CHAPTER TWO
QUEEN MANSION
Oliver blinked his eyes as the rays of the morning sun reached his eyes. The curtains were open giving him a few moments to register where he was. At first, he had been a bit confused as to where he was but the events of the past few day hit him. He being found on Lian Yu, coming to Starling City, meeting his family, kids and Laurel...
Laurel!
Where was she?
He checked his bedside and found it empty. Had she disappeared? Or was this a dream? She couldn't be gone. She couldn't be.
The bedroom door opened and Laurel, still in her pajamas, stepped out with a tray in her hands.
"Good morning, Ollie." she greeted with a smile.
Then setting the tray at the end of the bed, she leaned down beside him and gave him a deep, passionate kiss. When their lips parted, Oliver had a big smile on his face.
"What?" Laurel asked, the smile not leaving her face.
"I wish every morning was like this." Oliver replied with a grin. "Kisses from the woman of my life and breakfast in bed, I think retirement is coming early."
Laurel chuckled. "Well what can I say? You are back, I am back, Sara is back. We are all together...it's a dream come true, Oliver."
Oliver nodded his head. She was right, it was a dream come true. Being with Laurel, was one thing that he had always wished for. The one thing that had remained deep inside of him. Felicity herself had even known about his love for Laurel and knew that she was nowhere near that love that he held for her, but yet, she still gave him all her love and he also tried to do the same.
The thought Felicity made Oliver's mind troubled for a moment but he brushed it aside. Right now he was with Laurel, and that was what mattered. Later, he will look for Felicity.
"So, I made your favorite, bacon and eggs with some fruit juice and salad." Laurel said.
Oliver nodded his head, gleaming with happiness. He gestured for Laurel to sit beside him on the bed. Laurel willingly sat beside him and together, they began eating their breakfast, feeding each other and exchanging pecks and kisses throughout their breakfast.
Oliver knocked on Thea's door, holding his jacket with his left hand and waiting for Thea to respond.
"Come in."
He entered the room and found Thea already in her uniform ready to go to school. Oliver could barely breathe as he stared at his sister. It had been years since he had seen her like this, full of joy and energy. In a few months time, reality was going to hit her in the face. Finding out that Malcolm was her father and Robert Queen had never been her biological father, the lies of their mother, Moira. At least she wouldn't have to deal with Slade killing their mother, he was on their side now.
"Um, Oliver?" Thea called out, breaking him from his thoughts. "You seem to be elsewhere."
Oliver smiled and shook his head. "I'm just thinking of how much you've grown up."
It was a lie. He hadn't been thinking about that, and memories of all the lies and secrets that he had kept from Thea and those close to him flashed in his mind. The secrets that he had kept from those close to him had cost him a lot. His mother, Laurel, Sara, Felicity, Thea and William had all been affected from his secrets and lies. He needed to change, and it needed to start from his sister, Thea.
"Thea?"
"Yep." Thea responded, packing her books into her bag.
"Do you mind skipping school for today? There are some things that I need to tell you. Things about dad, mom, myself and the island." Oliver told her grimly.
Thea looked at him with a bit of confusion but agreed to his request. "Okay, I'll skip school but I need to tell mom first." she said.
Oliver nodded his head. "No problem, Thea." he said.
Laurel adjusted William's shirt and helped him with his button while Raisa assisted Mia with her clothes.
"I need both of you to be at your best behaviour." she told them. "Tonight, your dad is taking you guys for bowling. He has missed nine years of your lives and wants to make it up to you as much as possible."
"Don't worry, mom." William said. "Being at our best behaviours is one thing we do best."
"Well your teachers have different views on your best behaviour, William." Raisa said as she packed their lunch for them. "They say that you are well known for your pranks and jokes. And you love creating trouble between teachers and students."
"Don't believe in their lies, Aunt Raisa." William warned. "They are planning on leading you to the path of darkness."
"Really, Will?" Mia said with a bit of annoyance. "So the teachers reporting about the water balloon fights, food fights, pranks on teachers etc means they are trying to send us to the path of darkness?"
"Pranks on teachers?!" Laurel said in shock. "You really need to change, Will. Causing fights in school is not the right thing."
"Food fights." he corrected.
"Still, it's not a good thing. And pulling pranks on teachers? What if someone gets hurt? How are you gonna help him? What are you going to do?"
"But no one gets hurt, mom. That's why it's called a prank." William said, defending his actions. "Ever since I started, there's been not a single casuality."
"Just because no one has gotten hurt yet doesn't mean anyone could. Besides, pranks could go haywire." Laurel said a bit sternly. Then putting her hand on his cheek and caressing it, she added softly, "I don't want you to get yourself into a situation you can't escape from, that's why I'm doing this. You might not understand but try and do it for me. Please."
William looked at her face and reluctantly nodded is head. "Alright, mom. I'll try my best not to pul off pranks." he said.
Laurel smiled and kissed him on the head. "Thanks, Will."
"And that's a sign that you are going to do better." Raisa said to him before leaving them.
"So, who's ready to go to school?" Oliver asked, striding into the room and holding his jacket."
"We're just waiting for Aunt Thea and we are good to go." Mia said with a smile. "Morning, dad."
"Morning, Mia." Oliver responded. "How're you doing?"
"Great. Can't wait to go to school." she said gleefully.
"That's what she says every day." William said, walking towards him completely dressed with a bag on his back and Laurel behind him. "She doesn't understand that not everyone is meant for school. People like me, we have greater things ahead of our lives that we need to take care of."
"Like what?" Mia asked.
"Ask Uncle Tommy." William said simply before leaving towards the door.
Oliver looked at Laurel curiously.
"You'll get used to it." she whispered before following the boy out of the house.
William seemed to be more confident in this timeline than in the old one. He wondered if it had to do with the fact that he had been living with the Queens since he was born. Growing up with the Queens, he would easily have more space and freedom than he would have had at Samantha's place.
Thea descended down the stairs in a green blouse, blue jeans and a pair of converse.
"I'm ready to go, Oliver." she said, walking over to Mia and giving her a fist bump.
"You aren't going to school?" It was Moira, who had just entered the room.
"Yeah, mom." Thea answered. "Ollie and I want to catch up. You know it's been over nine years since he died and we would like to get to kow eac other better."
"Oh, I see." Moira said worriedly. She might have to tell the henchmen to be extra careful when they kidnapped her kids. "Have a good day."
"You too, mother." Thea said, giving the older woman a hug and a peck on the cheek before taking Mia's hand and leaving the room.
Oliver stared at his mother with a masked smile on his face. He knew why his mother was worried, but he was not going to let her know. He needed to see how far she would go with her evil, corruptive ways and secrets before he encountered her.
"See you later, mother." he said, giving the older woman a hug.
"See you too, my boy." Moira said. "Take care of yourself. We've already lost you for almost a decade, and we don't want to lose you again."
"Don't worry, mother." Oliver said with a calm expression on his face. "I'm no leaving anytime soon."
And he wasn't. Oliver Queen was here to stay and live. No one was taking him or those he loved away from this world. He was going to fight for them. He was going to fight for their survival. And no one was going to get in his way.
Oliver and Thea got out of Laurel's car onto the sidewalk. Because Oliver had been gone for a decade, his liscence was dead and he needed to renew it. So for the mean time, Laurel would be dropping them off and until Oliver had his liscence, it would be buses, taxis and rides for him.
"Thanks a lot, Laurel." he told her. He gave her a peck on the lips. "See you later."
"You too, Oliver." Laurel said. Then giving Thea a wave, she started the car and drove away, leaving them on the sidewalk.
"She's the greatest, Ollie." Thea said to him. "After you and dad died, she was there for me. Always on the look out for me and always after my best interests. I don't know what would have happened if she wasn't in my life."
"You'll probably be a drug addict." Oliver joked. They were walking on the sidewalk side by side.
"Yeah, right. Like I would ever do that." Thea said with a smile.
Oliver shaked his head as memories of Thea's time in the old timeline with drugs flashed in his mind. Based on how she had answered, she honestly didn't take drugs, and that was a good thing. Her drug issues in the old timeline had caused a lot of trouble for her and the family.
"So what did you want to tell me?" Thea asked her brother as they entered an alley. "You said that you wanted to tell me stuff about mom, dad, you and the island."
Oliver nodded his head. It was time to tell her. "Well-"
His senses spiked and he caught a dart that had been aimed at Thea before he caught another that had been aimed at him.
"What the-" Thea said in shock but could not finish. Within a twinkle of an eye, three men in red masks were heading towards them with knives and bats in their hands.
"Oliver!" Thea called out to her brother, but he had left her side and was now running towards the men.
Before she could comprehend, Oliver had punched one of the thugs so hard that the thug was immediately sending the thug to the ground. The other two thugs were shocked at what he had just done to their colleague. They charged at him with their weapons raised and aimed at him. Oliver blocked one of the thug's attack on him before quickly sending him to a trash can. The last thug threw a knife at him but he caught it mid-air before hurling it down to thug's knee, releasing a howl of pain from him. The first thug that Oliver had punched them came from his behind and aimed a bat at his head, but Oliver's senses had reacted and he grabbed the bat with left arm before sending a hard punch to the thug's chest and to his face. Still holding onto the thug, he threw towars the second thug who was also heading towards him with a bat, sending both of them to the ground. He took the bat that the first thug had dropped and quickly hit the third right in the head, knocking him out cold. The second thug got up and made a run towards him but Oliver gave him five quick punches in the chest before kicking him in the face and knocking him out cold. The first thug, after seeing what Oliver had done to his mates, got up and was heading out of the alley but Oliver grabbed the bat on the floor and threw it at the thug, hitting his head and knocking him out cold.
Oliver looked at the thugs who were all knocked out cold before looking at his sister. Thea had her mouth opened in shock and her eyes were wide open. Had her brother just done what she had just seen him doing? Had he knocked out three thugs with ease?
She looked at Oliver who was also looking back at her. Her brother had a lot of explaining to do. Lots and lots of explaining to do.
"...so after working for Ra, Slade, Shado and I went to the island for the next sixteen months and the rest is history." Oliver said as he finished narrating to his sister what had happened to him in the last nine years. They were currently on a rooftop that overlooked the city. Oliver had already arranged for the thugs to be taken to far place and to never return and after that, he had to explain to Thea all that had happened on the island. "Look, I know that what I've done might chnge the way you think about me but I want to tell you that I am still your brother, and that you can trust me."
Thea listened to her brother's story as he narrated his journey to her. Her heart ached when he told her of all the things that he had gone through and all the things that he had done. But after knowing that her brother was a killer, could she still trust him? Could she trust her brother?
Thea had known her brother up until she was seven, so she wasn't sure if she could fully trust him seeing as she only knew him as a child and not as a mature person. But she knew someone who had known Oliver at a mature stage and that person was someone Thea could trust.
"Does Laurel know about you?" Thea managed to ask her brother after finally thinking about the situation.
Oliver nodded his head to her question and Thea immediaely took out her phone and immediately dialed Laurel's number and called her. A few rings later, Laurel answered her phone.
"Hey, Thea. How're you doing?" Laurel asked. "Are things alright with Oliver?"
"Ummm," Thea began, glancing nervously at her brother, "I don't know. Ollie told me about the island and everything and I don't know if I can trust him anymore."
A pained expression crossed Oliver's face when he heard his sister's words. But he couldn't blame her for that. If he had been in the same situation that she was, he wouldn't immediately go for trust. It would take him time to adjust and accept the person. His mind went back to the old timeline when Thea had found out. She had found it difficult to believe who her brother was but later, she accepted him. And just like what was happening now, she was seeking for Laurel's opinion on the matter.
At least, he had taken the first step and told his sister about who he really was. Hopefully, this decision should be a good one that would strengthen their bond. He had not told Thea about her real father being Malcolm and his mother's relationship with him along with her schemes. Those were for later, much later. Right now, he needed to start things off with his ife on the island, and then he'll see what would go on from here.
"Thanks, Laurel. I needed that." Thea said, finishing her conversation and breaking Oliver away from his thoughts and went to sit down on a chair. She turned to face her brother with a quiet expression on her face, almost as if she was having a heavy mental debate on what she should do before she turned her attention to the city. Oliver too stared at her, not moving, inwardly scared and frightened of how things will pan out. Had he made the right decision? Or should he have waited a bit longer before revealing this to her?
No matter what you do, never keep secrets away from those close to you. They are the ones that matter the most.
It was something that his father had told him days before he had died when they had been on the raft. In the old timeline, Oliver had never taken those words to heart, and it had cost him a lot. But this time, he would do his best to follow his father's advice. He will not tell every one that he cared about like his mother for example. She could not be trusted even though Oliver loved her. Her actions were questionable and she was not someone who kept her word. But people like Thea, Diggle, Tommy and even Raisa, those were the one that he could trust, and he would not keep secrets from them.
After what had been hours but was actually fifteen minutes of silence, Thea got up from her chair and finally spoke, "I don't know who you are again, Ollie. Nine years away has changed you a lot and you aren't the same brother that I knew as a kid." Oliver nodded his head in understanding. He wasn't the same person as before, and he had changed, very much but he was still the same Oliver underneath it all. "Laurel said that the island and the League of Assassins might have changed you, but it did not take you away. She told me to give you time for me to see who the new you really are and for me to make the final decision. And she said that for her, she trusts you completely. I might not know who you are today, but I think that maybe if we spent more time together, I'll get to know you better."
Oliver nodded his head before he hugged his sister. "Thanks a lot, Thea. It means a lot to me." he said softly.
Thea smiled. "We are family, Ollie. Family stay together."
And they stood like that, hugging each other, with the smile not leaving their faces as a new era of love and friendship began.
"So it looks like Laurel is getting a new sidekick." Thea said to her brother.
Oliver creased his face in confusion. "What do you mean by a new sidekick?"
"Don't worry, she'll tell you about it." Thea said with a smile, a smile that was giving her brother the creeps.
STARLING CITY CENTRAL PARK
Laurel and Sara walked together side by side at the park with their arms locked together. For Laurel, it had been a few weeks since she had last seen Sara, but for Sara it had been four years since her sister had died at the hospital and she wanted to make use of every minute and second that she shared with her sister.
"So when did you come back to the past?" Sara asked her sister, referring to the new timeline.
"About two months ago." Laurel answered.
"And what happened when you woke up and found yourself here?"
"The last thing I remembered was telling Oliver that I loved him and then the next moment, I find myself being woken up by two kids who are calling me mom. Believe me, I freaked out like a lot because for a moment I thought that I was in the after life, especially when I saw Oliver's mom and Walter. Then I saw Tommy and my mind was beginning to accept that theory until I saw Thea."
They stopped by a park bench and sat down on it. Today was Friday, so there were few people at the park.
"I wanted to believe that Thea wasn't dead because I knew she couldn't be, but the way things were going...it was very difficult to believe that." Laurel continued, recalling what had happened the first time that she had arrived. "So I took Thea to my room and asked her if she had died before ending up in this world. Thea didn't know what I was talking about but she answered my question with a no. Then I asked her if she knew where Oliver was, and Thea got up and wrapped me in a hug as if I had had a nightmare. I didnt understand why she did that until she mentioned that Oliver had died in the Gambit. The moment she said that, I took out my phone and checked the calendar and saw that I was in the year 2012 before I started to put some sense into what was going on."
Sara nodded her head as she followed what her sister was saying with both ears open.
"So I thought that I had gone back in time and was living in the past, but you were alive and hadn't gone to the Gambit, and I had twins with Oliver before he had 'died'. And I thought of another theory that maybe, I was in an alternate dimension, another earth but I thought that maybe when Oliver came back from the island, which was a month later, everything would fall into place. But Oliver didn't return a month later... I thought that he had really died on the Gambit."
Her voice broke as she recalled the times when she had been in tears from believing that Oliver had actually died. It had been one of the hardest moments of her life, followed by the time that he and Sara had 'died' on the Gambit in the old timeline. She could barely eat and talk to anyone for two weeks because she thought that he was actually dead.
"And then a few days ago, there was a phone call, it was Oliver, and well...well the rest is history." Laurel said as she finished narrating to her sister what she had been throught the past two months.
"It must have been hard, huh." Sara told her as she took a look at the people at the park.
"It was." Laurel confirmed. "They were difficult moments but in the end I was able to overcome it with help from Thea, the kids, Raisa...you."
Sara smiled as she listened to her sister. For her it had been years since they shared moments like this, moments when they could just talk about anything with each other. They might have had their differences but in the end, they were sisters till the end.
"So what happened after I died?" Laurel asked Sara.
"Well after you died, lots and lots of stuff happened. Both in Star City, Central City, the timeline and even the multiverse."
Then, Sara told Laurel all that haad happened after she had died. From Prometheus and Talia to Oliver's sentence to jail and also about the new additions to team Arrow, Oliver's marriage to Felicity and their kids, the Elseworlds, Earth X, the Monitor and Crisis' events. Laurel had listened to her sister attentively as she narrated all that had happened. But when Sara had mentioned that Oliver and Felicity had gotten Mia and that William, who was Samanth Clayton's son with Oliver in the old timeline, she felt a sudden twist inside her.
Did it mean that Laurel was the mother of two kids who were not actually hers? Kids that belonged to Samantha and Felicity? Did that mean that Laurel in all aspects of reality was not their real mother?
The questions kept on repeating themselves in her head, and the more Laurel thought of them, the more they kept on feeling right in every aspect. Oliver did not love her. He loved Felicity. Laurel was just a second string to him. She was just a replacement for Felicity. An image of what she could embody to him. Their kids were not hers. They were for Oliver and Felicity. They had taken care of them in the old timelline as one happy family. A family that would forever be a fantasy for Laurel and not real.
"Laurel?" Sara called out, breaking her away from her thoughts. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, everything's okay." Laurel responded, masking the sadness that she was feeling inside. "I'm just thinking about the things that Oliver must have gone through in the old timeline." she lied in a perfectly masked half-shaken voice.
Sara nodded her head. "Don't worry, Laurel. This time would be different." Sara said encouragingly. "Oliver has you by his side and nothing of the sort would ever happen again. Both of you would be happy, sis. You guys are going to be together and nothing would keep you apart. Okay?"
Laurel nodded her head. "Okay."
"Great. Now let's go get some food. I haven't eaten breakfast this morning."
They both got up and headed out of the park. Sara walking with a giddy feeling inside her because her sister was alive while Laurel left the park with sadness and emptiness inside her. If Laurel had listened to Sara's encouraging words an hour ago, she would be genuinely glad and happy, but after finding out that Oliver and Felicity had gotten married with William and Mia as their children, her thoughts and feeling took a different direction. No matter how much she would try to deny it, the reality of the situation to her stood out clearly.
Oliver did not love her.
He loved Felicity.
William and Mia were their kids.
Laurel was only a replacement, a replacement for a woman she could never compete with.
Felicity Smoak.
QUEEN ENTERPRISES
Oliver and Thea walked together side by side as they made their way out of the elevator. Oliver was here to ask his mother for a place in the company so that he would take over in the next few months or years. He wanted to make sure that the company was in a good position and would be ready for Isabel. Even though Slade was his friend in this timeline, Isabel still held a grudge against his family and would most likely be seeking revenge on them and Oliver wanted to be ready when she came at them.
Another thing was that, Oliver wanted to fix the wrong his mother had done while he had been gone. His mother's decisions and actions had led to a whole new range of problems and he needed to prevent them from taking effect.
But one importnt reason why Oliver was here was because he wanted to know if Felicity was alive. Even though Laurel was the love of his life and would forever be the one whom he loved the most, Felicity also held a place in his heart. So Oliver wanted to know if she was here and see how she was doing. If Felicity was from the same time as them, Oliver would make sure that she had a place in his family because in all aspects of reality, she was also Mia's mother, and she deserved a chance to be with her daughter. But f it happened that Felicity was not from this timeline, he would still make her a part of their family only as a friend.
"What are you thinking about, Ollie?" Thea asked her brother, noticing the way he was deep in his thoughts.
"I'm just thinking about stuff." Oliver answered his sister. He didn't want to lie to her. He had made an oath to himself not to keep secrets and lie to her. It was an oath that he intende to keep.
"Stuff like what?" Thea pressed curiously.
"I heard that an ex of mine works here." Oliver answered his sister. It was true that he was looking for someone who worked here, someone who was now his ex. But was that who she was? Was Felicity now his ex?
That was a hard question for Oliver because deep within his heart, a part of him was still in love with Felicity even though he was completely in love with Laurel. But despite the fact that he was now with Laurel, he still needed to see Felicity, probably to tell her in his own way that she would always hold a place in his heart.
"So, do you plan to tell mom what happened to you on the island?" Thea asked.
Oliver looked at his sister quietly, mentally debating on how to answer her. "I don't think so." he answered after mentally debating for some time.
"Why?" Thea asked him curiously.
"There's something that mom is hiding, Thea." Oliver told his sister. "Something big. Something big that I dont think I could ever tell her about me."
"What is she hiding?"
Oliver sighed as memories of all his mother's lies and secrets flashed in his mind. It was going to be difficult before he could fully trust her, especially after knowing that she had a hand in most o the biggest incidences in Starling City.
"I can't tell you that right now, Thea." Oliver said finally. "Now is not the right time to tell you. But I promise you, I will tell you everything when the time is right."
Thea looked at her brother quietly, wondering what their mother could be hiding that was so big that he couldn't tell her now. "Alright, Ollie. But don't forget."
"I won't, Thea." Oliver promised. "I won't."
Thea nodded her head before she noticed that they were not heading to their mother's office.
"Where are we going?
"There's something that I need to check real quick before we head to mom's office."
Thea nodded her head. "No problem, Ollie. Lead the way." she said, gesturing with her right hand for him to lead the way.
Oliver shaked his head, before leading her to the IT Department with a smile on his face. It was really good to see Thea again.
When they arrived at the IT Department, more particularly where Felicity work space was in the old timeline, Oliver met another familiar face instead.
"I...I...I'm sorry Mr Queen, but we don't have a Felicity Smoak in this building." It was Curtis, still socially awkward just like before. "I know everyone in this building and I can tell you that we don't have a Felicity Smoak in this place. Maybe, she's in one of the company's other branches, Mr Queen, because I can fully assure you that there is no Felicity Smoak in this place. I can search the company's database for her if you want."
Oliver went silent upon Curtis's revelation. How could it be that Felicty was not in this place? Where was she?
"Okay, you can search the database." Oliver told Curtis.
Curtis nodded his head before searching for the name into the computer. "How do we spell the Smoak, Mr Queen?" he asked.
"S-M-O-A-K."
A few types in the keyboard later, Curtis received a ding from the computer.
"I'm sorry, Mr Queen, but we don't have a Felicity Smoak according to the compamny's database." he answered.
"How about all branches?" Oliver asked him.
Curtis did another search but still yielded no results. "Sorry, Mr Queen, but there is no Felicity Smoak in the database. Maybe, you could give me a facial description of her and I could search for her."
"Don't worry, Curtis. It's not necessary." Oliver said. It would seem weird to people if they found out that he was desparately looking for someone in the company's database. He turned to his sister, who was taking a look around the place. "We can go to mom's office now."
"You got who where looking for?" she asked as he walked up to her.
Oliver shook his head. "I'm afraid not." he said.
Thea nodded her head before walking out of the department with Oliver walking closely behind her, his thoughts solely focused on where Felicity could be.
"So you need a job inside this company?" Moira asked her son. They were in the office discussing Oliver's intentions of joining the company.
Oliver nodded his head. "Yes, mom. I need a job." he answered.
"May I ask why?" Moira asked her son. "I thought that since you've returned to civilization after almost a decade, you would like to take things slow."
"I am going to take things slow." Oliver replied. "I just need to know the basics of the company and be slowly catching up in the coming months of how the company goes, and then, if you would like, I could start handling the affairs of the company. But I would like to start in a month's time. Like you said, I still need to adjust to civilisation."
Moira nodded her head, understanding what her son wanted to do. "I understand you, Oliver." she said. "And I agree with you and would immediately give you a place over here. Everything here was done by your father, and you deserve to finish what he had started."
"Thanks, mother. And could it possible if Thea could be my part-time assistant?" Oliver asked his mother politely.
"Um, may I ask why you would need Thea to work as an assistant?" Moira asked. "You know she goes to school, Oliver, and I can't drop her out of school to be your assistant."
"That's why it is part-time, mom." Thea said. "We are doing this because we want to spend more time together and know each other."
"I haven't seen Thea for almost a decade, mother." Oliver added. "She's a different girl from when we first met and I am also different from who I was. We just want to rebuild our relationship, mother. And since I would be joining the company, this could be one a way I can balance the time I spend at work, Laurel, the kids, Thea and everyone."
Moira looked at them thoughtfully, inwardly considering on whether to allow her daughter to be her brother's assistant. "Alright." Moira said after considering the offer from her children. "I am going to allow Thea to be your assistant. Mainly because both of you need to catch up with each other."
Oliver and Thea both smiled at their mother's statement, happy that she had granted their request.
"Thanks a lot, mother." Oliver said sincerely. He was happy that his mother had granted them the opportunity so that he would be a better brother for his sister.
Thea got up from her seat and went to hug her mother. "Thanks a lot, mom. It means a lot to me."
"Your welcome, my baby." Moira told her softly.
Thea and Oliver exchanged one last hug with their mother before saying their goodbyes and leaving the room. A few seconds later, after Moira had checked to make sure that they were gone, she immediately took her phone to call a private number.
"I thought you sent your men to take care of my kids so that Oliver would tell them if Robert told him about the List." she said desparately.
"Don't worry, I am sure that they would take care of it." the voice on the other line said. "Just give them some time and we would get our answers."
Moira nodded her head. "Alright, but tell them to be careful. They are my children." she said.
"Don't worry, Moira." the voice on the other side of the phone said consolingly. "You would find your kids in perfect health an condition."
Moira nodded her head before hanging up the phone. Unbeknowest to her and the person on the other line, the men they had hired to attack her children were in a car heading to the airport which would transport them to the next city. Her son, Oliver Queen, had already dealt with them.
OLD QUEEN ENTERPRISES WAREHOUSE
Laurel and Sara opened the door and made their way inside. They couldn't help but take a look around the place. The place that was once the Verdant in the old timeline and had also held their secret base downstairs.
"It's been ages since we've last been here." Sara told her sister. She could remember when she had first been in the Queen Verdant, when she had come back from the dead after being discovered by the League of Assassins. She had shared some good times with Oliver, Laurel, Thea, Roy and even Diggle. It had become the home of the heroes when they were in their superhero duty and they had all been sad when they had to relocate their secret base.
"Remember that time we did karaoke over here?" Laurel asked, gesturing to the place that had been a stage in the old timeline.
"How could I forget?" Sara told her sister. She smiled as she remembered that night, a night that had happened a few weeks before Ra's Al Ghul had come into the picture. Roy had suggested that the team have a night out to release some stress, and after a long argument with Oliver, they had finally decided to take the night off and have some fun. They had also done karaoke, an event that would not be forgotten in their lives because it was the first and last karaoke that they had all shared as a team.
"You really really took the spotlight with your rap, sis." Laurel said as she recalled the time that Sara had given a rap for her karaoke performance.
"No way," Sara replied back, "it was you with your 'Halo' performance."
"Or how about Diggle singing Blues?"
"Oh, or Oliver singing the Gambler by Kenny Rogers?" Sara remembered.
Laurel gave a laugh as she recalled how everyone had been shocked when Oliver had been singing country music. She could remember how hilarious Diggle's face had looked when he had seen Oliver singing country music. Laurel had taken delight at their hilarious faces when they had seen Oliver sing. At the time, she already knew of Oliver's abilty to sing so it had not come as a surprise to her. It was a memory that she could never forget and one that she would always cherish.
"I think we should spend more outings together as a team in this timeline." Laurel told her sister. "I don't think we had much of those in the old timeline."
Sara nodded her head in agreement. "You're right, sis." she said. "We really should be hanging out more as a team."
They smiled as they stared around the place, remembering old memories that they had made in this place and narrating them to each other. Half an hour later, the door opened to reveal Thea entering the warehouse.
"Hey, guys." Thea greeted, hugging Sara before giving one to Laurel. "How was your day?"
"It was great," Laurel answered as she gave her sister a smile with a glance. "Sara and I had not hanged out together for a long time and we decided to catch up and know how the other was doing. How was yours?"
"It was insane!" Thea exclaimed. "When those thugs were coming-"
Thea had stopped and was looking at Sara. "Does she know about, Oliver?" she whispered to Laurel.
Larel nodded her head. "Yep, she does." she said.
"Okay," Thea said before going back to narrate her story. She todl them of how Oliver had single handedly defeated the thugs with little ease and how he had told her of his time on the island, the League of Assssins and the friends that he had made and the thing he had gone through. She also told them of how Oliver would soon start working at the Queen Enterprises and Thea would also be working part-time with him.
"Your day must have been very eventful." Sara said when Thea had finished.
"You have no idea."
Laurel look around the room and noticed something missing. "Where's Oliver? I thought you two were together."
"I'm right here." Oliver said behind them. He walked over to Laurel and gave her a passionate kiss. "How are you doing?"
"Great," Laurel answered with a smile. "Thea was just telling us about what happened to you guys."
"Yeah, our day has been very eventful."
"I see." Laurel said. "So where were you?"
Oliver smiled before gesturing for them to follow him. They followed him to a door that was familiar to Sara and Laurel. A door that they had opened numerous times and had also held memories. Oliver input the code and opened the door before leading them inside. They followed him as they took the stairs to a room, a room that was the start of a new era.
"Ladies, welcome to the Arrow Cave." Oliver said as he presented the room to them.
Thea opened her mouth in surprise as she stared at the place. The room was cleaned up and had been arranged with chairs, computers and furniture. The presence of the furniture had given the place a more homey look than it looked like in the old timeline. At the far end of the room, there was the training area and gym that also looked way better than in the old timeline. At another side of the room, bows, arrows, batons, knives and other weapons were arranged in an oderly fashion.
"This place is awesome, Ollie." Thea said in awe. It was almost as if the place was straight out of a movie for her.
"When did you get time to do all this?" Sara asked as she examined one of the knives that hanged on the wall.
"Yeah, I thought you just came to Starling yesterday?" Laurel also asked, voicing out her thoughts to Oliver as she walked towards to the training ring.
"I did come to Starlng yesterday." Oliver answered with pride. "I just had someone do all of this."
"Who?" Laurel, Sara and Thea all asked curiously.
"Me."
They turned to look at the door to see an Asian woman walking down the stairs. Laurel and Sara immediately recognised her to be Nyssa, the daughter of the Demon. She walked up to the three who were now standing together side by side in the middle of the room.
"Hello, my name is Nyssa Al Ghul, daugther of the Demon and of the League of Assassins." she introduced. "I was the one who arranged for all this as Al-Saheem requested. Al-Saheem said he wanted a secret base and told me the stuff he needed and I made sure it was done as soon as possible."
"Um, I am Thea." Thea said as she awkwardly greeted the Asian. She wondered how the woman had enetered the place without them noticing.
"I know. You are Al-Saheem's sister." Nyssa said.
Thea looked at her before turning to her brother in confusion. "Um, Ollie. Who is Al-Saheem?"
"Yeah, that's the name that the League of Assassins know me by at Nanda Parbat." Oliver explained to his sister.
"Oh." Thea said as she nodded i understaning.
Nyssa then turned to Laurel and Sara. "And you must be Laurel, Al-Saheem's beloved, nd Sara, his beloved's sister." Nyssa said.
Laurel smiled. "Yes I am Laurel. It's a pleasue to meet you." Nyssa said sincerely. "Al-Saheem tells me a lot of things about you."
"Good things I hope." Laurel joked.
"Only good things." Nyssa confirmed.
There was the sound of the door opening and a few moments later, a tall man with a beard and another asian woman entered the room.
"Nice place you got, kid." Slade said as he looked around.
"It is as you Americans say, 'neat.'" Shado added.
Oliver walked up to them and gave Shado a hug. "How're you doing, Shado?"
"I'm fine, Oliver. How does it feel to be back home?" she asked Oliver.
"It feels great to be home, Shado. Although, I ws thinking that you and Slade would be staying in Australia."
"That's what we planned to do, kid." Slade told Oliver. "But Australia has changed a lot and we were also considering your offer to join you to defend this city an we decided to join you."
"But what about your kids?" Oliver asked the man who was like a brother to him.
"Joe, Grant and Rose where living in an orphanage when I got back to Australia. We all thought that it would be best if we all move together to a new place and create new memories for us."
"That's great news, Slade." Oliver said, genuinely happy that the man was having a better life in this timeline.
Oliver then introduced Slade and Shado to the others except Nyssa, who already knew who they were. Laurel and Sara had met Slade in the older timeline but did not have good memories of it, considering how hell bent he was to kill Oliver. They were also meeting Shado for the first time, the woman who had once been Oliver's love. The thought of Shado being Oliver's ex reminded Laurel of Felicity but she concealed her feelings from them. Now was not the moment to have this stuff ruin the day.
"Okay," Oliver said as he called for everyone's attention. "After almost a decade of being away from Starling City, being away from home, I had time to rethink about my life and what I wanted to do with it. My time away from the island gave me a view and a purpose. And I intend to fulfill that purpose."
He walked over to a wall and pushed a button. The wall then slowly turned to reveal mannequins with suits on the other side.
"O...M...G! Thea exclaimed excitedly when she saw the suits on the mannequins.
The rest, apart from Oliver and Nyssa, stared in awe at each of the mannequins. Oliver walked to the mannequins and stood in front of them as he faced his family and friends. "You guys have decided to help me fight crime in Starling City, and what better way can we accomplish it without having some little cosplay fun."
Each of the mannequin had a suit for each of them and for every member that had been a hero for Team Arrow in the old timeline.
There was Deathstroke's suit, new suits for Shado and Nyssa, the Speedy suit, Spartan's, Ragman's, Black Canary's and the others. Everyone was staring at the suits in awe and admiration.
Oliver cleared his throat before speaking, "Are you guys reay to help me do the impossible?" he asked them.
It didn't even take five seconds and all of them had their hands raised. Oliver smiled. This was the break of a new dawn. The break of a new era. This was a chance to fix their wrongs.
Hi guys.Sorry for the late update but I really hope you enjoyed it. For those wondering where Felicity is, she is not in this story and might not be for a long period of time. The reason is that she holds a connection with Barry in my fanfic Makings of Greater Heroes.Laurel has started having doubts about her relationship with Oliver and it will continue to grow in the coming chapters.Diggle will be making an appearance in the next chapter so watch out for him.Thank you again and have a good time.Till we meet again :)