Chapter 6:

Adrian Chase, otherwise known as Prometheus and Simon Morrison, was beyond pleased. Yet again, he was beating Oliver Queen at his own game. He had so many great plans; it was hard to choose which ones to embark on.

This newspaper article naming him "the Good Vigilante" was the perfect start to firmly destroying the Green Arrow's legacy. And all he had to do was use tranquilizer darts and save a feeble-minded woman from her own foolishness.

He could still kill when he wanted to since the Hood would be blamed. People were oh so easy to manipulate.

Max Fuller and his men were a breeze. Fuller was all for any reason to ruin Oliver's life, and the lackeys were brainless. Adam Hunt was also easy; he was forced to declare bankruptcy because Oliver stole his money. He was more than eager to join Chase's team. Rene Ramirez was a little bit harder. He manipulated Chase into paying over $5,000 of his daughter's medical bills. Thank goodness for mother and her generous payment of father's hush money. Helena Bertinelli was the hardest. She refused to help out until she settled her score with her father. Oh well, she'll miss out on all the fun. Chase had more important ambitions than someone else's revenge.

Plus, he was well on his way to turning Laurel Lance against the Hood. The pathetic woman was currently lying in a hospital bed, thanking him for his rescue. He was in his makeshift Prometheus costume of a black shirt, hood and three-hole knitted face mask. He was waiting for Hunt's fashion contacts to create a brand-new costume that was made from the finest Kevlar.

"I'm surprised you came. I'm sure you have other criminals to stop." Laurel lacked the audacity of his courageous Black Siren. So boring.

"I can take a few hours off. Besides, I wanted to see if you like to have dinner after you recover." Chase had decided that romance with Oliver's former flame was the perfect plan. He could try it out with dear Felicity Smoak, but she was currently a stranger to past Oliver. He preferred to ensure her demise before she became an integral part in the Green Arrow's legacy.

Laurel lips curled upwards. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm not interested in dating anyone right now. Especially not someone wearing a mask the whole time."

"It won't be a date." It would be one. One she could gush about to Oliver. Make his nemesis jealous. Something fun to get him through the next few days at his soul-sucking job. He missed being an attorney, but his old job provided a different avenue for revenge. "It will be a dinner between friends at a friend's safe house"

Laurel squirmed in the hospital bed. Why was she acting so reluctant?

"I did save your life. Please, my siren. This is the opportunity of a lifetime." Her brown eyes widened, and he saw the beginnings of lust. His Doris had given him that same gaze so many times. Damn, Oliver for causing his Doris's death.

"Siren? Why did you call me that?"

Perfect. He made her intrigued. He was going to ease her into the idea during their date. But this was a perfect segue. "I was thinking of you joining my team to help people against the rich criminals in the city. I could train you into becoming the Black Siren. My right-hand woman."

Laurel blinked. "I've got no interest in being a vigilante. There're laws for a reason. I appreciate your help, I really do, but I'm not interested in joining you in blatantly disregarding the justice system. It's in place for a reason. To prevent people like you who act like they are above the law."

She was being ridiculous. She was supposed to say yes to the date and to the offer. Well, Chase was a master at persuading others. He just needed the right hook.

"What about when the laws work in favor of the Hunts and Somers of the world? Are you going to let them away with ruining lives because you are afraid of breaking the law?"

"I'm not interested in hiding behind a mask. I rather do my job and give my clients a fighting chance. Yes, sometimes I lose sometimes, and rich men may get a free pass, but at least I'm honest with the people I help. And I always offer the appeal option to my clients if justice isn't served."

Come on, Laurel. Give a hero a break. He needed her on his team. Someone who resembled his old one. Evie was too young to be useful, Talia lacked a motive to plot against Oliver and Digger was somewhere unreachable abroad.

"I was honest with you. I know that together we can help all those poor people in the Glades."

Laurel tilted her head. "I…"

"Sorry, I took so long. Traffic was packed." Quentin Lance announced outside Laurel's room. He tried to open the door. "Laurel? Why did you lock the door?"

Chase whispered in Laurel's ear. "Unlock it after I leave."

"Laurel!" Quentin called again. That arrogant bonehead was always trying to barge into places where he didn't belong. In some ways, Quentin was worse than Oliver. At least Oliver didn't pretend to follow outdated laws.

"Just a minute, dad," Laurel called as Chase opened the window. "I'm changing?"

"Ok. But don't take too long. I got you a sandwich from that deli you're always raving about. Best to eat it while it's hot."

Luckily the hospital room was on the second floor. Chase easily jumped to the ground.

It was tough to leave, but Chase was patient. He will visit her again tomorrow and get that dinner date finalized.

He could now wait around the hospital for when Oliver made his inevitable appearance. Chase wondered how his reunion with Samantha went. It was fun to make a fake phone call, and to take a picture of that woman and his nemesis's sister. He liked the subtlety of sending it first to Oliver's mother. While Chase wished the curse, he used to time-travel didn't have a clause that a woman on the opposing side would join him on the adventure (if only it could be a child), he was glad he could choose this unthreatening woman. Family drama was a hoot; well, when it wasn't your own family.

Guess Oliver decided that killing Somers and fighting the Triad was more important than his ex-girlfriend. Chase smirked as he watched the news report on the Hood's latest murders and threatening brutality. The reporter was warning the public to stay careful and report any sightings of the Hood. And Prometheus, damn. He had thought saving Star City's darling would be enough to make the city view him as a hero.

He will begin preparations for Plan B tomorrow. This time there would be no one questioning the fact that Prometheus was a hero. Well, maybe not Samantha since she knew the truth. But it is what it is. He could kill her but, currently, she has more uses. He couldn't wait to kidnap William again. He needed her to blame Oliver and to distract him.

Hmm, guess Oliver's sister, mother, and stepfather cared more about Laurel than Oliver. The three-some had just entered the hospital's waiting room; all three were far over-dressed for a hospital visit. The sister looked exactly as Chase remembered, teary-eyed and a tiny pipsqueak with a bob cut. The mother was stern and acting like she owned the hospital; who in their right mind gave orders to overworked medical workers? The stepfather bored Chase: he was acting too calm about a stressful situation.

He walked closer to the group, he needed to feel close to Oliver's family's reactions. He was practically family. After all, he and Oliver were brothers in terror.

"Please tell Laurel and Quentin we're here and will be happy to help. Pay medical bills, get her some magazines. It's their choice."

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but we don't relay messages to visitors and patients. Please contact them yourselves or wait for Detective Lance in the waiting room."

"He's not answering my messages."

"Mom," the sister cut in. "Let's just wait here. Quentin will be here eventually, and we can help him then."

The stepfather agreed and dragged the mother to a seat. The sister looked around the room and stopped to stare at Chase. Her eyes widened.

She wasn't reacting to him. Beneath his scruffy red wig and oval glasses, he was unrecognizable and unthreatening. Besides, the curse allowed only one other person to time travel with him.

"Tommy!" The sister shouted. Good. Chase was right. She was reacting to Oliver's best-friend before John Diggle. She ran to him and Laurel's co-worker at CNRI.

As the two Merylns hugged each other. The co-worker passed Chase's chair to speak to the receptionist. "I'm here to see Laurel Lance."

"You will have to wait until tomorrow. We are not letting anyone but family in right now."

Chase grinned. He was glad he decided to sneak into Laurel's room. Take that Deputy Mayor Lance.

"Miss," the best friend came up to the co-worker's side. The sister right at his heels. "Can you make an exception please, just this once? The three of us will be very discreet." The best friend leaned in and whispered something to the receptionist.

She blushed and nodded. "Sure. The three of you can visit your Uncle Teddy. He's in room 201-b."

"Thank you." The best friend grinned. "Until next time, baby."

After the three over-privileged snobs walked into the hallway, the receptionist started whistling and combing her hair with her fingers. What a love-struck fool.

The mother walked over to the receptionist. Here comes the reprimand!

"Thank you for letting them visit. They really care for Laurel, and my daughter really needed something good to happen today. So, thank you."

What the, the mother was supposed to be the queen of scolding the average man and women? This didn't fit into his study of Oliver's family.

Well, he will just note this as a rare exception. Chase was never wrong about a person.

Anyways, the waiting room was now boring. The mother had returned to the stepfather. Her head was now lying on the stepfather's shoulder. They were completely silent. It was time to listen in on the trio's conversation with Laurel.

It was easy to sneak past the receptionist. She was so overcome with her crush on the best friend that she didn't notice Chase.

"… again! Just give in sometimes, Laurel. It's not worth your life." A shrill female voice was yelling when he reached Laurel's hospital room.

"No, I know. It's scary to me too, but I couldn't let Somers get away with what he did to Emily's father and what he was doing to Emily." Laurel's voice was calming and far sweeter than her overbearing co-worker.

Chase looked through the peephole on the door. He could make out Laurel and the co-worker perfectly. The co-worker was sitting beside Laurel on the bed. The best friend's sloughing back was on the edge of Chase's line of sight. The sister was hiding somewhere in the room.

"Let's breathe in and be happy for a moment. Laurel's healing. Somer's dead and won't be hurting anyone else. The Green Arrow fought off the Triad. You will just need to lay low with your dad for a few weeks until we can be certain that the Triad were scared off." The sister said, acting like the Triad could be scared off. Despite Somer's death, the Triad will still come after her. Only Chase's protection will save her.

The best friend laughed. "I never took you for an expert on crime lords, Thea."

"The way I see it, they aren't that complicated. They attacked someone on someone's say-so and will likely give up when the person who hired them is dead or they were threatened by someone more powerful. The Green Arrow is definitely more powerful than a dead man."

"And Prometheus." Chase adored the pride in Laurel's voice. His efforts were starting to work! "After he saved me, he told me he would handle the Triad."

"You shouldn't trust him just because he appeared to save your life. You don't know who he is. Maybe he hired the assassin and quote-unquote rescued you to make you think he was a hero."

"What happened to the Thea the other day who was all pro-vigilantes?" The best friend sat up in the chair, for once not slouching.

"That was about the one who got Hunt to give money to the people he screwed over. Not the one who brutally stabbed people. Sure, they were assassins, but Prometheus stabbed them all over their body. He even carved out their eyeballs."

"Where did you hear about that?" Laurel's voice was shocked.

The sister brought a hazy square shape towards Laurel. Damn, terrible depth perception.

"It's all over the news." Great. Chase knew he forgot himself for a moment. After tranquilizing the Triad members outside, he remembered coming into Laurel's room and seeing the white-haired woman sticking a knife into the Siren. He remembered his pride towards this assassin; she knew to stick it where it hurt the most. He wanted to show her other ways to design the perfect murder. Oh right, she played nasty and overpowered him, leaving him to have to stab her associates as she escaped.

No wonder the news was now warning people against Prometheus. Chase forgot to stick to only knocking out the assassins. He must have brutalized them too.

Laurel was shaking her head. "I was bleeding and woozy throughout the whole thing, but Prometheus was so nice and gentle. This must be someone else, like the Hood who killed Somers. The Hood must have come by after Prometheus took me to the hospital. Dad confirmed that the Hood murdered one of Hunt's bodyguards."

Thank you, Laurel. It was good to have someone on his side with a good brain for lies. He will blame the Hood for the assassins' murder.

"Just be careful, Laurel." The sister insisted. "We all don't want to lose you."

"It takes more than a threat from international crime syndicates to take down Laurel." The co-worker said proudly.

"I'll feel better if you stayed with your dad for a few days. He has good security in place at his apartment."

"I'm not going to hide with my father. That would give him too much ammunition." Laurel clenched the sister's hand. "I'll be fine. I'm staying at Jo's and her apartment building has a doorman, security codes. Basically, all the safety precautions known to man."

"But maybe, you and your dad can help each other. You could help with his drinking problem, maybe convince him to go to rehab. He would listen to you."

"Thea, just because I'm happy to have you in my life again, it doesn't mean I want you to interfere in it. My dad has issues, but he can handle it himself. He's a grown-up. I would be more than happy to help you know. If you want to go to rehab, I could help with telling you mom with you."

"This isn't about me. It's about Quentin and what Sara and you would want."

"I don't want to do anything. Dad made it clear that he doesn't have a problem. And don't mention her name again."

The sister sighed. "I need to go to the bathroom."

Chase scurried inside a nearby room. He would wait behind the door for the sister to pass, and then look through the wigs he stashed earlier for a new disguise.

A door squeaked open. The sounds of boots clicked in the hallway. Chase waited for the clicking to pass. Instead, the sound stopped outside the door. The sister walked in, and her blue-eyes gazed at him.

Oliver's eyes: the eyes that stole everything from Chase.

"Who are you?" Her voice was soft, calm.

"I apologize ma'am." He gave his best southern accent. "I was walkin' to visit my coz, but you and your friends were so loud, so I eavesdropped for a bit. Sorry."

"It's cuz not coz." Her voice sharpened; he would believe he was speaking to Oliver if he didn't see her in front of him. "What do you want? Are you working for him? Oh my god! Ch…"

"Thea? I thought you were going to the bathroom?" It was the co-worker.

"I'm fine, Joanna. I just needed a moment." As she yelled, the sister's gaze didn't leave Chase.

"Ma'am, can I walk past? My coz needs me."

The sister rolled her eyes. "You're not going anywhere." She then attacked.

Like a ferocious tigress, she jumped on him. She kicked his shins and her elbows pressed against his throat. Chase remembered Talia's training. He needed to use his power against her weak body. He kicked back, pushed her body off him. She groaned, likely from the pain in her back. As she struggled to sit up, her eyes blinked in surprise as before becoming more determined.

Chase chuckled. She was defenseless against him. He climbed over her and pressed his hands around her. He didn't need arrows to win.

No. He had to stop. He needed Oliver to see this. No. He can wait a minute. It took six minutes for someone to suffocate.

"Get off her!" Chase chucked some more. Great. Now the co-worker and best-friend were in the game.

There were too many. It was not their time to die. He needed to retreat. But first, he needed to make it clear he wasn't Prometheus. Too bad the Hood was busy attacking the Triad tonight.

"I'm only here for the lawyer." Thank goodness for the Triad. "I'll let her go if you let me close the door."

They both nodded.

"Just get your hands off her." The best friend yelled.

The sister poked a finger near his eyes, and he pushed her out of the room. This wasn't the time to kill. His plans always worked because he stuck to the plan. Every moment was calculated to perfection.

"I'll get you next time, bastard," the sister shouted through the door.

Chase's stomach churned. The sister dared to fight him. That couldn't go unpunished. After a good night's rest, he will finish part one of his plan. Then, he will prepare Plan B that ensured the city would view Prometheus as a hero and the Hood as the villain.

He will do some research to ensure it was a fool-proof plan. He was so excited.

Everyone knew that the world went crazy when someone kidnapped a wealthy, white teenager.