Strange Times

by Okoriwadsworth

The story of what would have happened if Oliver and Laurel had been on the boat together and if the League Of Assassins had picked them up in the first year. AU, obviously. Lauriver and a few other pairings. Part 1 of a Multi-Book series.

1. Changes

Chapter 1: Changes.

It's difficult to think of them as kids. Yes now, they are superheroes of the first order, co-founders of the Justice League, and the unquestioned first couple of superhero-dom. But before all that, before the Green Arrow and Black Canary became the scourge of criminals from one coast to the other and the heroes treasured by Starling City, that's really what they were. Kids. This is the story of how they became adults, and then something else, and then finally the heroes they were always meant to be.

If you had to ask Oliver Jonas Queen and Dinah Laurel Lance what it was that they remember most about the day that changed their lives forever, the temperature would be the first thing. While that might seem odd, try and remember what the kids who were waiting at that dock in Starling City were actually like. Not the mature adults we see now, but kids. Heading to China on the boat of Oliver's father Robert, the Queen's Gambit, both as hangers-on for a business meeting in Shanghai and to take a dry run on living together as boyfriend and girlfriend before they returned home, there was a lightness about them that was palpable.

So, with that in mind, it's not difficult to understand why they'd remember having to wear jeans and long-sleeved t-shirts to the dock, instead of the shorts and tanktops they had thought about.

This trip they were going on, their luggage having already been put on the boat and secured well in advance, was a youthful excursion to the Far East that was intended for fun and a bird's-eye view of what running an international conglomerate was actually like. It was planned to be an easy vacation. When they got back, Laurel planned to go to Starling City University's renowned law school to start her path towards becoming a high-powered lawyer. Oliver, meanwhile, planned to come home and continue his responsibility-free life of social climbing until Robert, Laurel, or a combination of the two convinced him to straighten out his act.

But, as we know all too well, plans struggle to keep up with reality.