Chapter 4:

Oliver returned to Queen Industries to get his morning coffee. Lexi, Shado, Aresia, and Sara walked side by side with him as he moved down. He was going to meet his mother for the early morning business meeting, to get a few deals done. And they would be some deals which would move some of Oliver's other plans forward.

"Everything is ready to go," Shado commented. "Diaz is going to make a move soon."

"And when he makes that move, we'll be ready to stomp him down," Oliver said.

"Good, he deserves it for going against you," Aresia said.

Aresia's eyes traveled down the hallway. Oliver's bodyguard took her job seriously, almost too seriously. There were times where Oliver thought he would have to protect some people from Aresia. The elevator door opened and Isabel popped out of the elevator. She made a beeline towards Oliver.

"Problem?" Oliver asked.

"It's all over the news," Isabel said. "Last night, there was an accident with the Particle Accelerator in Central City."

Given they had business dealings with Star Labs, this piqued Oliver's interest. Sara, Lexi, Aresia, Shado, and Oliver joined Isabel as they made a beeline towards a conference room where the television was on. Several Queen Industries Executives gathered around to view the scene.

"The casualties have not been reported, but the fallout is wide spread through Central City. Star Labs founder Tess Morgan-Wells was taken to an undisclosed location for medical treatment, and while some question the severity of her injuries, other reports state they have been in shape. Several employees from Star Labs have been missing and presumed dead in the Particle Accelerator blast."

"Damn," Lexi breathed.

Oliver knew he had contacts within the League that were stationed near Central City. He hoped there would be some news to them soon. As if on cue, Oliver's phone went off.

"I'll take that," Oliver said.

Oliver turned around and walked down the hallway.

"The fallout released some kind of dark matter into the air. And your friend, Ms. Allen, herself and Iris West were caught in the blast and they were found unconscious. They were hauled off to the hospital for some kind of medical treatment."

"How is the transport in and out of Central City?" Oliver asked.

"Everyone is in a state of panic. We might be able to get you into the city, although it's going to take a couple of days for everything to settle."

"I believe Oliver Queen can find a way into the city," Oliver said.

There were times where his statues as an heir to the Queen legacy could move Oliver into places that even Ra's al Ghul might find a challenge to navigate in at times. Besides, he could open some doors. Money had it's tendency to make certain individuals temporarily blind.

"We will study the dark matter further."

"Right," Oliver agreed. "Get ahead of the problem. Prepare for any unforeseen circumstances. I understand."

Oliver deeply breathed. Oh, he understood alright. He had hoped Brianna and Iris were not badly injured. Although all of the reports on casualties meant there were some people who were caught up in the blast. Unfortunate for them.

"What's the plan?" Sara asked the second Oliver got off the phone.

"Brianna and Iris were hit," Oliver said. "I'm going to get into Central City for a couple of days."

"Right," Sara said. "That's a hell of an accident though, and very public. A lot of people are going to be affected."

One thing Oliver believed deep down was this was no accident. The means and the motives, Oliver could not quite figure it out, but he was certain this little incident was no accident.

"I want to access all communication coming in and out of Star Labs," Oliver said. "Get, Barbara in on it, because if anyone can circumvent that network, it will be her."

Sara could not disagree with Oliver's plan. She could tell by the look on his face he thought something was rotten and she could not really spend too much time disagreeing.

Five days later, Oliver popped up at Star Labs. He heard that Iris and Brianna been moved here for treatment. It took him so long to get to the city, with the transportation being hard to come by.

He entered the lab to see Tess Morgan-Wells in her chair. The blonde doctor's eyes narrowed when she looked out. Was their regret in her eyes? Sorrow? Perhaps calculation? Oliver could not quite meet her eyes, which set off alarm bells in her.

"I knew you would be here soon," Tess said. "It's regrettable Ms. Allen and Ms. West had to be both like this. And it's regrettable I lost so many people."

And honestly, Tess regretted it. The same mistakes she made before came back to life once again. History had a nasty habit of repeating itself over and over again.

"And there they are, stuck, prisoners of their own minds," Tess said.

"Can you bring them out?" Oliver asked.

"No, unfortunately," Tess said. "With time they may wake up. The high levels of dark matter concentration around them are concerning. Especially when certain reflex actions happen."

Oliver wondered what Tess meant. Brianna and Iris laid side by side in the bed. Unmoving and just shallowly breathing. They had been hooked up to machines. Some of them were life support systems. Some of them had been measuring something.

In the bed, Brianna's fingers twitched and her hand touched Iris for a second. The scanners went off the chart and a loud hum echoed through the lab. Energy pulsed and almost shocked Oliver before he could jump back.

"See," Tess said. "When they touch, the few times they do, that happens. It can't be controlled, because it's their subconscious."

Oliver stepped into the room and Tess wheeled in behind them. He placed a hand on Brianna's head and closed his eyes.

"I have an idea," Oliver said. "You're going to have to trust me."

"I know you have your secrets, Mr. Queen, and I respect you will do what's best for Ms. West and Ms. Allen," Tess said. "As I don't have many options at this moment, anything that you do, it can't hurt."

Tess looked out at the window. Oliver wondered how much of her sorrow had been genuine. He had been used to picking out deceit, but he wondered how much he did.

"My vision is a failure. It didn't work. It should have, but it didn't. I hoped that it would end differently. But, as long as their future is brighter, it will be worth it. I know, the road to hell."

Some time later, Oliver and Shado sat between the bodies of Brianna and Iris. At the very least, they would not touch and disrupt any process now.

"We should step into Brianna's mindscape," Shado said. "Given, you have connected to her in the past."

Oliver responded with a nod. Hopefully Brianna would open the path to Iris as well. Oliver put his hands down on the head of the unconscious brunette CSI and made her just shudder in the darkness. Oliver deeply breathed and Shado made sure to anchor him to the physical world.

"What do you see?" Shado asked.

"Anger, frustration, angst," Oliver said. "We all wear masks, and hers is very good. She's frustrated, years of hard work, and she can't solve this crime. She's solved many crimes and put many dangerous people away with her, but the one personal one, the one that got away. And she's upset that she can't move on and be happy because it's eating away. I can feel it, her anger is almost drowning."

Despite the fact Oliver entered her mind.

"And it's her loathing self doubt which is keeping her awake," Oliver said. "I can push, but it's hard. Brianna, if you can hear me you need to listen to me?"

"OLIVER!"

A voice practically screamed in Oliver's head. He could see Shado flickered. Brianna cowered in the corner of the mindscape, with a large imposing figure dressed in yellow who practically trapped her. The more Brianna squirmed in fear, the more this figure loomed larger and more powerful.

The demon in her mind clawed away at her brain.

Oliver had to fight through the mindscape. Brianna screamed even louder as the demonic figure in yellow approached her. It turned towards Oliver and it's red eyes burned bright.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Brianna shifted. It liquified and Brianna sank deeper underneath it. She could not pull herself out of the drowning pit the demon in her mind created.

"Brianna, you have to move past it to get out!" Oliver yelled.

"How can I move past this thing?" Brianna asked. "It's stalked me my entire life."

"You have to live your life despite it always looming over you!" Oliver yelled. "You're going to drown."

"Maybe I deserve to drown!" Brianna yelled.

Oh, not on Oliver's watch. Oliver dove past the figure in yellow and grabbed Brianna's hands. The thing rattled near Oliver and it's hand turned into a blur. It threatened and loomed over Oliver.

"You're giving it power," Oliver said.

"No," Brianna said. "It's going to crush you! You have to let me go!"

"You're giving it power!" Oliver repeated. "Just take my hand and we can get you out of here."

The figure grabbed Oliver by the neck and yanked him up. Oliver took in a deep breath as the figure's vibrating hand moved closer and closer to Oliver's chest.

"NO!"

Brianna Allen sprung up and stopped the monster's hand from vibrating through Oliver's chest. She knocked it back and skidded back with a jolt of light.

"Focus!" Oliver yelled.

Brianna sent a bolt of lighting at the monster and deflected it back. True bravery was fighting against something you were terrified of. And Brianna had to stand up and fight this monster in yellow. Soulless red eyes burned into her.

Of course, the monster in yellow was only a manifestation of Brianna's worst insecurities. Real memories burned to life.

The broken body of Nora Allen appeared in the mindscape. Off to the side, Brianna's father, Henry, he had been cuffed and sent away. Brianna screamed as the monster in yellow rose up even higher. The burst of adrenaline faded away. Brianna's nerve failed her.

"Brianna help me!"

Brianna winced at Iris's voice. This distraction allowed the demon of her mind to grab Oliver and almost drive a hand right through his heart.

Oliver's grip slipped from the world as Shado pulled him back out. Just in time, although Oliver got a good enough view of the mindscape to know what he needed to do.

Brianna's eyes popped open in the real world and she screamed bloody murder. She was awake but Oliver could see the same demon from the mindscape reflected in her eye.

Now Iris and Brianna both screamed. Alternating screams of "Iris!" and "Brie, help me!" echoed throughout the room. They chilled even the hardened assassin to the bone.

"Sorry, but your heart stopped for a second," Shado said. "I panicked."

"I came close to dying in there," Oliver said.

Closer than anything since the Gambit, Oliver figured. He looked down at Brianna's wide eyed expression as she screamed bloody murder. Iris just screamed out loud as well and thrashed on the bed.

"Just let me catch my breath," Oliver said. "Iris is still holding Brianna to her mindscape. There's a connection there. And I just about found the door."

"What are you going to do?" Shado asked.

"I'm going to shock their bodies awake," Oliver said.

Oliver closed his eyes and managed to breath in deeply. Shado looked down at Oliver as he pulled himself.

"You're going to need to jumpstart them both at once," Shado said. "Tantric energy, of course, it would be potent enough to wake them up."

"Sex really is the answer to everything."

With that murmur, Oliver slipped underneath.

From the outside, Tess watched. She had a feeling Oliver would pull something like this. Sex might not have been the answer to everything, but at the same time, it was the answer to many things. And the answer to the plight which Tess's guest down in the basement had been. Just barely kept anchored to reality, always one wrong move away from being erased.

All she had to do was wait.
The Shameless Smut Commences In the Next Chapter.