It was like an old memory, running through the forest of Lian Yu wearing the green hood from Yao Fei Gulong. Running for his life, for his survival, Oliver lost count of how many times he has done just that. He was being chased by someone, he couldn't tell who it was and hadn't even seen them but every instinct in his being told him to run; to get as far away from them as possible and to find a way to once again get off of this damn island. Leaping off a small hill, Oliver landed and then saw a mysterious figure in front of him. Cloaked all in black and their face obscured in shadow, Oliver wondered if this was the person he was instinctively running from. But the time for running had ended, Oliver leaped at the cloaked figure who dodged his attack; and from under the cloak figure's sleeves, two black tonfas appeared.
The figure moved to attack him swinging the tonfas, the moves the figure was using were familiar to him for some reason. Dodging the strikes, Oliver then began to throw his punches but the figure blocked his strikes and then tripped him using the handle of one of its tonfas. On his back, Oliver kicked the figure in the knee causing them to stumble, quickly getting up, Oliver then put the cloaked figure on the ground. Just as he was about to strike, Oliver removed the hood from the figure and stopped to see the face of a woman. She was beautiful with her long blonde hair, green eyes, and nice lips; she was also strangely familiar to him.
"Ollie," Laurel said, startling him back off of her. "It's okay, Ollie. It's okay, take a minute to remember who I am ... and more importantly who you are."
Taking a moment to remember himself, Oliver recalled how he fell during the evacuation on Earth 38 and died in the bunker on Earth 1 surrounded by his loved ones. Oliver also remembered her. Laurel. His Laurel. "Laurel? Laurel ... is ... is that really you? The real you this time?" He asked almost tearfully.
Moving closer to him, Laurel clasped his face and leaned her forehead against his. "What do you think?" She asked with a smile.
Hugging her fiercely and tightly, Oliver was overjoyed. "Laurel." He muttered.
"So, how you've been?" She asked a little sassy, causing him to smile.
"I don't understand, if you and I are both dead then why does the afterlife look like the island," Oliver asked looking at his surroundings.
"This isn't the island, Oliver." She stated. "This is Purgatory."
"I know it's Purgatory, Laurel." He replied.
"No Ollie, I mean this is Purgatory, literally." She clarified.
Taking in his surroundings, Oliver eventually spoke. "Purgatory. Seriously?" He asked still finding it hard to believe.
"You've been here before Oliver. Both of us, actually." She said walking around a bit. "When we came here with Constantine to save Sara's soul. Of course, it looked a lot more like Nanda Parbat back then." She recalled. "As far as I can tell, Purgatory is a place a trial and tribulation. A place where you were truly tested in life. In your case-"
"Lian Yu." He finished for her. "Laurel why are you here, I mean if Purgatory's real then it's definitely the last place that you should be."
"Well, I spent a lot of my life saving your ass, why should my afterlife be any different." She joked.
"I'm serious." He said firmly.
"So am I." She retorted. "Look, I'm sort of aware of some of the things that are currently happening right now, for starters the universe dying. Every universe. And, I'm here to show you how to stop it." She stated.
"How?" He asked.
"There's someone here in Purgatory. Someone who can help you defeat the one causing it." She explained.
"Then let's find him." He said after taking a moment to himself and the two began walking through the island together.
Walking through Lian Yu or rather Purgatory he had to remind himself, Oliver found himself still looking at Laurel ... and looking away from her when she noticed him staring. "Problem?" She asked.
"No. Sorry. But you can't blame me for staring." He said modestly.
"It's okay." She said smiling then looked around the forest they were seeing. "You know if this is what Lian Yu actually looks like, I've got to say I'm surprised by how lovely it actually is despite its reputation."
"Looks can be deceiving." He stated.
"You would know that better than most." She chuckled to which he responded. Once, that settled Oliver looked down briefly and then spoke up.
"Laurel, listen I'm sorry about Darhk. I'm sorry I couldn't save you." He said.
"Ollie, don't go there." She said knowing where this conversation was going.
"I should've-" He started to say.
"What? Stop me from going out that night or stop me being the Black Canary altogether?" She cut him off starting to feel insulted.
"Both. Laurel, I shouldn't of-" He started to say before she interrupted him again.
"Oliver look, I know I wasn't on the same level as you. But I wasn't exactly a complete amateur either, Ted Grant, Nyssa, sparing with the team and more than that you know me. You know I work hard at whatever it is I do and once I make up my mind to do something there's not a lot that can stop me. Besides, in case you forgotten Darhk only managed to kill me because of his Jedi powers." She pointed out accurately, this conversation almost relieved him; almost. "That's not exactly something you can train for. So drop the "Guilt Arrow" routine will ya."
Laurel got in front of Oliver before he spoke again. "Tell me one thing?" He asked. "You said there's someone here in Purgatory that can help us, who exactly?"
"It's not exactly someone, Ollie. It's something." She started to explain.
"Something?" He asked ominously.
"There's a being that exists, powerful beyond imagination. He has many names: the Green Ghost, the Wrath of God, the Spirit of Vengeance. But the most popular is the Spectre." She explained.
"And what is the Spectre?" He in-acquired.
"From what I've heard, he's something that show's up whenever too many lives are lost in horrific catastrophes. I'd say that infinite lives being killed in infinite earths qualifies as sufficient enough for something like it. Supposedly, the Spectre draws strength from the victims lost in the slaughter." She explained.
"And your sure going to this ... being ... is the smartest play?" He asked reluctantly considering how he knows what it's working with god-like beings.
"You gotta better idea, I'm all ears." She replied and they resumed walking. "Look can we talk about something else, please? Like how's my sister doing?"
"What you know about the multiverse dying and a celestial being but you don't know what Sara's been up too?" He asked sarcastically.
"Only the big stuff. Now spill." She asked
"She's still with the Legends, she's leading them now actually." He told her.
"Good for her." She said proudly. "She happy?"
"More than I've ever seen her. I'm pretty sure Ava has something to do with it." He remarked.
"There's an Ava?" She asked in a curious tone.
"Yeah. From what little I know about her, it sounds like she might finally be the one for her." He exclaimed causing Laurel to start laughing to which Oliver chuckled a little too.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I just, ha ha ha, I didn't think there was a man or woman alive that could make my sister want to settle down." She said, her voice full of humor. "What about you?" She asked.
"Well, Felicity and I got married. We also have a daughter now, Mia." He filled her in.
"Congratulations, Ollie, really." She said meaning it. "Does she resemble you or Felicity?"
"Felicity mostly, though her hair is actually blonde. In terms of personality though she's more like me." He acknowledged.
"Stubborn, aggressive, and not always good with playing with others." She pointed out.
"Unfortunately." He admitted as he chuckled.
"Well, I wouldn't be too worried. I mean you got your faults Ollie but ultimately you turned out pretty great." She said slowly to reassure him.
"That means a lot coming from you." He said, then suddenly an arrow flew through the air and struck Laurel in the chest shaking Oliver. As Oliver knelled down and grabbed Laurel, arrows continued to fire through the air as he and Laurel moved into the trees for cover. Putting her against a tree, Oliver took a look at Laurel's wound, there was no mistake the arrow was a direct shot to her heart.
"Argh." She grunted and grabbed the arrow pulling it out of her chest. "Ahh, damn, almost forgot what pain is like."
"Laurel you shouldn't be-" He started to say.
"Alive. Already dead in case you forgot, still feel pain though especially here." She explained still in pain as she referred to Purgatory. "You see the shooter?"
Looking through the cover of the trees, Oliver caught a glimpse of an incoming arrow and quickly covered himself with the tree. "I've got his location. If you can still move can you draw his fire?" He asked frantically.
"Let's find out." She said the got to her feet and ran, the arrows flew through the air trying to hit her. Oliver then ran in the opposite location, while the archer was distracted by Laurel. Circling him, Oliver ran to where the arrows were being fired. Seeing the archer, Oliver tackled him and took him out of his cover spot. Rolling on the dirt, Oliver got to his feet just as the archer did and seeing the archer more clearly, Oliver saw the mask and the black hood was that of Prometheus.
"Adrian?" He shocked and angry. Just as he did Prometheus drew and pulled back an arrow but just as he was about to fire, Oliver, spun around and kicked the arrow; breaking the tip. Getting to their feet, the two traded blows with Prometheus striking Oliver with his recurve bow but eventually, Oliver managed to disarm him of the weapon. Prometheus then unsheathed his chokuto sword from his back and took a stab at Oliver with it but he deflected it with the stolen bow. Oliver then managed to get around Prometheus and grabbed him by the neck intending to snap it, but he managed to slip away from him and as he did Oliver accidentally tore off Prometheus's mask. Throwing it to the ground, Oliver was stunned to see that it wasn't Adrian Chase but rather it was Oliver himself.
"Oh my god? He said shocked.
"What the hell is this?" Oliver said taking a step back, he then realized this ... this was what he was running from when he first got here.
"Expecting someone else?" The Dark Oliver asked moving towards him. "Purgatory uses your own fears against you ... and you should know by now that your worst fear and your worst enemy has always been yourself!" He said aggressively then swung his sword in the same manner. Oliver deflected is with the bow, sparing for several seconds, the Dark Oliver managed to cut his other self causing him to fall to his knees; it was a deep cut, straight above his abdomen causing him to bleed profusely.
"Argh," Oliver grunted in pain.
"You might be dead, but even the dead can feel pain." Dark Oliver said walking around Oliver. "And what Slade failed to do, I will not!" He said and then shoved his sword through Oliver's back causing him to scream in pain. Leaning down to him, as he started to cough up blood from a punctured lung; Dark Oliver whispered to him. "I will make you know complete despair."
Twisting the sword still in Oliver's back, Oliver's screams returned. "Do you know why I appeared to you as Prometheus, Oliver? It's because out of all of your enemies, Adrian Chase was the one who realized the truth about you: that everything you touch, falls to ruins and dies because of you." Dark Oliver stated.
"That's not true, I don't believe that. Not anymore." Oliver struggled to say still in pain.
"Don't you? That fear has never gone away and hasn't gone away because you've seen it with your own eyes." Dark Oliver proclaimed. "You've seen how your actions have destroyed lives not save them!" The counterpart then pulled out a syringe from his person and then stabbed Oliver in the neck with it, after a few seconds, Oliver then collapsed. "I believe that you're familiar with the Red Death."
Sadly Oliver was familiar with it. The same drug the Kovar had used to torture him before he got back home from Lian Yu and just like before, it was one of the worst experiences of his life; even more so now that he had received even more injuries ... endured more trauma ... and more loss. It all came back to him, all the injuries that he had endured: the beatings from Slade, being stabbed by Ra's al Ghul, all his torture at the hands of Adrian, and more. Next came the emotional pain, the deaths of Tommy, his mother, Laurel, Samantha, Quentin, and Emiko. The pain from the trauma those he cared about suffered; Sara and Thea's temporary deaths, Felicity's paralysis, William's grief, and more. All of it, all at once, hitting him like he was experiencing it for the first time.
Removing the sword from Oliver's chest, the dark counterpart began circling him. "I want you to admit something to me, Oliver. I want you to tell me what your crusade has amounted to." The double asked then sliced at Oliver's arm. "I want to know if you've changed anything in that city. If it's any better than when you first got back from Lian Yu." He asked cutting both of his legs. "If it was worth having so many people die in your name or because of your actions." He said the slashed on Oliver's torso. "Well, tell me, Oliver was it worth it!?" He asked cutting him again. "Did it change anything!?"
As the embodiment of his fears continued to cut at him, Oliver continued to remember everything that had happened to him and with a thunderous scream, he shouted. "No. NOOOOO!"
"No, what Oliver?" The Dark Oliver asked finally ceasing his torture.
"No. No, I ... I don't ... I don't know. I don't think I changed anything." Oliver reluctantly admitted.
"Why should you? You've heard what Star City is like in the future. The city is even worse than when you first started and your mission, it doesn't end with you." The Dark Oliver said backing off of him. "William. Mia. Just like you spent your life paying for your father's sins and cleaning up his messes. Now, they'll do the same for you."
Trying to get up, Oliver's hand clutched the dirt on the ground. He wanted to argue but ... deep down ... deep down he couldn't help but think it was true.
"Admit it, Oliver. Admit that your life, that your crusade, that being the Green Arrow amounted to nothing. That it was meaningless. Admit it!" The Dark Oliver yelled.
"Ollie!" Laurel said running towards the two and stopped in her tracks once she saw them. "Holy crap, there's two of you? I can't tell if this is a dream come true or my worst nightmare." She remarked.
"Ah. Laurel." Dark Oliver said pointing his sword at her. "There! Right there, is the biggest example there is! Laurel is one of the people you have claimed to love the most in life, and yet, all you have ever done is hurt her and her family! And then she died a part of your meaningless crusade, she like everyone else has died for nothing because of you!"
"That's not true!" Laurel shouted to both Oliver and this twisted version of him.
"Shut up!" The Dark Oliver yelled back at her.
"No, you shut it." She viciously replied, then looked directly at Oliver on the ground. "Ollie, listen to me. You didn't ruin my life. Yes, you hurt my family and me, especially. But I forgave you for it a long time ago. As for my death ... I'll admit, maybe there was no big meaning behind it. Hell, maybe there's no real meaning to anyone's death. But my life ... my life was not meaningless, you understand me. While there were plenty of things that I still wanted to do, I don't regret the things I did as a lawyer or as Black Canary, I don't regret the people I helped or being a part of your mission." She said passionately and walked closer to the two of them. "Oliver your mission ... your crusade, it wasn't meaningless."
"Yes, it was!" The Dark Oliver countered.
"No, it wasn't Ollie!" She cried ignoring the other's comment. "You need to believe that. You need to believe that everything that you've done has amounted to something because it has! The people you've saved, the lives you've changed, it meant something. It meant something Oliver!"
Still bleeding all over himself, Oliver slowly but surely got to his feet. "I don't ... I don't know what the result of my mission was. And I don't know if I really did ruin the lives of the people I loved. And don't know if my actions ... made things worse or not." He struggled to say walking to the embodiment of his fears. "But I know ... I know that I will always, always, believe in what my friends think about me ... over what I fear about myself. If they say may crusade wasn't for nothing, then it wasn't for nothing."
Looking at each other directly in the eyes, the Dark Oliver then stabbed Oliver right through the heart. Laurel startled back once she saw this. As for Oliver, strangely he didn't feel any pain; he had a sword right through his heart and he didn't feel the slightest amount of discomfort. Grabbing the sword by the blade, Oliver slowly took it out and then tossed it aside. Once he did, he noticed his Dark counterpart faded away almost like a ghost.
"What ... where's he gone too? Oliver said bewildered.
"He isn't gone, he's always with you," Laurel explained and Oliver turned to look her. "Only now you've learned to live above him, above your worst fear. That's why there was no pain when he stabbed you."
"Laurel how do you know this, how do you know any of this?" He questioned her removing his hood as he got up in her face but she just smiled at him sadly.
"I'm sorry, I kept this from you Ollie. But I needed to know, it needed to know." She answered vaguely.
"It?"
"The Spectre. I told you he was here ... but what I didn't tell you is that the Spectre was right next to you all along." She revealed and her green eyes, lite up with a bright green flash of energy.
"You're the Spectre?" He realized. "So your not really Laurel?"
"I am. I'm just ... carry a little extra cargo right now." She explained.
"I don't understand." He said confused.
"Yeah ... I figured. Celestial beings are often pretty vague and ominous when delivering their tests." She stated.
"Tests?"
"What I told you about the Spectre is true. He ... it ... is someone that can help you stop the Anti-Monitor, the one that's destroying the multiverse." She explained and Oliver listened carefully to every word. "But the Spectre needed to be sure about you. It needed to know if you're the right person to share its power with."
"By testing me." He realized. "By using my own worst fear against me. Myself."
"Yes. In the wrong hands, Oliver, the Spectre's power can make someone a destroyer instead of a savior. Oliver for a long time you've been someone always struggling with your own darkness, with your guilt, your regrets, and your mistakes. The Spectre didn't just need to see if you had what took to truly overcome them. Oliver, it could sense how much you've been doubting yourself ... and everything you've done in your life; it needed you determined, it needed you resolved."
Thinking about everything lately, since Earth 2 and maybe even before that; Oliver had been wondering about what he had actually achieved as the Green Arrow. The details he learned about Star City's future from his children, about how it became a dystopia, didn't exactly help either. "So let me guess, the Spectre needed you to convince me to do this." He guessed.
"Bullseye. It knows that you wouldn't just listen to any random stranger ... that it needed someone you trusted, someone you loved. Plus, I get to see you again ... to help you, one last time." She said almost tearfully. "Ollie, in a way, your whole life has been leading to this. Every punch you've thrown, every kick you've delivered, every arrow you've fired, has been leading you to this moment." She stated and then held out her hand for him to take it. "Once, you take my hand, your soul will become linked to the Spectre ... to his power. And you can save them, Ollie. Sara, Barry, and the other Paragons can save everything but they need you. You are the spark that will light the fire that will save the multiverse."
"What happens to you?" He asked with a sad smile knowing the answer.
"I go back to where the Spectre picked me up. Which is a nicer place than this." She chuckled.
"So this is probably the last time I'll see you again?" He asked.
"Yeah. For now. Anything you wanna say?" She asked.
"Too much. There ... there are still so many things I've wanted to say to you for so long. But if ... if there's one thing I want to say more than anything it's this. When you died ... you told that I was the love of your life, even if you weren't the love of mine. I just wanna say ... I wanna say, you could've been. I love Felicity and Mia and William, more than anything. But I'd be lying if ... if I said I never thought about us ... and what we could've been. Because I did love you, Laurel. Truly, and a part of me always will." He admitted to her tearfully.
"For what it's worth, it would've been beautiful Ollie. I know, I've seen it." She told him lovingly.
"You've seen it?" He asked curiously.
"Part of the deal of letting the Spectre hitch a ride with me. All the victims crying out for justice, all the lives that ended across the multiverse, it can them ... I can see them. I can see the multiverse, Ollie. I can see ... so many versions of us. I can see us, together again." She explained and Oliver's heart was warmed by this revelation. "I see worlds where you and I became Green Arrow and Black Canary, where we fell in love ... or fell back into love, where we got married, where we got to have children of our own, where we save so many lives together, where we died saving lives or ... or we got to grow old together. This ... seeing this, this was a gift to me, Ollie." She said and as she finished both her and Oliver smiled at this fact. Laurel then extended her hand once more. "It's time Ollie, just touch me and you'll become someone else, something else."
Not wanting any more regrets with Laurel, Oliver took his hands and placed them on her cheeks and then kissed her. It was ultimately a goodbye kiss, but the way their lips moved, Oliver could tell there was so much passion in it. As their lips continued to crash, the same bright green energy that Laurel exhibited earlier was now pouring out of her. It circled the two and as they finally parted the kiss, the energy had just already transferred to Oliver. "Goodbye, Laurel." He said with a big smile, his eyes still closed.
"I'll see you again eventually, Ollie." She replied with a similar smile before finally vanishing from where she came. As Oliver, slowly started to open his eyes, he could tell he was different than before. He could feel power, true power flowing throw him. His eyes now fully open and glowing the same way Laurel's did, the man that was once Oliver Queen was now simply the Spectre.
Author's Notes: Oliver becoming the Spectre was probably one of the best highlights of the Crisis Crossover. That being said we didn't really learn much about the Arrowverse version of the Spectre and his origins, all we really know is that he seems to be a powerful being connected to the multiverse somehow. Let me know what you think about the Spectre's mythology in this story. As for the Spectre using the Purgatory to test Oliver, I felt this was necessary. As at the beginning of Season 8, Oliver was reflecting on whether or not his actions have had any impact on the world. I especially felt that Oliver should have dealt with Star City's dystopian future at that point in time, instead of just ignoring it, especially considering how it affects his kids.
Marc Guggenheim or the other writers for Crisis revealed that E1 Laurel would have an important part to play in the crossover. Obviously, they lied and she didn't. While it was cool and comic accurate to see Jim Corrigan, I felt that Laurel helping Oliver to transition into the Spectre would have been more potent. Additionally, it would have given Oliver and Laurel a chance to say goodbye and what might have happened in their relationship. Also, I'm disappointed that the writers didn't show more versions of Oliver Queen throughout the multiverse, as it would have been great fan service to see versions of Oliver where he ended up with his various love interests in the show.