With the war against Komodo and Cadmus over, the heroes of Earth-38 bid farewell to Slade, Nyssa and Roy.
(The DEO – 12:27)
Several hours after the battle, Winn had managed to regain control of the system and eliminate the trojan. Oliver and Kara were now back at the DEO, with Kara having fully recovered from her injuries due to the bright midday sun and Oliver having recovered due to the enhanced regeneration that the totem had provided him. With their job now fully done, Slade, Nyssa and Roy had packed their bags and were preparing themselves for the return to Earth-1. Kara, James, Clark, J'onn, Winn, Alex and even Lady Shiva, all gathered in the center of the DEO to bid the heroes of Earth-1 goodbye.
"I can't thank the four of you enough for helping us" said J'onn, "You came here to help us find Kara, and even when we did, you stayed to fight a war which you did not have to. We are all eternally grateful for what you've done for Kara, and for the people of this Earth."
"The DEO is going to feel a little empty without you guys here" joked Winn.
"Don't worry. I'm sure there'll be another crisis soon which will bring us back here" replied Roy.
"Rao, I hope not" joked Kara, causing them all to laugh a little before the goodbyes officially began. The friendships formed were tangibly visible as jovial hugs and the handshakes were shared amongst them, although Oliver distinctly held himself back, allowing Roy, Nyssa and Slade to greet everybody. Oliver watched intently as Slade greeted Lady Shiva, telling her to take care of herself before giving her a hug. It took a lot to convince Slade to hug someone, and that action from Slade cemented in Oliver's mind that he had finally managed to rid himself of the guilt of Shado's death. Once they had finished greeting the others, they all quickly realised that Oliver had hung back.
"Aren't you coming with us?" asked Roy, as he approached Oliver.
"I think I'm going to stay for a little longer. I still have to sort out a couple of things" said Oliver, as he glanced at Kara and smiled, who shyly smiled back at him.
"Oh, ok. I might not see you when you get back, so… It was great being by your side again" said Roy, appreciatively.
"The pleasure was all mine, Roy" said Oliver, as they shook hands before Roy made way for Slade to greet Oliver, "I do intend on keeping my promise to help you find Joe" said Oliver to Slade.
"Don't worry about him, kid. Enjoy these moments of bliss while you can. They usually don't last long in our lives" said Slade, before he stepped away for Nyssa.
"Oliver" she said, surprising him with the use of his name.
"Not calling me husband anymore?" asked Oliver jokingly.
"Only for now, to not upset Kara" she joked too, turning to wink at Kara before she joined Slade and Roy. Oliver pulled out the extrapolator from one of his pockets, and opened a breach back to Earth-1.
"Bye guys" said Alex cheerfully, waving as the heroes from Earth-1 returned to their world. Oliver waited for a couple of more seconds before speaking up.
"What's the status on Cadmus?" he asked.
"Well, with Lacroix outed as Komodo, we've got full access to his office and the Stellmoor International mainframe servers" explained J'onn.
"Between those two things, we'll be able to track down everything supplied to Cadmus and will be able to stop them from getting their hands on any more weapons or funds. They're going to go dark again, pretty soon" added Winn. Oliver nodded, relieved to hear that Cadmus won't be hurting any more innocents any time soon, "Hey, the Girl of Steel is back!" continued Winn, bellowing cheerfully, "Everyone in National City is going to be happy to see you again."
"Of course, but I think they can wait. After what happened last night, I think you can take another day off. Both of you" said J'onn, as he looked at both Kara and Oliver.
"What are you going to do now?" asked Oliver to Lady Shiva.
"It depends. What do you plan on doing with the totem?" she asked Oliver. He pondered on what the fate of such an artifact should be, as he pulled it out from his pocket and gazed on it. The powers it granted were phenomenal, and the enlightenment it provided was intoxicating, but Oliver had never ever thought of keeping it permanently. He had overcome his darkness once, but he knew that he would not be able to do such forever.
"We destroy it" said Oliver, "This totem has caused enough suffering and pain. It's for the best if it no longer exists." They watched as Oliver closed his eyes, concentrating intensely for a few seconds before his eyes opened, allowing the power of the totem to leave his body and find its way back to the pendant. It took a second before the green glowing energy in his eyes faded, as he handed the totem to Clark, "Throw it into the sun."
"Well, with Lacroix dead, and the totem set to be destroyed, my crusade is done" she said.
"We could use a woman of your skills here in the DEO" suggested Alex, but Lady Shiva scoffed at the idea.
"I appreciate the offer, but the DEO isn't really my type" she replied, "I have a niece in Hong Kong, Emiko. I haven't seen her in years, but now, because of all of you, I'll finally be able to meet with her once again. Thank you."
"We can have you on a flight to Hong Kong as soon as you want" said J'onn, "How much longer do you plan on staying?" asked J'onn to Oliver.
"Not much longer" replied Oliver.
"Well, in that case…" replied J'onn, as he held out his hand for Oliver, "Thank you."
"Like I said before, you don't ever have to thank me" replied Oliver, who turned his attention to Clark next.
"For the record, I do notice that you puff your chest out whenever you're around me" said Clark humourously, causing Oliver to chuckle as they shook hands before moved towards James.
"You've improved a lot over the past few months" said Oliver to James.
"Well, I've had good teachers. One of them being you" replied James appreciatively.
"Please tell me you're going to leave the recipe for your chilli" said Alex as Oliver approached her.
"It's my secret recipe so, no. Unfortunately" replied Oliver as he hugged Alex.
"Unfortunate for Alex, fortunate for the rest of us" quipped Winn, causing everyone to giggle as he shook hands with Oliver.
"Keep being yourself, Winn. Just keep being yourself" said Oliver with a smile, repeating what he said to Winn the last time he had left for Earth-38. Finally, he found himself in front of Lady Shiva.
"If it weren't for you, I don't think my crusade would ever have ended. So, xiè xie" she said, thanking him in Mandarin.
"Well, if it weren't for the Shado of my Earth, I wouldn't be here right now. So I guess in some ways, I should be thanking you" replied Oliver, smiling at her. As the goodbyes came to an end, Oliver eyed down the people of Earth-38 who he now called his friends. In truth, they weren't friends… they had become almost like family to him. Clark, a heroic equal… J'onn, a father-figure… Winn, an annoying but affectionate younger brother… Alex, an older sister and finally, Kara, the woman he loves, who has helped him become the best version of himself.
"Alright, let's get back to work!" said J'onn, "Except you two" he said, pointing at Oliver and Kara, "I mean it when I say take the day off" he said, smiling before he and Winn headed back to the control hub, while Clark burst into flight out of the DEO and James headed for the elevator. Alex remained put, rather calling Kara to come speak to her.
"Hey" said Alex, as she pulled Kara away, "So… you and Oliver?"
"Yeah, we… we finally told each other how we really felt, and it was great, but… I'm not sure if I'm ready for it yet."
"Kara, I just want you to be happy, okay?" replied Alex, before she pulled her sister in for a tight hug, "Love you, sis."
"Love you too" replied Kara, as she let go of Alex and walked back to Oliver, "So… where to?" asked Kara.
"Your apartment?" suggested Oliver.
"My apartment it is" replied Kara, smiling as she grabbed Oliver by the waist and burst off into flight.
A/N: The next chapter will be the final one, and Oliver and Kara will speak to each other about the future of their relationship...