Oliver Queen's motorcycle rolled into the underground garage of the Quiver around eleven a.m. the morning following his trip to Central City, having stopped at a little out-of-the-way roadside motel around midnight and sleeping for a good six hours, knowing he shouldn't push himself when it wasn't an emergency. Dismounting, Oliver took off the helmet and set it on the rack, only to slow slightly when he saw the black SUV in the garage. He entered the Quiver proper and saw that Naomi, who looked a little guilty, was not alone. Also in the room were Amanda Waller and Lyla Michaels, both of whom were eyeing Oliver with some form of curiosity. "Amanda, Agent Michaels," Oliver said, nodding to each of them. "Can I help you with something?"

"An explanation," Waller said simply.

"For what?" Oliver returned, deflecting.

"You know very well what, Oliver," Waller said. "I know every time an A.R.G.U.S. code is used to override a security system. You killed Harrison Wells. I want to know why. Did he play some role in Tempest, in this cabal your godfather leads, that you failed to inform us of?"

"No," Oliver said calmly. "I was given two choices. Only one was viable, and that required Wells to die."

"Given two choices by whom, Oliver?" Waller asked.

Oliver considered Waller for a moment. Considering Lyla had known about Novu and the Crisis, was it possible Waller had as well? Only one way to find out, he mused. "Mar-Novu," Oliver said, and while Naomi frowned in confusion, both Lyla and Waller jerked in recognition, then looked at each other, Lyla surprised and Waller calculating. "I see you know who he is. Then let me make this simple. I met him last year. He showed me things, a vision of the future. In return, I was sworn to his service. I was tasked with inspiring heroes who would stand for the world in the coming Crisis in the light of day, and that is why I have taken every action that I have since returning to Starling City. But a group of time travelers were going to stop the changes I was making, and Novu gave me two options. One of them wasn't viable in the end, not if I'm supposed to inspire others to step forward. So, my only option was to destroy the timeline the time travelers existed in, and essentially create a new world in which nothing is a guarantee, not even my survival. Because Novu showed me that future timeline, and I lived to the Crisis. But now that's no longer certain, except for a handful of potential issues."

"And Harrison Wells? How does he factor into all of this?" Waller asked flatly.

"He wasn't Harrison Wells," Oliver said. "Harrison Wells died in 2000 with his wife. They were killed by a time traveler from the 2100s named Eobard Thawne, who used advanced technology to steal Wells' identity and has secretly been advancing our world's technology for his own purposes. Thawne was integral to the timeline I destroyed. Without him, it all fell apart and was erased."

"I see," Waller said musingly. "Yes, that sounds like Novu's work, alright. Novu is the reason I've shown such interest in you, Oliver. It is not surprising to me that you attracted his interest." She turned to Lyla. "But I was surprised to see you recognized the name. We will speak of this later, Agent Michaels." Lyla nodded, and Waller turned back to Oliver. "Is there anything else Novu said?"

"Only that in killing Thawne, he will no longer be able to guide me," Oliver said. "From here on out, I chart my own course. But there are two things I can share with you from what he shared with me, the future he showed me." Waller straightened and gave Oliver a look that said to get on with it. "First off, Slade Wilson is alive."

"That's not possible," Waller whispered. "You killed him."

"Unfortunately, the Mirakuru is even more powerful than we thought," Oliver said. "In the future Novu showed me, Slade came at me starting next October. But as I said, erasing that timeline could mean anything. He will still want vengeance on me, but how he will go about it could change. I suggest you have a cell ready to contain him because I have no plans to kill him. I want to do what I should've done from the beginning: cure him."

"I'm sure we will be able to create an adequate cell now that we know it's needed," Waller said after a moment. "And the other thing?"

"The idol from Lian Yu ended up in the hands of Damien Darhk," Oliver said. "I suggest you heighten security on it and any other items of magical power."

"I will," Waller said with a nod. "We cannot allow a man like Damien Darhk to possess the Khushu idol. Is there anything else?"

"Just one thing, now I think about it," Oliver said. "A man named Bennett in A.R.G.U.S., who was a deputy director at the time I met him in that future Novu showed me, is an agent of an organization called the Ninth Circle. They're very powerful, manipulating wars and other events for their own profit. A man named Dante is one of their leaders and has a connection with Bennett."

"I see," Waller said. "I know the man you speak of in A.R.G.U.S. He's the head of a field office right now. I will ensure he cannot compromise A.R.G.U.S. further. Thank you for the information. Is there anything else?"

"Not that I can think of," Oliver said.

"Then we'll leave you to your work," Waller said. She and Lyla headed for the garage and Oliver watched them go. Once the SUV had pulled out and the Quiver was silent, Oliver turned to Naomi.

"I'm sorry," Naomi said apologetically, "but I still work for Waller, technically. She gave me explicit instructions that if you were ever to act out of character that I was to contact her. What you were doing yesterday qualified."

"I'm not angry, Naomi," Oliver said. "But I have to ask that when all of this is said and done, you share what I've mentioned here about Novu and the future he showed me with no one."

"I can do that," Naomi said with a nod, then chuckled humorlessly. "Besides, once all of this is said and done, I'm going back to A.R.G.U.S., and if I said anything to someone there, Waller would kill me and them just to keep it secret."

"Probably," Oliver said, thinking that he should try and free Naomi from Waller if he could. She deserved some kind of reward for her work with him, and God knew Waller wouldn't reward her in any way. It was Waller, after all.

Idly, Oliver wondered how the first day of the flower shop being open was going for Sara, trying not to think too guiltily on the fact he had erased another Sara from existence in Central City. Instead, he focused his attention on the matter of washing the hair dye out and removing the color contacts. *1*

*DC*

Malcolm Merlyn was still fuming over the loss of Emily Pollard. Oliver had been clever, getting her arrested for her involvement with Midas and Claybourne's actions and finding the evidence for it on her own system. She had still been arrested for what Oliver considered to be terrorism without it being linked to Tempest, since Oliver knew that the people weren't sure if they believed in Tempest, even with that blue-collar champion Susan Williams spouting off every morning about the Green Arrow's heroics, though that had been absent this morning. Apparently, Oliver had taken last night off.

But Oliver's return so quickly made it clear his operation wasn't in the least bit crippled, and that meant he could take down each member of Tempest without issue. They were all guilty of something, after all. It was how Malcolm kept them in line, kept them from getting uppity. Oliver would find everything he needed to bring each of them down, and he would do it with relish, Malcolm knew. Oliver needed to be stopped; he needed to be kept from being too much of a nuisance. Malcolm mused over what options he had. He had yet to track down Samantha and William Clayton, and he couldn't touch the Lance sisters thanks to Sara Lance having the same training Malcolm himself did unless Malcolm took care of the sisters himself, risking the League's exposure and his own death. He could target John Diggle, since the man was standing in his way of having Laurel Lance killed in a robbery at C.N.R.I. or something, but Oliver likely had a contingency in place to ensure Laurel remained safe from Malcolm.

There was one way to deal with Oliver, Malcolm mused, and ironically it would use the very criminals he was championing to bring him down. Yes, that would be perfect. Malcolm, currently ensconced in his 'vault/panic room', picked up his Tempest cell phone to call a contact who could put a bounty on Oliver. One million dead, two million alive, so Malcolm could teach the arrogant upstart a lesson before he died.

*DC*

Green Arrow was on patrol on his bike (sans any license plate) when he spotted something in Mericle Plaza: two women surrounded by a gang of thugs, all of them armed with crowbars, metal bats, and even a couple of machetes. He stopped the bike and got off as the men turned to him. "There he is, boys!" shouted one. "Come on, let's collect that bounty!" The men charged at Green Arrow, who began firing off bola and injection arrows, catching each of the men in the chest and either binding them or sending them stumbling to the ground as they slowly became paralyzed. He managed to get every last man before they even got to him, but his curiosity was piqued. He approached the loudmouth who had shouted something about a bounty, who was writhing in his bindings.

"Hello, there," Green Arrow said pleasantly, kicking the man onto his back. "Now, why don't you tell me what you meant by a bounty."

"Go fuck yourself," the man snarled. Green Arrow, in response, stomped hard on the man's ankle, and the man howled as a small pop was heard.

"Now, that's not very nice, I just asked a simple question," Green Arrow said mildly. "Now. The bounty. What is this about?" He heard the click of a bullet being chambered and turned to find the two women who had been surrounded standing in front of him, one having picked up a metal bat from the ground while the other had a loaded pistol pointed at Green Arrow. "Well, this is an interesting twist," he mused. "You were never in any danger, were you?"

"Oh, we were, but we heard these guys talking about the bounty," said the woman with the gun. "And to answer your question, someone's put out a hefty bounty on you. One million dead, two million alive. Now, you've been good to the people here, and you saved our lives. But at the end of the day, we need to make ends meet, and a million dollars could change our lives." She raised the gun to point at Green Arrow's chest. "Sorry." She pulled the trigger, and Green Arrow was thrown onto his back, the breath driven from his body by both the impact of the bullet and landing on his back. His vision clouded for a moment, but then returned. Breathing was painful, but he managed to throw a pair of taser flechettes at the women, knocking them out.

"I'm sorry, too," Green Arrow said softly as he stood up. The taser flechettes would keep them knocked out for an hour at most, but they would wake with plenty of time to get out of here before those paralyzed by the tetrodotoxin (which included all those who had been wielding machetes) woke up. Green Arrow turned and walked back to the bike, deciding to finish his patrol and then get back to the Quiver. He had a phone call to make. *2*

*DC*

Malcolm Merlyn was working late in his office, as per his custom, when his personal cell phone rang. Picking it up, he noted the number was listed as 'restricted'. "Malcolm Merlyn," he said easily as he picked up, musing that this might well be his godson calling.

This moved from speculation to fact as Oliver said from the other end of the line, "A bounty? Really? That's a new low, even for you, Malcolm."

"The cunning warrior uses every tool in his arsenal, Oliver, surely Talia al Ghul taught you that," Malcolm said easily.

"Oh, she did," Oliver said. "I guess a part of me can't help but think there's got to be some part of you that's honorable and wouldn't stoop so low. But I should've known better when it comes to an assassin."

"Yes, you should have," Malcolm said. "And you can hardly talk. You had to prove yourself to Talia, like I had to prove myself to Ra's. You have killed."

"I don't do that anymore," Oliver said.

"And that is why you will never defeat me, Oliver," Malcolm said. "You lack the conviction to do all that is necessary to win. I don't need to beat you in a physical confrontation. I have an entire city at my disposal who are hungering to change their lot in life, and even the million dollars for your dead body will do so. I have the Blackhawks, the S.C.P.D., and every two-bit criminal in this city looking for an easy score. What do you have? A bunch of trick arrows? A computer hacker? How foolish you are to think you can stand alone against the might of Tempest."

"Oh, I don't know, I've faced some pretty impossible odds before and come out on top, Malcolm," Oliver said.

"Through sheer dumb luck, I'm sure," Malcolm replied. "Now, while I would love to talk longer, Oliver, I really must be going. Unlike you, I still have a Fortune 500 company to run." Malcolm shut off his phone, supremely satisfied in the knowledge that Oliver was being hunted even by those he championed.

*DC*

Oliver could respect the bitter irony in this situation. The very people he was championing were just desperate enough that they would want to cash in on the bounty on him. Malcolm was using those Oliver sought to protect to hunt him down in some ironic twist of fate, and Oliver knew that Malcolm was laughing inside all the while. And yet Oliver could do nothing to change what was happening. The die had been cast, and he would have to roll with the punches. For now, though, Oliver had a more pressing concern. He brought up his list of contacts and selected the number for the encrypted phone that he had sent to Laurel so that they could communicate.

"Hey, Ollie," Laurel said as she picked up, a smile in her voice. Oliver could almost picture it. Soft, but sad, because she wasn't able to speak to him in person, wasn't able to see him, wasn't able to hold him or kiss him. Oliver imagined he had a similar smile on his face at hearing her voice. "How are you doing?"

"A little rough," Oliver said.

"You weren't out at all last night," Laurel noted.

"I had something else I was dealing with," Oliver said. "I went out tonight, though, a normal patrol. I ran into some unexpected problems."

"What kind?" Laurel asked.

"Is Sara there? You should both hear this," Oliver said.

"She is, just one sec," Laurel said. A moment later she said, "Okay, Ollie, you're on speaker. What's going on?"

"Malcolm's put out a bounty on me," Oliver said. "One million dead, two million alive." He heard Laurel gasp and Sara curse. "Yeah. Anyways, the worst part is that now, the same people I'm trying to help will be tempted to try and trap me in order to cash in on the bounty. I'll never know when I go into a situation if the people are going to do it, but I can't not help people. But there are going to be some who are craftier. They're going to go after the two of you since you were both arrested for knowing my secret and I gave myself up to get you out of trouble. They'll think I'd do anything to keep you safe, especially Laurel, even turn myself over. You're both targets."

"I'll be fine, Ollie, and Laurel's picking up the training I'm giving her pretty fast," Sara said, a note of pride in her voice, pride for her sister's accomplishments. "Laurel's a bit of a natural for hand-to-hand. She'll be able to defend herself, especially if Dig and I are also there. She'll be safe. But thanks for giving us the warning. Means we can keep an eye out." Sara's voice softened. "And how are you doing? Really? How do you know the people you're helping might turn on you?" *3*

"Because it happened tonight," Oliver said. "There were two women in Mericle Plaza, surrounded by a gang. I took the gang down, but then the women turned on me, shot me in the chest. Luckily, the Kevlar lining in my suit held. I knocked them out with a couple of taser flechettes. But the fact that they were willing to turn on me, even if they admitted to regretting the necessity… it's hard to hear."

"Oh, Ollie…" Laurel said softly. "I know this is going to be hard, but just keep focusing on taking down Tempest. They'll all know the truth in the end. Everyone will, and those who tried to stop you will feel ashamed of themselves."

"I hope you're right," Oliver whispered. "Anyways, I just wanted to let you both know so that you could be prepared. I should let you go. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Ollie," the sisters chorused, and Oliver hung up, a smile on his face. It had been good talking to Sara and Laurel, even if it was just to warn them.

Oliver turned his attention to Naomi. "How's the deep-dive into Kullens coming?"

"Good, Mr. Queen," Naomi said. "I've already got evidence of all of the kickbacks he's received in exchange for helping pass rezoning laws that saw people evicted from their homes and given low-ball prices from the corporations buying up their land. And hey, look, a couple of those kickbacks came from Midas and Claybourne, too. I wonder if they bought off any other members of the City Council… Anyways, I've also got evidence he frequented the Triad's massage parlor that you took down in downtown Starling. He kept pictures of him and one of the girls on his home computer, probably for his own self-pleasuring. All in all, Mr. Queen, you can hit him hard if he doesn't want to play ball."

"Good," Oliver said. "It's too late to do this tonight, so I'll hit him tomorrow. Goodnight, Naomi."

"Goodnight, Mr. Queen," Naomi replied as Oliver headed down to the training level, where the sleeping cots were. Oliver would admit it to no one, but he sort of missed having a bed to sleep on. Oh, well, he could soldier on. He had slept on rocks and hard-packed dirt before, after all.

*DC*

It was about eight-thirty a.m. when Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen sat down in a booth at a diner in downtown Starling City to order breakfast. After getting their coffee and ordering their meals, Clark said, "So. We've covered what Oliver did with Pollard. But I have to wonder how he even knew that she was dirty. We did all that research yesterday, digging into Pollard, and the only evidence she was dirty was on her own darn computer. So, how did he do it? How did he know she was dirty?"

"And who else in this city is that dirty that he knows about?" Lois asked, taking a sip of coffee. "I mean, he jumped from taking on crooked C.E.O.s to someone guilty of domestic terrorism. Did he know all along, and he was just planning to wait for the right moment, then decided 'what the hell' after he was exposed? Or did he just find out about her and decide to take her down right away? And does he know about anyone else like that? Because if he does, this story is about to get very interesting." Lois tapped her chin thoughtfully. "You know, there's one member of the City Council that voted alongside Pollard a lot of the time, especially for big business. Gregory Kullens. I wonder if he's got anything dirty in his background."

"I guess we know what we'll be spending the day doing," Clark said with a smile to Jimmy, who grinned. "Gonna try and break the story before Oliver gets there, Lois?"

"Yep," Lois said breezily as their food arrived.

"Well, to breaking stories before they happen," Jimmy said, raising his mug of coffee before digging into his pancakes, bacon, and sunnyside-up eggs.

*DC*

Councilman Gregory Kullens was pouring himself a glass of Merlot to wind down for the evening. City Hall had been in an uproar ever since Emily Pollard had been arrested two days before and charged with aiding and abetting acts of terrorism on the people of Starling City and profiting from the same. Kullens was trying to keep himself on the down-low and hope no one found out that Midas and Claybourne had paid him to help them get certain neighborhoods rezoned for industrial construction. They hadn't been the only ones who had, granted, but everything they touched was poison now and if anyone traced their payments to him, well, he could end up being tarred with the same brush. He ignored the little and oft-ignored voice in the back of his head that pointed out he was a terrorist thanks to his membership in Tempest.

Kullens was just lifting the glass to his lips when something struck him in the side, wrapping him up in cords and causing him to drop the glass, which broke, the Merlot seeping into the white carpet. Kullens toppled backwards and writhed in the bindings as the familiar form of the Green Arrow, in his brand-new suit, loomed over him. "Gregory Kullens," he intoned. "You have failed this city."

"You can't do this!" sputtered Kullens. "I'm on the City Council, Mr. Queen!"

"That didn't stop me from taking down Pollard and it won't stop me from taking you down either," Green Arrow replied. "I will make this short and sweet, Kullens. I have evidence of every pay-off you've received in the form of kickbacks, and yes, that includes the ones my father gave you. I have the evidence that these payments were received after you helped rezone residential districts into industrial ones, evicting hundreds of people from their homes and forcing them to live on the streets in many cases because your friends low-balled offers on their homes since the districts had already been rezoned. I also have evidence that you were a client of the Triad's 'massage parlor'. It's really too bad you weren't there when I shut it down. I would have loved to break your nose."

"W-What do you want?" Kullens whimpered.

"You will resign and confess to your corruption, or I will expose you," Green Arrow replied. "You will do so by six p.m. tomorrow night. If you haven't, everything I have collected will be sent to the F.B.I., Channel 52, and the Daily Planet. You will not escape justice regardless, Kullens, but if you confess yourself you may actually be shown leniency. There is even a way for you to gain immunity."

"H-How?" Kullens stammered, thinking it might be something he could do.

"By turning state's evidence against Malcolm and revealing Tempest's plans," Green Arrow replied, and Kullens' heart sank. "It's the only way you don't end up in prison, Kullens. But in the end, your choice is your choice." Green Arrow turned to leave.

"Aren't you going to cut me loose?" Kullens cried.

"No," Green Arrow said before vanishing. Kullens squirmed in his bindings. His bowels were making indications that they had loosened a bit and he needed to go to the bathroom, and his nose was itching. He could do neither of these things tied up.

Goddamned billionaires, Kullens raged in his mind, thinking of both Queen and Merlyn. He was caught in the war between the two of them and there was no winning side. Whatever he did, he lost. *4*

A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter.

That's this episode wrapped in the one chance in a million situation where the seventh chapter of the seventh episode ends up being in the 77th official chapter. Lot of sevens in there, and it was actually an unlucky chapter for the good Councilman Kullens.

Chapter Notes:

*1* As in "Rise", I decided to make Waller's interest in people like Oliver, Deadshot, Bronze Tiger, etc. because of her own knowledge of Novu and the Crisis. I also decided to have Oliver take care of warnings that he didn't give Waller until late in "The Age of Heroes" along with one he didn't do yet in the Riseverse, about Bennett.

*2* I wanted to make the bounty different in this and I remembered that in the original story, I implied the two women cornered by a gang in Mericle Plaza were in on it. Here, I decided to make them actual victims, but ones who seized an opportunity because I wanted to show how Malcolm's bounty is preying on the very people Oliver is trying to help, instead of just *telling* that it is.

*3* This bit about Laurel is meant to acknowledge that Black Canary, in the comics, is one of the best H2H specialists in the DCU and that Laurel is moving towards becoming like her comic counterpart. The plan is for her to be the H2H specialist of Team Arrow, using no weapons at all.

*4* Kullens has learned that when you play with fire, you get burned.