Chapter 2
Welcome Home, Heart, and Heroes
"Running away will never make you free."
-Kenny Loggins
It seemed the moment they crossed the city limits back home, it was as if they could feel it in their bones.
"Star City." Katie spoke when she saw the sign. "Different name, same messed up people." Oliver reached over taking her hand and she looked over to him.
"Don't worry, we won't be here long. We will find these guys, stop whatever they're planning and head back home."
"I'm holding you to that, Liver." Katie replied lying her head back and glancing to the familiar streets. "Now that I'm actually here, I may have to make an appearance at the company. I'm sure Ray will probably have some ridiculously over the top welcome back party." she lifted her head when she could've sworn she saw him again. The demon. She looked over to Oliver who was looking up a head before turning back.
"It's tough not to look out this window with wonder."
"Wonder what?" Katie asked tearing her eyes from the window and turning to Oliver.
"What did we really accomplish?"
When they arrived at the team's new hideout, Oliver took Katie's hand and followed behind Laurel and his sister.
"Why are we at the shipping yard?" Katie whispered over Oliver.
"Because I hate Bruce Wayne."Oliver muttered with a shake of his head. He watched as Laurel appeared out side the shipping container, and a hand scanner appeared. Once the doors opened, Oliver moved pretty quickly, wanting to get this done so they could head back home.
"Katie and I have a lot to catch up on, so maybe take us through all the evidence the team has gathered." Oliver said as they entered the familiar lair.
"That's easy." Thea replied. "Nothing."
"Ok, so maybe we'll go through all the encounters that you've had with the ghosts, everywhere they've hidden, and places you can cross..." they stopped walking when they saw John and Felicity who turned with two very different looks on their faces.
"Oh my gosh!" Felicity squealed before hurrying over to Katie. "Look at you. Those pictures do not do you justice. You're beautiful and glowing." she brought her arms around the woman in a hug. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, Smoaks." Katie says hugging the woman as well. Once she pulled away, Katie looked over to John whose glare seemed fixed on Oliver. "Missed you too, Mr. Diggle." John didn't say anything.
"John-" Oliver started but the man wasn't hearing it.
"We should've discussed this."
"Me and Thea did." Laurel replied. "We need him."
"John, I'm not expecting you to welcome me back with open arms." Oliver said, but John still wasn't ready to let the things of the past go. "What I did to you is not easily forgiven. I'm here to help you with your problem, and then I'm gone." Oliver promised.
"Oliver, we don't need your help. And if we did, we'd probably choose someone who didn't kidnap my wife and endanger my child."
"John, no one is here asking you to pretend like it didn't." Katie replied. "I get forgiving is hard. I know that first hand from these past couple of months. The truth is that there are bad people in this city. Bad people you haven't been able to stop. Bad people who are still in this city that houses your wife and daughter. You're angry, then be angry. Doesn't stop the bad guys from being bad guys."
"I get that, I really do, but I can't go into battle with a man I can't trust."
"Understood, but that hack I was working on for Kord Industries finally went through." Felicity said walking over to the computer. "I wanted to see what the Ghosts stole and there. Cluster bombs. Sensor fused and high yield. Any more powerful and they'd have to be nuclear."
The all turned to John, knowing they needed him to make a decision about their next move.
"What do you want to do, John?" Laurel asked and the man sighed.
"I'm gonna do whatever it takes to save my city"
And so things seem to fall back into place or at least as close to it as possible. The team stood around trying to find some sort of motive for these Ghosts. Katie actually seemed to zone out during the discussion. She simply moved about the lair, until stopping in front of a wall of weapons. She hadn't seen or touched a weapon in months and it seemed just the sight of so many triggered something inside of her. Something she thought she ran away from, but apparently she hasn't.
"Twinkie-" she heard Oliver call her name, and she turned to see everyone was gone except him and Felicity who was doing something on the computer. "Where were you just now?"
"Ghosts." Katie said with a shake of her head. "Very stupid name. I also refuse to believe they just popped up out of no where. They've struck somewhere before. Similar crimes, different cities." she noticed the smile on Oliver's lips. "What?"
"This stuff is usually helpful during the team discussion." Oliver said bringing his arms around her. "Which for the moment, you are a part of. You should let everyone hear what you think."
"Oliver, they came all the way to Coast City for you, not the pregnant lady." Katie replied with a shrug. "I'm just here as your plus one."
"You know that's not true, your input is valued the same as everyone else." Oliver said. "I value your input because out of everything I've heard tonight, you're the first person to suggest looking into who these guys were before they came to Star City. It was smart, and it could help us."
"Felicity-"
"Oh I've been eavesdropping the entire time and have already begun a search for any similarities between these guys in other cities." Felicity said looking over to the couple with a smile. "Oh, and Twinkie you're never a plus one here. You're a full fledged member of Team Robins."
"Such a sweet talker Smoaks." Katie says looking over to the woman. "What are you aiming at?"
"I can be nice and not want anything in return." Felicity replied with a shrug. "I mean sure giving me first naming rights to our little baby Twiver would be awesome. Especially since Thea got middle name, it would be fair, but it's totally up to you."
"Felicity, we're going to name our daughter." Oliver said and the woman just huffed before looking back down to the computer.
"Where's the bathroom?" Katie asked looking around before spotting it. "Oh, there it is. I'll be right back."
"Ok, then we can find somewhere for you to rest."
"But I'm not tired, and I think I would rather stick around here." Katie replied with a smile. "Plus we have no where to go. My loft has been sold and I don't want to impose on anyone. We're fine here for now." she placed a kiss on the man's cheek before hurrying to the bathroom. The moment she was gone, Oliver took out his cell phone before dialing and bring the phone to his ear.
"Yes, I would like a room please." Oliver spoke, glancing over to Felicity who was shaking her head at the man. "We shouldn't need it for long." Once the room was reserved, Oliver walked over to Felicity to see if she had found anything.
"So I didn't see the thing that shall not be spoken out loud on Katie's finger." Felicity said looking over to the man who sighed. "I thought the Twiver love boat would've ended with a proposal."
"I was this close, but then Laurel and my sister show up at the door and then-" the man turned pulling the box out of his pocket. "I'm still carrying this in my pocket." he shook his head before tucking it away. "We've made so much progress. I'm not gonna say we've gotten back what we lost, but we have something else. Something stronger." he looked over to the bright smile of Felicity Smoak. "I don't want to lose that."
"You won't and I'm sure you will find another perfect moment without any interruptions."
"Hopefully that happens soon. I would very much like to get married before the baby is born." Oliver replied as the door to the bathroom opened and he turned as Katie walked out.
"That bathroom is ridiculously nice." Katie said with a shake of her head. "Where is Bruce anyway?"
"Gotham for work. Things have sort of been going down hill since-" Felicity stopped talking when she realized the moment she'd been dreading just popped up out of nowhere. "Have you been keeping tabs on the company?"
"Not really." Katie said with a shrug. "More like not at all. I kind of trusted Lucius with RI and trusted Ray to keep the New Beginnings Initiative on track." the woman took a step forward. "Please don't tell me there's been a problem." Felicity let out a sigh before standing to her feet and walking around to the woman.
"I'm afraid you're not going to forgive me for this, even though I did this from the heart because I knew how much this trip with Oliver, I knew how important it was, I knew how much you needed to get away from all of this and I didn't want to ruin it."
"Felicity what's going on?" Oliver asked walking over to stand beside Katie. The blonde wasn't sure how to begin this conversation, so she decided to just get it over with.
"I'm the current CEO of Palmer Technologies." Felicity said and they both seemed confused.
"I don't understand. Ray gave you the company. Why would he do that and not tell me. Why wouldn't you tell me?"
"So much has happened since you left. I mean I was shocked too. Bruce and I were on an island in Bali when the call came in and I just couldn't believe it was true." Felicity recounted, tears starting to swell in her eyes. "I don't know why he chose me-" she shook her head. "I mean I'm the last person who should be running a billion dollar company, but he really chose me." Felicity turned to Katie and watched as the woman seemed to realize the truth.
"No." Katie said with a shake of her head as she backed away from the woman. "No, no Ray's not-" she turned away closing her eyes and taking a few steps away from the woman.
"Felicity, what happened?" Oliver asked.
"He was working on the suit in the lab, and there was an explosion. He died doing what he loved." Felicity looked over to Katie. "There were questions about your absence during all of this, but I assured the media that you were broken up about it, and that you were grieving privately. Mr. Fox released a statement on behalf of you and the company, giving your condolences. Everything was covered." Felicity stood there waiting for Katie to turn around and give some type of reaction. "Katie-"
"Maybe we should go." Oliver suggested walking over to Katie. "It's been a long night, and you need to get off your feet." he looked over to Felicity. "You will give me a call when you find something."
"Yeah, but-"
"Felicity, this conversation is over." Oliver stated firmly and the woman simply gave a nod before watching the man bring an arm around Katie and walk toward the stairs.
When they arrived at the hotel, Katie still hadn't said a word as she kicked off her shoes and went to lay down. Oliver didn't want to push, not tonight and so he would let her rest. He walked over to the window and looked out to the familiar sight of the city and he couldn't believe they were really back. He soon heard the soft snores of Katie and he looked over to see the woman had already fallen asleep.
There was a sudden knock on the door, and Oliver quirked a brow. No one knew where they were, and he made sure to leave out the do not disturb sign so Katie could rest. He went over to the door, and looked out the peep hole, only to let out a deep sigh at the sight of the man on the other side. There was another knock, and Oliver quickly opened the door, bringing a finger to his lips before walking out and closing the door behind him.
"You shouldn't be here Martin."
"Funny." Martin said. "I was just about to tell you the same thing." the man shook his head. "I just told Jacob the both of you were back here, and he's furious."
"I don't care what Jacob is feeling right now. Something is happening in this city, and my friends asked for my help, so I'm helping." Oliver said and Martin dropped his head. "You really shouldn't be here. The last thing I want is for her to see you and upset her more than she is."
"Why is she upset?" Martin asked looking back up to the man.
"We weren't told about Ray and what happened to him." Oliver said and Martin turned away. "What do you know about what happened to him?"
"Nothing more than what everyone else knows. There was an explosion, but no remains found. The damage was too bad."
"What do you know about these Ghosts?" Oliver asked and Martin shook his head.
"Oliver, you need to stay away from these people and make sure Katherine does too." Martin replied and Oliver waited for him to explain. "I know you have no reason to, but just trust me on this."
"You're right, I have no reason to trust you Martin. Now leave." With that Oliver went back into their room. He looked over, glad Katie was still sleeping before walking over to stand by the window. He felt the need to stand watch, to make sure he was completely aware of everything happening around them. He's not sure how long he'd been standing there before he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out to see Felicity's name.
"What have you found, Felicity?"
"I hacked Kord Industries to check their design schematics for their bombs. Turns out they have a GPS tracker built in."
"You find out where it is?
"At least where they've been. GPS is offline now, but their last location was... Admiral Transport interchange. It's a truck depot outside Pennytown. Closed up shop two months ago."
"I'll call Thea. You get Laurel and Dig." Oliver turned about to grab his jacket, but stopped at the sight of his very pregnant girlfriend still sleeping. "Wait."
"Wait, what?" Felicity asked. "Oliver what's wrong?"
"Twinkie, I can't-" the man can't even remember the last time he'd left the woman's side for more than a half an hour in these past few months. He definitely didn't want leave her now, not in this city.
"Oliver, Katie will be fine. You could bring her back here. It's safe here."
Yet another thing Oliver didn't want to do right now was wake Katie up when rest is the one thing she is supposed to be getting right now.
"Oliver?"
Oliver simply ended the call, before just standing there trying to make a decision. Soon he wouldn't have to.
"Why are you just standing there, watching me?" Katie asked tiredly, before looking over to the clock. It was still really late, but the man still looked wide awake.
"Felicity called. We have a lead on the Ghosts." Oliver said and Katie turned back to the man, not expecting that to happen so soon.
"Oh." the woman said sitting up from the bed. "So you have to go, right?" Oliver walked over and took a seat on the edge of the bed beside her. "Liver, you remember how this works."
"Things are different now." Oliver replied placing a hand on Katie's belly. "And I'm not sure I can just leave the two of you."
"You're not leaving. You're just going away for a little bit and then you're going to come back and rub my back in that way I like and everything will be fine." Katie says placing a hand on the side of the man's face. "Everything will be fine." she only half believed that, but knew it was something the man needed to hear to do the one thing she's not even sure she wants him to do.
"I love you." Oliver declares, and the woman always finds a smile at the words.
"And I really like you a lot." she replied and the man couldn't help the small laugh. "You should go."
"I know, but you can't stay here. Not by yourself." Oliver said standing to his feet. "And I hate to do this, but I can only completely focus on stopping these guys if I'm not worried about you."
"I'm not going back to the shipping yard. I need some time away from Felicity." Katie replied and Oliver sighed not sure where else to take her. "I know where I can go, but you can't be there." the man gave her a quirked brow. "Well not too close, unless you want to get shot."
Katie found herself outside the familiar door before lifting a fist to knock. Soon the door opened and appeared the smiling face of an old friend.
"You're huge!" Lyla says bringing the woman in a hug.
"Oh, shut up." Katie replies as the woman pulls away. "Is John here?"
"No, he just got a call from Felicity and had to go, why?" Lyla asked when Katie turned and gave a small whistle. Lyla looked up to see Oliver step from behind the corner of the hall and she stood a bit straighter.
"Apparently Oliver thinks I need protection and since you're the most kick ass person I know, I figured you wouldn't mind me hanging around." Katie said and Lyla shook her head.
"Of course not." Lyla replied looking over to Oliver. "I will look after them."
"Thanks Lyla." Oliver replied with a nod before looking over to Katie, still hesitant to leave, but he knew he had to and so he turn and disappeared down the hall.
"Come in, I'll make us some tea." Lyla said ushering the woman inside.
Katie spent most of her time with Lyla on the woman's laptop, attempting to catch up on all the things she's missed since she'd been gone.
"They all looked into Ray's death and they didn't find anything that could've pointed to foul play." Lyla said appearing at the woman's side. "It truly was an accident. I had no idea no one told you what happened."
"Yeah, I'm surrounded by people who think they know what's best for me." Katie says before closing the laptop. "It's annoying every time."
"I'm sure it truly didn't come from a place to hurt you. I'm sure Felicity didn't want to ruin the new life you and Oliver seemed to be making for yourself." Lyla replied. "How have you guys been?"
"We've been good." Katie replied with a slight smile. "Kind of better than good actually. I think that's why it's sort of scary to be back here you know." she looked over to the woman. "This is where all the dark stuff creeps back into our relationship and I don't know, I like our simple home life where I decided on paint colors and Oliver was an apron strap away from a housewife." she shook her head as she looked over to a sleeping baby Sara and she smiled. "It took a lot to get where we are, I just don't want to risk everything."
"Have you talked to Oliver about this?"
"It's hard to talk to Oliver now a days." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "Because he's become really good at hiding his true feeling sometimes just to please me." she turned back to the woman and sighed. "He's trying so hard to really be something else with me in that house, with the cooking and the making friends with the normal people, but I know this-" the looked over to the window. "This city is a big part of his life. That hood and that bow, they're his limbs and I know he misses them."
"What about you, do you miss it?"
"I forgot the smell of blood. Forgot that tingling feeling you get after a really brutal fight."the woman turned away. "I forgot that rush you get during a fight." she turned back to the woman with a smile. "But I can explain to you in great detail the feelings that move inside of me when I feel this little girl kick. I can describe the look of amazement on Oliver's face every time he touches my stomach and he feels her moving." Katie stood to her feet and walked over to the window. "I miss the people the most. I miss my family, friends. But this place, I was taken a long time ago and I still haven't found my way back to what it was. This was home. And then it just wasn't anymore."
"You need to talk to Oliver." Lyla says looking back to the woman. "You need to tell him how you feel."
"Maybe." Katie replied turning to the woman. "I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight, knowing he's out there. Do you have food? Eating makes me less anxious."
"I'm sure it does." Lyla laughed as she stood to her feet and headed inside the kitchen.
Oliver found falling back into the shadows easier than expected as he, John, Thea and Laurel skulked overhead watching what looked like a meeting of the Ghosts and their boss.
"Gentlemen, the world's a- it's a funny place." the voice of the man said as he walked in front of the men who stood completely still on either side of him. "It resists change. It fights progress. And so the only way to move things forward is to fight back. And you men are here today because you understand that. But our cause is only as strong as our weakest man." the man stopped and turned his head slightly. "Mr. Alvarez, please step forward." one of the soldiers took a step forward and removed his mask. "You commanded the hijacking the other night, the cluster bombs from Kord Industries."
"Yes, sir. We encountered some resistance, but we handled it." the soldier explained.
"Hand—hand-" the boss seemed to chuckle at the words. "Well, I guess my definition of "handled" is a little different than yours. You see, when I "handle" a problem, the problem dies."
"Sir, we got away with the bombs- " the soldier started but, his boss wasn't listening. The man continued to walk between his men.
"Shh! You know, I love this town in the fall. I wonder if that's why she chose it." The man mused at the thought of the woman whose presence here seems stronger than it should since she's dead. The man simply shook his head before turning back to his men. "I mean, yes, it looks pretty much the same as it does in the other 3 seasons, but I admire consistency. I respect dependability." he looked over to Mr. Alvarez. "And you've shown me neither. So now, allow me to show you something. It's another kind of beauty. It's the manipulation of primordial energies." he looked over to one of his men who remained completely still. "No? Over your head?" he continued walking toward Alvarez. "Yeah. The grazing of the levers that God uses to move the world. No? No" he stopped right in front of the man and just sighed. "This." suddenly he placed a hand on the man's chest. The team watched in horror as something happened to the man. Something that seemed to turning the man's skin grey. It looked like it was killing him.
"Oh my god?" Laurel gasped.
"What the hell is that?" Thea asked.
Oliver knew there was no more time to waste, so he pulled on the ski mask ,and stood to his feet.
"Move!" he ordered and after that, what you expect would happen, happened.
Lyla stood rocking a sleepy Sara in her arms. The child awakened a few moments ago, but Lyla had a bottle ready and the child was already drifting back to sleep. She gently lowered the baby back to her crib before turning to Katie who she expected to see, but she only found an empty apartment and a wide open door.
"Katie?" Lyla called walking over to the door, and looking out, but not spotting the woman anywhere.
Katie wasn't sure where she was going, or even why she was going anywhere this late. It was as if something was calling her. Something she couldn't explain, but whatever it was seemed to be pulling her. She was walking down the dark streets of Star City, probably looking completely crazy out here alone. Suddenly the feeling stopped. Katie found herself standing in the middle of no where. There was an odd smell in the air, which she believes means she somewhere near some sort of factory, but she has no idea why. She placed a hand protectively over her belly. As she stood there, she soon realized how dangerous this was and how much danger she could be in, just being here all alone.
"You look like you could use a ride." a voice spoke, and Katie whipped around clutching her chest. "I didn't mean to startle you."
"Martin you son of a bitch. What are you doing here?" she asked still slightly shaking at the sudden appearance of the man.
"You fell off the grid. Your father actually preferred you off the grid. Sure he would've loved to have known where you were, but the truth was, if he couldn't find you then no one else could." Martin said with a shake of his head. "But now you're here. At this very moment you're a sitting duck actually."
" I don't know-" the woman looked around, still trying to make sense of this. "I don't know why I'm here." she turned back to the man. "I was with Lyla, and then it was as if something took a hold of me and was pulling me to something. That makes no sense." Katie shook her head, as she brought her arms around herself, now noticing how cold it was.
"I should get you out of here." Martin said and Katie turned a glare. "Or I can leave you here, but you should know if I leave you here there is a very good chance your father will murder me."
"Not a good selling point, Martin." Katie replied before finally giving in and letting the man get her out of here.
The team returned back to the hideout, beat up but mostly confused. At least they were able to find out what their plan was. It was an attack on the new train station. The news didn't seem to ease them though. None of them were sure what they witnessed tonight. Well not all of them. They recounted the events to Felicity who immediately assumed they were dealing with a metahuman.
"He wasn't a metahuman." Oliver said with certainty.
"Oliver, what that man did was not natural." Laurel said looking over to the man.
"I know. It was mystical."
"How can you be so sure?" John asked the question they were all wondering right now.
"Because I've seen things. There's things that can't be explained, even by science."
"I suppose you aren't going to tell us about these things you've seen, Oliver."
"We need to focus on finding the cluster bombs." Oliver said walking over to Felicity just as John's phone rang. He looked down to the number to see that it was Lyla, and he quickly stepped away to answer.
"Hey, what's up? Is everything alright?" John asked.
"I don't know." Lyla replied. "Katie's gone."
"What do you mean gone?"
"I was rocking Sara back to sleep after she'd woken up, and then I turned and she was gone. I didn't even hear her leave."
"Hey, it's not your fault. Katie is an adult. Maybe—maybe she-" John dropped his head because Katie didn't seem like disappearing was something she was doing now. He couldn't believe she'd risk the safety of her baby by doing something stupid.
"You have to tell Oliver." That was the last thing John wanted to do, but he knew he had to. "John-"
"I will. Call if she comes back." John ended the call and turned to see Oliver standing there and from the look on his face, it would seem he heard everything. "Oliver-"
"If she comes back?" Oliver said in confusion. "Who was on the phone?"
"That was Lyla. She doesn't know what happened, but she was taking care of Sara and when she turned back Katie was gone." the moment the words came of John's mouth, Oliver was already heading for the door. He'd only take a couple of steps before the door slid open and there stood Katie.
"Twinkie." Oliver rushed up the rest of the stairs, bringing his arms around the woman. "You're shaking, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's cold, and I don't have a jacket." Katie replied as Oliver helped her down the rest of the stairs. He kept his arms around her, hoping to warm her up. "Oliver, I'm fine, How did it go tonight?"
"How about I tell you on the way back to our hotel." Oliver says still watching the woman and just knowing something isn't right. He looked over to John. "I'll meet you at the train station tomorrow." John simply nodded before watching the couple leave.
Katie hoped to avoid all questions, and she thought the silent car ride was a sign her plan could work, but the moment they walked into the room all hope was lost.
"Tell me what happened." Katie sighed turning to the man. "Twinkie-"
"I don't know." the woman replied honestly. She shook her head as she slid her fingers through her hair still not able to make sense of the night. "I was at the apartment with Lyla, I was fine and then something happened." she looked over to the man who waited for her to elaborate. "You want there to be more than that, but there isn't. Something happened, I felt like I needed to leave and then it just stopped."
"What stopped?"
"Whatever it was that was pulling me." Katie looked to Oliver and she could tell this didn't make sense to him. She couldn't blame him, because it barely made sense to her. "Maybe there really is a such thing as pregnancy brain and I just spaced."
"Twinkie, I want to understand."
"There's really nothing to understand because it's crazy. I had a crazy moment, it's over and now we focus on bad guys with bombs. I heard you mention the train station. Is that the target?"
"Twinkie-"
"I don't have any more answers for you Oliver. Right now I'm fine, our daughter is fine. There are also explosives out there. What are they blowing up?"
"There is a new train station. It's the target."
"Train Station?" Katie asked turning slightly in thought.
"What is it?"
"I remember a train station from Star City to Central City as an idea for one of the projects for New Beginnings." Katie turned back to Oliver. "Why blow up the train station?"
"I don't know, look tomorrow we're gonna check over the building before the opening." Oliver replied and Katie gave a nod. "I want to focus on finding this bomb, on making sure no one gets hurt, but right now all I think I will focus on is if you're going to have another crazy moment and just disappear again."
"That's not gonna happen again."
"Twinkie, it can't happen again and to ensure that it doesn't, tomorrow you're going to stick around the hideout-" Katie opened her mouth to argue, but Oliver simply continued. "I know you don't want to, but I need you somewhere with locked doors that keep bad people out and keep you in."
"You make me sound like a child." Katie replied with a shake of her head before heading to the bathroom. "I do not need a babysitter!" Oliver walked over to the bathroom door, planting his hands on the outside of the door. "I am an adult and I can take care of myself!" the man couldn't help but smile at the woman's tantrum. "It would be a good idea if you remember that."
"I will." the man said and the door pulled open to find Katie now wearing a bathrobe. She placed a hand on the side of his face.
"You fought bad guys tonight." she said and the man let out a deep sigh. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?"
"I'm a little sore, doctor, but I"m alright." Oliver placed a hand on the woman's hip and brought her closer. "I'm better now."
"Maybe a shower will help." Katie says before turning and walking into the bathroom. After everything that has happened tonight, his biggest regret was that the engagement ring was still weighing in his pocket. Oliver simply shook his head before stepping into the bathroom.
The next day, Katie found herself trying to keep as much distance between her and Felicity as possible. Oliver walked over to her, attempting to reassure her that she wouldn't have to be here long.
"Oliver, just go look for explosives." Katie says and the man places a kiss on her cheek. "I will be fine." the man went to follow the others, but Katie grabbed his arm. "Don't forget to come back to me."
"There's nothing in this world that could stop me." Oliver said leaning into capture the woman's lips. "It's almost over. We're almost home." Katie placed her hands on the man's chest and smiled up to him.
"You should get going then." Katie says and the man placed one final kiss to her cheek, while placing a hand on her belly for a moment before hurrying out the door. Once they were gone, Katie was left alone with Felicity who looked over to her with a smile.
"And then there were two." Felicity nervously laughed and Katie simply shook her head before wandering off. "We should talk. I mean technically now we're like business partners." Katie glanced over to her. "I've taken on Ray's role with New Beginnings, so at some point we're going to have to speak." Katie still didn't say anything, and Felicity let out a sigh. "I'm sorry. I know it wasn't my place to keep something so important from you. It's just-"
"The next words out of your mouth are gonna be an excuse." Katie finally said stopping and looking over to the woman. "Some creation in your mind that you believe justified you lying to me for months."
"Katie-"
"Felicity, I need you to stop talking and just listen." Katie says walking over to the woman . "I love you, you're my best friend, but you're right, right now you're my business partner and as such I think you should know that if you ever do something like this again I will be forced to contact my lawyers to figure out a way to sever the contract between RI and Palmer Technologies." Katie turned when she got a sudden idea. "The train station. We're still a controlling party, right?"
"Uh yeah, why-" Katie walked over to the woman who took a slight step back.
"I'm not gonna hit you, but I need your phone." Felicity handed the woman her phone before watching her dial a number. "Lucius, hi, ,it's Katie." the woman nervously laughed. "Yeah, maybe I should've called, but hey I was on vacation, now I'm back." she looked over to Felicity. "The rail station opening today, I-" Katie's brow furrowed as the man said how important the opening was not only to the city, but the company as well. "So me suggesting that we post pone it might not be a good idea?" Katie simply shook her head. "Never mind, I was just nervous I guess. Forget I called. Look it was nice-" Katie turned to Felicity with a nervous looks. "I'm sorry. No it's just-" Katie closed her eyes and dropped her head.
"What is he saying?" Felicity asked and Katie looked over to her.
"No, I do understand. I'm just not sure I'm the right person. I mean Felicity-" Katie looked to the woman as the man continued and she was sure arguing was no use. "I mean sure. If it's what's best for the company, I will do it. Thanks Lucius, I will talk to you later." Katie ended the call before giving the phone back to the woman.
"What's going on?"
"Nothing good. And nothing Oliver is going to like." Katie says before dropping back in her seat.
The moment Oliver returned to the hide out both turned to him and for some reason he didn't like the looks of nervousness on their faces.
"Oh you're back." Felicity said walking over to him. "Tell me you found explosives and have already saved the day."
"Not exactly." Oliver replied walking around the woman to Katie. "What's going on?"
"Nothing, what did you find at the station?"
"We didn't find anything, but I did run into Lance." Oliver said and Katie placed a hand on his arm, figuring the meeting didn't go too well.
"Why don't I give you two a minute." Felicity said before leaving the couple and heading for the stairs.
"Let me guess, you run into Lance after all this time and he gives you a hug and tells you that he missed you?"
"It's not just Lance. Thea-" the man sighs walking over to sit. "There's something wrong with Thea, I know it but, she doesn't want my help and neither does Diggle." the man dropped his head. "We should've never come back here." For some reason hearing Oliver say the words that echoed in her mind over and over again, just didn't sound right. She didn't like to hear the man give up on something she knew was important to him.
"Fine, let's go home." Katie says walking over to take a seat on the man's lap. He brought an arm around her and dropped his head to her shoulder. "So explosives go off and people might get killed. People die everyday. I mean your sister, sure something might be wrong with her, but people have crazy moments and they work through them." Katie looked down to the man as she gently ran a hand across the back of his head. "I mean John. He's just a guy you met a couple of years ago." the woman closed her eyes as Oliver brought a hand to rest on her stomach. "So tell me which one of those things are you willing to walk away from right now? Because if you can tell me just one, we can get our stuff and head straight to that hardware store so we can pick up that lemon twist paint, and we can start painting our daughter's room."
"Do you want to stay here?" Oliver asked her and Katie placed a kiss on top of his head before standing from his lap.
"The train station. Tell me you found something?" Katie asked and Oliver stood to his feet and walked over to her. "Liver, I can't answer that question right now because I'm not really sure yet. When I am I will tell you, I promise."
"Lance was right about one thing."
"About what?"
"A few months ago he told me that all I brought back from the island was pain, misery, and darkness. Of course I knew that the moment we came back here, that darkness would be waiting for me."
"Oh, Liver, he's wrong. Dead wrong." Katie says placing a hand on the side of the man's face. "You didn't bring the darkness back with you from Lian Yu. Whatever darkness was there, stayed there. "
"Twinkie, I'm telling you that the only way I know how to fight the darkness is to be darkness. That is why I left." he placed a hand on her stomach and smiled. "I don't want to be that type of person any more. I can't be that type of person anymore."
"Ok, then how about you be someone different." Katie replied moving in closer to the man. "Someone who likes to cook, but also likes to save people. That guy's ok. Plus you don't have to do it alone. I mean there's lots of people who will help keep the darkness at bay."
"You're gonna be one of them, right?"Oliver asked and turned away slightly, and the man laughed.
"I mean, if I have to, I guess." Katie replied and Oliver brought his lips to hers before looking down to her belly.
"Don't be mean like your mommy." Oliver looked back up to Katie who stared at him before groaning and dropping her head to his chest. "You want to tell me what you don't want to tell me?" the woman muffled something against his chest that he didn't quite make out. He brought a hand to the side of Katie's face and lifted her eyes to him. "Ok, now this time, English."
"I had this idea that since RI is the leading company over this opening, maybe we could postpone it until we figured out where these explosives were."
"And?"
"And apparently the company really needs the positive publicity from this station. I didn't realize how downhill things were going, so they're really grasping for everything they can to stay above water and this train station is one of them." the woman shook her head.
"You couldn't stop the opening. That's fine, we'll find another way."
"That's not all. Lucius seemed to think that since this was a New Beginnings project, that it would be great publicity to have the living controlling partner speak tonight before the first train comes in." Oliver looked at her for a moment.
"I'm sorry, are you saying that he wants you and my unborn daughter to speak at a train station that will most likely explode."
"To be fair, no one really knows about that second part which is why I think he made the suggestion."
"But because you knew about the second part, you declined, right?" Oliver asked and Katie turned away from the man. "Twinkie, tell me you didn't."
"Oliver, this is my company." Katie says turning back to the man. "I left and things went to shit and now I have a chance to at least fix it a little."
"You know I hear what you're saying, but in my head all I keep seeing is my pregnant girlfriend inside of building that could explode at any moment. I'm not alright with this."
"Oliver the thing is, New Beginnings was an opportunity I created for people who really needed an opportunity. This train station opened up jobs, it's giving people a chance to visit their families and if I can make sure it sees the light of day, then I'm going to do it. So find the explosives." the woman looked at her watch. "I have to go."
"What, now?" Oliver asked with a shake of his head. "Alone-"
"No, Lucius is bringing a car, and I'm told since we're like big wigs, security is gonna be kind of tight, so don't worry about me." she placed her hands on his chest. "Oliver do you really wanna know why the darkness will never take over?" she took the man's hands and placed them on her stomach. "Because we somehow created a light." she looked down to her stomach and shook her head. "It's still blows my mind, but we did." she looked up to the man with a smile. "So if you ever feel yourself being pulled into the darkness, remember-" she looked down to her stomach. "Remember her." she looked back up to the man. "It's what I do and it really works." she placed a kiss to he man's lips as the sound of footsteps headed their way.
"Hey, there is a very expensive looking car out there." Thea said. Katie and Oliver pulled back, their eyes still on each other. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone and handed it to the woman.
"When this phone rings, I want you to answer. If you do not answer, I don't care where ever I am or whatever I'm doing, I will come for you." Oliver said as Katie took the phone. "I love you." Katie smiled up to the man.
"And I seriously like you a lot." Katie replied before placing a kiss to the man's nose before hurrying for the door.
"What was that about?" John asked and Oliver turned to them.
"That was Twinkie giving us a little more incentive to figuring out where these explosives are." Felicity said walking in and turning to them. "She's going to be speaking at the opening tonight, and since none of us want an exploding Twinkie-" she heard Oliver groan. "Sorry, we don't want her hurt, we need to figure out when and where these explosives are gonna go off."
"Well the train station was a bust." Laurel said. "No incendiaries on the platform, on the tracks, or inside any of the trains."
"Yeah, but if there's no bomb in the station, then how did they expect to blow it up?" Thea asked, and suddenly a phone rang.
"It's me." Felicity said pulling out her phone. She looked down to the number. "I think it's Twinkie." she was about to answer, but Oliver grabbed the phone and quickly answered.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. Just had the wildest thought. You said you didn't find explosives at the station, what if they're not there."
"What do you mean?"
"You didn't bring the darkness Oliver. What if the explosives aren't there because the ghosts are going to bring them."
"Bring, them how-" it clicked and Oliver turned to the others. "The train. They're going to bring the explosives on the train." the turned. "Twinkie, I don't want you there. Just-"
"Oliver there are people at that station, and I'm half way there. Find the train, stop it, if it gets too close call me and I am out of there, I promise. But I will not leave without getting as many people out of there. I'm part of the reason it's opening, I'm not risking those peoples lives. I'll be at the station waiting for you to save the day."
Oliver groaned when the line ended, but there was no time to stop and be upset. He turned to the others and took a deep breath, trying to focus on the problem at hand and not Katie driving off to danger.
"Felicity-"
"Find out when that train is about to arrive."the woman said rushing over to her computer. "Got it. Expected ETA is 9:58 to coincide with the arrival of the train from Central City."
"Alright, suit up!" John announced, and he, Laurel and Thea all rushed off. Oliver stood there for a moment before Felicity turned to him.
"You know now might be a good time to tell you that Cisco worked on something for you before he knew you were leaving." Felicity said before nudging her head for the man to follow. "Bruce kind of threw a fit that I wanted to keep this here, but like most of our arguments, I won." Oliver followed Felicity over to something covered in a tarp. She reached forward and pulled it away, revealing a new suit that even impressed Oliver.
Katie stood in the train station her eyes scanning the area. She was sure these Ghost guys would probably make an appearance, but she's sure the reason for their name meant she probably wouldn't be able to easily spot them.
"And here is your water." Lucius said offering the bottle to the woman who took it. "You know I'm still not use to this." the man said looking down to the woman's large belly. "It's a good look on you, you know."
"Well it's a look that is going to end in a couple of months." Katie replied taking a sip from the bottle, her eyes still darting across the room.
"Are you looking for someone?" Lucius asked. "You're looking around as if you're expecting to see someone." Katie looked over to him, as one of the assistants walked over.
"We're ready for you now, doctor." the woman said and Katie simply gave a nod before turning to Lucius and handing him the water bottle.
"Wish me luck." Katie said before turning and heading for the step that lead to the stage.
"Everyone, I would like for you to welcome one of the people who made this possible. CEO of Robins Incorporated, Dr. Katherine Robins." There was a roar of applause. And for the life of her, Katie didn't understand why these people were actually happy to see her. She pulled on a smile, as she walked on the stage, kind of disappointed at the large crowd. Apparently even the short notice mention of her name could bring in a crowd.
"Hello everyone, I want to say that I really appreciate you all coming out today to witness something much more than a simple train making a simple stop here. What you're about to witness is the hard work of hundreds of people who worked tirelessly to make sure that your travel was the last thing you had to worry about." the woman dropped and head for a moment before looking up to the eyes on her. "You know if Ray were here, his speech would probably be big, and he'd say a bunch of words that only half of us understood and the other half would probably have to look up on our way home. But I have to believe if Ray were here, he'd say how happy he was that this was taking off, but he would also say that this was only the beginning. I know since Ray's passing, things have been happening in this city and I know it's scary and I know you're not sure where to turn, but I promise you there are people here who are fighting for you, who will protect you and who will do their best to make sure you all get back to your families. Once again I want thank you all for coming out and I want to welcome you to the new Star City Train Station. Have a great night."
The crowd erupted in more applause, and she heard questions being shouted to her, but she took a step back and watched as the managers came forward for the ribbon cutting. The phone in her pocket suddenly rang and she pulled it out, her heart instantly dropping from her chest. She brought the phone to her ear.
"Get out of there." came Oliver's voice, and Katie's eyes went to all the people still there, "Twinkie-"
"Ok." she replied before ending the call. She should turn and head for the door, but instead, she ran back up the podium. "Everyone, I have just been made aware of a possible terror threat, so for your safety, I need you all to exit this building." they all just stood there, in confusion. "Now! You need to leave now!" there was a sudden spark from overhead ,and Katie looked up to see Thea, decked out in her Arsenal suit. Everyone lifted their head.
"Everyone, get out of here!" she yelled, which seemed to make the people move a little quicker. Katie turned about to heading from the stage, where Lucius was waiting for her.
"I'm getting you out of here." the man said bringing an arm around the woman to help her out to the car. Katie was about to get inside, when she heard the familiar whistle of the impending train. "Katie we have to go." Katie turned back to the man and shook her head.
"I told someone not to run from who they were today, and now I think it's time I did the same."
"What are you talking about?"
"The less you know the better, just know that I will be alright." Katie says pulling away from the man and sifting through the crowd. Lucius couldn't follow her, even if he wanted.
It was strange. It was happening again. There was something inside of Katie that she couldn't explain, she couldn't describe. There was something, pulling her, drawing her near and with all her will power, she just couldn't stop it. She suddenly stopped, her feet on the tracks of the train. She could feel the vibrations, could hear the train moving in closer, but she didn't have that instinct, that thing that tells you when dangers is coming. There was no urge to move. She kept her feet on the tracks, as a train headed right toward her.
"Well Nura." the voice spoke, and Katie turned with wide eyes at the man who she wished to hell she couldn't see.
"You're dead." she said with a shake of her head. "You're not here, Oliver killed you. You can't hurt me anymore."
"You're right, I can't hurt you, Nura. I'm not here to hurt you." the man said walking over to her. "I'm here to warn you. It's about to happen."
"What's about to happen?"
"Your life is about to change forever."
"Stop the train." a modulated voice spoke from somewhere, and Katie turned.
"No, I don't want to." another voice replied, this one seeming slightly familiar. "Even if I did, I couldn't. I destroyed the braking system 20 miles ago."
"Willing to die to destroy a train station?"
"No, that would be ridiculous."
Katie closed her eyes, for a moment before releasing a deep breath. Suddenly she feels herself moving and when she opens her eyes, she standing on the train. She sees Oliver, and he's wearing his hood. It looks different than the one before. He's talking to a man, bleach blonde hair who Katie can't help but feel she's seen before.
"Then how are you planning on getting off the train?" Oliver asked his arrow pointed at the man.
"Oh, you don't know who I am, do you? I'm Damian Darhk." The man said, and it seemed just the mere mention of the man's name sets something off in Oliver who releases the arrow, only for the man to simply lift a hand and stop the arrow from even touching him. Katie tilts her head at the sight, unable to even believe her own eyes. Oliver continued to shoot arrow after arrow that the man continued to block. He realized he needed a new tactic, so he stalked toward the man.
Katie stood there watching the fight, unable to do anything but watch. Damian was good, and no matter what Oliver did, he met each punch harder and quicker. He got the drop on on Oliver too many times, taunting him every time he did.
"Whoo! Is that all you got?" Darhk said before grabbing the man and slamming against the wall, before placing a hand on his chest, causing Oliver to scream in pain. "It seems you've much in common with the Arrow. You're both dead."
"No!" Katie yelled.
Physically she wasn't on that train but one of the two men heard her. Damian turned his head, not sure where the voice had come from. He looked over his shoulder with narrowing eyes unable to knock the feeling that someone was there. He heard Oliver groan and he turned back to the man.
He didn't expect the dart in his back. He turned to see another man holding the gun as he dropped to his knees. Darhk, placed a hand on his chest as he looked up and he could've sworn he saw a woman. So eerily familiar, but he could barely focus on her and then suddenly she was gone. He looked back to the men, and took this moment of distraction to leave.
When Katie opened her eyes, she found herself once again back on those train tracks. She felt her heart ramming in her chest, not sure what just happened or if any of it was real. There was a light in the distance, and she could see the train, see it coming right for her, and that natural instinct still didn't kick in. She should be scared, but for some reason she wasn't. It was as if she knew for a fact, she wouldn't be hurt.
"Get off the tracks, Nura." it was the demon once again, this time standing right in front of her. "It's filled with explosives, and it's heading straight for you and your baby." Katie looked from him to the train, her heart feeling like it was going to beat from her chest. "Nura, what is that feeling?"
"I don't know." she replied her hands clenching at her side.
"C'mon, Nura, tell me what that feeling is?" she turned to him, a smile tugging at his lips and it made her sick. It was the smile that would always haunt her. "This is your chance to leave, and remain blissfully ignorant to what you are." Katie looked up to the train, her head screaming at her to move, to run, to do something other than just stand here, but she couldn't.
Suddenly the train exploded, and Katie's eyes went wide. She could feel the heat, and the vibrations from all around her. The train was only getting closer. She couldn't move, her eyes focused only on that train until something struck. An impossibility that seemed to slip from her lips.
"Stop." it was a whisper. It was barely a whisper, and yet it was enough. The train stopped, almost instantly. The flames still danced in front of her, a sight completely unnatural. "How-"
"You have always underestimated your abilities Nura." the demon spoke and Katie glanced over to him. "And now you will be the key to my return."
"This isn't real." she said with a shake of her head. "You're not real, and this-" she turned back to the train in front of her. "This isn't real. It's—it's a hallucination. It's because I'm here. Back in this city." she turned back to him. "But not for long. We're getting out of here." she turned, her feet finally listening to her brain and letting her walk. She continued walking until she found the flashing lights of police and the fire department. She didn't stop walking, not until a hand caught her arm and she whipped around to very familiar face.
"Doc, what are you still doing here, I thought-" the woman threw herself into Lance's arms. He looked down to her in confusion, but he brought his arms around her. "It's alright. You're alright."
Katie ended up back at the police station. Lance brought her to his office, where he let her lie down on the old couch in the corner. He brought her in some water.
"Here you go." the man said handing the cup to her. "Did you need something else? I could get you food or-"
"I'm fine, Captain." Katie said taking a sip from the cup. "Just wasn't really expecting tonight's events." she looked back over to the man with a shake of her head. "Was anyone hurt?"
"Just minor injuries from people trying to get out of there, but other than that there haven't been any fatalities reported." the man said still looking the woman over. "Are you sure you don't want a doctor to look you over, you're looking kind of pale."
"I'm fine really. Just a bit shaken up. It's been a while since I've been in the middle of excitement like tonight." she looked to the man's casted arm. "Did that happen tonight?" the man looked down, but shook his head.
"Different day, different excitement. But it's fine." he looked back up to the woman. "I noticed you and Oliver were gone for a while I thought I wouldn't see either of you again."
"You know I thought the same thing too, but nothing is ever definite." she replied with a slight shake of her head. "I should go, Oliver's probably tearing through this city to find me."
"No, I called Laurel, told her to pass along a message to him to let him know you were here and safe." the man replied and Katie gave a small smile. "Are you sure there isn't anything I can do? I haven't been around a pregnant woman since Dinah was pregnant with Sara, so I'm a bit out of my element."
"You're doing fine." Katie said when there was a sudden knock at the door. They both turned as Quentin stood to his feet and went over to open the door. The moment he did, he took a step to the side, and watched as Oliver rushed inside dropping to Katie's side. Despite what Quentin felt for the man, he respected the protectiveness he had over the woman. It's one of the reasons he wasn't as worried about her absence around the city.
"Are you alright?" Oliver asked, still clearly worried. When he returned back to the hideout and there was no word on Katie's whereabouts, he went crazy with worry. He placed a hand on her cheek. "Maybe we should go to the doctor?"
"I'm fine." she said placing her hands on the sides of his face. "Right now, looking at you in front of me, I am more than fine."
"What happened?"
"I got your call, tried to get people out of there, but I got separated from Lucius. I found Lance, and he brought me back here." she chose not to mention her crazy moment at the train tracks figuring worrying him even more tonight wouldn't help. "But I'm good. I could probably use a nice hot bath, and a cheese burger, but other than that, I'm good, really." Oliver stared at her for moment, still taking in that she really was alright, before he brought his arms around her.
"Ok." the man pressed a kiss to her cheek. "C'mon." he helped the woman to her feet and they headed for the door, stopping in front of the Captain. "I know you have a pretty obvious opinion of me, but I want you to know I appreciate what you did tonight." he looked over to Katie, who held on to his side with a slight smile before turning back to the man. "Thank you." Lance simply gave the man a nod before watching the man leave.
When they returned to their room that night, Katie walked over to flip on the television. The news was playing the expected story of the explosion, and Katie can't help but go back to that moment the tracks. That impossible moment.
"We've talked to witnesses who were inside the station only moments before the chaos erupted."the reporter spoke. "They all recounted the moment they were warned to get to safety by Dr. Katherine Robins. The socialite has been noticeably absent these last couple of months, many speculating that she was gone for good. But tonight the woman returned, and did the one thing we've always been able to count on her for. Tonight Star City thanks you Dr. Robins, and we're glad you're back."
Katie grabbed the remote, and flicked off the television. She dropped her head, when Oliver took the seat beside her, and brought a hand to gently rub circles along her back. A soft smile came to her lips as she dropped her head to his shoulder.
"Twinkie, I have to tell you something." Oliver said and Katie closed her eyes because she knew he was about to say something she didn't like. "Damian Darhk was on that train. He's the one behind these Ghost attacks and he's still out there." the woman didn't say anything and the man glanced down to her. "I'm fully prepared to get in a car and drive back to our house, and first thing in the morning, I'll pick up that paint and we can invite over Debra and Brad. We can make a party out of it." he placed a kiss on top of her head.
"We made a mistake." Katie mutters as she mindlessly slides her hand across his chest. "We mistook fantasy for reality. We wanted it so badly, so fiercely that we forgot who we were." she looked up to the man's eyes. "You're a man who fights so fiercely against the bad people in the world. And I'm the woman who's usually right there at your side fighting along with you. In some form." she said with a light laugh as she dropped her eyes from his. "We ran from reality, but it only caught up to us. It's time for us to stop running."
"Are you sure?" Oliver asked asked. She wasn't sure. She was almost one hundred percent positive that she did not want to do this. It hadn't even been a full forty eight hours, and the darkness she'd tried to give Oliver hope against, was starting to consume her. "Twinkie-" she stood to her feet and walked over to stand in front of the window. She didn't want to lie. "We'll leave. Right now." she turned back to the man and sighed. he stood to his feet and walked over to her.
"So the choice comes between the safety of this city and me and you choose me."
"Every time." Oliver replied bringing his hands to her waist. She looked up to his eyes, and could practically see the war going on inside of himself. He made a promise to this city and a man he knows could tear it apart is somewhere in the shadows.
"I would never forgive myself if anything happened if we left and didn't even try to help." she placed her hands on the man's chest and decided that this had to happen. She gave a nod before looking up to his eyes again. " We're doing this. We're staying. This city needs that light inside of you." the man leaned in to capture the woman's lips in a kiss he'd seemed to need in this moment after all the craziness. He didn't want to tell her what happened on that train, how Darhk seemed to be able to drain the life from him. It was her face he saw in those moments before John saved him.
"I think there's one more thing I should do." Oliver said and Katie looked at him with a furrowed brow. "One more trip, then I promise a warm bed that we won't have to get out of for the next couple of days.
"That is a promise you better keep, Mr. Queen." Katie replied before taking his hand and letting him pull her away.
They returned to the lair, where Katie, Felicity, Laurel and Thea all crowded around one of the monitors, a smile on their face at the sight on the screen.
"6 months ago, the Arrow died. But what he stood for didn't. It lived on in the heroes who took up his mantle. People who believe that this city should never descend into hopelessness. Who believe although light is full of darkness, that darkness can be the key to find light." Katie smiled at the man's words, her hand sliding across her belly, the baby seeming to be enjoying the sound of her father's voice. "And tonight, I am declaring my intention to stand with them, to fight for this city, to be the symbol of hope that the Arrow never was. I am the Green Arrow."
The signal suddenly dropped and they all turned to Katie who looked over to them with a quirked brow.
"Don't look at me like that." she warned. "This is not a big deal."
"It kind of is." Felicity replied. "Twiver has come home, the band is back together."
"Almost together." Thea said placing a hand on Katie's belly. "Twinkie's gonna be benched for most of the game."
"Well when the time comes, I'm sure the Guardian will make her grand entrance too." Felicity said with a nudge of her head and Katie quirked a brow, but they followed after her. "Cisco seemed way too excited about this, and I will admit it is awesome." Next to the case that held the Green Arrow suit was another display case covered. Felicity reached over and pulled off the tarp, and they're eyes when to the leather suit inside. They all noticed the amount of detail from the strategically placed holsters to the, knife vest. Katie's eyes went up to the yellow domino mask hidden under the black hood.
"That is one bad ass suit." Thea marveled before turning to Katie.
"As if I would ever be able to fit into that at all." Katie muttered with a shake of her head. "I think my crime fighting days are behind me." the woman walked over and the others followed.
"What does that mean?" Laurel asked.
"It means, you need me, I'm here. I mean I'm still a doctor so if you get banged up and Ethan's busy, I can help. Or you guys find yourself in a problem and need it looked at a different way, then I'm there, but I just can't see myself picking up a weapon and hurting people anymore." she looked down to her belly. "I don't know, I just can't see myself shaping this life inside of me and having the nerve to take someone else's."
"So what you're saying is the baby is making you soft?" Thea asked and Katie rolled her eyes at the woman. "You know I can't believe it. You still got that look in your eyes Twinkie. I refuse to believe the fight has just left you." They all turned as Oliver and John walked back in.
"Now, if I'm not mistaken I was promised a bed I wouldn't have leave for like ever." Katie said as Oliver walked over to her.
"Alright, let me change and we can head out." Oliver said placing a kiss to the woman's lips before going to change out of the Green Arrow suit.
They were in the car driving when Katie realized they weren't heading toward the hotel. She turned to the man behind the wheel with a furrowed brow.
"Where are we going, Mr. Queen?"
"A promise is a promise doctor." Oliver replied and Katie narrowed her eyes at the man. Soon they pulled up in front of a familiar building and Katie looked up to it in confusion.
"Why are we at Thea's place?" Katie asked looking over to the man who didn't say a word before stepping out of the car and walking over to open the woman's door. "I don't like surprises Liver."
"You like some surprises." Oliver replied as he took her hand and lead her inside. He didn't say much as they rode the elevator. And Katie just continued to watch him, waiting for him to tell her what was going on. "C'mon." He lead her off the elevator and headed to the door. Once inside, Katie noticed how empty it was except for a couple of boxes.
"What is this?"
"Thea has been staying with Laurel." Oliver said and Katie turned to her. "Once you left, she didn't want to stay here alone after what happened here." Katie turned looking over to the spot they'd found Thea. It's an image she doesn't think she will ever forget. "So at the moment it's vacant." Katie turned to the man before walking over to one of the boxes and looking inside.
"This is our stuff." she said looking over to the man. "When have you had time to have movers get our stuff here?"
"Do you really want to know the hows and whys of all of this Twinkie, or do you want to see that very nice bed that's upstairs?" Oliver asked and Katie just shook her head but took the man's hand and let him lead her upstairs.
It was late that night, when Katie looked over to Oliver who was soundly sleeping. Tonight sleep just wasn't coming to her as easily. She stood as quietly as she could, and slipped out of the room to not disturb the man. Katie knew the reason she couldn't sleep, knew what had her brain still spinning. She stood on the balcony of the loft, and looked out to the city lights and sighed. She learned to breathe the moment she left this city, and now she was back and all the nerves just came rushing back. Her hand slid over her belly as she felt the not so gentle kicks of someone else not getting any sleep tonight. Katie let out a deep sigh before turning and heading back inside deciding that maybe a snack will help. She headed for the kitchen, but stopped when she thought she heard someone outside the door. This was one of those moments Oliver would tell her to call him so he could be the one to check it out. A part of her knew she should, but another part of her figured she also might just be hearing things. She walked over to the door, and looked out the peep hole and just as she thought, no one was there.
"This place is already driving you crazy." she muttered before turning and heading for the kitchen. Suddenly the sound of something sliding under the door stopped her and she looked down to the white envelope now in front of her. It was yet another moment, she's sure Oliver would tell her to find him so he can be the one to determine what was happening. She shook her head before walking over and picking up the envelope, opening it and staring in confusion at the contents.
"Twinkie?" she looks up to see Oliver walk out, his voice still filled with sleep as he looks to the woman. "What's that?" she looks back to the envelope before suddenly feeling her throat start to constrict. The envelope falls from her hands, as she brings her hands around her throat trying and failing catch the air to her lungs. "Twinkie!" Oliver runs over to her as she nearly collapses to the floor. "What-" he looks over to the envelope, now able to see black rose pedals that had fallen from the envelope.
In a chair, a very comfortable chair if he had so say so himself sat a man with a dilemma. On one hand, he knew he should focus on the destruction of Star City that would bring about the new world order. On the other hand he was tingling. He didn't tingle. There was nothing inside of him that should tingle, and yet in this moment he felt something moving underneath his skin. Coursing through his veins. It's a feeling that both intrigues and worries him at the same time. His eyes are locked on the screen as he plays the news coverage over and over again.
"... know since Ray's passing, things have been happening in this city and I know it's scary and I know you're not sure where to turn, but I promise you there are people here who are fighting for you, who will protect you and who will do their best to make sure you all get back to your families. I once again I want thank you all for coming out and I want to welcome you to the new Star City Train Station. Have a great night."
He paused the screen which was a close up of the smile on her face. It was the smile he would remember for as long as he lived.
"Minnah's daughter."
For some reason that made him laugh. He'd found her and now he would have to shift focus. There was a knock at his door and he looked up to see one of his men.
"Was the mission successful?" Darhk asked.
"Ms. Robins was being rushed to the hospital when I left." the man said and Darhk turned back to the image with a furrowed brow, before waving off the man to leave.
"Maybe she didn't inherit her mother's gifts." the man said with shake of his head before flicking of the television. "Shame."
Author's Notes:
Mr. Darhk has no idea what the woman has inherited. That scene at the train tracks was crazy, right?! Katie feels something, and for some reason Damian feels something as well. A connection neither one of them even understands yet.
And now here's your sneak peek...
"Did the police find anything at the loft?" John asked appearing at Laurel's side.
"No. Whoever did this was clean, left nothing behind that can trace back to them." Laurel looked over to Oliver who continued to pace the small space of the waiting room and sighed. "He can't keep this up." the woman walked over to Oliver and placed herself in his path to finally stop him from moving. "Oliver, I can't imagine what you're feeling right now, but you have to stop for a second and just breathe." Oliver looked down to the woman. He could see her lips moving, but he still couldn't hear her. He witnessed his entire world being rolled away on a stretcher, and now something was broken inside of him. "Oliver?" Oliver lifted his head at the sight of Ethan finally appearing from behind the double doors, and without hesitation Oliver rushed over to him.
"I want to see her." it was the first words they'd heard come from the man's mouth since they arrived. Ethan looked up to the man, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Why don't you sit down first?"