Here is chapter eight! Marla decides to, unknowingly, give Barry a little extra stress.

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I do not own CW's Flash or any character's or places mentioned.

Chapter Eight

A Date with the Arrow

Barry

I hurried over to Star City, almost screeching to a halt under the bridge.

"Gotta say, man, I really appreciate you calling me before you handed her over to the SCPD." I greeted Oliver.

He glared at Marla from behind his mask before turning to me, "She told me to call you. Said something about a deal?"

I sighed, "She doesn't tell anyone who I really am, she doesn't go to prison. 'Course the deal is null and void if she hurts or kills anyone."

Oliver scoffed, "How the hell is your identity still secret? It's as if one more person knows it everytime I see you." He sighed before cutting Marla loose, "Keep her out of my city or, next time, I will put an arrow in her."

Ten Hours Earlier

Marla

A week after my latest heist, I was spending time in the safe house. I was scrolling on my phone when I came across a story about the Green Arrow.

"Hey, Hartley." He didn't bother to look up at me, "Who do you think the Green Arrow is?"

"Don't know. I don't live in Star City, so I really don't care."

"But, if you had to guess…"

"Don't know, don't care."

Mark sat down next to him, "What don't we care about?"

"Who do you think the Green Arrow is?"

He shrugged, "No idea, not sure if I want to find out."

Shawna laughed as she sat down between us, "Oh don't tell me that the all-powerful Weather Wizard is afraid of Robin Hood." She teased.

He shook his head, giving her a playful glare, "I've heard the guy has gone up against the worst of the worst, including Meta humans. So, don't mind me if I'm a little hesitant to go to Star City." He turned to me, "Who do you think he is?"

I smiled, "Oliver Queen."

Shawna scoffed, "Seriously, the shipwrecked rich kid? Didn't he pass a polygraph or something?"

I shrugged, "Dude came back after five years away, over twenty percent of his body covered in scar tissue and broken bones that never healed properly, and you want me to believe he never learned how to keep his heart rate steady enough to pass a stupid lie detector?"

"Hmm, I'm with Shawna on this one." Mark said, "I don't see Queen being the Green Arrow."

I turned back to Hartley, "C'mon, Hart! You've gotta have some theory about the Green Arrow in that supposedly genius brain of yours."

He groaned and glared at me slightly from above his laptop, "If I contribute to this pointless conversation, will you all go away?"

I laughed, "Sure, whatever you want."

He sighed, "First of all, my brain is not supposedly genius, it is genius. Second of all, I can see how you would think Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow. And yet, he's too self-absorbed to be the Green Arrow, not to mention I think that people would know if the Mayor of Star City was running around in a green hood."

"But who do you think he is?" I pressed.

He took a deep breath, "Like I said, I don't know and I don't care. There, I've lowered my standards and contributed to your conversation. Now, leave me in peace."

Nodding my head to the side, the three of us left Hartley to do whatever it was that he was doing.

About ten minutes later, Shawna and I were shoving our faces with pastries from the bakery, something that had become almost weekly for us.
"So," Shawna swallowed down her cannoli, "Why the sudden interest in the Green Arrow?"

I shrugged, "I was thinking about going to Star City, see if he's really as good as people say."

Shawna laughed, "One, you're funeral. Two, good luck getting Snart to agree with that."

I rolled my eyes and took a bite out of my brownie, "Whatever."

"Fine. Enjoy yourself in Star City, just be back before the weekend."

I blinked in surprise as Leonard barely turned around, "Seriously? That's it?" I let out a breath, "I thought it would be harder to convince you."

He hummed, "Just remember that when he catches you, and he will catch you, to tell him to give Barry a call first. They're buddy-buddy, so he'll probably let you leave with him. Got it?"

I nodded, "Sounds good. See you later."

Shaking my head in disbelief, I walked out of the room and passed by Shawna.

"Told you he wouldn't let you go."

I laughed slightly before replying, "Actually, he agreed. Quite easily, actually." I smiled widely as her mouth dropped, "I gotta pack." I raised my hand in a lazy wave, "See you by the weekend."

Once I was back home, I called Mark to let him know what was going on.

But, of course, he didn't pick up.

"This is Mardon. If you're not in the Rogues, I'm not really sure how you got this number. If you are, you better have a good reason for calling."

I rolled my eyes as the beep sounded, "Hey, Mark. I don't know if Shawna's told you yet, but I'm heading to Star City for a few days. Just wanted to fill you in, you know, in case you want to pull a job or something." I blew my bangs out of my face, "I'll see you by the weekend."

Hanging up, I walked over to the closet in my living room and pulled out a black backpack. I packed some clothes along with my jacket and wig before heading out the door.

Once I was on the train, I put in my earbuds and shuffled my playlist.

When I was about halfway through the ride, I got a call from Mark.

"Hey! What's up?" I greeted, cheerily.

"'What's up?!' You call to tell me that you're goin' to Star City the day we were talking about who the Green Arrow is, and you greet me with 'What's up?!'"

I laughed, "Uh, yeah!"

"This isn't funny, Marla! What the hell are you thinking?!"

"I'm thinking that I want to see the guy in action. If it makes you feel better, I'm not going to interact with him. Or, well, at least I'll try not to."

"It doesn't!"

"Why are you so pissed about this? It's just for a couple of days."

"Because the Green Arrow doesn't take kindly to Metas. Odds are you're gonna end up with an arrow in you!"

"I'll be fine, Mark, seriously. You know me, I'm very careful."

I could practically hear the eye roll, "Don't make promises you can't keep, McKinnon." He sighed, "I want you to call me every couple hours. Y'know, so I know you're not dead."

I scoffed with an eye roll, "Whatever, Dad."

By the time I arrived in Star City, it was almost six o'clock.

Making sure my wig and mask were secure, I entered the streets, doing whatever I could think of to try to catch the Arrow in action. I wandered the city for roughly an hour, possibly more, before I started getting frustrated.

I huffed, "The guy literally swings around like Tarzan! How hard can he possibly be to find?!"

Just as I was about to give up and go find a motel for the night, I saw a guy running from the opposite direction, looking over his shoulder every few seconds.

Just as he was about to reach me, I heard an arrow being fired and saw the guy being wrapped up by some kind of cord.

A moment later, the Green Arrow landed on the ground.

"L-look, I-I promise I'll return what I stole! C'mon, man!"

"You should have thought of that before." With a swift punch, the Arrow knocked him out.

Letting out a quiet "huh," I quickly left the alley. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was following me. Though I couldn't see him, I could feel his eyes on me, watching my every move.

Walking down a deserted alleyway, I made it obvious that I knew what he was doing.

"Y'know, if you're gonna follow someone, make sure they don't feel your stare burning a hole in their skull."

"Who are you?" He demanded.

Smirking slightly, I turned around. This time, I was able to get a better look at him.

His suit definitely had gotten and upgrade since the last time someone managed to get a picture of him. He bow also seemed to be new and improved, complete with, what looked to be, non-lethal arrows.

Like the one he had aimed at me.

I held my hands up in peace, but I was ready to tap the play button on my smartwatch in order to make my getaway if needed.

"I'm just a curious tourist, I wanted to see if you were really all that." I shrugged my shoulders, "I also wanted to see if I could figure out who you are. I've got my suspicions, though."

Moving my left leg back slowly, I took a deep breath as I prepared to make a run for it. I knew I wouldn't be able to outrun him, not on his turf, but I would do better than when I "tried" to outrun Barry.

"Does this mean you're not from here?"

I smiled, preparing to run, "Nope. I'm from Central."

I spun on my heel and made a break for it. Sprinting down the alley, I made several random turns before finding myself faced with a chain link fence. Climbing over as quickly as I could, I found myself running under a bridge that was covered in graffiti.

'Huh. Must've made it to the Glades.' My lungs started to feel like they were burning, 'He hasn't caught up to me, yet? Does this mean I actually lost him?!'

It seemed my thoughts were in vain as I heard a bow being pulled back before an arrow fired. Seconds later, I found myself tied to a lamp post. The Green Arrow sped past me on his bike before parking it a few feet away. Once he was off, he stalked over to me.

"I'm going to ask you this one more time." He growled, "Who the hell are you?"

I grinned cheekily, "Name's Siren."

Though I couldn't tell because of the hood, I was almost positive that he rolled his eyes.

"You said you were from Central City. Are you a Metahuman?"

I scoffed, "Isn't everyone?" I sighed as he drew back his bow, "Yeah, I am."

He pressed a hand to his chest, "Overwatch. Tell the SCPD that there's a Meta waiting to be picked up under the bridge on the outskirts of the Glades."

I sucked in a breath, "You might wanna call the Flash before you do that. I'm assuming you guys are friends."

He scoffed, "Why would I do that?"

"We've got a deal. You might unknowingly break it."

He sighed before pressing his chest again, "Overwatch."

Barry

I was enjoying the weekly family dinner with Joe, Iris, Wally, Caitlin, Cisco, and my dad when my phone rang.

Joe waved his fork at me as I moved to answer it, "You know the rules, no phones until after dinner."

I sputtered, "It could be Flash related."

Cisco shoved some pasta in his mouth, "Dude, I swear I haven't gotten an alert. We're fine."

Sighing, I put my phone on the table, face down.

"Thank you."

A second later, it began ringing again.

Flipping it over, I picked it up, confused, "Oliver?" That caught everyone's attention. "What's going on? Is everything okay?"

My eyes narrowed in confusion when I realized his voice distorter was on, "You know I wouldn't call unless it was necessary." He sighed, "I've got a Meta here, said I should call you before I bring in the SCPD."

I blinked a couple times, "A Meta told you to call me? Wait. There's a Meta in Star City?"

"Yeah. Said her name is Siren." My eyes widened. "She said-"

"I'm heading there now. Where are you?"

"Under the bridge on the outskirts of the Glades."

Hanging up quickly, I grabbed my jacket off the back of my chair.

"I'll be right back."

"Hold up!" I looked back at Cisco, "What's goin' on, man? What'd Oliver want?"

I sighed, "Siren decided to visit Star City. I gotta grab her before he turns her over to the SCPD."

He scoffed, "Good luck with that. Have fun with an Oliver lecture."

Rolling my eyes, I sped out of the house. After grabbing my suit, I hurried over to Star City, almost screeching to a halt under the bridge.

"Gotta say, man, I really appreciate you calling me before you handed her over to the SCPD." I greeted Oliver.

He glared at Marla from behind his mask before turning to me, "She told me to call you. Said something about a deal?"

I sighed, "She doesn't tell anyone who I really am, she doesn't go to prison. 'Course the deal is null and void if she hurts or kills anyone."

Oliver scoffed, "How the hell is your identity still secret? It's as if one more person knows it everytime I see you." He sighed before cutting Marla loose, "Keep her out of my city or, next time, I will put an arrow in her."

Grabbing her arm, I gave Marla a pointed look, "Don't worry, I will. Thanks again, man."

Getting on his bike, we watched Oliver leave.

Marla sighed, "Damn, he really is scary."

I let out a low growl before making her face me, "What the hell were you thinking?!"

She rolled her eyes, "Relax, Lightning Boy, I knew everything would work out just fine."

"And what if it hadn't? I almost didn't pick up the phone!"
She sighed, "I would've told Snart not to spill your name. After all, you wouldn't have been the one to arrest me."

I took a deep breath before running us to S.T.A.R Labs. I made her sit in a chair before pulling up one for myself once I was out of the suit, "What made you decide to go to Star City?"

She shrugged, "I wanted to see the Green Arrow in action, see for myself if he was as good as people say."

I scoffed, "And that was it? You really expect me to believe that?"

"What else would I have done?"

"Robbed one of their banks."

She rolled her eyes before peeling off her mask, "I literally just pulled a job. I don't need to pull another one for at least three months."

Pulling off her wig, her brown hair tumbled over her shoulders, allowing me to see that the tips of her hair were dyed blue. I couldn't help my smile.

"What?" She asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

I shook my head, "Just realized why you started wearing the wig." I gestured to her hair, "Someone could ID you by your hair."

She shrugged, "Snart's idea."

"Of course it was."

After a few minutes of silence, Marla yawned and stretched her arms over her head.

"Ugh, I'm beat." She gave me a sweet smile, "Mind giving me a lift home."

Rolling my eyes, I smiled back, "What's the address?"

When she gave it to me, I was quick to pick her up and run her over.

She laughed lightly as I placed her feet back down on the ground, "Wow, talk about a rush." She said, breathless.

I cleared my throat, "That's a new one, most people feel sick after."

She nodded with a hum, "I can see that. Thanks for the lift. Not gonna lie, I wasn't actually expecting you to do that."

I smiled softly, "What kind of hero would I be if I let you walk home late at night after you tried to outrun the Green Arrow?"

She laughed again before she smiled sheepishly, "I'm sorry if I got you into trouble with him. He seemed pissed that someone knew your secret."

I shrugged while shaking my head, "Don't be, he's always worried about something like that when it comes to me. He thinks I'm too naive for the job."

"Maybe he's too pessimistic."

I laughed, "Maybe." Sighing, I jerked my thumb behind me, "I should get going."

"See you around, Lightning Boy."

"Bye, Siren."

Kicking up a gust of wind behind me, I ran back over to Joe's and back to my seat at the table.

"Gotta say," Wally started, "you were gone longer than expected."

I shrugged, "I wanted to find out why she decided to go to Star City. Took her home after." I piled more food onto my plate, "Man, I'm starving."

All right, so a little Barry-Marla bonding time! Here's a sneak peak into the next chapter!

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why am I looking at a bullet and why is Siren here?"

As always, reviews are welcome and constructive criticism is appreciated.

See you next time!

Also, due to the fact that I have missed the past two Saturdays, I am going to be posting two more chapters alongside this one.