Chapter 54: Heir to the Demon
"Again."
Black Canary got up on her elbows, breathing deeply. Then, she swiped once more at Green Arrow - a feint for her actual maneuver, a sweep of the legs. He dodged that too, however. She wasn't deterred, instead pressing on her attack. She used movements old and new, techniques that had been hard pressed into her for the last few months. Yet, while she was quick and smooth, flowing into each attack, manipulating her momentum, she had yet to land a hit.
Eventually, she was tired, and left into a heap on the floor. Green Arrow held out his hand and helped her up, handing her a bottle of water. She took small sips as they sat against the railings of the roof they had been sparring on, watching as the barest hints of the sun rose above the horizon.
"You're getting better." Green Arrow praised.
Black Canary gave him an incredulous look. "You barely broke a sweat!"
"Canary, I've got over a decade of experience on you. It will be years before you can really challenge me."
She sighed. "Don't remind me."
He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. You're very talented and hard-working. Perhaps even more so than me when I first started, at least when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. It's just that…"
"… the teaching isn't ideal." Black Canary finished for him. Green Arrow remained silent.
Her statement rang true. Ever since the Mr. Blank episode, he had been aiding her in her training. And while she was advancing at a reasonable pace, there was frustration there; there was no doubt she'd be able to improve at an even faster pace with proper tutelage. Something that, he unfortunately, was unable to provide for her.
There were many reasons for that. They didn't know each other's real identity, for one thing - while trust was becoming more and more of a non-issue, both of them would prefer to limit the number of people who knew their true names until it was necessary. Another problem is that they both had lives to live. Green Arrow had many advantages that allowed him to be as skilled as he was, the primary one being a near unlimited amount of free time before he made his appearance in Starling City, and the secondary one being under the care of some of the best teachers in combat in the world. Black Canary had no such advantages: she was limited to him and whatever training she did on the side, for a set couple of hours a day.
It was only Canary's talent and dedication that overcame these obstacles to bring her as far as she was. Green Arrow privately admitted that if she kept it up, she'd be on par with the lower-level members of the League of Assassins within a month or two. Unfortunately, that is also where he believed she'd begin to plateau.
Not because of any lack of ability, but because there was only so much he could teach her. He may have been the most skilled combatant in the League behind Ra's al Ghul himself, but there was one, hard cold fact that he could not ignore: he was a man. He lacked the intimate knowledge of the female body needed to teach Canary the more advanced techniques. There was a reason why Supergirl was primarily taught by Nyssa during their time in the League, as were many other female recruits once they finished the basic training.
While he could certainly figure out how to apply his more advanced moves to the female form, it would be trial-and-error and take far longer than Canary deserved. Supergirl and even the Flash would be better at teaching her these things, but both couldn't for their own reasons. Supergirl had been spending more time outside of Starling helping with other natural disasters around the world, and the Flash lived in an entirely different city with his own enemies and already had his own student to deal with. He couldn't add another one on top of that.
"… Arrow?"
Green Arrow removed himself from his inner monologue and looked at his companion. She was gazing quizzically at him behind her black domino mask.
"Sorry, I was just thinking."
She smiled at him, a bit tiredly. "Penny for your thoughts?"
He sighed. "I'm thinking that there's only so much I can teach you - and that you deserve more than that."
Black Canary put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'll take what you can give me. That's more than enough."
After his sparring session with Black Canary, Green Arrow returned, brooding in his thoughts. He was still trying to figure out how he was going to fix the issue with Black Canary's training; the most logical deduction was to find her another teacher. Unfortunately, the best way to do that was to ask Amanda, and he had no doubt that whoever she'd recommend would be doubling back to her for reports.
His eyes perked up to a darkened corner of his base, and he drew a knife. "Who's there?" As far as he knew, Supergirl was helping with a fire over in New York, and the Flash was still in hiding after his little heist escapade as Bolt. Kal and Slade were out of town for a father-son trip and wouldn't be back until tomorrow afternoon.
"The Heir to the Demon." A familiar voice called out.
Green Arrow did not let down his guard as the familiar visage of Nyssa al Ghul appeared from the shadows. Instead, he threw the knife, watching as she caught it by slapping her hands together on the sharpened blade.
Satisfied, he let down his stance and removed his hood and the cloth that covered the lower half of his face to reveal Oliver Queen. "Nyssa."
Nyssa gave a polite nod and smiled. "Oliver."
The two moved forward and hugged each other deeply. It had been over a year since they'd seen each other last, after all.
Letting her go, Oliver smiled back, before having it fade away when he saw the guilt in her eyes. "You're not here for pleasure, are you?"
"No." Nyssa shook her head. "We've had word from our spies. There's been movement."
"Who?"
The assassin took in a deep breath. "The League of Shadows."
Oliver felt his breath catch into his throat.
"Talia."
When a recruit first entered the League of Assassins, all they heard of Talia al Ghul were rumors.
She was a taboo in Nanda Parbat; a ghost that clung to its ancient halls that had yet to be exorcised. They all heard her name once, and learned to never speak of it again. At least, not in the presence of those who once knew her, which dwindled with every passing year. But the League of Assassins were still a group of people, and no matter how brainwashed and beaten down they were, people talked.
They say she was imprisoned deep within the innermost chambers of their ancient keep, kept alive to torment the wind with her screams. They say she was gallivanting about the world, seducing men and killing them for their riches, so she could die in the lap of luxuries that not even the Demon's Head could hope to touch. They say she was dead, drawn and quartered, and her remains were thrown off the mountains into the endless valley below.
But despite speculating on her fate, few knew her story; only that she was the disgraced daughter, the sister that faltered. A black mark that even the Demon felt ashamed of.
As the closest companions of Nyssa al Ghul, Al Sah-him, Al Sa'iqa, and Saraab were some of those few, the tale spilling from the lips of the sibling who suffered most from Talia's departure. When they heard it, they found themselves at a loss for at its core, it was a story about envy and glory - everything that opposed what the League stood for.
Talia al Ghul was the firstborn daughter of the current Ra's al Ghul, raised from birth to be his foremost assassin. She wanted for nothing, and in exchange, her childhood was steel and blood. Soon, she became skilled, so skilled that Ra's permitted her as one of the few besides himself allowed to dip into the waters of the Lazarus Pit.
But despite her purported usefulness, despite the blood that ran within her veins, Talia had not been named Heir to the Demon, something that grated her as the years wore on and the whispers increased. For all his honor and strength, her father was not the most forward-thinking man, and it wasn't until recent years that he decided it was time to become one with the modern world. It was no secret that Talia's one failing, to him at least, was that she was a woman - a failing so great, that he sought to have another child.
Talia was slighted, of course, until the child her father begotten was another daughter, another disappointment. She reveled in this victory by taking the child under her wing. Despite the threat the child had to her birthright, Talia trained her all the same, and so, did Nyssa's life begin. A bond between sisters, too old and too young and yet so close.
At least, until the whispers began again. For Nyssa was also talented, also skilled - more so than Talia had been at her age. By the time she was a teenager, she had become Talia's equal, and matches between them could go either way. Talia was slighted once again, and against Nyssa's wishes, their relationship shattered.
Around that time, the healing properties of the Lazarus Pit were diminishing, at least for Ra's al Ghul. It wouldn't be long before they failed completely, and his death would become an inevitability. Knowing this, Ra's needed to choose an heir between his daughters, in the event that he'd die before he could set other provisions in place.
It wasn't a matter of skill in the end, but heart. Talia, arrogant and entitled, and so very proud, led a slaughter, the victims, a local warlord and the village he presided over. Guilty and innocent died at the edge of her blades, and when asked to give reason, she said it was taken in the name of all the insults paid to her by the vile man. His blood alone could not satisfy the debt.
That was enough for Ra's to settle the matter. Talia embodied none of the League's principles, the laws they abided by, and if she were to lead, she'd only lead them to ruin. Nyssa would have to do.
His eldest daughter, enraged by his decision, made an attempt on Nyssa's life. When she failed, she fled into the night with a small group of loyalists, never to be seen again. It wasn't long before the whispers started again, of a new League. One that had no honor, only money and vengeance. A League that did not exist in darkness, but was darkness incarnate.
A League… of Shadows.
"Do they know what she's after?" Oliver asked seriously.
Nyssa shook her head. "No. The movements of the Shadows - what little we can glean of them - are erratic. There is no pattern to them. Except…" she bit her lip.
Oliver frowned. "There was an attempt, wasn't there? You're here for protection."
"Yes." Nyssa confirmed. "Thankfully, the attempt failed, though the assassin killed himself before we could question him. If she is still trying to kill me, there can only be one thing she wants."
"The League."
"Correct. My sister has done well in the time since her departure from Nanda Parbat, but a few years are not enough to entrench her organization into the fabric of the world. The Shadows are not the Demon. They do not have the wealth, the history, the influence. They cannot call upon debts and favors that have aged decades and even centuries. Compared to even H.I.V.E., dust as they are, they are nothing."
"For as long as I can remember, my sister has sought our father's approval. But praises of her skill cannot compare to the ultimate sign of acceptance: The League. If she cannot have his approval, then she will have the League, and while father and I do not fear her, we cannot help but be apprehensive of what she might do to achieve that end."
"So, he sent you here." Oliver concluded. "For as long as you live, Talia's hold on the League will never be complete. You were named your father's heir over her. Even though she were to kill him, either by trickery or by sanctioned combat, you still have a claim."
Nyssa nodded once again. "If that comes to pass, I will need your help, Oliver. Yours, Barry's, Kara's, and whoever else you can spare. It is not known whether or not Talia has foreknowledge of your siblings'… abilities, but even without them, they are both forces to be reckoned with."
Oliver sighed. "Very well then. If you are staying in Starling, however, then you'll have to stay in the Foundry. You can't be seen in public with Oliver Queen - people will ask questions, and I have no doubt your sister has agents in the city as well."
"That is fine, but…" Nyssa huffed. "I can't stay here all by my lonesome, Oliver. You're going to have to find me something to do, eventually."
Oliver blinked, and an idea popped up in the back of his mind. He'd need another's approval, though.
"Don't worry. I think I've already got something for you."
"Why are you staring at my food?" Laurel asked, idly dipping one of her French fries into her milkshake.
"I'm thanking all that is great and holy that the most disgusting thing about your eating habits is dipping fried potato into an ice-cold cream drink." Oliver deadpanned, popping one of his own fries into his mouth.
Laurel raised an eyebrow. "They're that bad?" She didn't need to specify who.
"Yes." Oliver hissed. His adoptive siblings' eating habits were a sore point for him. Laurel laughed.
The meal continued on with some small talk, stories and jokes flowing freely between them. At least, until someone brought up their missing third.
"Is Tommy still sequestering himself at Merlyn Global?" Laurel asked, worry tinging her voice. She had barely seen Tommy since the Undertaking. Their last significant interaction had been at Kal's birthday party.
Oliver scoffed. "He practically lives there these days. No matter how many invitations I send, he'd stay there and only there. Granted, we can hardly blame him for not wanting to go out in public right now."
"It's not healthy, though." Laurel bit her lip. "He needs to socialize with other people."
"He does, technically." Oliver pointed out.
"With people that aren't his business partners." Laurel clarified. "Isabel seems nice and all, but Tommy's mind is always going to be on business with her. He needs to relax, or else he's going to run himself down into the ground with all this work. He'll have those expectations over his head-"
Oliver cut her off. "He'll always have those expectations hanging above him, Laurel. He can't escape from that. Even if his father hadn't… tried what he was trying to do, Tommy was always going to have something that he had to live up to. It's just one of those things that come with having the kind of parents we have."
Laurel listened intently, lips pressed into a thin line. Her friend didn't sound bitter, but there was a knowing tilt to his tone, a wistfulness that was all too familiar. "You talk as if you know what he's going through."
Oliver stopped, and averted his eyes.
"Do you miss it sometimes? The island?"
"Yes." And then he cringed, as if the admission was a confession to some great crime.
Laurel reached over and a put a comforting hand on his forearm, an understanding look on her face. "It's alright. There's nothing wrong with that, Oliver."
Oliver clicked his teeth. "Isn't there? I loved my family and my friends, and I missed them, but the island…"
"… the island gave you those brief moments. The moments where you could just be free of all the weight on your shoulders." Laurel quirked her head. "Don't think I don't see it, Oliver."
Oliver paused and looked at her, really looked at her. He then looked at the hand holding his forearm, and reached over to take it into his own.
"You do, don't you?" He asked, and there was warmth to his voice.
"Yeah." Laurel smiled, and it was bittersweet. "I do."
"Alright, boys." Black Canary called out, holding up one thug by the shirt. "Talk."
"I ain't saying nothing." The thug spat out. It was quite defiant of him, seeing as he probably had a broken rib or two.
"That's a double negative." Canary sweetly informed him before launching her fist deep into his abdomen. The thug wheezed, clutching his midsection as Canary shook him around a bit more. "You were saying?"
"Brick!" The chump shouted, hoping to stave off more punishment. "Brick sent us over here! Said it was an initiation test!"
Canary dropped him, and then crossed her arms. "And who might this Brick be? And an initiation test for what?"
Before he could answer, a shot rang out, and the man fell back, a shot to the heart. Black Canary turned around to see one of the thugs she had taken out had awoken and brought out his gun. She braced herself as he aimed for her, but before he could make a shot, an arrow whizzed through the air, puncturing his hand. He cried out in pain as he dropped the gun. Canary breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to the man, knocking him out with a strong kick to the head.
"Thanks, Arrow." She spoke to the shadows.
Green Arrow appeared from them, and shook his head. "It wasn't me who fired that shot."
Black Canary blinked at that, and watched as another person, a woman dressed in violet garb and a sheer veil covering her hair and the lower half of her face appeared beside him. She had a bow in one of her hands, hanging at her side.
"Black Canary, this is Nyssa al Ghul. She's an old friend of mine and she'll be staying in town for the next couple of months. Unfortunately, she can't be seen in public for various reasons, so I've asked her if she was willing to take over your training instead."
"And I said that only if you were willing." Nyssa added, looking directly at her potential student.
Black Canary glanced back at her, then looked to Green Arrow. "Are we still going to do some training?"
"Yes." Arrow assured her. "But the Justice League is getting busier and I have to travel more, so I can't train with you as much I want to. Nyssa however, is staying in the city and can dedicate herself fully to your training - if that's alright with you?"
"It's fine." Black Canary said, though she struggled to keep the reluctance out of her voice. She didn't know this woman, after all, but she did save her, and if Green Arrow trusted her, then she'd give her the benefit of the doubt.
Nyssa smiled at that, and despite it all, Black Canary smiled back.
Enter Nyssa, everybody! She'll be sticking around for a while, and will have important roles in this arc and the next two arcs.
Talia will not be appearing in this arc, but she will be one of the main villains for Arc IV, alongside Zoom. The third villain will be revealed very soon.
On the Oliver/Laurel front, they still haven't become a couple. However, their feelings for each other are becoming stronger, and it won't be long until even they can't ignore it anymore. How that will end, with Nyssa in the picture now… well, you'll just have to wait and see.
Don't be afraid to ask questions! Constructive criticism is welcome! Flames will be ignored! Please update the TV Tropes page!
And don't forget the contest! I may be considering an extension on it!
The Prompt: Draw your favorite scene of To Hell and Back. Any scene. You can have as many entries as you like.
Dates: From the day this chapter is posted to the day the last chapter of this arc (Chapter 63) is posted, you may submit something.
Submission: Submit your drawings to the story's official blog on Tumblr (the link can be found in the first chapter beneath the chapter summary on the AO3 version). If that is not feasible, then simply post it to your preferred image-hosting platform and send me the link via messaging on either AO3 or FFN.
Winning: There are three ways to win.
1. Author's choice. Whatever piece I favor the most.
2. Beta's choice. Whatever piece Kara Smoak, my beta, favors the most.
3. Fan's choice. I will put up a poll (either on FFN or Tumblr) and have all the readers vote via that.
Prizes:
1. For the fan that wins #1 (my choice), your piece will be the cover page for FFN, the first chapter of AO3, and the TV Tropes page!
2. For the fan that wins #2 (beta's choice), your piece will be the background image of the Tumblr blog, which is scarily bare.
3. For the fan that wins #3 (fan's choice), your piece will be inserted into the first chapter of Arc IV.