Disclaimer: CW/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this.
AN: Thanks for returning to my story. Always appreciated!
Previously:
Oliver began to slowly pace before the computers, a hand tugging at his chin. "Why don't we start with: what do you recommend, Malcolm?"
"You should go ahead and join the League, Oliver."
"That's it," Felicity said, standing up. "Let me at him!"
As Felicity headed towards the smirking Malcolm, Diggle was able to grab her around her tiny waist and held her in place.
"Diggle, let me go!" Felicity struggled to escape the burly man's grip.
"No, Felicity. He might have a good idea yet," Diggle said, setting her into the chair next to him.
"Please, Felicity, let's hear his idea first. Then we might let you at him," Oliver said, trying not to smile at the petite blonde's antics.
Malcolm cleared his throat. "Thank you, Oliver. As I was saying, you willingly join the League, gathering info on how to disband it from the inside. In that way, we can stop whatever else Ra's has planned, and removing him from power. Thus we can all be safe."
"What if, let's just be crazy and say Oliver simply refuses Ra's grand offer?" Felicity asked.
"Hasn't he already threatened you and Mr. Diggle? Who else might he threaten, Oliver, your sister? The remaining Lance sister?"
Oliver rubbed at his chin so hard Felicity thought he was attempting to rub it off. "So you think I should just go ahead and not fight Ra's on this?"
"Oliver, the only way you could prevent this is if all of you and your loved ones go into hiding. But eventually, the League would find you anyway. This way, I can coach you and you have a chance to get out of the League alive."
Oliver asked, "You mentioned Ra's planning something. What else do you think Ra's has planned, Merlyn?"
"Every two or three years, Ra's thinks he has the best plan to resurrect the earth into a new, better planet. He has attempted this twice, basing his operations in Gotham. For whatever reason, he's decided to try it this time in Starling."
"Why?"
"Perhaps he thinks he can succeed with you. Perhaps it's because Bruce Wayne has foiled him one too many times. Who knows? All I know is he must be stopped." Malcolm looked at the other three individually. "Don't you agree?"
"Bruce Wayne? What do you mean by that?" Diggle asked.
"I'll explain it later, Dig." Oliver looked at Malcom. "Doesn't the league use brainwashing as one of their so-called initiation techniques?"
Malcolm waited a few seconds to reply. "That might be one of the risks."
"One of the risks? Dig, let me at him," Felicity yelled, as she almost got loose. Diggle raised his eyebrows at Oliver, who shrugged and returned his attention to Merlyn.
"So how do I prevent myself from being brainwashed?"
"Surely you've had a time or two when you had to withstand such attempts?"
Oliver rolled his eyes. "Probably not to the extent of the League's expertise," he said, adding a grimace.
"I was thinking, combined with your experience, my knowledge of the League would be enough for you to succeed."
Oliver turned around and walked back to the mats. He stood there for a moment, looking out at the back wall. He shook his head and walked back towards them. "I really don't see this working, Malcolm."
"In my opinion, Oliver, we really don't have a choice."
Oliver locked eyes with Dig, who shrugged. "Hey, Man, I suppose there's no way we could talk you out of it?"
Shaking his head slowly, Oliver said, "Like Malcolm said, it appears as though we have no other choice." He blew out a breath. "Ra's did threaten all of you. He doesn't seem to be able to take no for an answer. And if no one else can stop this plan of his…"
"I'd say Malcolm should go undercover into the snake's den instead and get the information we need to stop his plan. Why wouldn't it work?"
"Ms. Smoak, do I need to remind you, the man's been out to kill me."
"Sounds like the right plan to me." Felicity looked at Oliver. "Maybe we can use this scum to bargain with Ra's."
"It's too late for that. Oliver has impressed him too much. He has decided to make him part of the League. One way or another."
Oliver turned to Malcolm. "So, how do we start? What do we need to do?"
"We need to get started as soon as possible. We need to practice your swordfighting so you can beat him the next time you fight him."
"The next time? Oliver almost died this time!" Felicity cried out, not bothering to hide her loud voice.
"We also will need a quiet place," Malcolm said, looking at Felicity, "to practice some techniques meant to withstand brainwashing techniques."
"You need no such thing. Merlyn is wrong to advise you to take this route."
The Team Arrow members jumped at the new voice, but Merlyn turned with a snarl on his face toward the voice. They observed Nyssa walking towards them.
"Felicity is right; we need to improve the lair's security, ASAP," Diggle muttered.
"What are you doing here?" Malcolm asked, moments before he rushed Nyssa. She instead was able to meet his approach with a karate chop across his throat, knocking him to the ground.
As Merlyn rose, Oliver said in a gruff voice, "No fighting in here please. Merlyn, I'm sure Nyssa isn't here to harm you."
"I'm not sure about that, Oliver," Merlyn said as he took pains to dramatically wipe off imaginary dust from his slacks and glare at Nyssa.
Nyssa looked at Merlyn as if he was a slimy snake. "Please. If that were my intention, I'd simply wait for you outside."
"As if you could get the drop on me."
Oliver held up his hands and raised his voice, "Quit it you two!" In a lower voice, he continued. "I've had enough of both of you. Do you think you could work together as a team to bring Ra's down?"
"How do you know it's why she's here, Oliver?" Malcolm asked, not bothering to hide his distrust.
"Because she told me in the hospital she'd help us take her father down."
"And why would she do this?"
Nyssa gave him another withering look. "Because, Magician, my father is not in his right mind. He says he wants to bestow my heirship onto Mr. Queen. He would not ordinarily consider doing such."
"Why not? You're not exactly fit to be Heir."
Nyssa moved her gaze from Merlyn, ignoring his comment, to Oliver. "Do you think we need him, Mr. Queen?"
"What do you think, Nyssa? You haven't told us your plan yet."
Nyssa shrugged her shoulders. "If we could only know whether to trust him." Malcolm sniffed in disgust. "I'm the only one able to get close enough with his guard down to do it."
"Do what?" Diggle asked.
"Kill him," Nyssa said like she was suggesting they order pizza.
"You'd kill your own father? Not even you would consider that, would you?" Malcolm asked with a smirk.
Shaking her head as if considering Merlyn a child, Nyssa said, "This is what we do when my father is no longer thinking sensibly. We kill him, immerse him in the Lazarus Pit, and he is revived once again. Each time takes a little longer for him to recover, but eventually he is restored to sanity. More or less."
"The Lazarus Pit? Like Lazarus in the Bible?" Diggle asked.
"Yes. It is how my father has survived many centuries. When the stress of continually living takes its toll on him, he then has to be rejuvenated by dying and rising once again."
Felicity lowered her head as she rolled her eyes.
"Would you actually need our assistance with this, Nyssa?" Oliver asked. "I would think you could do this on your own."
"I haven't developed the actual details as yet. It depends upon when my father wishes to take you back to Nanda Parbat."
"When do you think we'll know this?"
"Soon, I imagine. My father would not wish to allow you time to think of a way of getting out of this."
Malcolm, who had remained silent and almost forgotten by the others, spoke up. "If the two of you are finished flirting, I suppose your plan doesn't include me, Nyssa?"
Nyssa's eyes roamed up and down Malcolm's body. She arched an eyebrow. "It is not ideal, but depending upon the circumstance, we could use you as a distraction for my father."
"And here I thought that was Oliver's role."
"If all of you are done with trying to come up with alternative useless plans, why not sit down and come up with a viable plan instead?" Felicity asked. "If we are actually going to go through with this crazy idea."
AN: I'm very sorry this took so long. The Muse got frustrated with the audacity of the Arrow writers to end the season the way they did. How they think Oliver could realistically live a life with what had happened, I don't know. (I'm trying not to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet). So she's dealing with that by writing a Season 7 spec fic. So far, so good, but we have too many unfinished stories out there as it is. Oh well, what can one do?
I'd appreciate it if you would leave a comment as to what you thought of this chapter, or the story so far. What you like or what you thought should be better. That type of thing.
Keep smiling and see you next time!