Disclaimer - I do not own Twilight, Arrow (DC Comics), or any of its characters.
A/N - This chapter contains some ass-kicking (Superhero Bella! Woo) and mentions of suicidal thoughts.
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Arrow
Part 2
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As the scene changed and momentarily went to black, Alice turned her head to the ceiling. "Calista?"
"Yes, Alice?"
"Do you know when this vision is set?"
"Yes."
There was no additional response and Alice huffed. "Can you tell us?"
Calista sighed. "I suppose." Another brief pause, which seemed to be her schtick. "2013."
Jasper quickly did the math in his head, and he turned to his father, smirking. "Why, Carlisle, she's older than you."
It was a strange concept that none of them could wrap their heads around. They knew that if she wasn't going to be changed, then she'd grow old. The thought hadn't exactly crossed their minds that it wouldn't be long before she was older than even the Cullen parents.
For some reason, that made it more real.
Bella made it back to the lair with her helmet in her hands. Her hair, no longer restrained, flew about her as she marched in. Felicity had moved from her desk, which made her scowl. She wasn't up for a goose chase. The sooner the woman faced her, the sooner they could reconcile.
Oliver came in behind her and caught her expression in the dark, reflective computer screen. He laughed.
She turned to him, scowl deepening. "What?" she barked.
"This is what Dig says I look like when I'm angry," he said amusedly. Then, he called, "Dig! Come here!"
The man himself wandered over from where he'd been exercising with the legendary ladder. He'd taken it upon himself to exercise with it daily, just to prove to Oliver that he could. As such, Diggle was currently dripping with sweat. "What?"
Oliver crossed his arms and leaned against the desk comfortably. "Look at her and tell me who you're reminded of."
Diggle turned to her and assumed a similar position, crossing his arms as he surveyed her with squinted eyes. After a moment, he said, "You."
Here, the infamous Queen boy laughed triumphantly. He clapped his friend on the back and looked at her. "Told you!"
Meanwhile, Bella glared at them both. She decided to ignore their antics and the rarity of Oliver's laughter, and put her focus on more pressing matters. She turned to Diggle. "Where's Felicity?"
Any humor vanished from his face instantly. "She said she needed a drink."
Her eyes blew open wide and Oliver stood straighter. "Is she okay?" he asked in surprise. They both struggled to think of another reason why their blonde tech-y friend would need to find consolidation in alcohol.
Diggle shrugged, which made them more concerned. He looked at Bella. "She's upstairs." Feeling as if it needed to be said, he added, "Don't go up there if you're gonna yell at her. She needs a friend, not another Oliver."
"Hey!" scoffed the aforementioned man.
Bella nodded and turned away from them. Behind her, she heard Diggle say to Oliver, "You and me need to talk."
She veered to the left in the direction of the bathroom. Bella couldn't very well go into the club dressed as her notorious vigilante persona. Though she made a point not to kill, she did aid the wanted Arrow in his murdering escapades and broke a few laws of her own. She was on the SCPD's radar. How nice it would be and what an easy life she would lead if vigilantism wasn't illegal.
"Or, you know, she could just not turn to a life of crime-fighting," Rosalie huffed.
Jasper smirked at her annoyance. "Saving lives runs in Bella's blood, you know."
She doubted the cops even noticed how Oliver didn't kill as much as he used to. When they came back from Lian Yu, she hadn't joined him right away. Starling City needed time to acclimate to one vigilante before they had a second one. Two at once likely would've overwhelmed everyone.
Bella had known Oliver was the Arrow from the very beginning. How could she not? It had been a heavily discussed topic while they were on the island. But it wasn't until a few months after they got back when she felt she had a place to make her opinions known. Soon after that, she officially became Starling's second vigilante. And, she also served as Oliver's moral compass.
The Phoenix was the light to the Arrow's darkness.
Once she changed into her street clothes, Bella scaled the steep steps and used the 'kitchen' entrance to the club. Her eyes honed in on Felicity the moment she came through the door.
Her hair was still in its iconic ponytail. That was about the only thing that matched Felicity from this morning. She'd taken out her earrings. Her face had been scrubbed clean of makeup. Her glasses were nowhere to be seen, and the absence of the lenses highlighted the redness around her eyes.
Bella couldn't tell from where she stood if it was because of intoxication or if she'd been crying.
There was only one way to find out.
She approached Felicity and slid into the seat next to her. Surprisingly, the woman took no notice of her as she played with her shot glass, continuously flipping it again and again between her fingers.
Bella shelved her anger from earlier. Clearly, there were more important things to be addressed. "Felicity?" she said tentatively.
The blonde woman stiffened and her fingers froze. "What do you want, Phoenix?" she nearly hissed. Bella was truly concerned, for this kind of behavior was extremely out of character for her; Felicity never dared to risk neither her nor Oliver's identities in public. "Did you come here to yell at me? Tell me how terrible I am at my job?"
She swallowed. "No."
Felicity set her glass down and raised her head, turning to her. Though she was clearly upset, she raised her eyebrows defiantly. "'You can explain to me later why you're incapable of doing your job'," she quoted.
"Yes," she said slowly and reluctantly. She'd uttered those words in her anger, but she was only sorry they hurt her friend. "But that's not why I'm here now." Then, she asked what was perhaps the most common, juvenile question, "What's wrong?"
The woman next to her laughed. "Oh, I don't know, only my father contacting me for the first time in nearly two decades. No biggie."
Bella was well aware of who Felicity's father was. He was a cyber-criminal wanted by the FBI, but more importantly, he abandoned her friend when she was too young to truly understand why he suddenly disappeared. She felt a rush of anger and struggled to keep it from showing.
Forcing the rage out of her voice, she forced herself to ask- calmly, "What did he want?"
Here, Felicity leaned forward and fiddled with the glass again. It was a few seconds before she sighed and turned to her, disbelief painted across her face. "He said he wanted to know me." She gave a little laugh, as if the very idea was pure insanity.
Though Alice didn't know the woman, she frowned as she thought of how strained relations must be. She couldn't imagine not knowing her father.
In that moment, it completely escaped her mind that she didn't remember anything from her past and therefore didn't know her human father. With all she knew about her life before vampirism, her relationship with her father could've been just as tense.
Which Bella was sure it was. She thought the man just needed something from his daughter. But she didn't say anything because Felicity's thoughts were the only ones that mattered. Even if she had an inkling that her friend would end up hurting, she knew it was the blonde's decision to make. Besides, not having closure on this sort of thing had the potential to gnaw at a person.
"Well," she broached carefully. "What do you think?"
"What do I think?" Felicity repeated. She huffed and scoffed all at once. "I think that man is delusional if he thinks he can walk back into my life after twenty years. Well, seventeen years, but who's counting?" She paused. "Who does that? Who abandons their family and lives perfectly content on their own for so long, and then contacts them out of the blue?"
That wasn't exactly their situation, but it was similar enough that it sent a wave of guilt crashing over them. Knowing they shared things in common with a wanted man who'd left his family didn't sit well with any of the Cullens.
"If it's any consolation," Edward said, even though he knew he was the last person who should've spoken, "None of us were happy. None of us, and I mean none, are like that man."
His little speech seemed to remind the family that he cared about them, which was a fact his siblings had managed to forget in their anger. Though he had every right to think only about Bella, he still tried to console them and show them that they aren't what they might've thought.
In their eyes, Edward was starting to become Edward again, instead of the irrational boy who'd forced them to leave.
Detecting her inevitable spiral, Bella said gently, "You cared about him. And since he's waited so long to contact you, what he has to say might be important. If it was life or death important, though, I think he would find a way to shoot you an email. I mean-"
Felicity looked at her, a smile tugging at her lips. "You're rambling," she said with a sparkle of amusement in her eyes. Bella was glad to see it. "You don't ramble. That's my thing."
"Ha!" Emmett laughed. "She's funny. 'You don't ramble.' Sure, lady. And I'm not a vampire."
"You can share."
"Oo-kayy." She sighed. "What do you think he'll do if I don't talk to him? He's a criminal computer genius who is used to hacking at his digital whims."
"How did he tell you he wanted to know you?" asked Bella, who thought that maybe he'd use the same interface to contact her again. Or maybe not. Technology was never her thing.
Felicity flushed. "Uhm. I got the message while you were heading to your mission. It completely covered the map and it wouldn't go away."
Nodding, Bella finally realized why Felicity had been so distracted earlier. Now, she truly regretted her words. "I'm sorry," she muttered, finding the act of apologizing a hit to her pride. "For what I said earlier."
The blonde nodded. "Thank you." Not knowing what else to say, she took her elbows off the countertop and pulled her hair loose from its ponytail.
The duo sat in companionable silence for several minutes, each lost to her own thoughts.
"You're not alone, Felicity," Bella said quietly, but the severity of her tone had the woman turning to her instantly. "If you decide to talk to him, I'll be there if you want me to. If you decide you don't want to talk to him, I'll be there if he retaliates."
"I'm guessing the second option is non-negotiable?"
Bella smiled somewhat apologetically. "He is a wanted criminal."
"We get it!" exclaimed Esme in good humor. "He's a criminal. You can stop emphasizing this fact!"
Carlisle chuckled at his wife's annoyance. "Well, honey, I think the vision's worried we might not get the point," he joked, to the amazement of the others. He noticed their reactions but didn't comment on it, rolling his eyes good-naturedly.
Felicity sighed. "Can we move this to the basement? This conversation is moving into-" she looked to her left, then her right. She lowered her voice. "-team business."
The women made their way back downstairs and found Oliver and Diggle hunched over Felicity's desk. They hushed immediately, which made Bella roll her eyes. Though the two men were friends, she knew they didn't have much to discuss as they were still trying to find things they had in common. As of yet, the only thing shared between them was the fact that they had seen and been through some serious shit.
So, they were either talking about Oliver's previously unmentioned experience on Lian Yu and Diggle's Afghanistan tours, or they were talking about a new threat. A threat that they believed was better to be discussed in private, which meant that they hadn't wanted Felicity or her, but mainly Felicity, to hear.
Bella quickly came to the conclusion that the conversation she and her friend had upstairs was extremely reminiscent of the talk between Oliver and Diggle.
The men separated and tried to pretend like they weren't purposefully keeping them in the dark.
Diggle glanced at Oliver, silently communicating his desire to share what they'd discussed. After a shrug from the latter, which all but told him he was in this alone, Diggle said, "Felicity, we have reason to believe your f-"
Funny enough, their tech genius had chosen that exact moment to speak, too lost in her thoughts to catch the exchange. "My fath-"
All four of them laughed and the tension quickly dissipated with the knowledge that everyone was already somehow in the know.
"So, what do you want to do?" Oliver asked.
Felicity paused, thinking over her decision, then she said, "I don't want him back in my life, but I would like to hear his explanation."
The three others nodded. Diggle rolled his neck, listening to it pop. "How do you want to do it?"
She shrugged. "I thought it went unsaid that we'd meet in person. But, I guess we do have to tell him I'm willing to talk before anything can happen."
"Luckily, you can save your breath," cut in an unknown voice.
The four occupants of the room froze, and their hearts seemed to stop in sync before they realized he wasn't a physical threat. They turned to Felicity's computer, where the face of a simple middle-aged man smiled. The background was completely black and his shirt was the same color, so it looked as if he was just a floating head.
Of course, Emmett laughed at the display.
"I don't trust him," Esme said right away.
Jasper remembered how she had felt about Klaus. As if internal warning signs had blared at the sight of him. He remembered how he told himself he'd keep an eye out for any more signs of that.
"Bad news?" he asked, knowing he didn't have to elaborate if her face was any indication.
She nodded.
What intrigued Jasper the most was her ability to detect danger even through visions of the future. On a TV screen nonetheless.
At this point, he thought it was safe to say that his mother had a gift after all. It made sense, given her past. He wondered if she knew.
If she didn't, it was clear that Carlisle did, for he showed a surprising lack of his usual inquisitiveness towards Esme's newfound ability.
"I couldn't help from overhearing your conversation, but I think you will all feel most comfortable if we chat this way," the man continued.
"'We'?" Bella asked, suspicious of this man. Even if he renounced his criminal lifestyle, she still wasn't too happy that he had abandoned his wife and daughter.
The man shifted his gaze to her and narrowed his eyes. "Yes, girl. We," he barked. Then, as if realizing his tone, his expression softened. "It's become clear to me that the best way to know my daughter is to know the people in her life."
Something about his voice didn't sit well with her. It felt as if he was using it as a cover to fish for information. Bella scowled. He noticed and he turned away from her, swallowing the insult she knew he wanted to say.
His eyes were on Oliver now. The eagerness that glinted in those malicious orbs told Bella all she needed to know. He was fishing for information and he clearly thought Oliver was a weak link. "You're the Queen boy, I presume."
Her friend's face was stone cold. At least she didn't have to worry about him; he didn't like Felicity's father either. "You're the Calculator." He added, mockingly, "I presume."
The Calculator - seriously, what a horrible villain name - frowned. Obviously, he'd expected the conversation to go in a completely different direction. Bella smirked to herself. It always pleased her when she could ruin the bad guy's plans.
It seemed as if he was willing to overlook their hostility as he turned to his left. "And you must be John."
Everyone who wasn't Diggle tucked in their lips as they tried to hold in their laughter. The man himself had a shadow cast across his face. "It's either 'Sir' or 'Diggle'," he said brusquely.
The man raised his hands defensively. "You're a touchy man, John."
And just like that, the computer screen had a Dig-sized hole in it. Seething, he clenched his bleeding knuckles. "I'm gonna kill him."
"I'll help," Oliver muttered darkly.
"Don't strain yourselves, boys," cut in a bored yet perfectly soothing voice. "I've got this."
"Oh, finally!" Alice shrieked. She latched both arms around Jasper's and shook him excitedly.
Surprised, Edward's hand dropped from where he'd been leaning on it. Of all the people who could've made an appearance, why did it have to be her?
Everyone present spun around.
There, leaning against a support beam as she sat with her legs crossed on the railing, was Rosalie Hale.
Rosalie smirked to herself. Her family had popped up before, but the last time (which was a while ago), they'd shown up during the vision with the wolves and Denalis. That whole mess. This was the first solo appearance, however, and she was both shocked and happy that it was her.
While Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity immediately began baraging the blonde with questions, Bella stood frozen. It'd been several years since she'd seen any of them. But she did keep in touch with Rosalie after the Cullens left.
It did absolutely nothing to quell the utter shock she felt at her sudden appearance.
What did she want?
"Who are you?" Oliver demanded with a face that was quickly becoming red.
Rosalie kicked her legs over the railing one at a time with perfect poise. She dropped inches to the floor in absolute silence. Her eyes briefly flickered to Bella but did not settle. "A friend."
The answer brought Bella out of her daze. She narrowed her eyes. "Why are you here?"
Oliver, who was much in-tuned with his Lian-Yu-pal, instantly realized from her tone that this woman was not a stranger. His eyes darted between the two of them as he tried to figure out just how they knew each other.
"To help," she shrugged, smiling coyly.
Bella stared so hard at the enigma that was Rosalie Hale, and her eyes began to cross and her vision blurred. She relaxed her scowl. Shifting slightly, she spared a glance at Oliver, knowing he'd noticed the connection, silently asking him to get the others to leave.
She wanted to have this reunion in private, yet she was afraid of what would happen once her friends were gone.
He got the message and pressed a button on his watch that sent a call straight to his phone. The sound startled Felicity and Diggle, who turned their attention to Oliver as he pretended to take the call, adopting a fake concern. He looked at his two friends, giving them the nod that usually meant they had things to take care of, and all three promptly left the room.
Rosalie watched them go, bemused. "Effective," she commented.
Sighing, Bella looked at the ceiling as she tried to gather her composure. Realistically, she hadn't expected to hear from her, or any other Cullen, again. "What do you want, Rose?"
The blonde crossed her arms, and stated bluntly, "Edward's dead."
Her heart skipped a beat, and she snapped her head to Rosalie. "What?"
"Remember when we came back that first time?" she began. "When you leapt off that cliff, Alice misread the vision, I jumped the gun, and Edward thought you died?"
Bella, despite her inner emotions, raised her eyebrow in confusion. "What's the point of this trip down memory lane?"
Rosalie groaned to herself, wondering how she wasn't getting it. "He thought you died. He also thought you were his mate. Edward just couldn't live without you." She rolled her eyes.
Her mind began connecting the dots, and Bella's face dropped. The Cullens had left again because Edward had accidentally found his true mate.
"Geez," Emmett said. "It only took a million visions to tell us why we left again."
"This is ridiculous," muttered Edward. "We're wasting our time here, watching these visions. None of them can remotely be possible. Bella is my mate, so therefore we have no reason to leave again." It was nearly laughable, really.
Carlisle frowned. "Edward, son," he began carefully, knowing that his words might be in vain. "We have to consider all possibilities. There's a chance that Bella might not be the half to your who-"
"Don't finish that sentence, Carlisle," Edward growled, clutching the arms of his recliner as he gritted his teeth.
Carlisle shook his head, and Esme grabbed his hand, smiling at him sadly in support.
The only reason why Rosalie would be rehashing this memory would be if his actual mate died. "So, she's-"
Rose nodded. "Yeah."
"How?"
"The Volturi. It's a long story. But she's gone and he followed right after. I thought you should know." The mask Rosalie clung to like a vice began to slip. "I- I… After all my family and I have done to you, telling you is the least I could do."
"Uh- thank you? Th- thank you, Rose." Not knowing how else to react, she said, "How is everyone?"
"Devastated, of course. We all know that he never could've been happy without her, though. It was hard to accept, and it's harder to help the others come to terms with it." She tried to smile. "How are you?"
Bella opened her mouth. She closed it. Then, she dropped her chin to her chest. "I'm sorry, Rose, but I can't do this. I can't make small talk." She raised her head and shook her hair away from her face. "Thank you for telling me. About Edward. You should probably go back, though."
To her surprise, Rosalie smiled. Genuinely. "I'm not in a rush. Besides, I meant what I said. I want to help you take care of that guy."
Bluntly, Bella stated, "Having you here isn't easy. But it's not as hard as I thought it would be."
Rose nodded. "I know," she said quietly.
"If you really want to help, you can. I wouldn't be in the right frame of mind if I stopped you." The blonde's face brightened. "I think you should go home after we're done. I just- you of all people know how much anxiety and grief I went through because of Edward. I can't go back to that."
She nodded again. "I understand. However, I hope you don't mind that I brought along some help."
"Whoa, Bells!" boomed a voice from the stairwell, followed by thundering footsteps. "This place looks like an evil lair! Ooo. Are those exploding arrows like the ones in the Hungry Games?"
Bella glared at Rosalie, who smiled sheepishly.
The screen faded to black.
The Cullens, collectively, relaxed into their chairs. They sat in silence as they pondered the vision.
It was broken by Esme. "Hunger Games, dear," she said gently. When Emmett looked at her, his jaw dropped at her smirk.
"I'm pretty sure it's always been Hungry."
Jasper shook his head. "We had this conversation earlier, Emmett."
"Book titles aside," Alice smiled. "I don't think this one was that bad. She wasn't, like, evil."
"Or hunting the supernatural."
"Or possessing powers."
"Or sacrificing herself."
Esme said decisively, "It seems there is some good to these visions."
"Beyond that, I'm finding myself wanting to watch more," Carlisle chimed in.
Emmett threw his hands in the air. "Are you kidding me? Of all the shows we tried to convince you to binge, this is the one that interests you? Seriously?"
He only smiled impenitently.
A/N: I wanted to create a bit of a lighter atmosphere since the visions seem to be consistently comprised of dark themes. That was far from intentional, by the way.
I have a few ideas lined up for the next few visions. As it turns out, writing down every show I could remember watching was the best idea I've had to inspire myself for this fic. The next 'vision' will be Supernatural. And it will have Sam and Dean this time.
I'm going to write down the shows I have in mind for future 'visions'. Let me know what sounds interesting.
- Greys Anatomy, iZombie, Lucifer, First Kill, Gilmore Girls, Once Upon a Time (yes, I know, again. I love that show too much), Sweet Tooth, The Good Place, Pretty Little Liars, Alias, Glee, Avengers, Cadet Kelly, Enchanted, Descendants, Jessie, and Lab Rats. If you have any suggestions, drop a review or a PM; I might've left out a show or movie that I have seen.
16 - Written: 7/12/22-10/17/22
Posted - 10/19/22
:)
