her. Moira knew all about Thea's slayer powers and who Buffy was. However, she played it cool and thanked Buffy for being a friend. Her mom went to her office to catch up on her correspondence, so Thea led them to their gym. Roy showed up shortly after they arrived.
Buffy was sparring with Thea while Roy and Willow watched. Roy had like a dozen questions to ask the witch and was trying to figure out how to begin a conversation.
"She's pretty good," Willow said, observing Thea. Although magic gave the slayers the super strength and reflexes some were still better than others.
"Yeah. She's better than me," Roy said. "So how long have you been into the magic stuff?"
"Since I was in high school. I wanted to help Buffy since we went to school on a hellmouth and people were always dying. She saved me from becoming a vampire like her first week of school our sophomore year. By our junior year, I started learning magic from Giles and another teacher," Willow said.
"Cool," Roy said. He couldn't image that type of high school existence. He thought school in the Glades sucked.
"So do you know where the bathroom is?" Willow asked.
Roy told her, and she went out of the giant work out room. The place was almost as big as the mansion Giles procured in England for the slayers. Willow got distracted looking at pictures. Then she heard loud voices and frowned. No one but Moira and them were here. Concerned that someone had come into to harass Thea's newly freed mother, Willow followed the sound of voices. One was raised, so she peered into the room, gasping at what she saw. It was Malcolm Merlyn! Willow recognized her both from the research she'd helped Buffy do before she arrived in Starling and from the news coverage. He wasn't dead after all. The Arrow, or rather Oliver, hadn't killed him. For some reason, he was there in the Queen mansion.
She used her telepathy to tell Buffy, Malcolm Merlyn is here! Come toward the bathroom! She wasn't exactly sure where she was, but she'd gotten there by going toward the nearest bathroom.
Willow debated on whether or not to confront the mass murderer. She knew that she could use her magic to bind him, but she also knew that Buffy and Thea should be involved. When she heard Malcolm insist that Thea be told that he was her father, her mouth fell open in dismay. About that time, Buffy arrived with Thea and Roy on her heels.
"Roy, you stay in the doorway to make sure he doesn't slip by us," Buffy ordered.
Thea's mind raced. How could Malcolm be alive? Why would he be talking to her mother? Was he going to kill her mother? Fear had Thea barging into the room.
"What the hell is going on?" she demanded, looking back and forth between her mother and Malcolm. Buffy and Willow stood behind her prepared to do battle.
"Thea, you shouldn't be here," Moira said fearfully.
"How is he alive? I thought the Arrow killed him?" Thea asked.
"Thea, it's good to see you," Malcolm said, giving her a warm smile. "The rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated."
"Mother, how is he here? Are you in cahoots with him again?" Thea asked, outrage in her voice.
"Of course not!" Moira insisted. "He's…." Her voice trailed off.
Willow spoke up. "He's probably blackmailing her," she said. "I overheard something about him being your father."
"What?" Thea asked in horror. She gave her mother an accusing look.
Moira wasn't prepared to have her secret outed. She'd fought against it so hard during the trial. Even though her affair with Malcolm had come out, she'd managed to keep that little tidbit to herself. Now this woman that she'd just met—this stranger—dared blurt out her very private business. Her withering look said it all.
"Sorry," Willow said with a wince.
"Don't apologize! She probably had no plans on telling me, did you, Mother?" Thea asked.
"No. Why would I? You had a wonderful father that loved you. Malcolm was just a mistake that I'll regret until my dying day," Moira said bitterly.
"Thea is no mistake. She's my daughter," Malcolm said. He smiled again at Thea. "I'm glad you know that truth. I just wish your brother could've known."
Thea looked incredulous. Was he truly that insane? "How dare you mention Tommy! He's dead because of you! You killed him along with hundreds of people! You wanted to kill even more!" Thea exclaimed.
"Sometimes a field must be burned so that it can grow back even better," Malcolm said. "The Glades is a cancer in this city. I was simply trying to eradicate it."
Buffy knew this was hard for Thea, but she wasn't going to let this insane man manipulate Thea. She pulled out her phone and sent Quentin a quick text. Malcom Merlyn is alive and at the Queen mansion. Come now! She hoped that he knew it was no hoax. Then she put away her phone and stepped forward.
"Okay, that's enough. It's time for you to go to jail now. I've called Quentin, so he'll be here soon," Buffy announced, stepping forward to stand next to Thea.
"You shouldn't have done that!" Moira said worriedly.
"Why are you trying to protect him, Mother?" Thea asked, trying to put the pieces together.
Willow, though, spent her days constantly figuring out puzzles or anticipating real monster's moves. "Does he have something to do with your not guilty verdict?" Willow speculated.
"I wasn't about to let your mother go to jail. She did nothing wrong," Malcolm said simply.
"Yea, I'm sure you did it out of the goodness of your heart!" Thea said sourly.
"I don't know how you're still alive, and I don't care," Buffy said, taking a step forward. "All I know is that you're not getting away again."
Malcolm grinned. "I'm not sure who you are, my dear, but I know you're ill equipped to handle me," he said with confidence.
Thea snorted. "I wouldn't be so sure of that," she said. She moved closer to help flank him. "I think we can easily take you."
"I don't want to fight you, Thea," Malcolm said calmly. He obviously didn't see them as a threat to him.
"That's okay. I won't need any help putting you down," Buffy said grimly. She moved forward and hit him hard in the face, causing his head to swing back sharply.
Malcolm looked at the very petite woman in surprise. "I may have underestimated you," he said.
"You can't beat Buffy," Thea said flatly.
"I beat your brother. More than once," Malcolm said, hoping to shock her with that revelation that Oliver was the masked vigilante.
Thea shook her head. "Yes, I know my brother's the Arrow. I'm sure Mom already knew. She's good at keeping secrets," Thea said, glancing at her mom, who didn't look surprised.
Malcolm laughed. "Wow. I guess I've missed a lot," he said.
Police sirens were finally heard. Malcolm decided it was time to go and moved forward. However, Buffy was more than ready for him. Moira grabbed Thea's hand and pulled her away. "Don't. Please!" Moira begged. Her fear of Malcolm was so great that she couldn't fathom Thea defeating him. It seemed that not even death could stop the monster her husband had let in their lives so long ago.
When Quentin and several officers stormed through the house, Buffy was exchanging fierce blows with Merlyn. She could tell that Malcolm was a bit surprised at her skill.
"Are you with the League?" he asked sharply.
"No. I'm with a different group," she said. "Some call me the Golden Queen."
Malcolm's eyes widened as he realized who she was. The League had spoken of her and her slayers with great respect. Why was she in Starling City?
Thea wanted to brag and tell her father why Buffy was there, but she realized that the man would just see her power as a tool he could exploit. She remained silent as the two tore through the room, breaking things. She and her mother stepped back to join Roy by the door to avoid any entanglement. Willow had moved by the only window so that he couldn't escape that way. Now that she knew the monster was their new slayer's father, it was even more important they contain him.
As for Roy, he realized that when Buffy was fighting an enemy, she fought with an entirely new level of fury. It was incredible to watch.
The police finally made it to their location, however. Quentin shoved his way in, coming up short when he saw his girlfriend engaged in a fight to the death with Malcolm Merlyn. Fear caused him to pull out his gun. "Malcom Merlyn, stop or we'll shoot!" he yelled out.
"Don't!" Willow cautioned. "You could hit Buffy!" A stray bullet years ago had killer her lover when a man sought to shoot Buffy. Only Willow's magic had saved Buffy, but Tara had been killed instantly. Since then, the slayer and Willow abhorred the used of guns in battle. Only in certain circumstances were they ever used in the field. When he and the six officers with him, ignored her warning, she held out her hand and pulled all the guns out of their hands. Her action distracted Malcolm for a split second, allowing Buffy to knock him off his feet with her roundhouse kick to the stomach.
Quentin's fellow officers were more than shocked at the power behind his girlfriend's kick as well as her skill in hand to hand combat. He had told a few of them that she was a bouncer, and they'd all snickered and made jokes behind his back. Now they realized why he didn't get annoyed and was smug whenever someone made a crack. The woman was incredible! They weren't sure why all of a sudden they'd dropped their guns, but they still eyed the unfamiliar redhead warily. Something was off about her.
As soon as Malcolm was on his back, Quentin moved in to throw on the handcuffs. When Quentin pulled him to his feet, the officers began clapping. No one knew how the man was alive but seeing one of their own finally capture him and not some masked crusader made the moment even better. It didn't matter that Buffy was mainly responsible. Since she was Quentin's girlfriend, he got the credit.
Buffy wasn't really used to fighting with a human audience, so she was more than a bit frustrated with all the attention. When they finally made it outside, the flash of cameras were everywhere. She refused to let Quentin take the very dangerous man in alone, so she walked behind him. Cameras caught Quentin holding the handcuffed engineer of the Undertaking.
Across town, Oliver was trying to enjoy a dinner with his girlfriend even though she'd invited Barry Allen. When people started looking at their phones, he knew something was going on. He looked around for a TV and saw none. "Felicity, get out your phone. Check out the news. Something's going on," he said.
Felicity nodded and quickly pulled out her tablet. A minute later, she grinned and turned it over for the guys to see. "Looks like Malcolm Merlyn is not only alive, but he was captured at your house by Buffy," she shared.
Oliver got to his feet. "I need to go," he said, hoping nothing happened to his family.
Felicity understood and gave Barry an apologetic look. "We'll have to meet up with you later," she said. "If you get any word on Gold, let us know."
"Okay," Barry said easily. "I hope your family is okay."
Just as they made it outside to their car, Dig called. "Roy called. Thea and your mom are safe," he shared.
Relief coursed through him. "Thank God," he said. "Why was he there?"
"Roy said they found out he is Thea's father," Dig shared.
That news hit Oliver hard. The man he most hated was his sister's real father.
*****To Be Continued*****
I thought this would be a good place to stop. Yes, I solved my hatred of the Malcolm Merlyn goes free storyline from season 3 by COMPLETELY altering it! ;) I hope you don't mind too much, but I figure Buffy's presence would alter a lot anyway. Reviews are always appreciated.