Thank you everyone that has been reading and everyone that's left reviews or sent me comments. You guys rock! Also that you NocturnalRites for jumping in and be a beta for the last two chapters. Your help is very much appreciated!

Chapter 8

Oliver did a quick sweep of the area around the VA building. He didn't think Rogers was up to anything but it eased his mind to check. He was quiet when he entered the building. Hyperaware of his surroundings, Oliver was a little surprised when the other man didn't notice his entrance. Rogers had been just as alert to danger as Oliver himself when they'd met. It didn't make sense that he was so relaxed now.

Steve was on the punching bag. He was going fast and if the way the bag moved with each punch was any indication, he was putting a lot of power into it. There was a lethal grace to the way he moved. Oliver had noticed that when they sparred the first time. This man was not someone you wanted as an enemy. He felt hope starting to stir. Slade and later the training he'd gotten after he'd been pulled from the island had made him a tough fighter. Oliver knew that. Now he was hoping to refine his knowledge. Maybe if he could surprise Slade and get the upper hand, he could end all of the madness before it went much farther.

"Do you need to warm up?" Steve asked without turning his head or breaking his rhythm on the bag. So he'd known Oliver was there. "I'll be done here in just a minute."

"I warmed up on the way over," Oliver answered switching the voice distortion on before he spoke. Steve glanced up as he gave the bag one last punch then stood up and wiped his forehead with the towel he picked up from the bench next to him.

"That voice thing is irritating," Steve pointed out. "You know I'm much more apt to recognize you in public by your stance, your build, your mole," Steve touched right below his lip and gestured to Oliver, "than I am to recognize you by your voice." Tossing the towel over his shoulder, Steve moved to the bench where his bag sat. "My life has depended on being able to spot an enemy or a friend in a crowd too often not to notice those sorts of things. Voices are more my partner's thing."

Oliver froze. He hadn't thought about what might give him away to someone that seemed to be a trained observer. He already had enough people that knew his identity. As helpful as his training with Steve would be, he didn't know him. He had no reason to trust him and with Steve's slip about his life depending on his observations skills and his mention of a partner, Oliver suddenly wanted to know more about this man.

"I'm not telling you to take off the mask or tell me who you are. I'm just asking if we can do without the voice." Steve wasn't trying to advance on him. He started to unwrap his hands. The chances that they would meet in public seemed fairly slim and wearing the voice box did irritate him sometimes as he moved. It wasn't a lot to ask and if it put him at ease enough for Oliver to get a few more answers, it was worth it. Reaching up and hitting, Oliver watched Steve nod and go back to unwrapping his hands.

"Anything in particular you want to work on tonight?" Steve tossed the white tape into his workout bag and turned back to Oliver. He was relaxed where he stood waiting expectantly, but he had a military bearing to him. Oliver had noticed that the night before. Hell, they were meeting at the VA to work out so yes, military. He didn't think ARGUS. He should have had Felicity run a background check on Steve Rogers, but he hadn't wanted to tell her or Digg about him sparring with a stranger. He wasn't sure why exactly, but as soon as he got back to the lair he needed to have her do some research for him.

Explaining what he wanted to work on, Oliver moved toward the mats. More than two hours later, both men were covered in sweat. At first it had annoyed Oliver that Steve never seemed as tired as he was, but now it was starting to bother him. Starling's vigilante knew he was in amazing physical shape. He punished himself enough working out to know that he was at his peak of performance and endurance but the other man didn't seem to tire and that was not something Oliver could ignore. With Slade and the Mirakuru on the loose, Oliver would be foolish to disregard what might be right in front of him.

"You've been practicing," Steve commented as he reached in his bag and tossed Oliver water, before grabbing one for himself. "You pick things up quick." The praise felt good. He was genuinely enjoying the workouts and Rogers' laid back style. When fighting, it was like Steve had nothing to prove, he was completely comfortable in his own skin. Oliver envied that but at the same time it made it easy to take suggestions and learn. Damn, he didn't want to think Steve was playing him and somehow part of Slade's army, but the stamina was hard to ignore and if he was being honest with himself, the man's speed was just a little too fast to be normal.

"Thanks," Oliver offered, downing the water and studying his partner. "So what's your story, Rogers?" He needed answers, but on the outside chance he was imagining things, he didn't want to alienate Rogers either. Steve didn't seem inclined to answer so he tried again. "What's an obviously highly trained military asset doing hold up in one of the worst part of Starling City?" He'd made a few leaps and taken a guess, but he must have been close. He could tell he'd hit a nerve. Steve's face showed his surprise quite clearly before he covered it.

The man should never play poker, Oliver decided. His thoughts were pretty much mirrored on his face. Oliver could never remember a time he'd had that luxury. He'd been taught from the crib up to hide his emotions in front of the world. It was an expected hazard of having money and being in the spotlight.

"Right now he's kinda wondering why the guy with the mask expects me to fill in my blanks." It was a non-answer, but he didn't deny the 'military asset' part of the conversation. Oliver came a little more alert.

"You already know what I'm doing here." Oliver pointed out. "I know nothing about why you're here." Steve inclined his head and swung the hand with the water bottle in it towards Oliver in a gesture of 'I'll give you that one'.

Oliver pushed a little more. "I'm trying to clean up the city and make it safe again. I'm just wondering why a man with your knowledge and abilities is hanging out at the VA and jogging alone through the Glades late at night."

Steve settled back against the edge of the boxing ring and took another drink from the water bottle in his hand. It was a fair question. He could see why Arrow would want to know what he was doing and if he was going to cause trouble. Another trained fighter in the man's city left a question mark.

From the way he had called him a 'highly trained military asset', Steve wondered if he'd figured out who he was. He didn't want to bring HYDRA or any other enemies to this city, but the more he interacted with people the less he wanted to try to hide who he was. He couldn't see how Natasha and Clint did it or for that matter, Arrow. Secret identities were exhausting. This whole situation was new to Steve. Life had been missions and living openly in DC with S.H.I.E.L.D backing him. Not many decisions outside the battlefield had been required.

"I'm not here to cause you or this city problems," Steve tried, watching as Arrow's body language tensed. "I wouldn't be training with you if I was." The man wasn't relaxing. Arrow didn't say anything and didn't look pleased from his body language. As a matter of fact, Arrow had changed his stance and looked on alert. This was escalating and he wasn't sure why.

Steve sighed and put the water bottle down. He watched Arrow tense even more at his movement so he settled back against the boxing ring and kept his hands at his side. "Truth is, I could be anywhere. A friend does counseling at a VA in DC. He knew I was looking to put some distance between myself and my old life. He told me about the VA here needing help and how much the city has been through. I thought maybe I could help rebuild while I figure some things out for myself."

"You want me to believe you moved across country on a whim and picked Starling by chance?" Arrow's voice was filled with anger. The vigilante didn't exactly have a sunny disposition to begin with from what Steve could see, but him suddenly feeling like he needed to defend against Steve was not something Steve wanted to happen.

"Yes, that's what I expect you to believe. I don't lie." Steve stated, letting an edge enter his voice. If Arrow guessed who Steve was, that would explain a lot. "I'm just trying to figure out what I'm fighting for anymore. You're not the only one who had friends turn on him." He didn't exactly know why he'd shared that part. Thinking back on the story Arrow had told about his mentor turning on him, Steve felt like maybe he'd understand. Maybe they'd find some common ground.

"Everyone lies, Rogers," Arrow spit out.

"Not Captain America," Steve pointed out in what he thought was a reasonable voice. Wait for it, wait for it… he told himself.

"What does…" The man paused. "You're not… Captain Steve Rogers, Captain America?" Yep, there it was, Arrow's voice had lost its anger and was headed for high pitched as the man worked it through in his mind. Steve smiled crookedly. Telling Felicity had been scary. He didn't want to lose his chance with her. While he was enjoying his sparring sessions with Arrow, he wasn't invested so he wasn't as worried. It was actually fun to watch the other man's reaction.

"I am." Steve said simply.

"What is the leader of the Avengers doing in my city?" He demanded. "Why didn't you tell me who you were right away?" Steve felt his eyebrows climb into his hairline.

"You're angry that I didn't tell you about my not so secret identity?" Steve asked. "I'm not the one wearing a mask and I've already told you why I'm here. I told you I don't lie." He was about at the end of his patience. He needed a run or more sparring.

Arrow seemed to settle after a minute. "That's what we were always taught in school. That Captain America never lies." The man eased his stance slightly. "I always figured it was no truer than George Washington's cherry tree story."

"I always wondered about the cherry tree story too." Steve said. "But the part about me is true. And it feels really strange you put me in the same sentence with George Washington. I'm 95, not 295." He couldn't help pointing that part out.

Arrow snorted, but ignored his statement. "You're bad at secrets, Rogers. If you wanted to keep who you are under wraps, you shouldn't have offered to spar. There isn't any way you can completely hide being faster, stronger." Arrow seemed to be relaxing the more they talked. "So what happened in Washington? I saw on the news they'd made you a fugitive. They showed your arrest. The next thing I see is three ships in the river and you're cleared, but S.H.I.E.L.D doesn't exist anymore. I thought you were one of the reasons that organization was built."

Peggy, Howard, a lot of good people built S.H.I.E.L.D, not me. I was busy waiting to be defrosted. He wanted to say that, but he didn't want the questions that might come along with that statement. It was still an open wound that everything they'd stood for had turned out to be a lie. "It was corrupt. HYDRA, a Nazi organization that should have been long dead infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. It all had to be taken apart."

"What about the people at the top that made the decision to take S.H.I.E.L.D down?" Arrow asked. "They're backing you up aren't they?"

"I made that call on my own." Steve's simple statement brought Arrow's head spinning back to him in surprise. "The people at the top were either dead or I wasn't sure I could trust them. The decision was on me." He wasn't sure if Arrow was connecting the dots. He figured he was. He seemed like a smart fellow, but Steve figured it was only fair to warn him. "That means I pissed a lot of people off. I might be bringing enemies to this city if it becomes common knowledge I'm here." He hated knowing that. He hated not knowing if it was fair to start his life anywhere that his troubles could burn the people around him. He half expected his new sparring buddy to tell him he needed to leave the city.

"The serum that they used on you," Arrow's subject change pulled Steve's attention back to him. "Do you know if the Japanese had any of it in the 1940's?"

"No, they didn't. All samples of the serum were destroyed in the attack that killed the doctor that created it." That was something different than he expected after his revelations. "Why do you ask?"

"The man trying to kill me has something called Mirakuru in his system. It was in a stranded derelict Japanese sub in the South Pacific. When it's injected, it kills about half the people and the other half bleed from their eyes but recover. Those that do recover are incredibly strong and they heal unbelievably quickly, but it twists their mind. They get angry. Not normal anger, but uncontrollable Hulk like anger." Arrow's hands were gripping the bench behind him so tightly his knuckles were white.

"Red Skull," Steve said as an idea clicked. That had to be where Arrow's Mirakuru came from. He knew Schmidt had been experimenting with different forms of the serum. Bucky had only been one of hundreds that had been experimented on. They knew that from the files they found at the liberated camps.

"Red Skull?" Arrow asked.

"Back in '43 a man named Johann Schmidt, was called Red Skull. He was taking prisoners and experimenting on people. He and a scientist named Zola were trying to duplicate the serum used on him. It was the prototype for what was used on me, but it didn't work the same. It twisted Schmidt's mind even further than it had been to start with."

"And you think that could be what the Mirakuru is? You think this Red Skull was working with the Japanese?"

"I doubt he was working with the Japanese. Schmidt thought he was a god with a mystical right to control all mankind. He wouldn't have shared secrets outside of HYDRA." Steve thought about all of Schmidt's bases that the Howling Commandos had destroyed.

"The Howling Commandos and I took down most of his bases in '44 and '45 before I went into the ice. We were moving through the bases fast. I can't be sure that we destroyed everything. It could be possible some of his experiments made it out of the country to one of Germany's allies once Schmidt was gone and Zola was captured."

"Maybe that's where the sub was coming from when it was stranded." Arrow's voice was thoughtful.

"You've mentioned the sub twice. It sounds like you were there?"

"I was." There was a lot of hesitation in Arrow's voice. "Are you any better at keeping other people's secrets than you are at keeping your own?"

Steve raised an eyebrow at him. "So that's how it is, is it?" There was no heat in his voice. He was mostly surprised Arrow was teasing him. The man had a very dry sense of humor.

Oliver thought about the conversation. It sounded like Steve Rogers could tell him about Mirakuru and maybe have an idea how to stop Slade's followers. Steve Rogers, Captain America. That thought floored Oliver. The easy-going guy sitting across from him led the Avengers. He'd basically died protecting the world back in the 40's. Hell, the man lead a team that included a Norse god and the Hulk and fought invading aliens with them. This man could be a good ally, not just for his skills, but for his knowledge as well.

Steve knew what Oliver was fighting. Oliver's team had no idea where the Mirakuru came from or what it actually was, but Steve had come up with an explanation right away. He had an idea where to look for more information. Steve hadn't been confused or upset knowing that there was a serum out there turning men into crazed super soldiers. His calm problem solving reminded Oliver of Diggle, one of the two people he trusted most in his life.

If he was going to beat Slade, he needed allies that could help. As much as he and his team were good, they were constantly behind Slade, constantly reacting to what the man did. He was realistic enough to know that if nothing changed, Slade would win and it wouldn't just be him that paid the price it would be everyone he cared about. Decision made, Oliver could only hope it was the right one.

Dropping his hood back and taking his mask off, Oliver held out his hand. "Oliver Queen," he stated. Steve nodded to himself after a moment and took Oliver's hand.

"Is it a billionaire thing?" Steve's question surprised a laugh out of Oliver. "Something traumatic, like you get kidnapped or shipwrecked and you suit up?"

"The money doesn't hurt when building a secret identity." He agreed before sobering. "I'm not Stark. The Queens are not quite his kind of rich and I have no intention of going public."

"That's smart," Roger's agreed. "Tony paid a high price for announcing he's Iron Man. I wasn't awake then, but since I've known him, I've seen it hurt him and Pepper more than once."

"Then you'll keep my secret?" He didn't know why he needed to ask. He'd taken the chance. Maybe he just needed to know if he'd been right to take it.

"It's not my secret to tell." Steve assured him. A look passed across his face that Oliver couldn't read. "Do any of your family, friends know?"

"No, they don't." He answered, mostly truthfully. It wasn't his right to tell anyone about Felicity or Digg without asking them first. He had been furious when Felicity told Barry, even if it had been to save his life. He wouldn't do that to anyone else. He'd ask them tomorrow if they were okay with Captain America knowing their secret.

Steve nodded. Oliver thought he saw relief pass across his face, but that didn't make sense. The man didn't hide what he was thinking well, but Oliver decided he'd read the look wrong.

"The best option I have of finding out what we need to know about Mirakuru is my partner Natasha Romanoff." Before Oliver could interrupt, Steve held his hand up. "She has resources neither of us has."

"I don't want anyone else involved." Oliver was starting to feel like this was a mistake. He could see his life being blown apart.

"You asked me for help, but if you don't want me to reach out to people I trust, I'll let that be your call, but only as long as it doesn't endanger innocents." Steve straightened up, away from the boxing ring. In that moment, as Rogers stood across from him, relaxed but balanced and ready for whatever came, a command presence radiating off of him. Oliver wondered how he hadn't seen it before.

Even without the uniform, it was obvious Captain America was standing in front of him offering to help, letting Oliver make the decision how much help he took, but letting him know if the public was in danger, it was out of Oliver's hands. He should have been pissed, but somehow, knowing that if he failed, an Avenger would be there to keep his city safe gave him a sense of peace he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Ok, we'll do it your way. If you trust Romanoff and you think she'll have the answers then contact her, but keep my name out of it." He relented.

"I won't say a word about you, but there's a decent chance that she'll figure it out. It depends on what she has going on and if she thinks I'm in any danger. If she's bored or if she thinks she needs to protect me she'll dig deep and probably figure out who you are." Oliver processed Steve's words. He was having a little trouble believing this Romanoff woman would be in a position to protect Captain America, then the name clicked.

"Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, another Avenger?"

"I trust her with my life." Steve said in a quiet voice. "Even if she finds out about you, she won't betray my trust."

"OK," Oliver relented after a moment. Rogers was right. They needed information, something. Slade was a ghost with all the answers. They needed a few of their own.

Twenty minutes later, Oliver left the gym after giving Steve as much information as he had about the Mirakuru, except about the cure. He couldn't bring himself to admit he could have cured Slade but he chose to kill him instead. In the presence of the kind of honor Captain America represented, he didn't have it in him to admit what he'd done.

Oliver gave Steve Slade Wilson's name and what he knew about him. It was a risk, but he'd been taught that Captain America was the most honest, honorable man that ever lived, or something along those lines. If he was going to take a chance on someone, it seemed like Steve Rogers was not a bad choice.

For the first time since he'd walked into the mansion and seen Slade sitting across from his mother Oliver felt some hope. Now he just had to tell the rest of team and see how they felt about letting Captain America in on their secret. He didn't think it would be a problem with Felicity or Diggle, but Sara and Roy were a different story.

"Queen," Steve called before Oliver made it to the door. Oliver turned back in question. "So did you tell me who you are because you wanted my help or because you were tired of sweating your ass off in all that leather when we spar?" Roger's face was expectant but amused. Oliver was coming to recognize the quirk to his lips and raised eyebrows that usually accompanied whatever smart ass thing Rogers was about to say.

Oliver felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. Who knew Captain America had such a sarcastic dry humor. "I already had your help," Oliver pointed out reasonably before he flipped his hood back up and headed out the door. He caught the sound of Steve's chuckle as the door slammed shut behind him.