Ellie Bishop: Oh tell me about it, it's like every female Arrowverse character excluding Sara has to make fun of Oliver's trauma. Why they think mocking someone with PTSD is funny, I don't know.
Guest: Glad you loved it. Yeah, Three Ghost is definitely in my top 5 episodes. Poor Oliver indeed. I cut Felicity some slack because there really weren't many options, but the fact that Felicity ignored Oliver's concern when she barely knew Barry is pretty laughable, or would be if it wasn't so sad.
Starling City
Night
On a rooftop, Oliver stood in his suit, staring down at the city as he heard a door open, knowing his guest had arrived.
"When you're calling me, things must be bad," Quentin said as he walked over to Oliver, who silently turned around and handed Quentin a file.
"Cyrus Gold. He robbed the Applied Sciences Division of Queen Consolidated last week," Oliver said as Quentin looked at the file before looking up as Oliver spoke again. "Detective, he's extremely dangerous."
"The CSI kid from Central City, he said this guy was like some kind of monster," Quentin remembered.
"He is," Oliver said grimly.
"What is it, some kind of steroid?" Quentin asked.
"Worse, it's…"
Oliver trailed off. Standing over Quentin's shoulder, staring down at them from on top the door was Slade Wilson, looking at Oliver with a glare. But it wasn't Slade, Slade was dead, Oliver told himself. But that did nothing to help.
Sensing Oliver looking at something, Quentin looked around, but there was no one else there.
"You alright?" Quentin asked cautiously, wondering if he should be worried or not.
"No," Oliver said, focusing back on the task at hand. "I've been compromised."
"What does that mean?" Quentin asked confused.
"It means I'm a liability," Oliver said roughly, feeling Slade's gaze burning into him. "You have to take my word on this Detective. Gather as many men as you can, and do not hesitate to kill Cyrus Gold. Because if given the opportunity, he'll do the same to you."
Oliver then turned away from both Quentin and Slade. He fired off an arrow with a line, which hit the side of the roof and Oliver used it to climb down the side of the building, running away from his past.
The Glades
Same time
Roy was stacking the shelves when Jade walked up behind him. Roy tensed, Sin's words about Jade having a thing for him flashing through his mind.
"So, did you manage to help Sin find her friend?" Jade inquired.
"Yeah, yeah I did," Roy said with a grimace as he remembered Max's body with blood stained tears.
"From that look, I'd say it didn't have a happy ending," Jade noted.
"No, it didn't," Roy said quietly as his thoughts went to Sin, hoping she would be okay.
"Did something happen while you were helping her?" Jade asked randomly and he looked at her, or towards her, as he hadn't quiet managed to make himself look her in the eyes since Sin had told him of her feelings for him.
"What makes you say that?" Roy asked evasively.
"Because you haven't been able to look me in the eyes for two days," Jade said bluntly as she walked over to him, grabbing his face and making him look at her. "What is wrong with you?"
Roy wasn't sure what happened, maybe something in him just snapped. But the next thing he was aware of, he had grabbed Jade, pinning her against the shelves as he kissed her. Although taken back, Jade soon returned the favor, wrapping her arms around his neck and returned the kiss. It was different than it had been with Thea or any other girl he had been with. It was raw, animalistic, primal.
The moment was shattered when the sound of broken glass pierced the air. They pulled back, gasping for air as they saw a bottle had fallen off the shelf during their passionate moment.
"I'll go get a broom," Roy said, letting Jade go.
He walked out and Jade stared after him, wondering what had just happened.
Queen Mansion, next day
Morning
Laurel hadn't been sure what to expect when she rang the doorbell to Queen Mansion, but Moira Queen opening the door had not been at the top of the list.
"Moira," Laurel said awkwardly.
The last time the two women had seen each other had been when Laurel had been prosecuting Moira. Laurel was understandably weary of coming into contact with Moira.
"Laurel," Moira said pleasantly, no sign of any ill will in her voice or on her face. "May I help you?"
"I'm here to see Thea," Laurel said awkwardly and Moira nodded.
"She's upstairs in her room," Moira said as she let Laurel.
"I noticed on the drive up that your house wasn't festooned with Christmas decorations," Laurel said, more to fill the awkwardness than anything.
"Given the public's opinion of me, we decided it would be best to keep the holidays a private affair this," Moira explained and Laurel nodded.
"Speaking of, I wanted to apologize," Laurel said and Moira raised an eyebrow. "For my cross examination of you."
"Laurel, you have nothing to be sorry about," Moira told her sternly, taking Laurel back. "You were doing your job. I'm sorry that my poor decisions put you in that position, you never should have been forced to do that."
"You don't owe me any apologies Moira," Laurel said but Moira shook her head.
"But I do," Moira said as she thought of Malcolm.
"Well, I should go see Thea now," Laurel said awkwardly.
Laurel left, more to get away from the awkwardness than anything. As she walked up the stairs, Oliver entered the room, looking at Laurel's retreating form oddly.
"Was that Laurel?" Oliver asked, wondering if he was still hallucinating.
"Yes, apparently she stopped by to see Thea," Moira said, looking over at her son and noting how tired and pale he seemed. "Are you alright? You got in late, later than usual."
"Yeah…no," Oliver admitted, deciding he didn't want to lie to Moira. "I'm…seeing things."
"What do you mean?" Moira asked as she looked more worried.
"Yesterday, when you asked me who I was talking to, I saw Shado, a woman I knew on the island. And last night, I saw Slade Wilson. They've both been dead for almost five years," Oliver said, averting his gaze and not noticing Moira tense as she heard Slade's name. "I feel like I'm losing my mind mom."
"You're not losing your mind sweetheart," Moira said certainly. "After The Gambit, I used to see you and your father. And after I went to prison, I saw Tommy and others who died because of me."
"This isn't grief mom," Oliver said annoyed.
"I never said it was. But there is something you need to face, otherwise you would not be seeing these people," Moira said wisely and Oliver finally looked back at her.
"And what do I need to face?" Oliver asked as she looked at him kindly.
"That's something you need to figure out for yourself," Moira said kindly.
Upstairs in Thea's room, Laurel was explaining her findings to Thea and Sin.
"I checked into the blood drive and it's all legitimate. In fact, what Alderman Blood has done has helped save a lot of lives," Laurel said and Sin looked dejected.
"So if the blood drive is on the up and up, then how are we supposed to find Max's killer?" Sin asked, about ready to give up.
"While I was looking into the blood drive, I did find something," Laurel said, pulling out a file and handing it to Thea. "All of the blood donors at the drive were subjected to a psych evaluation by the Langford Institute."
"Is that legal?" Thea asked as she looked at the file.
"It's not out of the norm," Laurel admitted. "And while someone at the institute might know if Max was on drugs, there's no way of finding out without a warrant. Which we're certainly not going to get. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help."
Starling City Police Department
Afternoon
"Look, I know it sounds crazy," Quentin said as he tried to reason with his old partner.
"Human weapons?" Hilton scoffed at the thought.
Quentin didn't blame him for this reaction. Several months and one trip to the future ago, he would have had similar reaction. But right now, it didn't matter what either of them believed, just that they stopped this madness.
"Look, his name is Cyrus Gold. He's the one that broke into Queen Consolidated last week. He's the one that robbed the blood bank. And he killed all those people," Quentin said insistently.
"Where are you getting all this Intel?" Hilton asked as he turned to face his old partner.
Quentin didn't answer, but the look on his face spoke volumes. After all these years together, Hilton was able to figure it out.
"Oh, man, what's the matter with you? Talking to the Vigilante's what got you demoted in the first place," Hilton said in disbelief as he walked away from Quentin.
"Look, we take a small squad. McCarthy and Evans from SWAT, Jones. We can bring this guy down," Quentin almost begged as he raced after Hilton.
"I promised Jeanie I'd take her Christmas shopping," Hilton hedged.
"Lucas," Quentin said and the use of his first name seemed to make Hilton get how serious this was. "Please."
"Alright, fine," Hilton said with a sigh. "But you get to call Jeanie and tell her I'm not taking her shopping."
"Sir," the pair looked over as Officer Daily walked over. "I don't mean to overstep, but could you guys use an extra man?"
Quentin and Hilton exchanged a glance. After all those years of being partners, they could communicate without words. Hilton walked off to grab his gear and Quentin looked over at Daily.
"Grab a vest Officer Daily," Quentin said grimly.
Arrow lair
Night
Barry and Felicity were talking when Oliver walked in, holding a tennis ball.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Felicity asked immediately.
"Fine. Just a little crowded at my house right now," Oliver said. "I wanted to come down here to get a little privacy."
"Yeah, sure," Felicity said as she got out of her chair. "Come on Barry. We can watch the countdown at Big Belly Burger."
"Your blood analysis is almost done," Barry said as he followed after Felicity.
"Thank you," Oliver said lowly as the pair left.
Once he was alone, Oliver walked over and grabbed his bow off the rack. Oliver tossed the tennis ball across the room and fired an arrow. However, someone caught the arrow and Oliver lowered his bow in shock.
"What's the matter kid? You look like you've seen a ghost," Slade Wilson sneered.
Starling City
Same time
Quentin led his squad of officers towards the door of a building in The Glades, all of them having their guns drawn.
"Are you sure he's in there?" Quentin asked one of the officers.
"Yes, sir. Sector car spotted Cyrus Gold entering. He hasn't left," she said and Quentin nodded as they reached the door.
"Safeties off," Quentin ordered before breaking the lock on the door.
The officers entered the building, shinning their lights. For a moment, it was silent as they searched for Gold. Then, a sawblade was thrown through the air and one of the officers cried out as he was hit in the back, dying instantly. The other officers whirled around as Gold jumped down, knocking one of the officers against some barrels and knocked Daily against a desk, breaking their arm in the process.
Gold then vanished, seeming to disappear into the shadows, leaving only Hilton and Quentin.
"Open and surround him!" Quentin ordered, shining his light as he looked for Gold.
Hilton walked over to the officer Gold had shoved into some barrels. He felt for a pulse but shook his head at Quentin sadly. Feeling a swell of righteous fury, Quentin moved deeper into the building with Hilton surrounding him. For a moment, there was nothing, then they heard a noise above. Someone had pushed some cardboard boxes off the top of the shelves and Quentin ended up buried underneath them.
Then he was grabbed by the neck and lifted into the air. Gold slammed him against a stack of wood. Quentin sent a series of punches towards Gold's masked face but it was useless. Seeing a key dangling from Gold's neck, Quentin snatched it off him as Hilton opened fire. This only seemed to annoy Gold. He tossed Quentin to the ground, knocking him out before turning on Hilton.
Gold grabbed Hilton's gun and twisted the barrel. Hilton realized what he as planning but couldn't stop it. The barrel was bent back until it was under his chin. Gold pulled the trigger and a single shot was fired.
Arrow lair
Same time
"This is a nice place. It's a bit more comfortable than the fuselage on the island," Slade noted as he walked around the lair, still holding the arrow Oliver had fired.
"You're not real," Oliver said, more to himself than Slade.
"Neither are you," Slade shot back, stopping in front of the glass case containing Oliver's suit. "You told everyone when you started this crusade that it was about making up for your father's sins. That was a lie." Slade snapped the arrow in two, dropping it to the floor before he turned around to face Oliver. "This charade is to atone for your sins."
"You're dead," Oliver said bluntly.
"You are not a hero. Or a friend. Or a brother," Slade said and Oliver turned away from him, trying to compose himself. "Do not turn your back on me! Not again."
"You're gone," Oliver said, more to himself than Slade.
"Wherever I am, it's time you joined me."
Slade rushed Oliver, pushing him into a weapons cabinet. Oliver retaliated, swinging his bow at Slade's head but Slade evaded. Slade struck him, sending Oliver into a table.
"They say a coward dies a thousand deaths, but even that wouldn't be enough for you," Slade sneered.
"I tried to save you!" Oliver snapped as he turned back to Slade. "And her."
"But you couldn't," Slade said as he pointed a finger at Oliver accusingly. "Just like you couldn't save your city."
Angrily, Oliver rushed Slade and they began trading blows. Oliver used his bow to deflect some of Slade's strikes but Slade knocked the bow out of Oliver's hands and punched him. Oliver was sent flying over a table, knocking over some beakers as he fell to the floor. Slade flipped the table out of his way before grabbing Oliver and haling him to his feet, putting the younger man in a choke hold.
"The island didn't make you strong kid, it revealed you to be weak," Slade sneered in Oliver's ear.
Slade then tossed Oliver into the glass case containing his suit. The glass shattered as Oliver and the mannequin fell to the floor. Oliver looked around wildly but Slade was gone. Or he had never been there at all.
Roy's house
Not long after
Roy was on his couch, staring at a picture on his phone of Thea. He was debating calling her to wish her a Merry Christmas when someone knocked on his front door. Roy pocketed his phone and walked over to his door, opening it to reveal Jade on the other side.
"Hey," Roy said lamely.
Almost immediately, he winced. This…was awkward. They had not really spoken since the…incident in the back of the bar.
"Hey? You kiss me, bail, and all I get is 'hey'?" Jade asked incredulously.
"I'm not good with…feelings," Roy admitted, letting her in.
"Well don't we start with why did you kiss me?" Jade demanded as she crossed her arms.
"I don't know," Roy admitted. "Sin told me that you have a thing for me and it just…it caught me off guard."
"Why does me having feelings for you bother you so much?" Jade demanded.
"Because I just got out of a long term relationship, the longest relationship I've ever had," Roy said. "I don't think I'm ready for another one."
"So, what, I don't get a say in that?" Jade asked angrily. "You just decide for both of us that nothing will happen, after you kiss me by the way?"
"I'm sorry Jade," Roy said remorsefully.
Angrily, Jade moved to slap him and Roy caught her wrist out of pure instinct.
He was a bad guy once, this wasn't the first time someone had tried to slap him.
Angrily, Jade pushed him and he stumbled back as she threw out a kick at him. Roy barely dodged, getting out of the way.
"I'm an ass, but isn't this overreacting?" Roy asked.
"Overreact this!" Jade snarled as she tried to punch him.
Out of patience, Roy grabbed her arms and pinned her against the wall. For a moment, it was silent save for Jade's breath, the room filled with an energy Roy couldn't name. Suddenly, Jade leaned up and caught his lips in a kiss. Surprised, Roy let go and she managed to push him down onto his back. They continued to kiss before she removed her shirt and all but ripped his open.
Arrow lair
Later
Oliver was cleaning up the broken glass when Felicity and Barry returned, shocked at the destruction.
"What happened in here? Did someone break in?" Felicity asked shocked.
"No," Oliver said bluntly before a beep went off.
"Hey, your blood analysis is done," Barry called over as he sat down.
"So you know what's in my system?" Oliver asked as he made his way over to Barry.
"That's the thing, your blood's clean. There's nothing wrong with you," Barry said apologetically.
"Then why am I hallucinating?!" Oliver demanded.
"I don't know," Barry admitted. "But whatever your problem is, it's not pharmacological. It's psychological. It's in your head."
"It's in my head," Oliver finished with Barry.
Just like his mother had told him, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Talia whispered in the back of his mind.
"Oh my God," Felicity said in horror from where she sat at the computer, making Oliver look over. "Oliver."
Starling General Hospital
Later
Quentin woke up in a hospital bed, feeling like he'd just gone a round with a monster truck. Laurel, who had been sitting in the chair nearby, leaned close as she saw he was awake.
"Dad," Laurel said relief in her eyes.
"Hey," Quentin said lowly, grasping her hand in an attempt to comfort her. "Well, I can wiggle my toes; it must be a good sign."
"Don't joke right now," Laurel said with a shaky breath.
"I'm alright honey, I'm alright," Quentin assured her. "How's Lucas, is he alright?"
The words caught in Laurel's throat, not sure how to tell him. But the look on her face must have been a giveaway, as realization washed over Quentin's face as he leaned back, tears starting to form in his eyes.
"I-I gotta call Jeanie. I gotta call his wife," Quentin said weakly.
"Dad, I'll do it, you just stay here and rest," Laurel said in a voice that left no room for argument.
Quentin nodded, a numbness spreading through him as Laurel rose to her feet and walked out. As she walked down the hall, a familiar voice called out to her.
"Ms. Lance," Laurel whirled around to see Blood standing a few feet from her.
"Alderman," Laurel greeted politely.
"I heard about your father. How is he?" Blood asked, seeming concerned.
"He'll be alright. Did you come all this way to see how my dad was?" Laurel asked, alarm bells going off in her head.
"Ms. Lance, for all the issues the people of The Glades have with the police department, many of us have great respect for your father. It's no secret that it was because of his actions that The Glades were not completely destroyed. Many feel that he was unjustly persecuted for his heroics," Blood told her.
Laurel simply nodded, the feeling of unease not leaving her. As she walked off, Blood looked over at Daily, whose arm was in a case as they exchanged a nod.
Back in Quentin's room, Oliver, dressed in his suit, had entered the room.
"How are you, Detective?" he asked softly.
"I'm alive. Unlike most of my unit," Quentin said grimly.
"I'm sorry about your partner," Oliver said.
"I took him in there," Quentin said guiltily.
"Because of me," Oliver said lowly and Quentin let out a humorless chuckle.
"I hate to disappoint you, but not every death in this city is on you," Quentin said, pulling out the key he'd taken from Gold and putting it on the nightstand by his bed side. "I got this off Gold. Hopefully you can do something with it."
Oliver walked over and took the key off the nightstand. It wasn't much, but it was something. Hopefully, it could lead them to Gold.
"I didn't believe it at first, but this guy, I mean, it's like he's not human," Quentin said, breaking Oliver out of his thoughts.
"He's human," Oliver said after a beat.
"Then you can kill him. For Hilton, and me," Quentin told him.
Roy's house
Same time
Somehow, they had made it to Roy's bedroom. Now, in the afterglow period, the pair just laid in bed, dressed only in sheets. The room was silent, save their breathing.
"I was not expecting that," Roy admitted.
"Well, they say fighting leads to sex," Jade joked and then it was silent.
"So where do we go from here?" Roy finally asked.
"That's up to you. I like you and I think you like me. So where do you want this to go?" Jade asked and Roy was silent for a minute.
"I think we should take a step back. Maybe try and do things the right way, dates, that sort of thing. So…you got plans on New Year's?" Roy asked lamely and Jade laughed.
"Take me on a date first…then we'll talk on New Year's," Jade told him before rising from the bed to get her clothes.
Arrow lair
Later
Oliver was sharpening his arrows, his mind on his conversation with Quentin when Diggle called out to him.
"I think those arrows are sharp enough," Diggle noted.
"With what we're dealing with, unlikely," Oliver said as he pulled back, noting the sharp edges.
"Is everything okay?" Diggle asked as he walked over to Oliver.
"No," Oliver said honestly.
"You wanna talk?" Diggle asked.
"No," Oliver repeated.
"Guys, we got something here," Felicity called out and the pair began making their way over to her and Barry at the computers. "I scanned the key Lance gave you, and traced its serial code back to the manufacturer."
"This particular key fits a locked gate somewhere on Crescent Circle in the Glades," Barry added.
Oliver nodded, grabbing his bow off the weapons rack.
"Wait, where are you going? You can't go out there in your condition," Felicity said worriedly as she got out of her seat.
"I have to Felicity," Oliver said simply.
"Oliver, Gold left you half dead, which is 50 percent better than how he left Detective Hilton," Felicity said in a panic.
"Felicity," Diggle said and she looked over at him. "We've tried it every other way. Oliver is the only one who stands a chance against this guy."
"He's the only one who knows what he's up against," Barry added and Oliver nodded at both of them in thanks.
"I have to end this Felicity," Oliver said simply before he walked out.
Langford Institute
Same time
Sin, unwilling to wait around, had snuck into the institute. She smashed her hand through the glass on the door and reached through, unlocking it. Shaking off the cuts on her hand, she walked inside, walking over to a filing cabinet. She tried opening a drawer but it was locked. The one underneath it wasn't, so she pulled it out and began looking through the files. Finding the last name 'Stanton, she pulled it out, seeing a picture of Max on the front. Pulling at the picture, she saw 'Mirakuru' was printed on the back.
Hearing a noise, Sin realized someone was there. Closing the drawer, she rushed over to the desk and hid underneath. Her heart hammering in her chest, she clutched the folder to her as she heard something being poured on the floor. Gasoline, she realized with dread.
Rushing out, she pushed the man pouring it into the wall and made a break for it. However, she had only made it halfway down the hall before someone grabbed her and slammed her into the ground. The last thing she saw was a man with a black mask standing over her before she lost consciousness.
When Sin came to, she was strapped to a chair. Looking around as she became aware of her surroundings, she saw that the room she was in resembled some kind of mad science lab. The man who had been pouring gasoline on the floor at Langford, Doctor Langford, was pulling something out of some device Sin didn't know what was. Langford put the vial he had taken out in a needle.
"It's ready," Langford said, presenting it to a man in a Skull mask.
"Is that this Mirakuru? Is that what you injected Max with?" Sin demanded as the man in the skull mask approached her. "Get that away from me or I'll kill you!"
"No Sister Sin, you'll kill for me," the masked man said before he stuck her in the neck.
Sin felt like fire was spreading through her veins as she was injected. Sin cried out in pain before a noise from above distracted the men.
They looked up as a small explosion destroyed part of the ceiling. Oliver jumped down, firing an arrow into Langford's leg, taking him down. Oliver notched another arrow and took aim at the man in the mask.
"Brother Cyrus told me he killed you," the man said.
"Guess he's not as strong as you'd hoped. Where'd you get the Mirakuru? Who gave you the formula?!" Oliver demanded.
"It was a gift. A gift I would use to save this city from itself," the man said as he held the vial relevantly.
Gold then rushed Oliver but Oliver fired. The arrow hit Gold in the shoulder but Gold ignored it. Oliver swung on the line he had gotten in on; trying to strike Gold in the head with a spinning kick but Gold grabbed him. Oliver was thrown into the wall, going through it as Sin's wails of pain pierced the room, tears of blood pouring down her face. Gold stalked over and Oliver grabbed his bow just as Gold kicked him. Oliver was sent sliding across the room, his earlier wounds acting up. Then it was quiet, eerily so. Oliver looked up to see Sin unresponsive, slumped to the side as the masked man checked her pulse.
"Another failure," he said.
Oliver slumped to the ground a sense of defeat overwhelming him.
"Get up," a voice that was more familiar to him than his own suddenly spoke up.
Shock flooded through him. It couldn't be, Oliver told himself as he pulled himself into a half sitting position.
"Get up son," Robert Queen told him.
"Dad?" Oliver breathed in shock.
"I gave my life so that you could live. Not so that you could die down here," Robert told him.
"I'm sorry Dad…I failed. I couldn't stop The Undertaking. I made you die for nothing," Oliver said remorsefully.
"My death was not your fault, it was my own," Robert told him matter of factly.
"But if I had never been there-" Oliver started.
"I would still be dead," Robert sad firmly. "My death was the result of a life full of bad decisions, decisions that hurt people, good people. I was not a good man Oliver. I wasn't half the man you are."
"I can't - I can't stop him Dad," Oliver said lowly.
"Yes, you can," Robert said with certainty. "Your destiny is not to die down here. After all you have survived; you still have so much left to do. You can't do it if you die down here."
Robert then rose to his feet, walking away.
"I'm not as strong as you," Oliver called out and Robert paused.
"No," Robert agreed, looking back at Oliver with a smile. "You're stronger."
Robert then vanished, leaving Oliver there, considering his father's words.
"Kill him," the masked man ordered.
Gold rushed Oliver but Oliver jumped out of the way. Oliver struck Gold with a series of fast punches before striking him with a kick, sending the surprised Gold stumbling back. Oliver then fired an arrow at the centrifuge, which exploded on contact. The chemicals hit Gold in the face, causing him to cry out as it burned him. The explosion made the roof unstable, as pieces of debris fell, one hitting Gold and killing him and another crushing Langford under it.
The masked man rushed off but Oliver had other concerns. He rushed over to Sin, whose chair had been knocked over in the explosion. Cutting Sin's restraints, Oliver pulled her away from the chair and immediately began compressions to her chest, trying to restart her heart.
"Come on Sin. I am not leaving anyone else to die! You're tough Sin, so fight. Come on, fight!" Oliver ordered.
By some miracle, she seemed to hear him, as Sin opened her mouth and let out a strangled gasp for air. Oliver breathed a sigh of relief before picking up Sin and carrying her out.
Starling City
Later
Slade was watching a news report of an earlier press conference Blood gave when Blood entered the room. Shutting it off, he gave Blood his attention.
"So your campaign begins," Slade noted.
"The city needs a leader. And putting the copycat hoods up to assassinating the mayor was just the first step," Blood said before giving an awkward pause. "The Vigilante... He destroyed the centrifuge and the serum along with it."
"I will arrange for you to receive another sample of my blood. And then you can begin to mass produce the serum again. When I ask you not to confront the Vigilante, you will listen. Remember, your mask can be worn by another," Slade said, his voice holding the promise of what Blood's disobedience would result in.
"You know who he is under that hood, don't you?" Blood realized.
"I know exactly who he is. He is my friend," Slade told him.
"That's why you don't want him dead," Blood said in realization and Slade gave him a dark look.
"Death would be a release from this life, and his sentence is yet to be carried out," Slade said. "I am going to tear everything he cares about away from him."
At Queen Mansion, Moira and Thea looked through pictures of past Christmases with them, Robert, Oliver, and Tommy.
"Destroy those who choose to follow him."
At the District Attorney's office, Laurel looked at a picture of Blood's blood drive, a look of suspicion on her face.
"Corrupt those he loves."
In Central City, Samantha and William sat down to dinner together.
"Once he has lost everyone and everything he values, I will drive an arrow through his eye," Slade vowed.
Arrow lair
Later
Oliver walked down into the lair, almost immediately greeted by a hug from Felicity, which he halfheartedly returned.
"So Gold?" Diggle asked as he walked over.
"Died on Saturday, buried on Sunday," Oliver said as he released Felicity. "But we have other problems."
"Can't we ever get some good news?" Felicity asked in exasperation.
"Sin was injected with the Mirakuru," Oliver said to their alarm. "I dropped her off at the clock tower where she lives and called Sara on the way here, she's on her way back. But we will need to keep a close eye on her."
"Great, any other problems?" Felicity asked, only half joking.
"Gold was working with someone. I saw him; he wore a mask with the image of…of a skull. He's trying to mass produce the serum to build an army," Oliver warned them.
"Why?" Diggle wondered.
"You're a soldier. What's the primary purpose of an army?" Oliver asked.
"War," Diggle noted and Oliver nodded before he noticed something.
"Where's Barry?" he asked.
"He went back to Central City, wanted to get home in time to see them turn on the particle accelerator," Felicity explained before picking up a box and handing it to Oliver. "But he did leave you this."
Curiously, Oliver accepted it and opened it. He began to laugh as he pulled out a green mask. One which he noted would not affect his vision.
"Nice Barry, nice," Oliver muttered, wondering how he could thank Barry.
Central City
Same time
In his lab, Barry was looking at his board with everything he knew about his mother's case when the news report on the Particle Accelerator said something that caught his attention.
"We are now being told to evacuate the facility," the reporter said as Barry looked over. "The storm may have caused a malfunction to the primary cooling system. Officials are now trying to shut down the particle accelerator, but so far have been unable to regain control of the system-"
The power went out and Barry looked through his window at Star Labs in the distance. An orange light shot up into the sky followed by a wave of energy that stretched all the way out towards the entire city. Noticing water leaking in, Barry grabbed the chains and tried to close the shutter when he noticed something. The chemicals he was mixing started floating into the air, exactly like his fish tank the night his mom had been murdered. Barry looked up at the sound of thunder just before a huge lightning bolt struck the glass, destroying his lab and sending him flying across the room as he was struck in the chest. Barry hit the shelves, out cold as the energy passed through his body, the shape of a lightning bolt appearing on his cheek before it faded.
Roy's house
Later
Roy was doing some of his dishes when he heard a noise behind him. Picking up a knife, he whirled around to see Oliver, in his suit, standing a few feet from him.
"I thought you said we'd meet after the holidays," Roy nodded.
"Circumstances have changed," Oliver said and Roy noted he wasn't disguising his voice before, to Roy's shock, he lowered his hood.
"I…was not expecting that," Roy said honestly as he lowered the knife to his side. "You're…"
"Yeah," Oliver confirmed.
"Why tell me now, why not wait until the holidays are over?" Roy wondered.
"Because what we're up against, I'll need you ready as soon as you can," Oliver told him. "It's time for your training to begin."
Starling City
Same time
Slade was in his office, looking out the window. Feeling a presence behind him, he turned around, smiling as he saw who it was.
"I'm in. Don't worry, Roy doesn't suspect a thing," Jade said with a smirk.
Well, hope you enjoyed that monster of a chapter.
I decided to have the ghosts conversation Oliver had with Diggle in the show happen with Moira instead because, to be blunt, the thing that made season one Arrow's best season IMO was, outside the amazing action and overarching plot, the dynamic between the Queen family. To be honest, whenever the show focused on the Queen family, it was always better, obviously excluding season seven.
I don't consider myself a great writer of romance and I am not good at executing it, but I do hope I did okay on the Roy/Jade scenes.
As much as I love the Tommy hallucination scene, and I do, it wouldn't work here. The reason Oliver hallucinated Tommy was because he hadn't made peace with Tommy's death, something he has done here already. So I decided to use Robert instead.
I decided to have Sin be the one injected with Mirakuru for a few reasons. Aside from the fact that having it be Roy would be boring, the show just didn't do much with Sin and she just kind of disappeared after season three. And injecting Sin allows e to bring back Sara earlier than in canon.