Oliver and Kara share a couple of moments while Winn discovers not all is as it seems with the Stellmoor server files...
(National City – 21:27)
Oliver Queen was steadily woken up from his sleep by the sounds of whimpers coming from Kara's bedroom. He had drifted off to sleep far easier than he'd have liked. With Alex working over-time at the DEO the past two nights, Oliver was staying with Kara alone, and hadn't slept for nearly 36 hours, as he preferred to be awake when she slept. He was used to functioning on minimal sleep, but the human body always had its limits. He rose to his feet, and hastily walked into her bedroom, but she wasn't there. She was in the bathroom, Oliver spotting her slouched over the toilet seat, having regurgitated whatever was in her system. She was taking deep breaths, trying to relax her body. Oliver concernedly walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. His demeanour changed to one of shock when he saw the red-tainted water in the toilet bowl.
"Kara, you're vomiting blood" he said, disturbed.
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not, I need to get you to the DEO, you need to see a doctor" insisted Oliver, panicking as the worst-case scenarios of what was happening to her ran through his mind.
"Oliver, it's okay. Eliza said that this might happen. It's the only way the kryptonite can leave my body." Oliver calmed slightly upon hearing this news, but he still couldn't stop worrying about her. "Please, just help me up" requested Kara. Oliver placed his arms under her shoulders, gently pulling her to her feet. He closed the toilet seat before flushing, and helped her to her bed. Once she was sat comfortably, he quickly galloped to the kitchen and filled her a glass of water.
"Here, drink" he said as he handed the glass to her and sat next to her. She gulped it down, placing the empty glass on her bedside before turning back to face Oliver, the worry on his face as present as ever.
"Hey, this is good news. It means I might be getting my powers back" said Kara, trying to be hopeful, "Thank you for being here over the past few days Oliver. I don't think I'd have been able to cope with you."
"You don't need to thank me, Kara. I'm going to be here for you, for as long as you need me."
Their eyes met, and for a fleeting moment, Oliver and Kara both felt the butterflies in their stomach strut around.
The feeling of bliss was cut short when Oliver's cellphone started ringing. He gave Kara a smile before leaving her room and heading back to the couch where he had left it. It was J'onn.
"Tell me you've found something."
"Sorry, Oliver. It's a dead end."
"What?"
"Lacroix must have expected we'd pull off something like this, and put in a fail-safe. The files… they're all corrupted."
(Seattle – 21:38)
Simon Lacroix stared out the windows of his office, overlooking the city of Seattle. So far, everything was going to plan. Having fooled his adversaries into thinking they had acquired evidence on him, and with Cadmus continuing to wage war against aliens, it was only a matter of time before Oliver Queen gave in. As if on cue with his thoughts, his cellphone began to ring, with the private, encrypted number telling him exactly who it was.
"What is it going to take for this to stop?"
"I must say, Oliver, your naivety in thinking you could just waltz into my building and simply download everything from my company servers didn't fail to amuse me."
"Simon… Tell me how this ends!"
"I seem to remember telling you about the Arrow Totem…"
"You mentioned it."
"Right. Since you're the reason I don't have it, I think it's only fair that you should go get it for me."
"I'm not one of your henchmen that you can order around like a lap-dog."
"Innocent lives are being lost every day Mr Queen. Surely you can put your ego aside, no? Find the totem, and bring it to me, or else I'll find your super-friend once again, and I'll put a kryptonite bullet in her skull this time."
With those final words, Lacroix hung up the phone and placed it back on his desk. He couldn't catch a break, as the door to his office opened, and Lillian Luthor walked in immediately as he placed the phone on his desk.
"I don't think you scheduled a meeting Ms Luthor" said Lacroix as she walked towards him.
"I didn't but in light of recent events, I thought I needed to pay you a visit. Your company was broken in to today and you seem to lack urgency" said Lillian.
"I find your lack of faith disturbing."
"Well, it's justified. So far, you have not held up your end of the deal."
"My end of the deal? Whose weapons and money are you using to fight your war right now?"
"You promised us that Supergirl will be dead, and you let her get rescued."
"It was your Cadmus agents, your incompetent imbeciles, that couldn't stop a team of vigilantes from getting to her. I needed Supergirl alive."
"Ah, yes, to torture her to discover the Green Arrow's identity…"
"That's not the only reason I needed her…"
"Another reason which you won't tell me…" Lillian's words were cut short by Lacroix slamming his hands into his office table, the thud echoing in his office.
"You promised me that you would help find the totem. You haven't!" scowled Lacroix, his face twitching visibly from his anger, "Now you remember what state you were in when I found you, Ms Luthor. In case I haven't made myself clear yet, remember that it's you who needs me… not the other way around. We're done here."
(The DEO – 22:07)
"Lacroix said that he will make this stop if we get the totem for him" explained Oliver, as he stood in the control hub of the DEO with J'onn, Alex and Winn.
"You really believe that?" asked Alex.
"No, but it's worth a shot" replied Oliver.
"Look, this is an unreasonable as it gets. He's searched for this thing for years with little success, how does he expect us to find it?" said Winn.
"I don't know Winn, but we have to try" replied Alex.
"He called it the Arrow Totem" continued Oliver, "Bottom line is that if a man like him wants it, there's an ulterior motive. We can't let it fall into his hands without us knowing why he wants it so bad."
"Winn, I need you to find out everything you can about it" said J'onn, "Oliver, is there anything else Lacroix told you that can point us in the right direction to look?"
"Not Lacroix, but I asked Kara. She said he spoke of 'enlightenment'. Maybe it has something to do with the totem."
"Cross referencing 'enlightenment' with 'totem' across our database now" said Winn, as he furiously typed instructions to his computer. It took only a few seconds for findings to show up. There were only two prompts that popped up on Winn's screen, one of them being a blurry picture of the totem, "Wow, we really don't have much on this."
Despite the low-quality, its features could be made out. It was practically a medium-sized arrow, a silver artifact. The pendant head of the totem possessed a hollow center, with the outer ring merely taking the form of an arrowhead.
"What does it say?" asked Alex, as Winn read over the small description text.
"The Arrow Totem, an ancient artifact that when wielded grants its user enlightenment, immortality and superhuman abilities. Throughout history, the leader of The Outsiders was the one who wielded it" read Winn.
"The Outsiders?" asked J'onn.
"Who are they?" asked Oliver.
"They were an international terrorist organisation. Responsible for many genocides over the years" explained J'onn.
"That's why Lacroix wants the totem. He wants to lead The Outsiders" replied Oliver.
"I don't think so. The Outsiders haven't been active in close to a decade, and even before that their activity was tapering off" replied Winn.
"Kara said he spoke of wanting enlightenment. Maybe that's all he wants the totem for. Nonetheless, we have to be sure. Anything about a location, Winn?" asked J'onn.
"Negative, this is all we got. Now you know why it's taken Lacroix years to find it" replied Winn, "I don't know where to start searching."
"Start with The Outsiders. Everything you can find out on them, maybe it will give us a clue" ordered J'onn.
"Yes, sir."
(Kara's Apartment – 22:28)
Oliver walked in to the apartment to find Kara Danvers sitting on her couch, clearly languishing in her thoughts with a few used tissues scattered on the coffee table in front of her. Even from a distance, Oliver could see the slight puffiness of her face, with the red cheeks confirming to him that she had been crying.
"Hey… what's going on?" he asked concernedly as he hastily walked over to her and sat next to her on the couch.
"Nothing, it's just…" she took a deep breath before continuing to speak, "One of the things that I loved most about Mon-El was his laugh… it was just so dorky, and wholesome, I loved it… Ever since I've been back, I just… I can't remember it. I don't know why."
Luckily for her, Oliver knew exactly how to help her. He stood up and walked over to one of his duffel bags, searching for the one item which he thought might come in handy. Right now, he knew exactly how to use it.
"What are you doing?" asked Kara, clearly confused as to why Oliver pulled out the large red candle from his bag.
"The five years that I was gone, I learnt a lot of things. Meditation was one of them. It can clear your thoughts, find hidden truths… and help you remember. Do you trust me?"
"Always."
"Come" said Oliver, as he invited her to sit down on the floor with him. She moved off the couch and sat cross-legged in front of him, watching as he lit the candle with his zippo lighter. Just a couple of seconds after it lit, the rose-scented fragrance began to waft through Kara's nostrils. It immediately relaxed her, as did Oliver's soothing voice as he began to speak.
"Close your eyes." Kara obliged as he continued to speak, "Now focus on your breathing. In through your nose, out through your mouth. In... Out… Floating along, weightless…" As Oliver continued to speak, the image of Mon-El began to materialise in her mind… His blue eyes, his smile... And the sounds of his laughter began to gradually increase in her imagination... "The only thing that exists is your breath. Now your thoughts are like clouds. They just drift away."
Kara's eyes immediately opened, allowing the tears to roll down her cheeks. She couldn't contain her emotions as she placed a hand to her open mouth.
"I remembered" she said buoyantly. She quickly blew out the candle and moved it out of the way before she sprung onto Oliver, hugging him tightly as she allowed more tears to flow, "Thank you."
