I do not own Arrow.
Felicity was at the computer, looking for anything out of the ordinary, while Oliver was training with Slade with escrima sticks, while Diggle and Roy observed, realizing now why Slade was a good teacher.
"You've improved yourself, kid." Slade noted as their sticks crossed.
"You know, there's one thing I've always wondered." Oliver said as he dodged Slade's attack. "How can you still hold your own with only one eye?"
"You must learn to move with your mind, not your eyes." Slade said as he got back to his fighting stance. "Come on. Let's go again."
"Uh, I think your sparring session's gonna have to wait, guys." Felicity said, alarmed.
"What is it?" Oliver asked as he and Slade approached her.
"There was a sighting of the Arrow murdering three gangsters in the Glades few hours ago." Felicity explained as she turned to Oliver. "And since you were down here when it happened…"
"…someone is setting you up, kid." Slade finished.
"Not someone. Ra's." Oliver said.
"Why would Ra's want to frame you for murder?" Diggle wondered.
"Ra's said that my allies in the police would turn on me." Oliver said.
"He's making sure it would happen one way or another, so that you'd have no other choice to accept his offer." Slade realized and Oliver nodded before turning to Roy and Diggle.
"John, call Lyla. See if A.R.G.U.S. can help out. Roy, hit the streets." Oliver turned to Felicity. "Felicity, keep me posted if there are more reports of the Arrow murdering anyone and call Lance, tell him what's going on."
In the District Attorney's office, Laurel was calling Quentin, who refused to return another one of her calls, so she decided to leave him another message in the voicemail.
"Hey, Dad. It's me, again. Listen, I know you're upset and you have every right to be, but… it's been over a week and now that you know the truth, neither of us should go through this alone, so… please, call me back. I love you." Laurel hung up as she took a deep breath. She knew that she had brought it on herself but she was hoping that in time, Quentin would at least try to forgive her.
Laurel then turned to see Thea at the door to her office, much to her surprise. "Hey. What are you doing here?"
"Um… I… I need to talk to you." Thea said nervously, folding her arms.
"It's everything alright?" Laurel asked.
"No. It's about Sara." Thea said guiltily and that was when it hit Laurel. "I—"
"I know." Laurel interrupted, much to Thea's shock. "I know. Ollie told me everything already." Thea backed away as Laurel reached her hand to her, holding her shoulders. "Thea. It's OK."
Thea looked at Laurel in disbelief and shock. "How… how can you even look at me, knowing that I killed your sister?" She asked brokenly.
"Because it wasn't you." Laurel assured. "Merlyn is the one who murdered my sister. You were just the weapon. And you can't blame yourself for it. He drugged you, so you didn't have a choice in the matter. Merlyn used you and manipulated you. I know you're feeling guilty… but the only thing you're guilty of is making wrong choices that Merlyn led you to. The only person to blame is Malcolm Merlyn. Not you. You need to remind yourself that or that guilt is going to tear you up from the inside. I'm not blaming you for anything, so don't blame yourself."
Thea looked into Laurel's kind understanding eyes. She had taken her sister away from her and still, Laurel was nothing but kind and forgiving, which Thea felt like she didn't deserve after turning her back on everyone for Malcolm. Unable to take it anymore, Thea burst into tears, sobbing into Laurel's shoulder, who patted her on her back, doing whatever little she could to comfort her.
"It's going to be OK, Thea. It's going to be OK…" Laurel said gently, on verge of her own tears.
Back in the lair, Oliver and Slade continued training, when Roy called out on the comms at Felicity's computer.
"Hey, guys, I got something. Los Halcones are unloading a huge shipment of narcotics. The entire gang is gonna showing up for protection. This is the exact kind of thing that Fake Arrow would go after." Roy said.
"We really need a better name for him." Felicity muttered.
"When is this happening?" Oliver asked.
"Right now." Roy said.
"Roy, stay back. This is the League. I got it." Oliver ordered.
Later, Oliver in his hood and Slade in his Deathstroke suit were riding on bikes down the road, while Felicity navigated them through the comms.
"I got him. Satellite footage of a man in green outfit and green hood on the roof near a warehouse, you have to hurry." Felicity said.
In the warehouse, Los Halcones thugs were unloading the drugs out of the stuffed toys, when some of them were shot down by arrows and they looked up to see an archer in green hood firing arrow after arrow, each one hitting its target as they returned fire but the archer jumped down, bouncing off a hook on a crane and as he landed on the ground, he shot down another thug, when another engaged him but the Arrow copycat easily took him down.
Oliver, in his own hood then appeared and fired an arrow, shooting the copycat in the shoulder. The copycat pulled the arrow out without any sign of pain before Oliver engaged him and they fought briefly before Oliver forced him on his knees and pulled his hood but it wasn't Sarab but rather another one of Ra's assassins, apparently, posing as the Arrow. The impostor laughed, when two more men dressed as the Arrow emerged from the shadows. The impostor then elbowed Oliver in the face and kicked him back, when the other impostors engaged Oliver but then, Deathstroke and Talia jumped down from above with their swords drawn and engaged each one of them with their swords.
Oliver ducked as his opponent swung his bow and they were exchanging blows, while Slade and Talia were crossing their swords with the bows of their opponents. The assassins were well synchronized but Oliver, Slade and Talia were also skilled fighters, managing to switch between their enemies before Talia stabbed one with her sword, Slade cut another across his chest with his sword and Oliver punched the last assassin in the face, knocking him out.
"You can't kill them all, Oliver."
They turned to see Sarab emerge from the shadows.
"Where one falls, two more arise." Sarab said.
"Maseo, you can't believe in this. Murdering all these people just to prove a point!" Oliver snarled, staring at his old friend in disbelief at how far he had fallen.
"No. To persuade you." Sarab corrected.
"There's no reasoning with him, Oliver. Ra's followers don't question him. They follow him with absolute devotion and conviction." Talia said.
"She is correct, Oliver." Sarab said as he neared Oliver. "My master sees something in you. Don't fight it. Embrace it."
"You know me better than that." Oliver said.
"Don't let your recalcitrance take any more lives." Sarab said before he threw an explosive on the ground as it went off and when the smoke cleared, Sarab was gone.
"Was that your old friend?" Slade asked and Oliver nodded.
Suddenly, they heard jets going off and looked up to see a man in a metal suit fly down, much to their surprise.
"What is that?" Talia demanded, when the man raised his arm and Oliver realized what was he about to do.
"Move!" Oliver ordered as they dodged, while the man fired a blaster from his wrist.
"Kid, what's going on?" Slade demanded, when Oliver turned to the man above them and managed to get a closer look at the man's face and his eyes widened.
"Ray, stop!" Oliver ordered.
Ray didn't seem to listen as he fired again but Slade rolled away to avoid the beam, while Talia fired an arrow but it only bounced off Ray's armor. Ray descended and fired at Talia, who dodged, when Slade kicked him in the chest. Ray staggered back before engaging Slade and they were exchanging few blows but Ray disarmed Slade of his sword and flew with him few feet before slamming him to the ground. Ray aimed his blaster at Slade's face as he smirked vindictively.
"This is for Anna." Ray said.
Oliver noticed the wires at where Ray's hip was and threw a fletchette as sparks went off from where Oliver had hit the armor's weak spot as it lost its power. Getting an opening, Slade roared as he lifted Ray and slammed him to the ground and pinned him down as he stepped on his chest, pinning him down before he removed Ray's helmet and pointed the sword at Ray's neck.
"Twitch and I'll open your throat." Slade growled. "Why are you trying to kill me? Who's Anna?"
"My fiancée." Ray said angrily. "Last year, one of your masked soldiers murdered her during the Siege right in front of me."
The words were to Slade a knife in his heart as he felt more guilt flooding him, while Oliver and Talia looked at him in sympathy. After a moment, Slade pulled away, understanding now.
"I'm sorry." Slade said remorsefully as he sheathed his sword, much to Ray's surprise. "You have no reason to believe me, but I'm truly sorry. I wasn't myself. I was under the influence of the same drug my soldiers were. But I'm not that person anymore."
Ray scoffed. "Right. Why should I believe anything you're saying?"
"You don't have to. But believe him." Slade said, turning to Oliver. "I did much worse things to him than to you and he knows I wasn't myself. He forgave me for far worse things I did to him. Sins that I have to carry to the grave."
"Killing him is not going to change anything, Mr. Palmer." Oliver said, with his voice changer still on as Slade offered his hand. After a moment of consideration, Ray took it as Slade helped him on his feet.
"If I was still the man that you think that I am, I would've killed you already." Slade said.
Ray considered Slade's words as he saw the dead assassins dressed as the Arrow before turning to the archer. "How'd you know who I—"
"You should do a better job hiding your face." Talia noted and Ray nodded.
"I'm guessing someone's setting you up for the murders?" Ray asked as he saw some of the dead impostors.
"Yes." Oliver confirmed.
"I'd advise for you to stay away from this. Trust me, Mr. Palmer, this is a threat beyond your comprehension and you are in over your head." Talia said and after a moment of consideration, Ray nodded before turning to Slade.
"Do you trust him?" Ray asked.
"Yes." Oliver said. "But can I trust you?"
"We both want the same thing. Protect this city." Ray said.
Oliver nodded, seeing that Ray was genuine. "As my partner said, you're in over your head, so you would do better to stay away from this. I trust that you have good intentions, but if you give me a reason to believe that you're a threat to this city, I will take you down too."
Ray nodded as Oliver, Slade and Talia left, leaving Ray alone to his thoughts.
Back in the lair, Felicity was at the computer, when Oliver burst in, looking angry. "Did you know?"
"Know about what?" Felicity asked.
"Did you know Palmer was building super-suit and trying to play hero?" Oliver demanded and Felicity widened her eyes.
"How—"
"Ray just attacked us earlier tonight because he spotted Slade and tried to kill him. If I hadn't been there, Slade would've killed him instead." Oliver said and Felicity paled and gulped. "How long have you known about this?"
"Since Christmas." Felicity said sheepishly.
"When were you gonna tell me this?!" Oliver snapped. "You of all people know what keeping secrets from the people you care about can lead to! You're lucky no one died tonight!"
"It wasn't my secret to tell and I didn't know he'd finish it so soon." Felicity defended.
"That is not my point. He interfered with our operation tonight because he had his own mission to protect the city and attacked Slade, when we were looking for Ra's and his men, if I hadn't intervened, Slade would've killed Ray." Oliver explained and Felicity paled. "If you'd looped me in, maybe he could've been an ally but instead it came down to this!" He snapped. "I thought that after how the secrets in my family cost me my mother, Sara, Tommy and Thea, you would've learned from it! Yes, I do keep secrets too, but when they begin to affect everyone I care about, I come clean!"
"OK, I get it! I messed up! I should've told you!" Felicity snapped back and there was silence between them for a moment.
"We can't afford to be at each other's throats or keep secrets from each other, not with the threat of the League." Oliver said after few heavy breaths. "I've always come clean with you, when my secrets begun to affect everyone, so that you could trust me but how am I supposed to trust you, if you can't come clean with me, when you know that your secrets can affect this team?"
The words hit Felicity hard as Oliver left, leaving her to reflect on her thoughts.
Nyssa was in Laurel's apartment, looking at the old family photos of Laurel, Sara and their parents, trying to understand her deceased lover better. She had nowhere else to go now and she was trying to hold onto the memories of Sara, when she heard the door open and Nyssa hid in the shadows, when Laurel entered and turned on the lights and put her coat on a hanger. She had already had enough on her plate, with her strained relationship with Quentin, comforting Thea and realizing she wasn't ready to be a vigilante, like Oliver or Sara, especially, when she was nowhere as good as them.
Nyssa observed as Laurel was turning on the TV, where was Quentin and Ray at the press conference.
"With thorough investigation and thanks to the help of the resources provided by Mr. Palmer, we can confirm that the recent killings are in fact a work of a copycat posing as the Arrow. The investigation is ongoing to determine whether this was a part of a larger conspiracy and whether more accomplices are involved…"
Laurel began pouring herself a glass of water, when she looked up and gasped upon seeing a man in his late 40s with a short beard, wearing a black and green robe with golden decors and it took an instant for Laurel to realize who it was as she dropped the glass on the floor as it shattered.
"Do you know who I am?" Ra's asked.
"You're him." Laurel whispered, fear flooding her alongside the realization. "What do you want from me?"
"For Oliver Queen to take my place as Ra's al Ghul." Ra's said and Laurel remembered the conversation she had had with Thea earlier about the prophecy.
"Ollie's never gonna accept it." Laurel said.
"He will… once I've given him sufficient motivation." Ra's said.
Laurel knew she stood no chance against Ra's in a fight, so she grabbed a gun hidden under the kitchen counter and fired but Ra's dodged and faster than humanly possible, he threw a knife, knocking the gun out of her hand as he kicked her in the chest, knocking the breath out of her as Laurel hit the wall. Ra's grabbed Laurel by her throat as she choked, while he reached for his sword. Laurel attempted to shake him off and fight back but he was too strong for her as she realized how outmatched she was.
Ra's pulled out his sword, about to stab Laurel, when Nyssa emerged from the shadows and with a roar blocked Ra's sword. Ra's turned to her, glaring at her.
"You're betraying me?" Ra's demanded angrily in Arabic.
"You turned your back on me, so you hardly get to speak about betrayal." Nyssa said as she pushed Ra's away.
They exchanged sword strikes but Ra's was the one who had trained Nyssa, so he anticipated her moves and disarmed her quickly but Laurel had recovered her gun and fired, forcing Ra's to avoid and realizing he was not going to win, Ra's jumped through the window.
Nyssa and Laurel looked outside the window but Ra's was gone. Laurel was shocked at what was going on but as soon as she recovered, she turned to Nyssa. "Thank you."
"You're Sara's sister. She wouldn't want to see you get hurt." Nyssa said.
"Why did your father try to kill me?" Laurel asked.
"To force Oliver to accept his offer." Nyssa explained as she turned to Laurel. "We're not safe here, we have to go."
Laurel nodded, not needing to be told twice as she followed Nyssa, while dialing Oliver's number.
It is really stupid, how when Oliver keeps a secret, it's the end of the world, but when anyone else keeps a secret, despite that it puts Team Arrow and innocent people in potential danger, it is OK for them to keep a secret, like Laurel keeping Sara's resurrection a secret from Oliver or Diggle keeping his knowledge of HIVE a secret from them or Felicity knowing about Ray building the Atom suit, despite knowing that he would interfere with Team Arrow's work, even when Ray announced to the public that he would take down the Arrow, yet Oliver shrugs it like nothing had happened.
Hope it makes sense why Nyssa was in Laurel's apartment, to get some fond memories of Sara. Laurel is lucky she didn't get more severely injured but now Ra's has targeted Oliver's friends and family to convince him to accept the offer but I didn't want to completely copy from Stand's story and if not for Nyssa's intervention, Ra's would have stabbed Laurel to force Oliver to accept his offer. Honestly, if I was going to have Ra's stab Laurel, whether Oliver would later use the Lazarus Pit on her or not, I'm certain Laurel fanatics that seem to have a breakdown if anyone as much as slightly criticizes her, would try to crucify me with flaming comments and I am in no mood for this, it only shows immaturity and obsession on their side.
