"Well, don't leave me hanging here." Oliver said.
"As much as I love being the Black Canary, deep down, being a mom is what I've always wanted, on both earths, during both my lifetimes and I'd never forgive myself if I denied myself that now that it's finally happening." Laurel said.
"So, we're keeping the baby?" Oliver asked and Laurel smiled and nodded.
"If it was still just me protecting the city, I'd say no, but with you three, plus Thea, Tommy and Roy, I think the city will be in good hands. Besides, there are other ways I can contribute to the team besides being in the field." Laurel said and Oliver nodded.
"Besides, for two years, you protected the city by yourself. I think you've earned a break, so just take it easy and let the rest of us worry for about it for awhile." Oliver said.
"I guess I can live with that and besides, it's not permanent. Maybe we can convince your parents to give us Raisa to help." Laurel said.
"I'm sure that my mom and dad will be more than happy to provide us with whatever we need to help us raise a kid, since they've always wanted a grandchild to spoil. I regretted that mom wasn't around to be a grandmother for William." Oliver said.
"Hey to be fair, she might've had that chance if she hadn't paid Samantha to never tell you about him." Felicity pointed out.
"Fair point." Oliver nodded.
"Anyways, how did the recon mission go?" Laurel asked.
"We got a pretty good idea of what we're up against when we go up against Diaz." John said.
"Though we'll have to come up with a more creative plan since Laurel is now benched." Oliver said.
"Ollie, I can still fight now." Laurel said.
"Maybe, but if something happens to you, think about what would happen to the baby. Besides, I have a personal axe to grind with Diaz and it'll be easier for me to focus on taking him down if I'm also worried about you in the field." Oliver said and Laurel glared at him.
"That's cold playing that card Ollie." Laurel said.
"I'm sorry Laurel, but please, put your own safety above everyone else's for once." Oliver said.
"Fine, but I'm staying here and running comms with Felicity so I can keep tabs on everything during the mission until I'm put on bed rest." Laurel said.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Oliver said.
"Good, because you don't have a choice about it." Laurel said and Oliver nodded.
"I figured as much. But anyways, Felicity, call Roy, Thea and Tommy in now. We're moving on Diaz before he has a chance to relocate." Oliver said and Felicity nodded.
"So, what's with the late night call?" Thea asked as she, Roy and Tommy entered the Foundry.
"We got a hit on Ricardo Diaz and John and I just finished doing recon on his current base. We're taking him down now." Oliver said.
"Great, after that bastard put a beating down on me, I'm eager for some payback." Roy said.
"No Roy, Diaz is mine. Tommy and Thea, you two are snipers, I want you both on the roof of the facility, keep Diaz from getting any reinforcements. John, Roy and I will take on the ground assault, but once I get Diaz in my sights, I'm breaking off to take him down. Felicity, use your powers to seal the exits to the facility. No one gets in or out until Diaz is dead." Oliver said and they all nodded.
"I can't help but notice that Laurel wasn't included in that mission plan." Thea said.
"That's because circumstances have forced me to have to take a break from being the Black Canary and quite frankly, after doing this solo for 2 years, it's kind of a relief." Laurel said.
"What circumstances?" Tommy asked.
"I'm pregnant." Laurel said bluntly.
"So Ollie's going to be a father again?" Thea asked and Oliver nodded.
"Yeah, and this time, I'm going to be there for my kid their whole life. But anyways, let's suit up and move out." Oliver said and they all nodded as they moved to suit up.
Diaz was currently making plans for his campaign to take over Star City and enter the Quadrant, all of which centered around one man. The Green Arrow. If Diaz was going to take over the city, he'd need to take the Green Arrow completely off the table and doing that would require knowing his true identity.
However, before he could give anymore thought to that, the lights went out.
"Go see what's going on?" Diaz said to his underlings, who nodded and headed out to investigate, only to be cut down by arrows.
"Huh, was not expecting him here tonight." Diaz said as he saw that the arrows were green and when the power came back on, he saw Green Arrow, Spartan and Arsenal standing in front of him.
"Bad idea coming into my home uninvited." Diaz said.
"Ricardo Diaz, you have failed this city." Green Arrow said as he fired at him, only to have Diaz dodge the arrow as his men swarmed the room.
"Sir, the doors have sealed themselves and all communications are down. We're cut off." one of his men said and Diaz scowled.
"I thought you only told Overwatch to seal the doors?" Spartan asked.
"He did, but I figured that a better way to ensure that no backup arrived was for them to not be able to call for any. I'm also using Diaz's tech send out an all clear signal to the rest of this goons so that they don't get suspicious." Overwatch said and Green Arrow grinned.
"In that case, Speedy, Prometheus, feel free to join the party." Green Arrow said as two more arrows landed in the floor and Speedy and Prometheus slid down them to join the fight.
"Won't do you much good considering how you're still outnumbered." Diaz said.
"That's never stopped us before." Spartan said.
"What's the plan here?" Speedy asked as she raised her bow.
"Take no prisoners." Green Arrow said as the battle began.
Green Arrow had fought his way through Diaz's troops until he was face to face with the Dragon himself.
"You know, you coming here, it might just help me move up my plans. See I need to know who you are so I can discredit you. Think you can help a brother out?" Diaz asked.
"You're not my brother." Green Arrow snarled as he slugged Diaz so hard his lip started bleeding.
"I guess we'll have to do it the hard way then." Diaz said as the two began fighting it out, both of them landing some pretty solid shots until Green Arrow finally found his opening.
"Come and get me Dragon." Green Arrow said as Diaz charged at him, only for Green Arrow to pull out an arrow, use Diaz's speed against him to flip over his shoulder, slammed him into the ground and then before Diaz could recover, Green Arrow thrust the arrow as deeply as he could into the Dragon's heart.
"It's over Diaz. This time before it even begins." Green Arrow said as he turned the arrow in Diaz's heart until he'd watched the light vanish completely from Diaz's eyes before finally pulling it out.
"Well man you did it, you beat him." Spartan said as he and the others finished dealing with Diaz's men.
"Yeah, and it felt as satisfying as I imagined it would. He won't ruin my life again." Green Arrow said as he panted heavily.
"What should we do with the others?" Speedy asked.
"Overwatch, alert the SCPD of the scorpions' current location. Diaz was mine, but we can let the cops deal with his underlings." Green Arrow said.
"Copy that." Overwatch said as Green Arrow glared at Diaz's corpse one last time.
"Let's get out of here." Green Arrow ordered and his teammates nodded as they all moved out.