Due to the changes I've made in season 2 because of Buffy and Thea, I can't really follow season 2 as complete canon. For example, I've had to bend the Cyrus Gold stuff a bit. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with Blood. He'll be around, but I'm not sure how much. I hope that doesn't bother anyone too much, but this is a clear AU.
Chapter 37: Can Anyone Keep a Secret?
******The Next Day******
Oliver was still reeling from the news that the sister he adored was related to the man he despised. He was down in foundry basement trying to blow off steam when Felicity arrived on her lunch break.
"Hey," she said, smiling. She held take-out bags in her hand. "I thought I'd eat lunch with my boyfriend." She seemed particularly pleased with his new title.
Oliver couldn't help but smile at her. She was so cute—the always burning light in his dark world.
"Thanks," he said. He grabbed a towel and wiped himself down. Then he leaned down and gave her a light kiss.
Felicity began pulling the food out of the bag, chattering as she did so. "Guess what? Detective Lance is a detective again!" she shared.
"Really?" Oliver said, taking a drink.
"He caught the Dollmaker and now Malcolm Merlyn, who everyone thought was dead. It's obvious he is wasted as a beat cop," Felicity said, pleased.
"Good for him," Oliver said. "Of course, having you as an asset just makes him better."
Felicity grinned. "Yeah, well, catching Malcolm was just dumb luck," she pointed out. "I didn't have anything to do with that one!"
"Don't you mean it was Buffy?" Oliver said.
"Oh, yea, that's even better. The guys at work are treating Detective Lance like he's some kind of god because he's managed to land Buffy," Felicity said, laughing.
Oliver smiled. "They think she's just a really good fighter? They're not suspicious?" he wondered.
Felicity shook her head. "They're just focusing on the fight. It's like they suppressed the memory of Willow pulling their guns out of their hands with her magic," she said, shaking her head.
"Well, of course, they wouldn't suspect magic. It's not the go-to place for most people's minds," he said with a smirk.
"Yeah, maybe. But they don't even seem to recall them all dropping their guns at an inconvenient moment," Felicity said, shaking her head. "Only Lance, of course, since he's in the know."
"Are they saying anything about Merlyn being connected with my mother's acquittal?" Oliver asked in concern. Even though they knew that Merlyn was responsible for it, he didn't want to see her back in prison.
"No. I doubt Merlyn will say anything—not if he went through the trouble of getting her off," Felicity said.
"I just can't believe Thea's related to that monster!" Oliver said in disgust.
"She's also related to Tommy," Felicity pointed out. "That's what you should focus on."
Oliver nodded. "You're right. Tommy was good no matter who his dad was," he said. That made him feel a bit better. Felicity always made him better. He reached out and took her hand. "How did I ever manage without you?"
"Well, you didn't manage very well. You were all dark and broody," she said, giving him a loving smile. "I, of course, love all versions of you."
Her words warmed him, and he couldn't resist kissing her. When he pulled back, she gave him a dreamy smile. "You are so good at that!" she exclaimed.
He chuckled. "I've had some practice," he said.
"That should bother me, but since I now benefit from your considerable expertise, I'm just grateful!" she declared. Then she sat down and picked up a fry.
Oliver loved her a little more every day it seemed. There just wasn't anyone else like her. He sat down next to her and grabbed the other burger.
"So have you talked to Thea?" Felicity asked.
"I went by there last night. Thea was a wreck," Oliver said. "Buffy and Willow took her with them. She didn't want to be near Mom. I can't say I blame her."
"How does your other keep a secret like that so long?" Felicity wondered.
"She's a complicated woman. It's not like my father was ever that faithful to her," Oliver shared.
"Seriously?" Felicity asked in surprise.
"I know there was someone when I graduated. I came in on them arguing once," Oliver said. "I doubt there was only one. A woman doesn't turn to her husband's best friend without a really good reason."
"Good point," Felicity said. "Do you think Merlyn will actually get a conviction? He bought off one jury already. Who's to say he won't buy another?"
"Dig is already contacting his ex-wife. Lyla's going to talk to Amanda. I think ARGUS can find a hole to stick him in somewhere," Oliver said.
"I think he'd qualify as a terrorist, so Homeland should be willing to move him to Guantanamo Bay," Felicity said.
"Whatever happens to him needs to happen soon before he orchestras a break-out," Oliver said.
An alert went off on the computer. Felicity moved to check it out. "It looks like that truck that was used in the break-in at Queen's has just been used in a blood bank robbery," Felicity said.
"What? Blood bank?" Oliver asked in surprise.
"Yep," she said. "Should I contact Dig or Buffy?"
"See if either of them are near that location," Oliver said as he grabbed his suit. "If they're close, have them meet me there."
Soon he was on his bike and heading to the location. He spotted the truck on the road and pulled up next to it. Oliver knew he needed to stop the truck or all the blood would be lost, so he maneuvered his bike even closer and jumped onto driver's side and broke the door's window. He hit the driver repeatedly, but the driver seemed oblivious. Then the driver reached out with one hand and grabbed Oliver by his neck. His grip was like a vice. Oliver tried in vain to break lose. Incredibly, the man lifted Oliver into the air so that he was hovering over the road. Desperate for air, Oliver grabbed one of his arrows and stabbed the man hard in this hand. The hand released him, throwing him hard onto the pavement. Oliver landed hard on his shoulder.
"Oliver? Oliver!" a panicked Felicity called out.
Oliver was grateful for the GPS Felicity insisted he carry and gasped, "I'm hurt. Send Buffy or Dig." He looked at his uninjured arm and realized that he had the arrow he'd stabbed Gold with still in it. Maybe, the guy's blood would reveal his secrets.
Dig got Oliver into the van and raced to the foundry. By the time he pulled up, Buffy was there also. Both Willow and Thea were with her.
"Is he okay?" an anxious Thea asked.
"I'm okay. My shoulder's dislocated," Oliver said. He was limping also, so Thea moved to his uninjured side to help take him inside.
"Are you okay?" Felicity asked in concern.
"I'm fine," Oliver said tersely.
"He's in pain," Thea said as she led him to a chair.
"My shoulder's out of place. The driver threw me out of his moving truck, and I landed on it," Oliver explained.
"What were you doing on the moving truck?" Felicity asked in disapproval.
"Trying to stop it," Oliver replied.
"Couldn't you have, like, shot out his tires?" Felicity pointed out.
Oliver sighed. She had a point, so he refrained from answering.
"Do you want me to pop it back in place?" Buffy asked him.
"Yes," he said.
Felicity held his uninjured hand and looked away until she heard the pop. Then she turned back and watched as he tried to move his shoulder but still seemed in pain. "Did it work?" she asked.
"It's back in place, but I think my arm's broken," he said.
Buffy looked at Willow. "Will, want to work some mojo?" she asked.
"Sure," Willow said.
"You sure this has no bad side effects? He's not going to like turn into a toad later or something, right?" Dig asked, still freaked about the casual use of magic.
Willow grinned. "You're cute," she said to him. "I see why Faith was so smitten."
Dig looked embarrassed while Buffy snickered.
"I've been healing Xander and watchers without any ill effects," Willow said. "I only normally heal broken bones or fast acting poisons. Cuts and bruises can heal fairly quickly naturally."
Oliver's life had become so strange ever since he washed up on the island over six years ago, so this was just one more thing that he took in stride. He was only grateful when a short time later all his pain was gone. He smiled at Willow. "You are so much better than aspirin," he said to her.
Willow laughed. "Glad I can help," she said.
Oliver stood and picked up the arrow he'd stabbed the driver with. "The guy driving the truck was entirely too strong. He held me out the truck window by my neck. My hits had no effect on him," he said.
"Well, if he's stealing a truck of blood, he's probably a vampire," Buffy said.
"Would a vampire wear a mask? Don't they have a mask naturally?" Oliver pointed out.
"Not to mention the sun is out, Buff. Unless vampires have mastered daylight, it's probably not a vampire. Could be a demon, though," Willow pointed out.
"I'll take this blood sample to the precinct and have Barry analyze it," Felicity said, holding out her hand for the arrow. Oliver passed it to her. "I'll let you know what he finds," she said. She kissed Oliver goodbye and left.
Dig could tell something was bothering Oliver. "What's wrong?" he asked him.
"This isn't the first time I've encountered superpowered men," Oliver said.
"The island?" Dig asked. Oliver nodded.
Thea looked more interested. There was still so much that Oliver hadn't told her about his time there.
Oliver nodded. "The Japanese experimented with a serum called maruku that gave men superstrength—like a slayer," Oliver said.
"Really?" Willow asked, intrigued.
"Yes, but I destroyed all of it on the island," Oliver said.
"Why would you do that?" Thea asked.
"It made the men crazy," Oliver said.
"It's hard to destroy something created by science," Willow said. "There's always backup formulas. A good scientist would make sure of that."
"Great. Now we have hopped up bad guys," Buffy complained. "Why can't things ever be easy?"
Oliver didn't reply. He was too busy contemplating what it meant that the serum could still be out there. What if they were using blood to recreate the serum? Those possibilities horrified him.
*****The Police Station*****
Since Barry wasn't with Starling City police, he was able to do the blood analysis without filing an official report. Felicity got Lance to allow that much. She called Oliver with the results. "It seemed that the blood had traces of the tranquilizer ketamine," she shared.
"Ketamine?" Oliver repeated, his mind racing. "They must be trying to duplicate the serum. We have to stop this."
"Well, an ARGUS distress bunker with relief supplies is the only place in Starling City with enough to serve the thief's purposes," Felicity shared. "I'll send you the address. Oliver, if this guy is hopped up on some superdrug, don't try to take him on alone. You don't have to do that anymore."
Oliver knew she was right. He had friends and allies that could definitely give him an edge. As much as it bothered him to risk his sister's safety, Oliver knew that she was more than capable. He thanked Felicity and called Thea.
Oliver, Dig, Thea, Buffy, and Willow arrive at the bunker a short time later. Oliver entered first. Hearing something above, Thea raised her head. "Look out!" she called in warning.
Oliver didn't see where the threat was coming from, but Willow did. As a crate fell from above, she used her telekinetic magic to move it out of the way. It fell harmlessly to the ground next to Oliver. He looked at her. "Thanks," he said.
The guy jumped down. He wasted no time hitting Oliver hard, causing him to fall back several feet.
"You may be super strong," Buffy said, jumping in front of the guy. She hit him with her full strength, staggering him. "But so am I."
"Me, too," Thea said, grinning as she kicked him hard in the stomach.
The man was unprepared for such a challenge. The three fighters came at him from all sides, taking turns hitting him. He managed to get in a hit or two, but Dig had brought a Taser with him. He used it, and electricity coursed through the man. He fell on the ground.
"Who do you work for?" Oliver demanded.
The man tried to rise to his feet, but Willow used a binding spell to keep him mobilized. "Answer us or things will get ugly," Willow said, giving him a bright smile.
"The Brother," the man replied grimly.
"Did this brother give you a serum to make you so strong?" Oliver inquired, dreading his answer.
"He saved my life with it," the man said.
"What should we do with him?" Thea asked. "He's too strong for the police to contain."
"I can take him. I can figure out what this serum is made of. Maybe we can find a remedy," Willow offered.
"Felicity's new friend Barry can probably help you," Buffy suggested. "He's got a lab back in Central City."
"He doesn't know about us, though," Thea said.
"I can chain him up and convince Barry that's what's binding him," Willow replied.
"I did a background check on Barry," Dig said. "He was raised by a Central City police detective. He may not be willing to hold a man without due process."
"I guess we can go find out," Buffy said.
"Let's get him into the van," Dig said.
Oliver explored the room. "Guys, we may not need his blood. Look what I found," he said, pointing to the cases of serum.
Willow grinned. It'd been a while since she'd got to use science instead of magic.
A few hours later, Barry was apologizing for not being exactly straight forward about his reasons for being in town. He told them all about how his father was killed. Willow was alarmed and was glad she was going to go to Central City and spend time with Barry before heading back to slayer central. There may be some type of supernatural entity in Central City.
Oliver, though, didn't appreciate Barry's deception. "Next time, try the truth before offering your help," Oliver grumbled.
Barry gave him a sheepish smile. "I was worried you all would think I'm crazy," he said.
"Starling City has had its fair share of weird. We can deal," Oliver told him.
Willow gave Buffy an excited grin. "I can't believe I'll get be in Central City when Dr. Well's latest genius project goes online!" she enthused.
"Yes, it's pretty exciting," Barry agreed, smiling. He was relieved his new friends were being so cool about everything. Friends are what it really felt like they were, especially Felicity.
Willow was saying her goodbyes since she was going to leaving town with Barry, samples of the serum with her to be examined. Barry suggested that if they got nowhere, someone from Star Labs might be able to help.
"I can't believe you're leaving now," Buffy complained, hugging Willow. "You just got here!"
"I'll try to swing by before I leave Central City. I can tell Xander that your new guy gets the Scoobie stamp of approval," Willow said with a grin.
"He'll be glad to hear that," Buffy said, smiling. "I'm just glad you got to meet him.
Willow turned to Oliver. "Oh, Oliver, I'm working on some arrows for you that will magically return back to your quiver."
Everyone stared at her in dismay. Barry looked shocked. "You can do magic?" he asked her. Then he realized something and glanced at Oliver in awe. "You're the Arrow!"
"Willow!" Buffy scolded.
"Oops!" she said, flashing Oliver an apologetic look.
"Can anyone keep a secret anymore?" Oliver grumbled.
*****Chapter End*****
I could totally see Willow blabbing the secret. I hope you enjoyed the update. Check out my new Felicity centered story "The New Battlefield" if you haven't yet.