'What we need are more people who specialise in the impossible'
-Theodore Roethke
Titans
Part One: Genesis
Chapter One: The Blueprint
Despite everything that had happened recently, Oliver couldn't help but chuckle alongside Barry's laugh, as the two of them knocked their glasses together with a sharp 'clink'. They both took a brief mouthful of their beers, almost with a private salute to their team, which seemed to be constantly expanding even further. The same team that, as 'The Invasion' had proven, was only going to continue getting stronger and stronger with time, as more and more good people stood up to defend their lives and their homes from those that would do it harm.
The bar the young speedster had chosen was a fairly small one compared to what Oliver was used to, but it was well lit, with a nice, vibrant atmosphere, yet it still felt somewhat homely. It was a very light place - cosy, even - and while the Star City vigilante was much more accustomed to the muted noise and dark colours of a booming nightclub, he freely admitted that it was a nice place to be.
He also had a feeling it wasn't the first time the, 'Hero that Saved Central City', had been there, given the nod he received from that bartender as he entered.
"So I have to ask…", Barry tilted his head to the side in confusion, "aliens are a thing now?"
The speedster laughed, rubbing the back of his head, "Yeah… look, I'm sorry - I should've told you about Supergirl- I mean Kara, after it happened, only-"
"Zoom?"
He nodded, "Zoom", his nose scrunched up, "and then there was everything with Damien Darhk and Laurel and Flashpoint. There was just…"
"Never a good time?"
Barry nodded once again, "There was never a good time", he finished his sentence by shaking his head, "we always say that when something like this comes up. Even if the others don't, you and I should make an effort to talk more - we are leading these teams-"
"-Sara too-"
He nodded, "-Sara too, but we're not really good at the whole organising ourselves thing"
"You know, ever since everything started happening, I have actually been meaning to talk with you", when Oliver saw that Barry was listening, giving him his full attention, he decided to continue, "because speaking of Sara, it was when I was watching her full team in action - The Legends, as they call themselves - it actually gave me a little bit of an idea"
"Oh", he knocked the rest of his drink back, swallowing the bitter liquid and not even recoiling slightly as the strong alcohol hit his system, and Oliver knew it was strong, because that was the only type he drank ever since he'd spent time in Russia.
Somewhere in the multiverse, there was an adult version of teenage Ollie that had never really progressed past his years of constant debauchery that would've really been jealous his ability to do that, even as Barry gave the archer his familiar lopsided grin, "So what's this idea of yours then?"
"It's just", he took a moment to gather his thoughts, wondering what the best way to explain it was, "with everything that's happened recently, and all the time's where we've needed to ask the others' help", the last word almost pained him to say, "like that time you, me and Firestorm teamed up to help you take down The Reverse Flash; or when I helped you out with Bivolo-"
"-We call him Rainbow Raider-"
"-I'm not calling him that", Oliver frowned slightly, "ever. Then you returned the favour when you gave me your help with Captain Boomerang, and then again you helped save my team's lives with Ra's and Malcolm-"
"-Dark Archer-"
"-I've even gone out and pulled in a few old friends to help on occasion, like with Tatsu-"
"-Katana-"
"-And then there was that time you and The Atom took on that weird hacker girl-"
"The Bug-Eyed Bandit - and I'll stop interrupting you now, because I can literally feel that you're about to reach over here and strangle me"
Oliver rolled his eyes, trying to suppress the irritation that the speedster often flared up, before he pushed on, "Look at us, we've fought an immortal dictator together; you ran across dimensions and met another Flash; and then there's the whole multiverse and time travel things; not to mention Supergirl, who is probably just about the most powerful person either of us have ever met. You said that Cisco's slowly beginning to master his own powers - give him enough time and 'Vibe' will be more than just a bit of a force to be reckoned with, and I'm training a brand-new team of heroes right, it all just added up and got me thinking"
"About what?"
"It feels as though every time either of us come across a new villain - a new bad guy - they always feel like they're getting that bit smarter, that bit stronger. They become more and more organised, the longer that we're around, so I think that it's time we started to become more like that too"
"So, what?" Barry shot him a look that was half-serious, though he still had a smile on his face, "You think we should form some sort of a super ultra-team that hunts down the bad guys and saves that day?"
"Not exactly… I was thinking something more along the lines of a league"
It took a moment, but recognition slowly dawned across Barry's face and Oliver knew that he had understood, "Oh… I get it now. You want to have something in place like the old JSA had, right?"
"Yeah something like that… it was meeting this past version of Vixen's what gave me the idea", he nodded to himself, "it's just a shame I couldn't get hold of Mari - I think both of them would've be proud to see the other in action"
"Huh", Barry took a moment to think it over, "alright, I think that it's actually a really good idea, but a team like that would need some sort of structure: a place to meet; actual meetings that take place; some kind of hub set-up too I guess for coordination… and then they'd need a leader, or at least a figurehead"
"And that last part's where you come in"
"What? Me?" the speedster turned to face him, wide-eyed and confused, "You want me to lead? It's your idea, why don't you do it?"
"I'm not trying to pawn a job off on you Barry, but a team like this needs to have a friendly face in charge, someone who can not only lead the team, but also be able to put them at ease when things start to get rough, make them feel better when things go wrong - and that goes double, especially when it comes to dealing with the public, and that's just not who I am. People fear the Green Arrow, they respect The Flash"
With the bottle in his hand having warmed up, Barry began to play with the label, scratching it away with his thumbs, as he mulled over what Oliver had just said, "Okay… so how about this - and I'm not saying yes, 'cause an idea like this clearly needs a lot more thought and planning"
"I'm listening"
"Say I'll be the leader - the figurehead, if you like, of this team… this league - but if I did that, then I'd want you to be the one that calls the shots if we're in the field. You're actually trained for this kind of thing and you have a way of looking at threats in a way I don't. When we met up with everyone, you put me in charge, but it was you they all looked at to handle everyone's training, just like you did for me when we first met. So, I'll say that if I lead, then you'll have to be my sort of…"
"Tactical Advisor?"
Barry smiled so wide that for a moment, Oliver was slightly afraid that the grin would split his face, or worse, that the speedster would reach over and try to hug him.
"The Green Arrow, Tactical Advisor…", he let the words roll off his tongue, trying them out, "well I think it's a perfect fit"
"I'll drink to that"
Oliver held up his hand, and before long there were two fresh bottles of ice cold beer in front of them. He smiled at the on-duty server while she collected their now-empty bottles and was rewarded with a faint blush across the bridge of her nose, while across from him, Barry saw what happened and rolled his eyes, still not-quite used to Oliver's pseudo-flirtatious ways.
He was rewarded for his eye roll with a swift kick to the shin beneath the table.
The two of them stayed silent long enough for their blonde-haired, blue-eyed server, whose nametag identified her as Beth, to leave them, before Oliver asked the question that had been on his mind since their lives had been saved a few days prior.
"So, who was the kid anyway?"
"What kid?"
Barry sent him a confused look, and he took a moment to realise that Barry didn't actually know who he was talking about, and he fought the need to roll his own eyes in response.
"The really fast one"
"Oh him", his nose crinkled, a tell-tale sign that he was uncomfortable, "that's err… that's Wally. He's Joe's son, a biological one, I mean, and he's Iris's little brother too"
"He's a speedster like you?"
"Yeah, honestly he's a pretty fast one too. He has a lot more free time than I do, and he keeps training all the time, I mean he's gotten so fast, so quickly-"
"-It makes you feel stupid sometimes?"
Barry blinked in confusion, "A little bit, yeah. How'd you know-"
"Roy Harper", Oliver's eyes turned downcast, "don't get me wrong, he's not at my level, at least, he wasn't the last time I saw him, but he picked up archery much quicker than I ever did, that's for certain"
"Really? Sounds just like Wally"
"So, he's really dedicated to his training then?"
"Yeah, I guess that's one way of putting it", he took a gulp of his beer, before mumbling, "at least he listens to HR"
"So, are you training him then?"
"NO!"
At his loud outburst, several of the bars patrons turned to them, invading their private bubble by shooting the pair curious looks and straining their ears; Barry's face turned red in response to the scrutiny, while Oliver took a relaxed approach, smiling back at them all with a disarming grin, helping to put them all back at ease and forcing the attention to die back down.
"Why not?"
"I just", his face grimaced as he remembered the images from the Flashpoint Universe; Kid Flash, Wally West, had ended up lying on the medical cot, as his life slowly faded away, killed by 'The Rival', his own version of the Reverse Flash, and for all his supposed power, Barry had been helpless to help him as he lay dying, his own speed diminishing, until he was forced to get help from Eobard Thawne of all people, "I just can't"
It still left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"You wanna talk about it?"
"Not even a little"
"Alright then, fair enough"
Maintaining the silence between them, the two men nursed what was left of their drinks, before Oliver got up to settle their tab. Once he was done, he met Barry outside, who gave him a moment to compose himself before he ran them both back to the, now-former, STAR Labs hangar that they had been using over the last few days.
The same hangar that Oliver had just bought from them for a very good price, and then paid Cisco his own small fortune to outfit with his latest and best security features, which included having a full-body biometric scanner on all of the hangar's access and egress points.
The scanner had actually been activated, but Oliver hadn't made the time yet to programme everyone he wanted into it, so for the moment, he had set it to allow everyone who approached in as a guest, with only the first two people having designations; and even they only existed as proof that the system worked.
"Recognised: The Flash Zero-Two, Green Arrow Zero-One"
"Hey, how come you get to go first anyway? I'm apparently the leader of this team-"
"-It's a league-"
"-league of ours. Shouldn't I be person numero uno?"
"I own the place, so I get to go first. I tell you what though Barry, if you want to go first next time, then you can buy the building too"
Barry chuckled in response as the door opened by sliding downwards, "I'll keep that in mind"
The two of them walked through the new security doors, stepping into what could only really be described as a form of 'organised chaos'.
Oliver had already gone through the entirety of the building, mapping out the different floors, and drawn up mental designs for each area. In one corner of what was going to be his new expanded and improved training room, Sara and Amaya were showing off a few of their more versatile moves to Jax, Wally and Thea, who were all laughing at each other, in between getting thrown to the mats by an equally amused White Canary and Vixen.
Supergirl was bouncing around Caitlin and Felicity, happy to be surrounded by more like-minded women, and both Oliver and Barry liked the way the young alien girl seemed to light up the room she was in, and by extension, everyone around her. Barry thought it was always nice to see people like that, but for Oliver it was an alien concept to witness; seeing someone surrounded by so much darkness, and yet she managed to be so visibly happy and carefree all of the time.
In truth, seeing her unsettled him for more than just her being an alien.
At least Barry still scowled from time to time.
It made him feel better though, lighter even, knowing that there were still places out there where people could be better, safer.
At their makeshift bar, they could see the rest of Team Legends helping themselves to what was left of their synthesized alcohol. The pair both found it strange to see a group of heroes drinking along with Mick Rory, AKA Heatwave, a known arsonist, convicted felon and foe of The Flash, who had just had all of his and his, now-deceased, partner's criminal records erased as a personal favour from The President for all of his hard work during what was already being labelled as 'The Invasion', by the media.
Quite a few of them had decided to cash in on the favours they had been told they were owed, but he had decided to do the smart thing, and save his for a later date.
Oliver didn't trust the man in the slightest, and Barry was certainly still wary of him, having confided in him that Rory apparently didn't live by the same code of honour that Leonard Snart had, but before everything had started in earnest, Sara had gone out of her way to corner the two of them and vouch for him, telling them both that - in no uncertain terms - that the arsonist had proven himself time and time again, and when they were fighting, all of them pushed onto a single platform, Oliver had found himself back-to-back with the man, relying on him; arsonist and archer working together, if only for a few moments. He hadn't given him any reason not to trust him then, nor had he since it had all ended, which told him that even if he was definitely wary of him, he could still rely on Sara's judgement calls.
Also, it was funny to see him embarrass Ray over and over again, even if it was with some sort of disguised affection.
The new Team Arrow, which was everyone minus himself, Felicity, Thea and Diggle (as well as Lyla and John Junior), had all left for Star City, seeming to relish in the idea that without the senior members of the team back home, they were free to patrol their city's streets to their hearts' content without the Green Arrow there to reign them in.
He had Felicity monitoring the situation just in case.
As they entered the room in earnest, Cisco's head popped up from beneath a control panel, smiling contentedly to himself as he tinkered away, catering to Oliver's rather specific and surprising demands; Barry flashed across the room to talk to him, leaving Oliver stood by himself at the main entrance to the hangar.
From his spot at the top of the room, he could see them all as they interacted with people they never usually saw; he watched on as Thea lunged at Sara's face, distracting her vision as Wally appeared behind her in a brief blur of yellow lightning, hunched over behind her legs, tripping the former assassin like they were all back in kindergarten, sending her sprawling to the floor.
Wally popped back to his feet with a massive grin, while Thea began giggling at the sight of her ersatz-elder sister glaring up at the yellow speedster. Her giggles grew to be real laughter as Wally tried to show off by flexing his muscles, only to find himself tripped up by the Legends' Leader's feet and one arm being wrenched behind his back.
Jax and Amaya began laughing as Wally squawked, and as Thea helped the youngest speedster to his feet, Oliver gained another idea.
It was a few days later when everyone had wound down, and Cisco, with some extra help from Ray, Felicity, and to most people's surprise, Jax, had finally finished installing the last of their new security systems. Jax had even managed to install a small shield generator, much like the one installed on the Waverider, in case anyone tried to attack their new base directly.
Just in case the combination of expertly trained and super-powered heroes inside wasn't enough. The shield itself apparently wouldn't hold up to much in the way of a powered assault, but it was better than nothing.
If nothing else, it would be able to buy them just enough time to make an escape.
They all made their way to the rooftop, where the Legend's time ship was stored. They were greeted by Gideon at the base of the ramp to the cargo hold, and with a round of hugs and goodbyes - only Ray was brave enough to even try and hug Oliver, who decided to bear it, and rewarded him for his efforts with a brief pat on the back.
Team Legends gave a final round of 'goodbyes', before they all made their way back onto their ship, immediately heading up towards the bridge, where they could continue waving to their friends, with the exception of Mick, who thumped Ray on his back and went off in search of more beer.
While everyone else took a few steps back, finding the space to wave away, Oliver, Barry and Sara came together at the base of the ramp, Oliver placing his back towards the crowd.
"So, this is it for now huh?"
Sara couldn't help but grin at the other two men, who always stood out next to each other, like brothers and best friends in one aspect, and like night and day in the other.
"This is it", Oliver confirmed with a nod of his head, before reaching into his trouser pocket and handing over a plain USB stick, before handing another one over to Barry, and she became aware that because of where Oliver was standing, no one else could see them.
Meaning that no one else could see the sticks either.
A fact that wasn't lost on her.
"Ollie…", she dragged his name out, "what is this?"
"This", he said, with a quick glance to make sure the others weren't looking, "is a recent idea I had. I was discussing it with Barry the other day, and he helped me put a few of the pieces together. I'm working on something else as well, which I think will help all of us in the long run, but I was hoping for now, that you'd both take a look at this one", before she could ask anything else, he added, "just you two though. Our eyes only"
"Alright", she slid it into her jeans, "I'll take a look at it for you", her tone was suspicious, but she pulled him into a hug nonetheless, which after a moment's hesitation he returned, "take care of yourself Ollie"
"You too Sara"
Letting him go, she hugged Barry too, who was much quicker to hug her back, earning him a quick peck on the cheek, and despite himself, he blushed, "Later fleet feet"
He chuckled, "Just come home safe, 'kay Tweety"
"You got it boss"
The two of them watched on as she made her own way up the ramp, a bounce in her step, and still dressed in her casual wear. Once the door began to seal itself, the two of them ambled their way over to join the others, reaching them as the Waverider began to hum, signalling it powering itself up, and after a few moments, it began to slowly lift off, raising itself into the air.
Oliver and Diggle both raised a hand in farewell, while Barry led everyone else in waving madly to them. They all watched, looking on in partial amazement, partial disbelief, as the ship headed up into the sky, accelerating madly, before it disappeared into the time vortex.
Beside him, Digg let out a breath he had been holding, "I ain't ever gonna get used to seeing that"
Barry laughed out loud, having heard Digg's statement, before they all made their way off of the rooftop and down towards the ground. Thea led them all out to the front of the building, where Team Arrow's nondescript black van, the STAR Labs van and Oliver's Ducati were all parked up.
The two teams all piled in to their respective vehicles, leaving only their leaders stood out front, where they could feel the others' eyes on both of them. Barry offered his hand, which Oliver grasped firmly with his own, before surprising the younger man by pulling him into an extremely brief, one-armed hug.
"Take care of yourself, and that team of yours, scarlet speedster"
Barry laughed, clapping him lightly on the shoulder, "Right back at you, emerald archer"
His feet 'clicked' and 'clacked' on the tiled floor, the obnoxiously bright white offending his eyes, as he stepped up to their manager, fighting back the urge to wince, "Status report: Did you get what we needed?"
"No Sir. We were unsuccessful at this time"
"What?! That is not what the board of directors will want to hear. There will be consequences for this and you can be damn sure that I will not be the one paying them!"
"Yes Sir, but…"
"What is it?"
"The bodies were removed too quickly for us to recover one, that is. I mean- it's just-"
"Stop your snivelling and get on with it"
"While the heroes were distracted fighting against The Dominators that arrived, we noticed that for a brief moment, there was an injury; just for a few moments before it rapidly healed, and our team managed to recover this from the scene"
He held up the small glass vial, letting the crimson liquid inside swill around for a moment, briefly flickering to a light orange colour, even as everyone stopped what they were doing, all of their eyes being drawn to it and what it represented. Following its movements, he could feel the superior's hunger for it.
"Give that to me. Now"
"I take then, that this is an acceptable substitute for our supposed loss"
"Oh yes, indeed it is. Now give it to me", he snatched up the vial with greedy fingers, the overhead lighting reflecting off of his glasses in a way that highlighted just how dark the brown colour of his irises was, "this will suit our purposes much better than the original. I will deliver this to our partners for their peace of mind, and once we have secured the funding, we shall commence work immediately. You have done well. Now, prep a lab on the new level; we have work to do"