My name is Ashlee Merlyn. For 5 years, I was stranded on an island with my best friend, Oliver Queen, and one goal- survive. Together we will fulfill his father's dying wish.

"Make it home. Right my wrongs." Mr. Queen told us.

"No!" Oliver and I shouted before he shot himself in the head.

To use the list of names he left us and bring down those who are poisoning our city. To do this, we must become someone else. We must become something else.

I watched as Oliver and Diggle trained with a metal pole in each hand.

"Angle the rear hand, Diggle," Oliver instructed.

"Ok," Diggle said before doing as told. They hit poles together before Oliver smacked him across the face. "Uhh! Uhh!"

"Variable acceleration," Oliver said. Most fighters work at the same pace. You switch it up, you throw your opponent off his game."

"That was nice," Diggle said sarcastically. "Where'd you learn that?"

"His name's Yao Fei," Oliver told him.

"He give you those scars?" Diggle asked the two of us as they circled each other.

"One of them," Oliver said.

"One scar for each of us," I added.

"Any others?" Diggle asked, but neither of us answered. "You know, one day you're gonna be straight with me about what really happened on that island."

"Absolutely." Oliver agreed before they started up again. Oliver managed to get Diggle behind the knees knocking him down. "But not today." Oliver made his way back to me putting his poles on the table behind me.

"Still some pretty sweet moves." Diggle complimented.

"Yep. Tonight I'm gonna use them on him." Oliver said and I moved out of the way so Diggle could see the screen.

"Scott Morgan runs the water and power plants in the Glades. Jacks up the prices when people can't pay. Shuts them down even in the dead of winter." I explained.

"Which is at least a month away," Diggle said. "Look at this. These guys started at Keystone 3 years ago, then began moving west, hitting banks along the way." he showed us a picture of a gang in masks. "This morning they hit Starling City Trust. Shot an off-duty cop. He's in a coma and the doctors are saying it's a coin toss whether he'll make it."

"If he's a cop, SCPD will be all over it," Oliver told him.

"Overwhelmed? Underfunded? Listen, these guys don't hit one time. They hit 2 or 3 banks per city, which means right now they're planning their next job." Diggle told us.

"I think you have the wrong impression about what it is we do," Oliver told him.

"You take out bad guys with a bow and arrow and knives," Diggle said.

"We don't fight street crime." Oliver reminded him. "That's a symptom of what's wrong with this city. I'm trying to cure the disease."

"CEOs and crooked entrepreneurs," Diggle said. "I get it. Listen, Oliver, I'm just saying, maybe you can make a difference if you think beyond the scope of those pages. I'm sure your father wouldn't mind."

"No, you don't get it. My father died so that we could live. Live and make a difference by fixing the city that he and the people in this book ruined. Every name that we cross off this list honors that sacrifice." Oliver argued.

"There's more than one way to save this city," I added. Oliver threw me a look and I gave one back.

"Not for us," Oliver said.

"Crime happens in this city every day," I said.

"What do you want me to do, stop all of it?" he asked.

"It sounds like you have a narrow definition of being a hero," Diggle told him.

"I'm not a hero," Oliver said as he walked out of the training area. I sighed before following him.

"You're late." My dad said when I made it back home. "Again."

"Sorry. I went out for a run and got lost thinking." I lied. I hated lying to my dad, but it was the only way to protect my family. I went upstairs to change from my workout gear to regular clothes before going back down to lunch.

"Ashlee, I'm worried about you." My dad told me and I threw him a confused look.

"Why's that?" I asked him.

"Things aren't back to the way they were." He told me and I stopped eating to stare at him.

"I'm trying dad," I told him. "Things are still different from me being on the island."

"Come to the company with me today." He told me and I looked down at my food.

"I can't today. I have plans." I said smiling up at him.

"With Oliver Queen." He didn't even have to question it.

"No, those plans are tonight," I told him. "I was going to go shopping."

"Because you don't have enough clothes." He joked making me laugh.

"Never said I was shopping for clothes," I said and he chuckled.

"Well, have fun." He told me before getting up and going to leave. "Ashlee." I turned to him. "Be careful. I don't want that guy in the green hood and his accomplice getting to you." I smiled at the thought.

"Don't worry," I told him. "I will be."

I was getting into my car when I got a call from Diggle.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Scott Morgan tried to kill himself." He told me. "How fast can you make it to Starling General?"

"On my way now," I told him.

When I got to the hospital Oliver was pulling up on his motorcycle.

"You sure?" Oliver asked Diggle. "Scott Morgan doesn't seem like the type who would try to kill himself."

"True, but it's the best lie I could come up with on short notice," Diggle told him as they unloaded the cop who'd been shot from the ambulance instead of Scott Morgan.

"Mr. Diggle, I can't thank you enough for arranging to move my husband from County Ward to Starling General. Now I know he's getting the best care available." A woman said.

"You really should be thanking this man, Oliver Queen. He's paying the bill." Diggle told her. "Jana's husband Stan is a police officer, who happened to have been making a deposit at Starling Trust Bank."

"The bank that was robbed," Oliver said and Diggle nodded his head.

"I was so sorry to hear about your husband. Is he gonna be okay?" I asked her, concern covering every word.

"The doctors say the next 24 hours are crucial. He should have just kept his head down, you know?" she asked.

"I've known a few police officers in my day. Always willing to help others even if that means putting themselves at risk." Oliver gave Diggle a look as Jana nodded agreeing with his words.

"Thank you." She said to Oliver.

"You're welcome." He told her before she turned and went to her husband's bedside. "You lied to us."

"You asked me to work with you, not for you." Diggle reminded him. "And when you did, you said it was because you understand the kind of man I am. Well, Oliver, I'm the kind of man who doesn't walk away when there's a chance to make a difference. And neither does Stan Washington. Oliver, I'm not finished talking. Where are you going?"

"To go make a difference," Oliver told him.

"Ready to catch some bank robbers?" I asked Diggle, going back to my car.

Under the steel factory, we were watching the video surveillance from the bank robbery."

"See that guy right there? He's got a temper." Diggle told us.

"And he shot Officer Washington," Oliver said.

"That's right," Diggle confirmed. I paused the screen when his hand was in the air.

"Look at his hand," I told them. "College ring."

"Or high school, more likely," Diggle said.

"That ring will get us an I.D," Oliver said.

"Yeah, but even with photo enhancement, you're gonna have a problem getting a clear shot of that ring," Diggle said zooming into the ring.

"No, but it left an impression the police would have photographed." Oliver reminded him. "It'll be in evidence lockup." Oliver went to get his jacket.

"Please tell me you're not going where I think you're going," Diggle told him.

"Diggle, why do you even ask?" Oliver asked him. We suited up before going out to get the impression.

We broke into the station through a window in what looked like a lounge are. We moved quietly through the door and hallway as a phone rang until we heard someone speaking.

"Are you kidding me? I don't want to hear this. Don't tell me about red tape." An angry voice said. Oliver tapped my arm and pointed to the ceiling. I used my knives as holds for my hands as my feet rested on the wall opposite me as Oliver did the same with his arrows. "One of our own's been shot. Tell them to find themselves a pair of scissors." Once they were out of eyesight and hearing range we jumped down and knelt down as the last beat cop left the computer area. Oliver covered me as I hacked into the computer saving all the information we needed to a flash drive. We got what we needed before leaving for the steel factory once more.

"The bank manager Ace punched left a very distinctive mark on this guy's face," I told the boys going through the pictures. I matched the reverse image to the surrounding high school and colleges and only got one result. "Ace is from Larchmont High."

"High school," Oliver said making Diggle smirk at him for being right.

"I cross-referenced his height and relative age with a list of students and alumni," I told them.

"Still, that's a pretty long list," Diggle noted.

"Oh, it was," I told him. "I dug a little deeper and found one Kyle Reston. Right before Kyle's senior year, not only did he drop out of school, but his entire family dropped off the grid. Father, mother, and younger brother."

"There are two other guys involved in this robbery," Diggle said.

"And a woman," Oliver said looking over my shoulder. "Aside from Stan Washington, there were 22 customers and employees that came out of the bank. 9 men and 13 women. Inside the bank, 9 men, 14 women.

"They put a ringer in." Diggle scoffed.

"The mom," Oliver confirmed.

"The police are looking for a crew while we're gonna look for a family," I told them.

"Speaking of which, I'm incredibly late for mine," Oliver said before leaving quickly with Diggle behind him as I continued trying to find their next target.

An hour later, I found their mark. I grabbed my phone and called Diggle as I changed.

"Hello?"

"Get Oliver," I told him. "They hit First Bank of Starling two minutes ago. Tell him I'll meet him there." I said before hanging up.

I arrived under the bank in time to see the guys in masks running from a ladder leading up to the bank. I chased them until the cops revealed themselves.

"SCPD! Don't move!" they ordered. One of the robbers opened fire on the cops as I got a good angle on them. I threw one of my knives at their guns, knocking it from his hand as the bag with the money slid to me and was wrapped in Oliver's ties. I went for the bag, but the robbers go to it first. I kicked the first one out of the way while knocking the other two back and dodging bullets. Whoever once told me I couldn't multi-task was a born liar. The robbers ran from me and I rose to see Oliver with the cops pouring in behind him. I nodded to him as he turned and fired an arrow at the power box making it spark and allowing us to disappear. We hid and watched the cops run after them.

"I should add "personal Internet researcher for Oliver Queen" to my job title." Felicity Smoke said as she looked up Oliver's request once more. "Happily, I mean."

"His name is Derek Reston." Oliver told her the father's name. "We were close before I went away. And I want to get back in touch."

"I guess you didn't have Facebook on that island." She joked.

"Nope." Diggle answered. "Not even a MySpace account. It was a very dark time."

"Well, there's not much here that's recent." She told us. "No credit activity. No utility bills. Well, I guess you guys must have met at the factory."

"Wait. What-what factory?" Oliver asked her.

"The Queen Steel Factory. Derek Reston worked there for 15 years until it shut down in '07." Felicity told him.

"Derek Reston worked for my father?" Oliver asked.

"You weren't really close friends, huh?" she asked him before looking back down at her tablet. "It looks like Derek was the factory Foreman until your dad outsourced production to China. About 1,500 employees got laid off. Looks like the finance guys even found a loophole in the union contract, so, they didn't have to pay severance packages and pensions to their employees. They all pretty much lost their homes. Including your friend." Oliver stood up and started out of the office after that.

"The Restons just got home after 5 years of being away. Those factory guys hung out at a bar after work. I'm going down there. Hopefully Derek Reston wants to take a stroll down memory lane." Oliver told us.

"And if by some miracle Reston's there?" Diggle asked.

"I'm gonna give him the chance to do the right thing." Oliver answered.

"Oliver, he already had his chance to do the right thing." Diggle told him. "It's called not being a criminal."

"This is happening because of my father." Oliver reminded him. "Because of my family."

"No. You're worried about the wrong thing." Diggle told him. It's not your fault. The Restons aren't the victims."

"They were once and then they had to resort to being criminals." I told him.

"My family stole from this city." Oliver reminded him. "They hurt the people in it. And I am hell-bent on making that right. For Derek Reston, that means giving him the chance to make it right."

That afternoon, I waited for Oliver to come back to the factory before turning the bug he'd planted on so we could hear what the Restons decided.

"I've been thinking, baby, maybe you were right. Maybe it's time to hang it up, retire." Derek told his wife.

"But Kyle says we do one more or he'll go out on his own." She told him.

"Well, if that's what he wants to do, that's his right, but you and me and Teddy, we're out." He said.

"I want to quit, too, but I am not leaving without Kyle." She said standing her ground.

"What's this?" Diggle asked walking up to us.

"I dropped a bug in Derek Reston's jacket." Oliver told him.

"I thought you were going to give the man a second chance." Diggle said.

"That's what I believe in." Oliver told him.

"We also believe in covering all our bases." I told him.

"Derek, we can't abandon our son." Derek's wife told him. After all this time, we wants to end up a winner. Set for life. Otherwise what was the point?"

"All right." He relented. "One more."

"Now what?" Diggle asked.

"We take them down." Oliver answered.

That night, we went to the fundraiser Tommy had planned with Laurel for CNRI.

"Monitor the Restons with this." Oliver told Diggle. "When you get a line on their plans, we move."

"And you're gonna do another abrupt exit?" Diggle asked.

"It'll be difficult with both our families here." I reminded him.

"We're getting better at it with practice." He told me and I shook my head before going inside on his arm. My dad made a beeline for us once he spotted us.

"I'd run if I were you." I told Oliver. "He seems to think you might get me into some trouble."

"I would never get you into trouble." He told me and I laughed as he went to find his family.

"Ashlee." My dad greeted hugging me.

"Hey daddy." I greeted. "I didn't know you'd be here."

"Well it is my company getting the credit and paying for everything." He reminded me.

"True." I nodded.

"I haven't seen you at home lately. Where've you been?" he asked me.

"I've been with Oliver getting things ready to start on the nightclub we planned on opening." I lied.

"And that it?" he asked me. "Nothing else."

"You know, you and Robert always joked about me and Oliver getting married one day and joining the companies and our names. What happened to that?" I asked him.

"Ma'am." I turned to see Diggle next to me. "Redwood United Bank. Gonna try a nighttime hit." He whispered in my ear.

"I have to go." I told my dad before turning with Diggle and leaving the fundraiser. Oliver and I left and changed before going to the bank.

Once at the bank, I saw the guard on the ground knocked out.

"Have to find another way in." I told him. we went to the roof and dropped in through the access there.

"Kyle Reston." Oliver said once we saw him. Oliver fired an arrow at him but he guarded with a riot shield.

"I came prepared." He told us. He fired at us and we ran for cover behind the desk. We moved quickly out of his sights quickly and quietly. He turned around in a circle before seeing us. Oliver fired an arrow at him and it hit home. "Uhh! Uhh! Uhh!" he broke the arrow and came at us again. Oliver fired another arrow but it hit the shield seconds before he ran into us, running us through multiple panes of glass. He attacked Oliver with the shield before I kicked him into a nearby plant. Oliver, gaining the upper hand on Kyle, kicked him back, using the shield he'd used against us. Kyle tried defending with the shield again but I moved it out of the way as Oliver kicked him back. Suddenly I saw the knocked out guard standing and pointing a shot gun at us.

"No, we got this." I told him. Derek ran out of the vault area and Oliver fired an arrow at his gun.

"Drop your weapon! Now!" the guard ordered, but DErek attacked him and he fired another shot as Oliver knocked Kyle out.

"Call an ambulance." I told the guard rushing to Derek's side. "Now!" the guard left to do as I said as I moved the mask from Derek's face.

"Kyle! Kyle." Derek said as Oliver removed his hood.

"He's okay." Oliver told him. "He's just knocked out."

"It wasn't his fault." Derek defended. "I turned my son into this." We stayed with him until he died and we had to leave before the guard came back.

Oliver was sitting at the desk in front of his arrows staring at his hands when and hadn't moved since we'd gotten back.

"What went down wasn't your fault." Diggle told him.

"I didn't say it was." Oliver countered.

"You're acting like you think it was." I told him.

"Oliver, it wasn't your fault, man." Diggle said again. :You gave Reston a chance. That was more than he deserved."

"I'm not so sure about that." Oliver told him.

"Well, listen, I'll tell you this much. You say going after the guys on that list is the way you honored your dad? Well, if your dad could have seen you this week, the way you cared about the people he had hurt, the way you stepped up to try to help them, I'd say he'd be pretty damn honored. So maybe there is more than one way to save this city?" Diggle asked him.

"Maybe." Oliver agreed.

"By the way, Stan Washington woke up. He's going to be fine." Diggle told us before walking out.

I woke in front of the fire to Oliver gasping awake. He took another page from his father's journal and went to burn it when we saw names appear on it.

"What's that?" I asked him.

"My responsibility." He told me. "I promise, Dad. I promise."