Kara talks to Alex about Oliver, while Team Arrow go to retrieve the totem...
(Kara's Apartment – 09:16)
"Good morning!" exclaimed Alex from the kitchen island, as Kara walked towards her.
"Morning" replied Kara with a smile, as she sat opposite Alex.
"I heard you get up, so I poured you coffee" said Alex, as she handed a cup to Kara.
"Thanks" replied Kara, gratefully taking the cup and sipping on the warm brew.
"How are you feeling?" asked Alex concernedly.
"Uhh, great. Wonderful" replied Kara, with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.
"That only sounds half-true" replied Alex, picking up on Kara's uncertainty.
"Hey, my body feels great. My powers aren't back yet, but I feel good" replied Kara, "There's just a lot of other things on my mind."
"Hey…" said Alex concernedly, as she placed her hand on one of Kara's, "If you want to talk about it, I'm here." Kara took another sip of her coffee, savouring frothy, milky texture while she pondered whether or not to speak to Alex about it. She was her sister, and Kara knew she could speak to her about anything, but she still wasn't sure if she should. Eventually, she decided. It was something that had been working on her mind for a few days now, and she felt like she needed to get it off her chest.
"It's about Oliver…" started Kara, "I don't know, it's just…" Kara paused, unable to finish her words.
"You have feelings for him" said Alex, finishing Kara's words. She sighed before nodding, and replying.
"There've been moments over the past two weeks… Moments where we've looked into each other's eyes and just… lost ourselves there. But we both know it can't happen. Alex, I can't open my heart up again. I can't be hurt again."
"Oliver would never hurt you."
"It's not about Oliver, Alex. I've been told, time and time again, that I can't be Supergirl and Kara Danvers. And it's the same with him. He's told me that he constantly has to choose between being Oliver Queen and the Green Arrow. And Mon-El, I… I'm not over him. I can't be with Oliver, because I can't love again. Not yet."
"Kara… I understand about Mon-El. I really do… but sometimes, a wound can only heal if you allow it to. The only way you're going to be able to love again, is by trying to, and in my eyes, the first step to doing that is allowing Oliver into your life."
"There's still so much between us, Alex. He's human, and I'm kryptonian, and he lives in a different universe."
"Yes, but you'll find a way to make it work. We always do, for the people we love."
As Alex finished her words, the door to the apartment opened, and in stepped the focus of the conversation himself. They immediately noticed his determined demeanour, as he hastily walked over to them.
"What's going on?" asked Alex.
"Good news. We found the totem" replied Oliver.
"Lacroix has been searching for it for years, and you found it in three days?" asked Kara, surprised.
"It was more Winn and Clark, but yes. We know where it is."
"Where?" asked Alex. Oliver sighed deeply before answering her.
"Lian Yu."
"What? There's a Lian Yu on this Earth?" asked Kara, out of surprise once again.
"Yeah."
"What's the plan?" asked Alex.
"Nobody knows the island better than Slade and I, so we're going to go with Nyssa and Roy to get the totem."
"When do you leave?" asked Kara.
"Half an hour. It's a six hour flight in a DEO jet, we'll be back before the end of tonight." Oliver scanned Kara and Alex's faces, noticing that there was perhaps a hint of worry present there, "Don't worry. We'll be fine" said Oliver reassuringly, before smiling warmly at the two sisters, and exiting the apartment.
(Lian Yu – 07:02)
"Home sweet home!" exclaimed Slade, as he stepped on to the beach of Earth-38 Lian Yu with Oliver, Nyssa and Roy.
"Wow, the last time I saw this place, it was blown to hell" said Roy, "Aren't you guys finding this weird?"
"It is strange, yes" replied Nyssa. Oliver ignored their words, as he stepped forward and explained the plan again.
"The island is big, but we know where the totem is. Thermal scans show nobody on the island but we can't be sure. We stick together and watch each other's backs. Let's go."
They began the trek through the forests of Lian Yu, minding each step for the threats of booby traps and mines loomed large. Oliver and Slade had to admit that the fact that Lian Yu on this Earth was identical to the one on Earth-1 was a bit eerie, to say the least. Slade chalked it down to simply chance, a coincidence, one unlikely, yet possible due to the infinite prospects of the multiverse.
Judging from its location, the totem was probably located inside the cave where the bodies of the Japanese soldiers were back on Earth-1. As far as they knew, the Mirakuru didn't exist on Earth-38. However, the mere fact that the totem was being kept here reinforced the fact in their heads that Lian Yu, no matter which Earth it was on, was always going to be Purgatory, if not Hell. For that reason, they carried their weapons despite wearing ordinary civilian clothes. Oliver, Roy and Nyssa with their bows, and Slade with his duel pistols and duel swords. Walking hastily, the trek towards the cave was moving along rather quickly, with them closing in on the location in just over 20 minutes. Intel that showed them that they were the only people on the island, but they weren't so convinced. Each step they took was light, aiming to make as little noise as possible to hear movements of anything else in the surrounding area.
"Stop!" shouted Slade, causing them all to freeze in their footsteps. He held up a fist while his face wore an intense look of focus.
"What's wrong?" asked Roy. Slade waited several more seconds before answering.
"I thought I heard something" he replied, before allowing them to continue to move towards the cave.
Suddenly, a snapping sound echoed in the forest, accompanying Roy's scream as he was pulled up into the air by a snare net trap. Immediately realising that Roy was about to be shot, Oliver quickly nocked an arrow and took aim at the rope suspending the net in the air. As the net dropped to the floor along with Roy, two arrows zipped past where Roy's body would have been, embedding themselves in the trees behind Slade.
"Shit!" exclaimed Slade, as he dragged the net with Roy back with him to behind the trees for cover. Oliver and Nyssa provided covering fire at the area where the arrows came from, before they too moved back to behind the trees.
"Looks like we're not alone after all" said Nyssa, as Slade drew his sword and started cutting Roy out of the net.
"Who are you?!"
The feminine voice screamed out from the trees where the arrows were shot from.
"We're friends of Supergirl! From National City!" replied Oliver, deciding that honesty was the best policy in this scenario. Her voice sounded familiar. Very familiar, but with it being distorted by the echoes, Oliver was struggling to tell who it was.
"Right, like you expect me to believe that?! I'm surprised Lacroix sent you to get the totem for him. Where is he?"
"We're not working with Lacroix!" screamed back Oliver. Whoever she was, she knew about Lacroix and she wasn't on his side either. That gave them common ground, "We're here to get the totem before he does! We're on the same side!"
"I'm going to need something a lot more convincing than your word to believe you!"
With those last words from her, Oliver and Slade both shot each other looks recognition. The tone, delivery and softness of the voice finally clicked into perspective for them, as they realised who they were dealing with.
"Does she sound familiar to you, kid?" said Slade.
"Shado?" said Oliver, with the realisation sinking in for the first time, "Shado!" he called out.
"What?!"
"Your name is Shado! Shado Gulong!"
"How do you know that?"
"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me!" replied Oliver. He contemplated telling her he knew her father, Yao Fei, but it would be better if he told her the truth. Despite sounding way crazier, it was probably much more likely to convince her that they were on the same side, "We're heroes from a parallel universe!"
Even the birds of the forest seemed to go quiet, as the silence pestered for several seconds as they awaited for her response.
"Coming out!"
Oliver and his team peeked their heads out from behind the trees, relaxing upon seeing the Shado of Earth-38 walking towards them with her bow at her side, unalarmed. They reciprocated her action, themselves too coming out of their cover and placing their weapons at their sides in an unthreatening manner. For the first time, they got a clear look at her. Her hair was let loose, and she was wearing a long black leather coat, with black leather pants and a red shirt. Her only noticeable difference from the Shado of Earth-1 being the long scar running down the right side of her face, one that was caused by a blade. For Oliver, coming across a doppelganger of someone he loved was normal for him now, but he kept an eye on Slade, who stared in disbelief at her.
"Shado" said Oliver, as they approached each other.
"Shado is the name I used in my past life. I don't use it anymore" she replied.
"So what do we call you?" asked Nyssa.
"Shiva."
A/N: Yeah... Earth-38 Shado is Lady Shiva.
Next chapter, we learn of her past and her connection to Lacroix.