Disclaimer: Based off of characters and references that belong to DC Universe and the CW, which I do not own. Enjoy.

My name is William Queen

A man from the future who has come to the past with one goal

To save Star City

With my father, Oliver Queen, in jail and the rest of his team doing their own thing,

I must be the one to correct the mistakes of the past by becoming someone else

By becoming something else

I am the new Green Arrow

Episode 2: The Work of God

30, 31, 32… Oliver keeps track of how many push-ups he does, the only thing he can do in the hole besides count how many days he has been in here. He has found a way to keep track of time without a clock, which he developed himself during his time on Lian Yu. He feels that it has been two days since he has been down here. His time in here should be over by now.

As he pushes for 40, he hears faint footsteps, which stop at his cell door. It begins to open, revealing Yorke. Looks like I was right. Oliver goes from a push-up position to a crouch. He then stands up and faces Yorke.

"Vacation time's over 4587." Yorke takes out a pair of handcuffs and fastens Oliver's wrists. Oliver walks out and towards the stairs leading back up to the prison, Yorke following behind to be sure he doesn't do anything suspicious.

"You're lucky you only got two days in the hole after what you pulled. Apparently, there are people in here who still believe that you're a hero. But we know better. Don't we?"

Oliver ignores him, hoping that he can go back up top quickly not just to go back to doing his normal routine, but also to find the inmate who gave him the message and interrogate him to find out what he knows about Diaz.

Yorke, however, walked in front of Oliver and stopped him halfway down the hall. "I asked you a question inmate."

Oliver becomes irritated with Yorke. "You don't know anything about me."

"Sure, I do. I grew up with kids just like you. Rich, entitled, thought the law didn't apply to them. Yet, here you are. A criminal, just like everyone else in this place."

Yorke steps away and motions his head for Oliver to continue. Before leaving, Oliver makes one thing clear. "My family was attacked. I'll do anything to protect them." He then proceeds to the stairs, glad that the conversation is over and that he can finally start to find answers.

Come on Oliver. You should be out by now. Where are you? Stanley then hears the door open. He turns around to see Oliver walking out into the courtyard, looking a bit angry, he thinks, but it's too hard to tell. Stanley walks over to him ecstatically. "Oh, you're back. Hey, the way you beat the crap out of that Grim Reaper guy? It was awesome. His face looked like hamburger meat."

They both walked towards an empty corner where they can talk without anyone listening in on their conversation. "Where is he?"

"He's gone. The warden found out he attacked you in the showers and got sent down to level 2."

Oliver rubs his hand over his head, looking a bit frustrated, but with good reason. Level 2 is one of the most restricted levels in the prison. Nobody goes in or out willingly except the guards. "He was my only lead on Diaz."

"Don't worry. He doesn't know anything. Just got a nice payday."

Oliver looks to Stanley, a curious look subtly riddled on his face. "How do you know that?"

"I asked around."

Oliver's face goes from curious to concerned. "You should be keeping to yourself. Asking questions is going to get you killed."

"Not if you're asking for the Green Arrow. Everyone saw what you did and now they're afraid of you. And since they know we're friends, they're afraid of me."

Oliver gives a small sigh. Okay, maybe we're not on the level of friends yet. But we will be. You'll see. Oliver didn't seem to reject the idea though. "Alright, if that prisoner wasn't behind the attack, then who hired him?"

"The scary bald guy who hates you."

"Brick."

Stanley gives a small smile. "So, what's our plan? Beat him up? Torture him for info?" I know plenty of ways to make him talk.

"No. We do it my way." Stanley's smile fades. Well, that's disappointing. Soon though. Soon.

"A little more. A little more."

"You want a straw in the bottle?"

Felicity stops Curtis from pouring after filling about half the glass, most likely feeling that it is enough to get her through the night without worrying that Diaz is going to come after her again. Still, she keeps her cool, especially at Curtis' remark. "Don't judge me. Besides, A.R.G.U.S is my designated driver tonight."

She looks to John Diggle, who has offered to let her stay in the confines of A.R.G.U.S. "Indeed, and every other night until we take Diaz off the board."

"The psycho's M.I.A for five months and then he goes after Oliver and Felicity. Why now?"

He was most likely clouded by revenge. People like him usually are.

John just shrugs his shoulders. "Well, whatever he's up to, now we know it's personal."

"That's exactly why I put Laurel on protective detail. She's probably high on Diaz's list."

She did hurl him off the roof of a building.

Curtis then changes the subject. "Not that I don't enjoy listing all the ways Diaz can get to us, but should we be finding ways to get to him?"

"I've been working on that." She leans over what seems to be a tablet, probably showing them an application that she's been working on ever since she returned to Star City.

Rene is the only visible face that shows confusion. "What the heck is that thing?"

"I call it my digi-murder board - still working on the name - but it takes all the information we have on Diaz, plus searches for additional intel, and it makes predictive suggestions."

"So it's a brain that only thinks about Diaz?" Curtis nods his head "Gross, but cool."

Curtis swipes the tablet, looking at something else. "It's an electronic jammer. What is Diaz doing with tech like that?"

"Well, it's the same tech he used to bust my A.R.G.U.S security system when he attacked me."

"Well, a model this sophisticated is very hard to get."

John chimes in with another concern. "Diaz has friends."

"Which is why I made algorithms to track all his known associates, such as Cyrus Broderick and the Longbow Hunters."

"This is all great Felicity, but remember that you don't have to do it all alone, Okay? We all got your back, whatever you need."

Thank you for offering, even though you'll be slaving away at the police station almost all day.

"Thank- thank you, I appreciate it, but what I need is for Diaz to go down."

"There might be someone else who may be able to help."

"If you say the new Green Arrow, I'm gonna punch you in the face."

Of course you would, seeing as you have all the force searching relentlessly.

"You did say whatever she needed."

"There's only one Green Arrow and he's in prison."

I somehow knew that's what you were going to say.

"Okay, enough squabbling and murder boarding. Let's toast." Curtis puts down the tablet and he, along with everyone else, takes their glasses and raises his high. "To friends reunited, to being back home, and to bringing that son of a bitch Diaz to justice."

Felicity raises hers as well. "I'll drink to that."

Followed by John. "Cheers."

Then Captain Drake. "Here here."

To your reunion. But not the reunion of my family. William watches Team Arrow drink their glasses of wine while he stands from the rooftop opposite the building they are in. He thinks about just going in there, telling them who he is, hoping that they will invite him in and let him be a part of their circle.

But he can't. Not yet. If he tells them now, they will ask questions about the future, and William knows that the more they learn about their future, the more likely they will have a bleaker one trying to prevent it. Those were the consequence the Flash faced many times stopping Weather Wizard to only have Snart cause trouble and stopping Savatar only to have to go into the Speed Force. Not to mention the Legends of Tomorrow literally broke time itself.

He can't take that risk. If he is going to reveal himself, he needs to stop Diaz first, take out the one factor that can spell trouble for the future, and he must do it on his own. Until then, he can't tell anyone.

Instead, he takes out the hozen, holding it up to eye level, remembering the promise Felicity gave to him. The promise he will ensure that is kept. We'll be reunited soon. Soon.

"Felicity and Oliver, they really…really just left you?" William told Roy everything about what happened to him after he got sent away to Cambridge. Well, almost everything. There were some things he thought were best to keep to himself.

"Yep." William gives a small chuckle. "And my ex-girlfriend wonders why I have commitment issues."

"I'm sorry about that. It's horrible."

"No, it's alright. She and I broke up on good terms."

"No, I mean Oliver and Felicity."

William lowers his head. He felt that things didn't end well with him or his parents. He felt that they left him behind. It was for a good reason, but it made him believe that being a family again was nothing more than a dream.

He raised his head back up, trying to look a little optimistic. "Well, I survived." After a bit of a pause, William tries to change the subject. "How about you. What's your excuse for being here?"

"Where'd you get that?" Roy looked towards the hozen in William's hand. William could tell that Roy also had secrets of his own and it was best to try not to pry any further.

"Felicity gave it to me. She said it was a symbol of reconnecting. I began to believe that it was impossible after what Star City went through. I tried calling her and my dad so many times. Then, after so many prayers, it began to beep. I opened it up and…" William pulled the hozen apart, lifting up the part with the screen. "I found this." Roy looked confused, either because of the small screen or the fact that the hozen could be pulled apart. "Their GPS coordinates for the island."

"Why would Felicity send you to Lian Yu?"

"I don't know. It's unusual, to me anyways. The last time I was here…my mother died. I still have nightmares about it. But I came anyways."

"Well trust me. Looking for answers will only cause you pain." Roy began to get up. "So, if I were you, I would take that thing and throw it into the ocean. And never look back."

William watched as Roy walked away, most likely to reset his traps before sunrise. He looked back to the fire and let out a sigh. "Not exactly the reunion I was hoping for." He then laid down down, hoping he can sleep, despite being in the place that was basically the staging ground for his nightmare.

William wakes to the sound of beeping from his computer. He shoots up, waking up from his nightmare. He rubs his eyes. Thank you for waking me before the end. At least in reality, I'm not helpless. He gets up and walks over to the computer, looking to see a notification of…The future? Don't tell me Diaz went after Felicity again. He clicks on the notification, which shows a different, yet much more gruesome future. "'Star City Laid Waste?' Show me the origin point."

The A.I begins to generate a satellite image of the location that the events start with, one that William recognizes. An A.R.G.U.S offshore facility. This place doesn't have as much security as their headquarters, so it shouldn't be hard to hack into their monitor system.

After a few seconds of bypassing security measures, he gets access to all the cameras in the building. He looks at each one, not seeing anything out of the ordinary just yet. After a minute, he finds… "Wait a minute." He fast forwards the footage, looking at the woman in the lobby, seeing her curve her hand downwards so the wrist points at the computer in front of a guard who is fetching a pen for her. William zooms in on wrist and the computer it is aiming at. After increasing the resolution, he can make out what seems like…A dart shooter. Most likely shooting a jamming dart. If that guard has access to the cameras, then she's most likely creating a bypass loop.

He then looks to the next monitor, where he sees the woman again being stopped by a guard in a hallway. Behind the guard, though, is a tall, bulky man wielding an unusual shield with three blades on the rim that he uses to stab the guard in the back. So, she wasn't alone.

William looks at the next camera, which shows a metal door that leads into a vault. He sees the woman use some taping material to take a fingerprint off the pen the guard gave her and use it on the fingerprint scanner to open the door. These two are professionals. They planned everything in advance. Their choice of weapons is very distinct as well as…familiar.

As they enter, three guards come in behind them. The woman shoots a dart at one of them while the man takes out the other two with his shield. They show proficiency, experience. One more guard comes in, aiming his gun. The man walks forward a bit, but someone else kills the guard. Another woman wearing white, walking towards the guard and stabbing him. Strange. The way she walked, the guard should've heard her. Unless…

"Scan those faces. Run them through the criminal database and any future news." As the A.I does this, he sees the woman in white give the other woman a key which opens one of the small lock boxes. They take out the item and walk out of the room, trying not to look conspicuous as they leave the building.

William rewinds the footage to when the item is visible. He zooms in just a bit. Wait a minute. I know what this is. It's a high-density battery mainly used for supporting refugees during this time. They aren't public just yet, but why would they…

"Identifications confirmed."

The A.I generates a future news post from twenty years into the future. He looks at how they look, confirming his suspicions. I knew it. I knew I recognized them from somewhere. They're…

"The Longbow Hunters. According to our informant, Anatoly Knyazev, they are hired by our old friend, Ricardo Diaz. At 0900 this morning, they stole a high-density battery from one of our offshore facilities. Their intention with this battery is currently unknown. These assassins are extremely dangerous, so we have to find them and shut them down. You all have your assignments."

People start to depart from the briefing room. The only ones left are John and Deputy Director Bell, who approaches him.

"Deputy Director Bell. I'm surprised to see you made it for this briefing."

"I wanted to check in, given the reappearance of Ricardo Diaz. I know you have a personal connection to him."

John always sees this aura of seriousness about Bell. His posture is firm, his stare like that of a man of authority. It is something John both respects but is also cautious about. The last time he trusted someone like that, he got framed for a war crime. Bell, however, is someone he has known for quite a while and has been commented on as a good man.

"Well, I appreciate you concern. I assure you that my priorities are in the right place." If there is one thing John learned from being in the military, A.R.G.U.S, and being a vigilante, it's to put the mission ahead of any emotions or bias.

"Diaz is a son of a bitch. But A.R.G.U.S isn't chartered for criminal investigations. That's why getting the battery is your top priority. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

Director Bell leaves, leaving John with one concern on his mind. Felicity has asked countless times to help with the ongoing investigation into Diaz and the Longbow Hunters, but he always ensures her that A.R.G.U.S has it handled. Normally, he would trust Felicity to understand, but something is different about her. Something after the attack on her and William is making her more aggressive and eager to find Diaz.

He worries about what Felicity will do to get what she wants.

Laurel heads back to her office, papers in hand. Okay. Let's see what I'm in for.

"Laurel." She doesn't look up but recognizes the voice of Dinah Drake, captain of the SCPD and, so far today, a pain to deal with. "We need to talk."

"If this is about the Conway Case, tell Anastas I need more time."

"That is not why I'm here and you know it."

Laurel looks up to Dinah for a moment, a sarcastic smile on her face. "Aw, did you miss me? That's cute."

Dinah follows Laurel into her office. "Laurel, you ditched your protective detail. Again."

"You should get you facts straight Captain. Your officers had a medical emergency. Food poisoning, I think it was?"

"Food poisoning doesn't cause momentary hearing loss and vertigo. You know what does? A sonic wave."

Laurel expresses false shock as she sits down in her chair. "Oh. Sounds serious."

"This isn't a joke Laurel. You know, John just told me that the Longbow Hunters are in Star City." Laurel pauses for a minute, her attention shifting from the papers to Dinah and her sarcastic expressions turning into foreboding intrigue. "That means Diaz isn't far behind. For all we know, he could already be in town."

Dinah leans in over Laurel's desk. "Now, I don't care if Diaz kills you, but I do care if he kills the D.A."

Laurel gives a mischievous smile, not surprised by Dinah's motivation and seeing an opportunity being presented to her. "Touching."

"He kidnapped you. He killed Quentin, who everyone thinks is your father. What a joke."

Laurel is taken somewhat aback by Dinah's statement. "Hey, I cared about him."

"Then let my officers protect you. It's what Quentin would've wanted."

Laurel doesn't want protection. She doesn't need it, as far as she's concerned. She has faced many dangers on Earth 2 and Earth 1. She isn't some damsel in distress. Besides, with police around her, she won't be able to do what she now wants to do, knowing Diaz is likely in town. "I can take care of myself."

Dinah leans away with a forced smile. Laurel expects that she will leave, defeated.

"Fine."

Instead, she sits down and grabs a newspaper from the desk. Laurel is now becoming a bit infuriated, standing up from her desk. "Isn't babysitting a bit below your pay grade?"

"Way low. But the SCPD is going to protect you, whether you like it or not."

Laurel sits back down, thinking of one last way she can get Dinah to leave. "In that case, while you're at it, get me a coffee, two sugars, no cream."

"Not going to happen." As Dinah begins to read, Laurel gives one more sarcastic smile, which quickly turns into a frown. Getting rid of her is going to be harder than I imagined. No matter. I'll find my window, then I can find Diaz…and end him.

Oliver, after quickly eating his meal, walks over to where Brick is sitting. With him are Sampson and Turner, who got out of the hole the day before. Oliver stands over Brick, getting to the point. "Ricardo Diaz."

"This seat's taken."

Oliver grabs Brick by the arm, not wanting to be patient. "You're going to tell me where he is."

"Hey, you sure you wanna do that?" Turner's voice grabs Oliver's attention. "Still didn't get to thank you for sending me to the hole."

"I guess you don't know your place here. You may have gotten your fight back, but we're still at the top of the food chain."

Brick raises his free hand to them. "It's okay boys. Let me handle it." He pulls his arm away from Oliver's grip. "Diaz? Don't ring a bell."

Oliver sits down next to Brick. "You hired those prisoners to attack me for Diaz. So why don't you tell me how I can find him?"

"You know what your problem is Queen? You've forgotten where you are. This is prison, and your playing by the wrong rules."

"I don't have time for games, Brick."

"All I'm saying is that if you want to be a mate of mine, you've gotta prove yourself worthy of my friendship."

Oliver thinks on this for a moment. He doesn't trust Brick, nor any other prisoner here besides Stanley. But Brick does have a point. Oliver can't do things the way he did as the Green Arrow. He can't just interrogate people for the truth since guards are around and he can't get the guard's help since they don't trust any prisoners in here, not even him. This is his only option.

"What do you want?"

Brick turns his head towards Yorke, who is standing close by in case of any hassle between prisoners. "I want him gone."

Oliver isn't very surprised. Yorke isn't very liked by anyone in the prison, whether it be prisoners or guards. But he can't help but wonder why Brick needs him gone now and why not have Sampson or Turner do it?

"Why?"

"That is no concern of yours. You just take care of that guard and I'll tell you everything you need to know. Everybody wins."

Oliver looks at Brick with a glare. He doesn't want to do anything unless he knows why he is doing it. If what he does has disastrous consequences, then he will live knowing he caused all of it. Still, he doesn't have a lot of options. He sighs, hoping that this doesn't lead somewhere he didn't want to go.

"Fine."

As Oliver gets up to leave, he is stopped by Brick, who grabs him by the arm and sits him back down. "Queen. If you say anything to anybody, the deal's off."

Oliver nods and then proceeds to leave, planning how he is going to get rid of Yorke without doing anything drastic.

Curtis walks into his office, seeing Felicity on his computer. Oh, please tell me she's not doing what I think she's doing. "Please tell me you are not hacking A.R.G.U.S…from inside A.R.G.U.S."

"No, I am not hacking A.R.G.U.S from inside A.R.G.U.S. I am…hacking Interpol from inside A.R.G.U.S."

Curtis begins to stress out. "That is still not better and will still get me fired." Even with the possibility still running in his head, he tries to act as friendly to Felicity as possible, understanding why she is doing this. "Felicity. I really like this job."

"Yeah."

"Look, I know how badly you want to get Diaz, but you need to listen to John. A.R.G.U.S is more than capable of doing the job while we wait and eat some snacks." He takes out some leftover candy he got from the vending machine downstairs, eating a piece.

"I'm not waiting for John. That's what Oliver wanted me to do, but Diaz found me anyways."

"Okay, then maybe we can find the Longbow Hunters without committing espionage. Can I please, just for one second?" Felicity scoots over, giving Curtis a chance to help. He brings up a map of the city's power grid connected to A.R.G.U.S' servers. "Now, we know they have the battery, so they would want to test it. And doing that-"

"Would require an incredible amount of power, which would, in turn, set off a power surge-"

"Which we can pinpoint and trace to a certain location."

"Oh, I miss this. I miss working with you, I miss hacking Star City's power grid. I mean, it just feels right."

As she is done talking, the computer shows the highest surge of energy, marked by a lightning symbol. "Bingo! Huge power spike in a warehouse in PennyTown over an hour ago."

"Okay." Felicity shoots up out of her seat, walking straight for the door.

"Wait, you actually want to go there?" Curtis then realizes what he has done, his hands hovering over his head for being so foolish. "Of course you want to go there. I should've thought this through."

Felicity turns around, still heading for the door. "Look, I'm not going to engage with the Longbow Hunters. I'm just gonna grab one of your T-spheres and use that to track them back to Diaz. No Big."

"Very Big." Curtis knows Felicity isn't a fighter. Sure, she has slipped by thugs before, but that was with help. But he also knows that Felicity is determined to go through with her plan. "I'm going with you as back up."

"Well, whose going to back you up?" Felicity is right. Knowing what the Longbow Hunters can do, even he will not last five minutes fighting all of them at once. They needed one more person, someone whose not affiliated with A.R.G.U.S or the S.C.P.D. One person came to mind. "I might know a guy."

"You've been back for a week and you're already sneaking out of A.R.G.U.S behind papa Dig's back? I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks man."

Rene and Felicity fist bump, but Curtis does not share their sentiment. "Don't encourage her. She's already moved on to espionage."

"Thanks for coming with us, Rene. I know it's not the best time to be Wild Dog with the whole 25 to life thing."

"There's no Wild Dog here. You see a hockey mask anywhere? Besides, this is what we should've been doing instead of waiting for Diaz to come to us."

Curtis' T-sphere returns to him, showing no signs of life inside the warehouse. "Scan's complete. The Longbow Hunters aren't home."

"Damn. So, we can't follow them to Diaz if they aren't there to be followed."

"But we can go inside."

Felicity starts to walk towards the facility, but Curtis becomes wary. "Wait. Felicity-"

Felicity turns around. "Relax Curtis. I'm just going to place a couple of trackers on a few things. 5 minutes tops."

"You ever heard of the phrase 'famous last words?'"

Rene starts to follow her, loading his gun for whatever may be inside. "Grab your balls Curtis. We're going in."

"Their not balls. Their T-spheres."

Curtis proceeds to follow them inside, all three of them unaware of the person laying in wait, wishing that they haven't found this place just yet.

As the three of them enter, they find nothing inside. No equipment, no weapons. Felicity feels a bit uneasy. "Feels weird doing this without Oliver. And a headset."

"I'm more worried about you holding in any snarky Overwatch comments."

"Guys. Over here." Rene points to the only object of interest in the room: A locked door that most likely leads to a storage area.

"Anything worth putting a tracker on is definitely behind this door."

"Damn. I should've brought one of my lock picking spheres."

"Never bring a T-sphere to a gun fight." Rene aims his gun at the lock. Felicity and Curtis flinch, standing back and facing away from the door in case something went wrong. Rene fires, the bullet breaking off the lock, not ricocheting from the door as the two of them feared it would.

Rene opens the door, revealing what looks like an office area with regular supplies on shelves. There is also a regular computer on the main desk and a laptop on one of the side tables. "Jackpot. Let's plant the tracker and get out of here."

Felicity walks towards the laptop. "You work on that. I'll work on this."

"Wait, wait. Guys." Both of them freeze and turn to Curtis, holding up his T-sphere, which is giving a faint beep. "There's someone else in here. At least one other person coming towards us."

Rene steps towards the door, aiming his pistol. "Get behind me." Both Felicity and Curtis rush behind Rene, who is ready for whatever comes through the door. They can hear footsteps coming at a normal pace towards them. Suddenly, the steps stop just at the side of the door, most likely waiting to get the drop on them. Rene puts his finger on the trigger, ready to shoot as soon as he sees anything move.

"Put the gun down, Rene. It's only me." A familiar, deep voice calls out. At least, it's familiar to Felicity and Rene. The person finally rounds the corner, confirming that it is, in fact, the new Green Arrow. Both of them breathe sighs of relief and Rene lowers the gun.

Curtis, however, looks at the new Green Arrow with his nerves still a bit on edge. "Wow. You're…the New Green Arrow. You really got the whole look down. Except, you know, the-the face mask and white eye lenses."

"Save the nervous banter, Mr. Holt. It's getting old."

"Wait. You know who I am?"

"I know who all of you are. But that's not important."

"Yeah, what's important is why you're here and how you found us?"

"The same reason you are and the same way you found this place, Ms. Smoak."

"You don't know how we found-"

"You tapped into the city's power grid and traced the largest surge of energy over the past hour."

Felicity looks at the new Green Arrow with both amazement and concern. "Okay, you do know how we found this place."

"We're placing some trackers so the Longbow Hunters can lead us to Diaz."

"Don't bother, Rene. The only thing of importance to them is the battery. If it's not here, then they won't be coming back."

Felicity gestures to the laptop. "They left this." She goes towards it and begins to type. "If I can just find their last entry…"

"No, wait!" The new Green Arrow stretches his hand out, walking towards Felicity. "They might have set up-"

Suddenly, the laptop gives a loud beeping noise. Felicity starts to panic. "Oh frak!"

The new Green Arrow clenches his fist. "Precautions."

"The data's being erased. I triggered some sort of self-destruct."

"Move!" Green Arrow gently shoves Felicity away. He quickly takes out a USB from his pocket and plugs it into the laptop, typing frantically. "Come on, come on, come on, come on." After less than a minute of typing, the beeping stopped. The Green Arrow bows his head and sighs. "It stopped."

They all start to relax except for Felicity. "How much of it did you save?"

The Green Arrow scrolls through the entries. "These date before the heist, so I would say we saved about…80% at best."

"Well great. That means we can't find the Longbow Hunters so, in turn, we can't find Diaz."

"We can still find clues as to why Diaz wants the battery. Just hold on." The Green Arrow starts clicking on the entries, starting with the latest.

Felicity, Rene, and Curtis gather around him, looking at the screen. Curtis looks at what looks like the floor plans for the offshore site the battery was stored in. "Wait a minute. I know these plans. They're only found in A.R.G.U.S' servers, which are the most guarded thing in the world."

"Then that must mean they had a mole on the inside. Most likely they still do." The Green Arrow clicks out of the floor plans and finds another entry called "FrequencyJammer." He clicks on it to find a device with a green light in the middle. "Looks like they used a frequency jammer to put the cameras on a loop."

"The same one Diaz used to break into my apartment."

The Green Arrow seemed to have sighed, but it was so subtle, no one could pick it up except for Rene, who kind of questions it, but lets it slide. "Anything on the battery?"

"Possibly this one." The Green Arrow circles the entry that said, "AdapterPlans". He clicks on it, showing a 3D animation of the battery being plugged into a post. "Looks like some sort of mock demonstration. What their demonstrating, I…" The animation zooms out, showing the post to be some kind of mounted weapon, but the design doesn't look like anything of a standard quality. The weapon shoots something out of the nozzle, going down a straight line towards the animation of a few building, which immediately get destroyed upon the line's impact. All of them look in horror. "Holy crud. This is…"

"Plans for an energy weapon. Something like this can destroy all of Star City." Felicity starts to have flashbacks to when Damien Darkh launched missiles towards Star City, one of which she had to divert to Havenrock. Her fingers begin to twitch a bit. The thought of Diaz creating a weapon like this sends shivers down her spine. "I can't believe Diaz actually has the power to create something like this."

"This isn't Diaz." Green Arrow rewinds the video and points to the buildings. "These shapes are more in line with that of an enemy encampment than a city. Something A.R.G.U.S is more likely of targeting."

"Wait. No, no, no, no, no." Curtis' nerves start to rise again, leading him into denial. "A.R.G.U.S wouldn't make a harmless battery into a weapon of mass destruction. Right?" They look at Curtis as if he is oblivious. "Right?"

"Mr. Holt, you do know we are talking about the same people who created the Ghost Initiative, right?"

"That was under Amanda Waller, plus it got scrapped."

"And who kept one of the most dangerous hackers locked away and never told you guys exactly where he was when he needed to be guarded?"

Curtis wanted to say more, but he has no argument against that. Instead, he tries to change the subject. "Do we know where they're taking the battery by any chance?"

"No. That must've been the 20% that was erased."

Felicity rubs the back of her neck, her grip almost to the point of squeezing. "Then that means we're back at square one."

"Not necessarily." The three of them look at the Green Arrow with confusion. "If it's an energy weapon they're using, then they would want to test it first, somewhere outside of Star City."

Felicity snaps her fingers. "Then they must be trying to find the means to get out of Star City."

"Exactly. So-" The Green Arrow pauses, pressing something on his eye mask. "Oh crud."

Rene starts to look a bit concerned. "What is it?"

"A.R.G.U.S is here."

They all look at him curiously, especially Curtis. "How do you know that?"

"I just know. They're 1000 meters from us and gaining fast." Green Arrow takes something out from his pocket and tosses it to Felicity. She catches it, seeing that it is a small communicator. "This will help us keep in touch. When one of us finds the location, we should let each other know. And beware of who you trust in A.R.G.U.S."

The Green Arrow runs out of the room at fast speeds. Felicity tries to follow suit, wanting to ask some questions. She finds him running out the entrance they came from. She follows again, only to not find him at all. He just disappeared. Curtis and Rene catch up, showing the same surprise as she does.

Their surprise quickly turns to shock as a bunch of A.R.G.U.S vehicles show up, agents coming out with rifles aimed. In front of them is John. "Freeze!"

"No, wait! John! It's us!" John freezes in his tracks and signals his agents to stand down. He then looks at the three of them with disappointment, shaking his head as if he expected better of them. In fact, maybe he had.

"This is prison. There are tons of guys here that would love to handle Yorke. If you know what I mean."

Oliver and Stanley are once again in a corner of the courtyard, talking about how to handle Yorke and get the information they need from Brick. "Yorke is a hard-ass, but that doesn't mean he deserves to die. I just…I just need to find his pressure point."

"W.W.G.A.D."

Oliver turns to Stanley as if he just talked gibberish. "What?"

"What would Green Arrow do?"

"Oh. Well I-" He cuts himself off, remembering that he is no longer the Green Arrow. He always treated his vigilante identity as being someone else. As being something else. Seeing that someone else now has the mantle, he feels that he can't be that person anymore. Right now, he is just a prisoner trying to find information. "He'd have Overwatch gather information."

Stanley now looks confused. "What's an Overwatch?"

Oliver contemplates for a little while. Prisoners get no access to computers and there is only one he knows of that is somewhat accessible. It isn't going to be easy to use. "We need a computer."

As planned, they are in the hallway with the other prisoners, clean sheets in hand, and Yorke keeping them in line. Oliver turns to Stanley. "Now, once we get inside, we'll have at least 2 minutes before the guards spot us. You up for this?"

Stanley begins to look a bit excited. "Hell yeah. This is my first Green Arrow mission."

With that out of the way, Oliver hands Stanley his sheets and walks behind him. He then takes out a couple of broken pieces of pencil and a makeshift slingshot he made with a broken lightbulb and some rubber. He takes aim and shoots at the lightbulbs, the sudden darkness causing the prisoners to become restless and Yorke trying to keep things orderly.

Oliver and Stanley moved quickly, heading into the office next to them and towards the computer Oliver knew would be easy to access.

The computer is an older model, probably from the 80's or 90's. "Does this thing even have the internet?"

"We'll soon find out." Oliver starts typing away, seeing how difficult it will be to access it.

"Even if it does, they don't let felons serf the web."

"My wife taught me a thing or two. Sit tight." Finally gaining access, he scrolls through Slabside's records until he finds Yorke's. He clicks on it, hoping that this computer has the clearance to see it. "And we…got him."

Yorke's file appears, showing a picture of him along with all the information from before and during his work at the prison.

"So what're we looking for?"

"Anything that will give me leverage. Peter Yorke was born in 1978, joins the army at 19 and serves for 8 years, given commendations, injured in the line of duty, started working at Slabside and has been here ever since."

"He worked here for 12 years? No wonder he's such a jerk."

"He's got no complaints, got no disciplinary record. He's a jerk, but he's a law-abiding jerk."

"No one's that clean. There has to be something…" Something in the record catches Stanley's attention. "Wait, look. He's got a wife and kid." Oliver looks to where Stanley is pointing, seeing two names in both the spouse and children categories: Jenna and Noah. "I bet he'd do anything to keep them safe."

Before Oliver can comment on this, he hears the commotion dying down in the hallway. "Time to go." He quickly turns off the computer and heads into the hallway, Stanley grabbing their sheets and following suit.

William woke up breathing fast and heavy. He took the time to let himself slow down to a normal pace. He placed a hand on his forehead, wondering how he even got through the night without waking abruptly. He guessed experience.

As William got up, he could hear the faint sound of an arrow flying through the air. He grabbed a protein bar and walked to the source. He found Roy kneeling down and replacing his bow string and a tree across from him filled with arrows.

Roy looked up. "You're still here. Stubbornness must be hereditary."

"I'm the guy who spent billions of dollars developing affordable magnetic levitation and technology to allow us to look into the past. I don't give up easily."

Roy got up, almost giving a smirk. There must've been something about William that he recognized. "Well, you've done well for yourself, even after all that's happened."

"Yeah." William didn't try to think about it. The last time he ever saw his family was when he got sent away to Cambridge. Instead, he tries to probe Roy further to find out why he came here. "You know, the first time I met you, you were with my Aunt Thea. You two were going somewhere-"

"Look, you're not gonna get anywhere by dredging up the past. I came here to forget about all that." William can tell that things didn't end well. He wondered why he couldn't trace Aunt Thea for so long. He always knew there was the possibility that she was either dead or just didn't want to be found.

Still, that wasn't the important thing at the moment. He took out the hozen from his pocket. "When Felicity gave me this, she told me it was a symbol of reconnecting. It led me here…to YOU. It can't be a coincidence."

Roy takes the hozen, looking at the GPS coordinates more closely. His mouth was starting to open a bit, either from some realization or disbelief. He looked up towards William. "I know exactly what this is. Come on."

He walks off, William following suit. Wherever he was going, William hoped it would lead to answers as to why he had to come here.

As William waits for his bot to boot up, he takes another look at the D.A's office. He sees Laurel leave, telling the cop guarding her door that she needs some "fresh air." He knows that's not the truth. Most likely, she is going to go hunting for Diaz.

William considers if he should interfere but sees Captain Drake enter the building just a few minutes afterwards, asking where Laurel is and quickly walking out. He assures himself that the Captain can handle the situation. Besides, the more important issue for him is A.R.G.U.S and the possible mole.

Finally, the bot turns on, crawling out of the communicator he gave to Felicity and awaiting instruction. He switches to manual control, seeing the bot's perspective through the monitor. From the surroundings, he can tell that he is currently in the office provided for Felicity.

William looks over the blueprints of the building provided to him by an old friend. Let's see. A.R.G.U.S' servers are protected by encrypted doors on the first floor. What they won't expect is a small bot going through the ventilation system. Felicity's office is…here. The eastern section just next to Curtis' office. So her vent is to the left side. From there, I just follow the route given to me and I should be at the server room.

Controlling the bot, he uses its grapple function to hook onto the wall and zips straight for it. He then moves it into the vent before anyone can notice. Once inside, he starts to venture through the vent. From the bot's perspective, it looks like a large maze. "Okay. Make the left here. Then the right after passing two vents…"

After a few minutes of traversing through the labyrinth like ventilation, he finds the vent he is looking for, which leads downward into the server room. He shoots the grapple on the ledge, the tensile rope long enough to allow it to reach the top of one of the servers.

Okay. Now to place it somewhere it can connect without getting spotted. He moves the bot to the back of the server, finding an empty port. Perfect. He places it over the port and switches it to hacker mode, making it plug itself in with the arms serving as connectors, the bot hacks into the system, allowing him access to nearly everything, the exception being anything from Lyla Diggle's office, which has a lot more security encryptions than the other things in the building. Still, he has the access he needed. I'm in.

As he searches through any information stolen, he also accesses the cameras, including Felicity's and Curtis' offices, hoping they might find something before he does. He goes through the files he found, seeing who last accessed them. There was one computer that accessed it. The username and passcode belong to one Enrique Gonzalez. He's one of the few people who are allowed access to the server's contents. Says here he has a wife and a son who's being treated for a special kind of illness. I wonder if…

"You blocked my computer!? What the hell John!?" William hears Felicity yelling at John, who was talking to Curtis about something until she interrupted.

"And…that's my cue." Curtis hands a tablet to John, walking away as if trying to act as if there wasn't going to be any drama that will ensue.

John, however, does not show that nervousness when facing down Felicity. "Felicity, we can no longer risk you interfering with this mission. This is not Team Arrow. This is an A.R.G.U.S operation. I am asking for your patience." Obviously, John didn't take Felicity going solo kindly.

"I am out of patience John. You have your life, your family, your job. But I have lost everything, and taking down Diaz is the only way to get it back."

"Felicity, you can't get it back! Your old life-OUR old life-is over." John pauses for a minute, seemingly thinking that he shouldn't be telling her this in such a overt tone. "And bringing down Diaz isn't going to change that."

They both just take a moment of silence. John is probably hoping that this will let Felicity slowly accept that what he says is the truth. Even William knows this. Their old life is over. They can't go back, but they can push forward. They have to.

Felicity, however, looks hurt, saddened that John thinks this way. He continues to push facts towards her. "Oliver's gone, Felicity. And he is not coming back for a very long time. I need you to accept that."

"I can't. I won't. And I can't believe that you do. The old Diggle would've stopped at nothing to bring down that monster, but you're here. You're-you're here. And wouldn't even take up the Green Arrow mantle, which was the only thing Oliver asked you to do! You moved on with your life, but the last six years meant something to me. So I am going to take down Diaz, whatever it takes, even if I have to do it alone."

Felicity storms out of the room, leaving John looking defeated. William looks on, worrying more and more about what is to come for Felicity. He shakes his head. She can't. She won't, right?

He immediately takes his bible from the desk, flipping through pages and pages, trying to find any reading that can help him find clarity. He stops dead at one of the first gospel readings pointed out to him, one of many that he poured hours meticulously interpreting. He reads it again, seeing if there is something he missed, some interpretation that he didn't get the first time. After reading it two times, he thinks he finally did, which gives him both revelation and concern.

Hovering from the ground by the bar, he finishes off his exercise routine with a couple of leg raises. In truth, this exercise routine, like all the others he has done since getting here, is to keep himself relaxed and focused, even now since discovering there is nothing that he can do to get rid of Yorke and get the information he needs from Brick.

Stanley doesn't seem to think this, though. "You know, just because Yorke isn't dirty doesn't mean we can't get him fired. Blackmail is basically a prerequisite for getting in here."

Oliver hops down from the bar. "I'm not about to ruin an innocent man's life."

Stanley waves his hand as if dismissing his own comment. "Not the Green Arrow way. Noted."

Oliver looks from Stanley when he notices Brick, Turner, and Sampson walking into the courtyard, Brick not looking very happy as he faces down Oliver. "I'm starting to think you've lost interest in my information."

"Yorke's clean."

"There are other ways of getting rid of somebody. Permanently."

Oliver notices the shiv in Turner's palm. He shakes his head. "It's not how I do things."

Sampson steps in. "It's not how you do things out there."

Going with that card again? "You asked me to take care of Yorke. You didn't say how."

"Well, let me make this clear." Brick looks back to Yorke, identifying the target once again, then points to the shiv in Turner's hand. "You use that to take care of Yorke, or I will."

Oliver feels as if he has a conundrum on his hands. One he'll have to sort out later. For now, he takes the shiv from Turner and walks away from them, at least telling them he will still get the job done.

Oliver holds the shiv in his hand, still contemplating on what he will do. If he does this, he will break his moral code and might set his release back farther and farther back than he needs to. On the other hand, if he doesn't, he loses vital information on Diaz and Yorke dies anyways, leaving a wife as a widow and a son without a father.

He decides there are two paths he can take. The first one is what he chooses now as the guards go around the cells for a routine check for any contraband items. He can hear his cell door being opened.

"Cell check, 4587." Oliver turns around and sees Yorke.

Perfect.

"You know the drill."

Oliver walks out of the cell, leaning against the bars. Yorke rummages through everything, not bothering to keep anything in its proper place. Oliver knows it will look like a mess when he is done.

"Yorke, you need to listen to me."

"No chitchat inmate."

"Someone in here wants you dead."

Yorke scoffs at Oliver's warning. "Newsflash: everyone in here wants me dead."

"Yorke, I don't care whether you quit or transfer, but whatever you do, you need to do it today. Understand?"

"Don't know what kind of game you're playing, but if you don't knock it off, I promise, you'll regret it."

"I'm not trying to play a game. I'm trying to help you."

"I don't need your help, inmate."

"I'm just trying to do the right thing."

Oliver doesn't hear Yorke rummaging through anything more. He hears footsteps coming towards him, followed by the sight of a slightly angered Yorke. "The right thing? Is that what you were doing, running around in that costume? You turned the law into a joke. The Green Arrow's very existence invited criminals into your city." Yorke grabs Oliver by the arm and pulls him away from the bars and back into his cell. "You think you're some kind of hero. But have you ever stopped to think that all you've done was make things worse?"

Yorke leaves to check Stanley's cell next. Oliver gives a sigh of disappointment. Yorke has shown that he will not budge, even when his life depends on it. There is only one option available to him now. One he is not comfortable with.

Felicity scrolls through the tablet, looking through the files the Green Arrow found on the laptop for any clues as to where Diaz may have taken the battery. So far, she hasn't found anything, making her even more desperate. I must've gone through these three times. Maybe if I-

"Hey." She hears the voice of John, who is standing at the doorway of her temporary office. "Can we talk?"

"Not unless it's about Diaz."

John says nothing, telling Felicity that it has nothing to do with Diaz at all. So, she turns back to the tablet. She can hear John walking in and taking a deep breath, also telling her that this conversation is going to happen whether she wants it to or not.

"Felicity, I want you to know that I understand why you're angry. But I have not forgotten Oliver or this team. Or you. But I need you to hear why I chose not to become the Green Arrow."

Felicity puts down the tablet and turns to John, allowing him to explain himself.

"Felicity, I watched as you, Oliver, and William lost everything important in your life because of that hood. And I wanted to. I wanted to because Oliver asked me to. But I couldn't. The truth is…I saw what that hood did to you and your family. And I couldn't do it to mine. Maybe that was selfish…but I couldn't make that kind of sacrifice, and I couldn't ask that of Lyla or A.J."

Felicity, after hearing this, now feels like almost everything she said to John was now an insult. She feels so stupid for essentially calling him a coward without knowing the implications. "It's not selfish."

"I'd like to think that I am honoring Oliver's mission without putting on the suit on."

"I respect your decision, that you want to keep fighting. Oliver turned himself in so the FBI would help us stop Diaz. And I may not agree to the decision, but so long as Diaz is still out there, Oliver's sacrifice will have been for nothing."

"Felicity, John. Can you hear me?" Felicity turns to the voice coming from behind her, seeing only the communicator on her desk. Oh God. Why do you have the worse sense of timing?

"Whose voice is that?"

Felicity turns to John with a nervous grin. "Oh. Well, that's uh-"

"This is the Green Arrow, John, and I don't have much time before someone eventually escapes. There's a mole inside A.R.G.U.S. Someone who gave Diaz and the Longbow Hunters the files on the battery and the offshore facility."

They gather around the communicator, Felicity now feeling stupid again. I completely forgot about the mole. "Wouldn't the mole be gone by now?"

"Not sure. But I do know who accessed them. A man named Enrique Gonzalez. If he's in the building, you need to stop him now."

"Wait, wait, wait. Are we really going to trust this copycat?"

"John, he helped us stop the laptop from destroying the data completely. I'm pretty sure that means he's on our side."

"That was him?"

"Yes, that was me. Now find Gonzalez."

"I just saw him as I was walking in here. He's the office next to this…" John's eyes widen. "He had his door open." He rushes out of the office and runs back in just as fast. "He's gone."

Felicity clenches her fists. "Dammit."

"Get to the front entrance. He's most likely on his way there, but don't cut him off. Just be ready if he gets spooked. See you in a few."

The communicator goes silent. John crosses his arms and looks at it. "I don't get it. Why would he want…oh God."

"What?"

"The Green Arrow's already here."

With that confirmation, both Felicity and John rush out of the office and towards the nearest set of stairs, hoping they can get to Gonzalez before the Green Arrow does.

William perches himself over the entrance to the building, waiting for the target to arrive. With his detective vision, he sees through the walls of the building, seeing if anyone is coming out. So far, he can only see the blue silhouettes of the receptionist and the two guards standing next to the scanners.

After half a minute, though, he sees one person exiting an elevator, looking like he is quickly walking towards the exit. This has to be him. When he gets past the scanners, William sees two more people exiting from the stairway at the back of the room, one of them pointing at the man, causing him to dash for it. Definitely him.

William preps his bow and aims a grapple arrow, account for Gonzalez's speed. As he sees Gonzalez rushing out the door, he fires the arrow, which manages to clench at the lower part of his back and reel him in with intense speed. Thank you, math.

As Gonzalez comes in screaming for his life, William grabs him and throws him to the ground. He then walks over to Gonzalez, who is trembling in fear of his presence.

As seen in his picture, Gonzalez has greenish blue eyes, somewhat fair complexion, and a bald spot, the slight singes indicating that it was the result of fire, which is in line with his record stating that he was a volunteer firefighter before being hired by A.R.G.U.S. He is obviously scared, but tries to play it off as nervousness.

"Y-You know, don't you?" A Hispanic accent. Moved from his home country of Spain recently. "Listen, I can explain-"

"I know Diaz blackmailed you. You're no criminal, Mr. Gonzalez, but A.R.G.U.S won't think the same way. Tell me what you know, then maybe I can persuade John Diggle to go easy on you."

"I-I don't know much. I swear. He called me at home, said he had powerful friends. Friends that can cut off my health insurance. My son needs that to live. What was I supposed to do?"

"Where is he taking the battery?"

"He didn't tell me, but I once overheard some background mumbling about prepping a train. That's probably where it is."

"Good. If you truly value their lives, have your wife and son moved to a more secure location, or Diaz will kill them anyways."

Douglas nods his head. "Okay. I will."

William can hear movement coming from across his position. He looks up and sees John, Felicity, and other agents rushing towards him. They stop and aim weapons at him.

"Don't move!"

"John, wait!" Felicity moves in front of John, blocking his shot. She then turns to William. "What did he tell you?"

"Gonzalez says the battery is being transported by train. Most likely Diaz will be there with it."

"How can we…hold on." John taps on his ear. "Yeah. You did? Are you sure? All right." He looks at William with a more neutral stare apart from the glare he was showing when aiming at William. "That was Curtis. He said he restored some of the data found in the laptop. He found schematics for a train, one that just left Star City a minute ago and is heading to an off-site facility with an energy weapon for testing."

"Then I don't have much time." William reaches into his quiver and takes out a grapple arrow, but the agents and John point their weapons at him.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to catch that train."

"This is an A.R.G.U.S operation. Let…let us help you. You cooperate, we won't hand you in."

"They're most likely prepared for you, not for me. If you go on that train, you'll most likely die."

"Maybe. But I have a friend who wanted me to save this city, and I'll be damned if you think I won't honor his request. Besides, one of us has a shot at getting the battery if the other goes. You can't do this alone"

William gives a frustrated sigh. Of course he uses the "honoring a request card," and Dad's at that. And the "you can't do it alone," card. I've been doing this alone for so long. How is this getting harder to do?" He turns to John. "Fine. But after this, I'm getting the battery because there is no chance I'm letting you use it as a weapon. And you give Gonzalez another chance. Demote him or transfer him if you must but let him continue to work for you so he can support his family. Finally, you let Felicity help with this one. We need reconnaissance for this and she is one of the only ones I trust to help. Take this deal or leave it, John."

John gives a bit of a sigh of his own, but it is subtle. He knows he may get in trouble for taking a deal like this, but he can't risk Diaz getting away by arguing any further with a vigilante. "Done. And don't call me John. We're not friends and we never will be."

William walks towards the group, who are now lowering their weapons. He shakes hands with John to seal their agreement. "Mr. Diggle it is, then."

He walks to the exit of the roof with an amused grin. He remembers a time where Mr. Diggle wanted William to call him John. It was when William, Oliver, and Felicity visited him in the hospital after a chip that was supposed to help get rid of a tremor in his arm went wrong. He always thought of it as just a small formality, a friendly gesture. Seeing as John does not know who is under the mask, William won't get that formality here and may never get it for a while. But that is fine with him, so long as his presence doesn't mess with their lives anymore than it is now.

Dinah slowly approaches the building, gun out at the ready. This is where she tracked Laurel, but there is no sign of her anywhere, at least not outside. She prepares to go inside.

"Hey." Dinah quickly turns around. She sees that it is only Laurel, now wearing biker styled clothing with a black leather jacket, shirt, and pants. This is usually how she dresses when she goes as the Black Siren. "What're you doing here?"

Dinah puts her gun at her side. "You know, I should be asking you the same question."

"How did you find me?"

"Well, I am a cop, Laurel." They both start to walk towards the building, Dinah readying her gun again. "What is this place?"

"Diaz bought it right after joining the Quadrant. Wanted to renovate, turn it into his own castle."

"So, you think he's in there?"

"I don't think he's welcome in Star City Plaza."

They stop just short of the stairs that lead to the entrance. "Fine. Call it in then."

"No. No, this is my fight."

Dinah's short confusion fades as she pieces together everything. "Oh." She lets out a short, amused chuckle. She expected something like this from Laurel. "Right. This is what you've been planning all along, isn't it? This is why you've been refusing protection. You're going to kill him."

"Let's hope so."

"If Diaz is in this building, the SCPD are going to be the ones to bring him down, and we're going to do it the right way."

"I'm not interested in doing things the right way. That monster killed Quentin. I want to see him in hell, and I want to be the one who sends him there myself."

Dinah's amused smile doesn't fade, but it now hides a subtle anger building up inside her. "You know, I knew you were faking it this whole time Laurel. Becoming the D.A, all your B.S talk about the rule of law. Deep down, you're still the same lying murderer who killed the man I loved."

"I'm not that person anymore. But someone has to get justice for Quentin, and you know it. So, don't you try to stop me."

Laurel heads up the stairs and enters the building, leaving Dinah with a dilemma on her hands. She knows that the right thing to do is to call in backup, but by the time they got here, Laurel may have already killed Diaz or vice versa. Laurel is right. Quentin's death does deserve recompense, but not through murder.

Feeling like she is going to regret the decision she is going to make, she cocks her gun and runs in after Laurel, hoping that she is not too late to stop her from making a mistake.

John, his team, and the Green Arrow stand on the edge of a cliff overlooking the train tracks that the train transporting the battery is traveling by. "Alpha Team's in position. Sit-rep?"

"Your train's right on schedule. 60 seconds before the first car reaches your position."

"Copy that. Overwatch, you ready for this?"

"Oh, I've been ready for five months."

John turns to the Green Arrow, who is checking his quiver and tuning his bowstring. "And you?"

"Ready." He looks up from the quiver to John. "Tell me, Mr. Diggle. Why exactly did you say you wanted to help me with this? You did say A.R.G.U.S is capable of handling this. Or is that what you tell yourself to justify leaving your vigilante persona?"

John looks at him with surprise. How does he- He decides not to dwell on it, not with a mission at hand. "You would've gone for the battery anyways. I can't afford a liability. And to be clear, A.R.G.U.S IS more than capable."

"Whatever you say, Mr. Diggle."

"And it is AGENT Diggle."

The Green Arrow puts up his hands in respect. "Whatever you say."

A noise in the distance gets John's attention. He sees lights coming down the tracks. "That's our train. Move out."

The Green Arrow is the first to spring into action, slinging his quiver over his shoulder and grasping his bow. "Let's get to it, Spartan." Before John can correct him again, he jumps down and slides along the cliff's side. Annoyed as John is, he lets it pass. He has a mission to do and a score to settle. He jumps down as well, the other agents following close behind him.

William makes it into the train car, followed by the other agents and John. So far, they came in unnoticed, but that doesn't mean Diaz isn't prepared for them.

As John steps inside, the automatic doors close. There's no going back from this now.

"Overwatch, we're on the train."

"Copy that. We're logged into the train management system, so I am now the brain of the train."

"Where's the weapon?"

"In the fourth car from the back."

They start to proceed out of the car towards the location of the weapon. "Any sign of the Longbow Hunters, Miss Smoke?"

"Not yet. You're coming up on the Bater Tunnel. We'll have a snapshot from the thermal imaging camera in about 30 seconds."

"Hold on. Let me see if I can scan the area." William turns on his detective vision, only to find that he can't see any targets ahead, or anything for that matter except a jamming signal. "Crud. They're using a jamming device. I can't see what's up ahead."

"Alright. Everyone, proceed with caution." John takes the lead, the other agents and William right behind him, weapons at the ready. They make it into the first car, still no sign of Diaz or the Longbow Hunters.

As they make it halfway down the empty corridor, Felicity chimes in. "John, we got two boggies, both in the baggage car in front of you."

"Where's the other one?"

"There should be three of them."

"Oh my God. Guys, he's right above you!"

Suddenly, part of the roof above William exploded. He rolls out of the way before someone jumps down in front of him. Looking up, he sees the brute of the Longbow Hunters in front of him. Bear. He wields the shield with three blades attached to the rim, just as he did in the footage. He smirks, probably thinking that this will be fun for him.

William, acting fast, takes out and shoots a smoke arrow right at Bear's feet, keeping him stunned for a moment. He quickly turns to John. "Go. Get the weapon."

"We're not leaving you here."

"Just go!"

John is a bit hesitant at first but dashes out the door with the other agents. William turns back around, seeing Bear walk towards him, a stare of anger and focus on his face. William switches his bow from his left hand to his right, readying himself for the fight.

Bear is different than his future counterpart. He's in his prime, not enhanced by any physical drugs. From what I can see, he's still the same brute, probably not as much of a tank, but can take several hits. I need to test him before I can form a strategy.

Bear comes in with a hook with his shield which William ducks under and follows up with a horizontal swing to the face. Bear, who looks unaffected by the hit, proceeds with a backhand swing of his own. William dodges again, this time rolling past Bear. Now behind him, William quickly turns and swings at the leg.

Bear turns and swings his shield downward. William rolls back, missing the shield just barely. He takes a concussion arrow from his quiver and fires it, only for Bear to quickly raise his shield and deflect it. William quickly gets up.

So far, Bear exhibits great resistance to physical pain, just like his future self. Normal strikes won't work. He puts power into his strikes, making him somewhat slow to react to other swings, but his resistance makes up for it. How are his defenses though?

This time, William strikes first, striking with forehand and backhand, horizontal and cross, fluidly going from one strike to another as fast as he can. Bear blocks each one, demonstrating quick reflexes and awareness. When William goes for a spinning backhand, Bear parry's it instead. With William open and unbalanced, Bear goes in for a push kick, sending him flying, falling just near one of the doors. William recovers quickly, rolling just as he hits the ground and stands up.

His defenses are good, but just like in the future, he seems to favor the push kick. Seems like the only thing that can keep him down is a broken leg. If he's anything like his future self, he can easily be baited into another push kick. Once he does, I can grab it and force him to the ground.

Bear charges at him, his shield raised for another strike. William readies himself once again, his strategy now in place and ready to be executed.

John and the other agents rush towards the next door when suddenly, a small dart flies in front of John's face. He looks in the direction of the dart's trajectory, seeing the second Longbow Hunter, the woman who disguised as an potential employee and who used a dart to put the security guard's computer on a loop.

"Hello there."

A few holes open up around the dart, dispersing something into the air. John catches a whiff of it, recognizing the substance almost immediately as it makes him cough uncontrollably and his lungs to weaken.

"It's gas!"

All the other agents start to cough, falling to the ground one by one. The woman shoots one more dart at the electronic lock, the red light now shining in the place of the green below it.

"Oops. Guess it's locked." She gives a sly smile before leaving in the direction of her other member, who is probably still fighting the Green Arrow.

John struggles to keep himself up, but the gas is becoming too much for him. "Overwatch, we're trapped."

"Already on it. Hang on John."

John slumps onto a crate, sitting on the floor as the gas slowly takes hold, making his vision blurry and his hearing muffled. He can somewhat hear a knocking across from him. Looking up, he sees Diaz, waving at him with a sinister smile.

"Diaz."

"Diaz is there?"

"Felicity!"

"Sorry. On it…got it."

The door opens. John doesn't hesitate to get out as quickly as he can. He breathes in the fresh air, letting it fill his lungs and filter out the gas. The others, however, do not make it. He sees their bodies lying there, not moving. He takes a moment to grieve, to think that the Green Arrow was right. Diaz prepared for this. He knew A.R.G.U.S was coming. John took what was sound advice and ignored it, leading others to their demise.

But now is not the time to regret. He needed to move on. He needed to stop Diaz from unleashing an energy weapon onto Star City. He will not let his men's deaths be in vain. He takes out his pistol and moves in to take down Diaz.

Laurel slowly walks into one of the rooms, seeing nothing but equipment covered in bags and barely functional lights. She walks further on, her guard up for anything that may come. As she takes one more step, she starts to realize that she can't hear her step, nor can she hear the flickering of the lightbulb next to her. This can only mean one thing. Trouble.

Laurel quickly turns around, seeing a woman dressed in a white outfit right in front of her. She quickly uses her siren scream to push her out of the way. Strangely, this has no effect on the woman, for she is still standing there with a bubble of some kind in front of her that fades after Laurel stops screaming.

The woman immediately swings her knife at Laurel, which she avoids easily. After a third swing, the woman follows up with a spin kick that Laurel is unable to dodge fast enough, leaving her disoriented on the ground. Laurel quickly gets up in time to dodge an overhead strike. She quickly goes for a large steel pipe that feels light enough to use.

Laurel swings the pipe at the woman, flowing from deflecting the knife and attacking the woman when she has the ability to do so. The woman grabs the pipe and tries to wrestle it from Laurel's grip, but she pulls it away quickly to attack again. At times, the woman grabs the pipe and moves it away to create an opening, but Laurel even dodges that.

While they fight, Laurel does notice that the strikes do not make much noise as they make impact. They sound as if they are being muffled, by what she doesn't know. But she does know that it means no one else will be able to hear anything outside the room. She also knows it's only a matter of time before Dinah finds her.

William dodges another swing from Bear's shield and tries to go for an overhead strike. Bear grabs the bow however and goes for a hook with his shield. William quickly ducks, but is unable to free his bow, forcing him to let it go before the shield cut his arm.

He's not going for the bait. He's smarter than he is from the future. Guess my only option is to go for it now while he's recovering from his attack. William immediately goes in for the leg, pushing against it as hard as he can. Bear starts to walk backward until he starts to loose balance, causing him to trip. As he does, William quickly wraps his arms around his leg, gripping the ankle as he hits the ground.

Just as William is about to twist the ankle, the door across from them opens, revealing the second Longbow Hunter. Red Dart. She quickly shoots a dart from her wrist shooter at William, which he easily avoids. The dart, however, emits a blinding light, causing William to see nothing but light and loosen his grip on Bear's leg. He suddenly feels something, most likely Bear's now free leg, sweep under his feet and force him to the ground. Feeling somewhat dazed, he sluggishly retreats to the other side of the car.

As his vision starts to come back, he sees Bear walking towards him and outstretching his hand in an attempt to grab him by the neck. Thinking fast, he takes out and throws one of his arrowheads at Bear's leg, giving him just a wince of pain. He takes advantage of this by grabbing Bear's hand and twisting it, leaving one limb out of use.

William gets up and sees his bow where he pinned down Bear. As Red Dart shoots another projectile, he dives for it and quickly shoots an arrow right next to Red Dart, which disperses smoke, leaving her temporarily stunned. He quickly gets up and kicks Bear in the face, hoping this will force him to stay down. He then dashes at Red Dart, who tries to aim her wrist shooter, but William grabs the wrist and elbows her across the face, which knocks her out instantly. I guess you were always a glass cannon.

William takes some time to catch his breath, seeing Bear just barely conscious, but struggling to recover from the possible headache from William's kick. This would've been easier if I had my suit. But hey, I survived. Feeling almost exhausted, he slowly walks out of the car, hoping to find John before Diaz kills him with whatever tricks he may have up his sleeve.

Dinah walks through an empty hallway, still not seeing Diaz or Laurel. She expected to hear gunshots or a canary cry right about now. Surprisingly, though, she has heard nothing but barely functioning light bulbs since walking inside.

She turns and walks into a doorway, seeing if the room has any clues on where Diaz may have gone. Instead, she finds Laurel on the floor across from another woman holding a knife and a metal pipe. She immediately steps in and lets out a canary scream, which surprisingly does nothing, the sound somehow muffled.

Laurel gets up and uses a canary cry of her own, but still no effect. Then, both of them let out canary cries at the same time. Overtime, the bubble that formed around the woman started to crack until finally, it breaks and the sound waves send the woman flying towards the wall, the sounds no longer muffled.

Dinah and Laurel catch their breath, the screams taking a lot out of them. The woman gets up, prompting Dinah to draw her gun. but the woman retreats, probably thinking that taking them both on is a mistake.

Dinah's focus now turned to Laurel, both of them still catching their breaths.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"How the hell did she do that?"

"I have no idea."

They at least know something now: Diaz isn't here and knew Laurel would try to find him. The woman was left here to cut ties between them, as it were.

John manages to catch up to Diaz just as he is about to run towards the car with the weapon in it. He aims his gun right at Diaz.

"Diaz, freeze!" Diaz stops dead in his tracks. "Hands up. Slowly."

Diaz does as he is told, but also turns his head, showing a devious grin. "You miss me, John!?"

Suddenly, Diaz turns completely around, reaching into his coat and quickly takes out what looks like a small, long ranged flame thrower. John takes cover behind a stack of barrels before Diaz's flames reached him. He tries to fire from cover, but the flames are to bright and intense for him to see.

John looks around for anything he can use to shield himself from the flamethrower. The only thing he can find is one of the lids of the containers. He takes it off and fires off a couple of shots, provoking Diaz to shoot fire at the lid. The lid proves effective as the flames are blocked as it reaches it's surface.

John, however, is now out of ammo, but not out of options. He steps onto the elevated surface next to him, keeping the lid close as he charges at Diaz. John jumps on top of Diaz, forcing him down to his knees, but not disarming him of his weapon. As Diaz sprays more fire John's way, he takes out a knife and throws it at Diaz's shoulder, forcing him to drop his weapon.

As Diaz takes the knife out of his shoulder, John runs at him and grabs both of his legs, forcing him down to the ground. John quickly pins Diaz, delivering a flurry of punches. Diaz flips them both over, readying his knife for a killing blow. John, however, kicks Diaz away before he gets the chance.

Diaz charges at John, thrusting the knife towards him. John quickly traps the hand, palm strikes Diaz's shoulder, and directs the hand at an angle to make it easy to disarm.

With the knife no longer in play, John punches Diaz again, but Diaz pushes away and stands back up. As John tries to close the distance, Diaz employs a spinning hook kick, which he dodges. Diaz then goes for a sidekick that hits John in the stomach. Diaz then charges at him with a flying knee followed by a cross to the face. John dodges it and grabs Diaz, striking with his knee while Diaz uses his free hand to punch John.

As John keeps his grip on Diaz, he notices the battery lying on the floor. His focus now on taking the battery, he throws Diaz to the ground, following it up with a low kick to the face. Diaz, however, grabs his foot and gets up quickly, raising the leg and goes in for a sweep, knocking John down.

Diaz looks up and rushes towards the direction of the battery. Before he gets too close, an arrow lands right in front of him. Both of them turn around to see the Green Arrow on top of the car behind them now jumping down to ground level.

He preps and fires another arrow, a grapple arrow, but Diaz catches it just as it reaches his chest.

"Fool me once!" As he says this, The Green Arrow presses a button on the bow, which activated some kind of extension on the arrow, causing the claws to fly out of the shaft and dig into Diaz's flesh, making him wince and let go of the arrow. The shaft quickly attaches to the claw, and the Green Arrow pushes the button again and kneels. Diaz goes flying into the air and over the Green Arrow, hitting the door of the car so hard that it flew off it's hinges. John can't tell whether Diaz is dead or just unconscious.

The Green Arrow walks towards John, extending his hand. John quickly takes it, getting up quickly. He looks towards where Diaz was flung, seeing him struggling to get up.

"Of course that didn't kill him."

"He survived being thrown off a rooftop by a canary cry and into a river. Even I knew that couldn't kill him."

John somewhat wonders how he knows that, but doesn't have time to question it. "And the Longbow Hunters?"

"Down, but not out." The Green Arrow runs over and grabs the battery. "Come on!" John follows the Green Arrow, both of them stepping onto the car with the weapon. He them taps on his ear, where the comm is. "Overwatch, we have the battery. Detach the car."

"What? No. Diaz will get away."

"The battery and weapon are more important Miss Smoak. Please detach the car."

"I can't. He'll get away."

John can see one of the Longbow Hunters, the brutish man, sluggishly gaining, their injuries and headaches probably slowing them down. "We don't have time for this. Curtis-"

"No! Miss Smoak-Felicity, listen to me. I know you want to see your husband and son again. I know you want to have your family back and make Diaz pay. I want to see him face justice more than anything. But if he gets his hands on this weapon, there will be no home for your family to come back to. You know this."

For a moment, there is silence. Diaz and the Longbow Hunter eventually get out from the car and start to slowly make their way towards them. John grips the bars on the edge of the car tight, worried that Felicity won't do it. Suddenly, the car detaches, jolting John and the Green Arrow a little, but giving them both relief, nonetheless.

"Thank you, Miss Smoak."

Both of them watch as the distance between them and Diaz increases. The last thing they see is Diaz with a glare, but not of pure rage. He must have backup plans for destroying Star City but thought this one was going to be the easiest. He knows better now. He'll be prepared not just for A.R.G.U.S, but the Green Arrow as well.

The Green Arrow looks to John, holding the battery in his hand. "Our arrangement still stands?"

"Yeah."

He starts to walk into the car, but John stops him. "Wait." There is a bit of a pause as John shuts off their comms, wanting to keep this conversation private. "I never really agreed with the Anti-Vigilante Act. There should always be a Green Arrow, someone to give the people hope, especially with what Star City has went through. But I didn't know what to make of you. I didn't know whether you were fighting for the city or yourself. That's why I wanted to help you. But, after what you said to convince Felicity, I know where you stand. I can't help you in any way, but I'm glad that a good person is wearing that hood."

The Green Arrow looks down at the floor, as if thinking to himself. He then breathes a small sigh and looks up to John. "Thank you, Mr. Diggle."

The Green Arrow tries to step inside, but John puts a hand on his shoulder. "But…I also know that you can't do this alone. Not for long."

"I have to. If I let others fight my battles, they die. The death of your men proved that."

The reminder of John's men dying in the car weakens his grip on the Green Arrow's shoulder, who shrugs it off and proceeds into the car. John lowers his head and rubs his eyes, the grief now setting back in. He thinks again of how this could've been avoided, how he should've listened to the Green Arrow when he said that Diaz would be prepared for him. He also remembers all the times during his tours in Afghanistan how many others died to accomplish the mission, how their sacrifices were not in vain. But this just felt different. Maybe if it were just the Green Arrow and I, maybe-

His thoughts are interrupted by the sound of whooshing in the car. He quickly goes inside to find only the weapon but no Green Arrow. He really isn't that surprised. He has seen enough crazy things to not be surprised by anything unnatural, especially someone disappearing out of thin air.

Felicity leans on the chair, her hands clamped together as she finalizes her apology to John for what she said about him not upholding the mission Oliver started. She spots John walking in and towards her. He stands just a few meters from her, not having to say anything to know that they need to talk.

"I thought I could do it your way. And then you saw Diaz."

"There's need to explain. I just wanted to make sure that you're okay."

"I'm not. I understand why you did what you did. The world is a safer place because Diaz doesn't have that weapon. I was wrong before. You may be working here now at A.R.G.U.S, but you are still honoring Oliver's mission."

John smiles. "I appreciate you saying that."

"But…I still can't rest until I know that my family is safe. Which means I need to work with someone who's focus is bringing down Diaz. And that someone is not you."

Seeing John's smile fade, she quickly leaves. As she exists the room, Curtis strolls on by and walks with her. "I'm guessing that was your last mission with A.R.G.U.S. And probably with me too."

"I'm sorry Curtis."

"What're you gonna do?"

"Find help somewhere else."

Curtis stops following, leaving Felicity on her own as she finds her way out. As she walks to the elevator, she can feel her phone vibrate and give off a text alert. She takes it out and looks at her messages. Her eyes widen and then turn into a glare as she sees the message, along with who it is from. Meet me on the roof before you leave. G.A.

William looks down at the people leaving to return to their homes for the night, to see their families and loved ones, to tell them how their day went, and all the things families do together. His reunion with Felicity, however, will be nothing like that, given the circumstances.

He can hear footsteps approaching him from behind. He turns around and sees Felicity glaring at him as she got close. She stops at a distance.

"You did the right thing. You should know that."

"It doesn't make it any better."

"I know. Just as I know that you're going to try to get help from the FBI. It won't work."

"Why not?"

"Because according to a list of high value targets I lifted from their mainframe, Diaz is rated the lowest."

"Why? Samantha Watson made a deal with my husband-"

"Which the rest of the FBI is not going to honor. But I will. I made him a promise that I would make him face justice, and that's what I'm going to do."

"Because you think you're the Green Arrow? Because you think you can replace my husband?"

"I never said I was trying to replace him. I'm upholding what the Green Arrow means to the people of Star City. It's become more than just a man in a hood. It's a symbol. A symbol that brings hope in the innocent and invokes fear in criminals. And I aim to uphold that symbol."

"Symbol or not, if you think you're going to be the one to take down Diaz, you are dead wrong. This man tore my family apart and I made a promise to my son that I would bring him back home! So, I am not going to do nothing and wait while you probably take too long to stop him! I'm going to get help from the FBI, one way or another, so just stay out of my way."

Felicity storms off, leaving William alone, upset at the outcome that he expected and concerned about Felicity. Her obsession is taking hold. I need to keep a closer eye on her and prevent her from doing anything drastic.

Roy and William began to dig as Roy continued to explain what Oliver told him prior to his exile to Lian Yu. "Oliver told me what was on the island. When I first came here, I found the four graves he mentioned. But then, I found this one. Look, I can take care of this if you want."

William stops for a moment to look at Roy. "This will go faster if I help. Besides, I'm not going anywhere until I get my answers."

Not wanting to argue, Roy just kept digging along with William. As they do, they feel the shovel hit something solid, almost wooden. They looked closer and see a pad lock keeping a nearly invisible container shut. Roy broke the lock and opened the container to find what looked like a bow and quiver inside.

William recognized the bow right away and picked it up. Upon further inspection, his suspicions were confirmed, but new questions were raised. "This is my father's recurve bow. Why would Felicity want me to have this?"

"I know why." Roy opened a tiny compartment on the hilt, which William didn't see before. In it is a small piece of paper that Roy took and opened up.

William continued to examine the bow, finding it still in pristine condition, no splintering or worn out bow string. He then took the quiver out, seeing all the arrows and trick arrows still in good condition as well. He started to wonder how recently this bow was buried and if there were any other compartments anywhere, but his thoughts were diverted by the sound of a cigarette lighter next to him. He turned and saw Roy burn the piece of paper, possibly the only clue William had to find Oliver or Felicity.

"Wait, what the heck?"

"Grab your things. We're going back."

"Back-back to where?"

"To Star City."

William became more confused, but also kind of ecstatic. He now had more questions than ever, but the prospect of finally going back to Star City after so many years somewhat overshadowed them. He looked back to the bow, assuming that whatever Roy saw in that paper had something to do with why Oliver and the rest of Team Arrow went dark. If there were any answers to find, they were in Star City.

Dinah looks at the old sketch of the Hood from six years ago with an officer who has sighted him a couple of days ago. With the little information they have, the SCPD are practically stuck on who he or she may be. Her attention is grabbed by someone knocking on the side of her office doorway, that person being someone she expected.

"Laurel."

"Isn't that supposed to be a doughnut?"

Laurel refers to the bagel in Dinah's hand. Dinah chuckles a bit at the "cops eat doughnuts" joke. "So funny." She puts down the bagel and turns to the officer behind her. "Can you give us a minute?" The officer complies, leaving the office and closing the door.

"I just-uh, I wanted to come by and thank you. For the backup. Also, from now on, I will be accepting protection from the SCPD. No more ditching. No more complaining…well, maybe a little complaining."

"Well, uh, I appreciate that. Anything else?"

Laurel looks hesitant, her eyes looking down to the floor for a moment. "No. That's it." She then turns and starts to walk out the door. Just as Dinah is about to get back to studying the Green Arrow's case file, Laurel becomes hesitant again. She then turns around and walks back in.

"Actually, that's not it. I know that Quentin wasn't my father…Not-not the father that raised me anyways, and…I guess I had just forgotten what it felt like to have someone who cared about me. And losing him…it was the worst pain that I've felt in a very long time. And I can only imagine how you must have felt after Vinny's death."

The mere mention of Vinny brings back the painful memories of seeing Vinny die, both times she watched him die. It became too much for her, the overwhelming trauma settling back in. "Please don't."

"Listen, I don't expect you to forgive me…but I have to tell you that I am truly sorry about killing Vinny. And I hope one day you'll see that I am not that person. Not anymore."

Laurel finally leaves, no hesitation in her step this time. Dinah sits there, feeling guilt and sympathy for what she has said and heard. Laurels displays of her own guilt felt genuine, not fake as she is when in public as the D.A. She also never opened up like that before. It felt like seeing a side of her she never wished to reveal. For once, Dinah sees Laurel more as a human being and less as a monster. Someone who regrets everything that she has done. Someone who is trying to become good, and Dinah kept insulting her and shutting her out. Maybe Quentin did see something in her.

"This Diaz guy sounds like a living nightmare, but you sure this is a good idea?"

"My way's not working. Do I have a choice?"

Oliver gets up from the table and walks towards Yorke, stopping when he is just a few feet away. "Hey. Hey!" Yorke turns around, looking at Oliver with contempt. "What's your problem?"

Yorke takes a couple of steps towards Oliver. "I know you're not talking to me, inmate."

"You've had it in for me since day one."

"You need to shut up and get back."

Oliver refuses to listen, taking a couple steps so he is close to Yorke. "Do your wife and son know you're such a dick?"

Yorke looks at him with wide eyes, as if that is information that should not be known to anybody but himself. "What did you say to me?"

Oliver leans in to Yorke's ear. "It's Jenna and Noah, right?"

"You don't say their names."

Yorke starts reaching for his belt, probably for the baton to lash out at Oliver. Oliver grabs the hands to prevent him, but Yorke seemingly attacks anyways, but not with the baton. Oliver grunts in pain as a shiv, covered in blood, drops to the floor.

Oliver whimpers away, pointing at Yorke. "You-you-you-you stabbed me." Oliver then drops to the floor, cowering before Yorke.

"What? I didn't stab you."

"Get away from him." One of the other guards, Dunbar, who notices all this, walks towards Yorke and restrains him before he takes one step, the other guards doing the same.

Oliver continues to cower and point at Yorke. "The video. The guard. He stabbed me!"

"I didn't-Dunbar, what are you doing? I didn't touch him."

"Get him out of here."

Dunbar and the other guards start to escort Yorke out of the room as he struggles to break free. "No! Wait. No! He's lying! I didn't do anything!"

The alarms begin to blare and the cafeteria room beings to lock down. Oliver lies there, seemingly surviving from being attacked by a guard who lost his temper. But William knew better than that.

He rewinds the time recording, slowing up the footage of Oliver grabbing Yorke's hand. He zooms in and enhances the footage, seeing that the shiv was really in Oliver's hand, but angled it in such a way that nobody would even notice, not even the security cameras. Another point he fast forwards to is one of the inmates, Brick, smiling just as Yorke is taken away. William puts together that this was a deal made between him and Oliver to get information on Diaz's informant in Slabside.

Not you too, Dad. He looks from the screen to his bible, remembering the gospel reading he read yesterday, the one he believes more and more to be answering the concerns that he has. The answer he thought can never be true. But the way everything has been for the past few days, he seems to think this is the case.

William places his hands together in a prayer. "God, your son Jesus once encountered a man, blind from birth, begging in the streets. His disciples asked what sin the man's parents did that he be punished in their stead. Jesus responded that they did nothing. Rather, the man is blind so that your work may be done."

"For the longest time, I thought that it only applied to me, that I was here to do your work, to correct everyone's mistakes. But now…I question if it's not just me, but all of Team Arrow. Is Dad in prison so that he can find information on Diaz? Is Felicity's obsession the driving force to bringing him down? Do John, Rene, Laurel, and Dinah have some role to play in the positions they are in now? Are we the means through which your work, some grand plan to save Star City from its bleak fate, may be done?"

"If what I ask is true, don't let…don't let them succumb to the darkness. Even if they change in the end, let them have some semblance of the family and friends that I knew, some semblance of the the vigilantes I admired and looked up to. Let them keep the light that even I still struggle to keep. Don't let them become the people I fight against. Amen."

As he closes another report from one of his agents, he hears the door to his chamber open. There stood Ricardo, looking worn and wounded. He limps in, a face of anxiousness imprinted on him. He knows what this means.

Ricardo stops just a few meters from the desk, trying his best to stand up straight. "Deacon, let me just say that I-"

"SPEAK." The Deacon did not care for excuses. He always expects results, good or bad. The necessary punishments are always swift and met with equal measure, even if there is a reason for the failure.

Ricardo takes a deep breath, probably set aback by the Deacon's altered voice from his mask. "John Diggle and the Green Arrow got away with the weapon and battery. But it wasn't my-"

"SILENCE." The Deacon stands up and walks towards Ricardo, who twitches his fingers, anticipating some form of pain that he is not ready to take. Rather, the Deacon places a hand upon his shoulder. "My child, you have been a valuable asset to us. Infiltrating Star City, nearly priming it for the destruction it deserves. But your judgement has been clouded. You lust for vengeance on Oliver Queen and project that vengeance upon his wife and son."

"My score with Oliver Queen isn't the problem."

"Then prove it. I have another task for you. Inside a facility occupied by the FBI is one of your concoctions. One that will give you your full strength, and beyond."

Ricardo starts to smirk. "The refined mirakuru."

"Find it and take it. Only then will you be ready for the next plan."

Ricardo then looks concerned. "Oliver's kid will be right behind me. How do you expect me to not-"

"Leave William to me. Rest, then get the mirakuru."

Ricardo nods and takes a step to leave. But the Deacon tugs at the shoulder, forcing him back. "Fail this mission or any more in the future and your time in this organization ends. Understood?" Ricardo nods quickly. "Good. Go."

Ricardo then limps on and out of the doorway. The Deacon walks back to his chair and as he sits, he looks in the small mirror at the demon mask he made for himself. His symbol of what he has become, what he must be in order to do what he must. To do what the one he worships won't.

He then picks up the phone, making a call to someone he has kept a mental note on. Someone who he knows would want to do work with him to get his criminal organization back on its feet.

After a few seconds of hearing a dialing ring, the voice the Deacon wanted to hear answers. "Hello?"

"Kane Wolfman, I have a proposition for you…"

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