Chapter 132: Familia Primum

"Thanks for walking me out, Doctor Shelby," Eddie thanked his therapist warmly as the two men exited the clinic.

Aryton Shelby smiled back. "It was my pleasure, Eddie. I know this session was heavy today, and it's my job to support you."

"Well, thanks anyway."

"Eddie!"

The two men looked up, seeing Barry walking over to them with a wave. "Ready to go?"

Eddie straightened himself out, making sure his jacket was securely in his arms and his bag around his shoulder. "Yeah, I am," he looked at Aryton and gestured to him. "Barry, this is my therapist, Doctor Aryton Shelby. Doctor Shelby, this is a friend of mine: Barry Allen."

Blonde and brunette reached out and shook hands. "It's nice to meet you, Barry. Eddie has said much about you."

Barry snorted. "Probably not all that good. Not that I blame you," he added for Eddie's benefit, who simply waved it off with a smile.

Aryton grinned. "Better than you think. I guess you two are heading out for lunch?"

"Yeah. New Vietnamese place downtown that we want to try."

"Ah yes. Pho Ton, correct?" Both younger men nodded. "Well, I leave you to it. I bet the both of you are starving."

Eddie snorted. "You have no idea. This guy," he jabbed his thumb towards the unrepentant Barry, "does not eat. He inhales."

"Hey! You've got a healthy appetite too!"

"Not as bad as you," the other man retorted, and the two descended into playful bickering.

Aryton simply laughed and shook his head.

A couple of hours later, as their meal was winding down and Barry had just broken the restaurant's original record of most sandwiches eaten in a single sitting, there was a loud ding! that pinged from Eddie's pocket. Eddie frowned and took out his phone, groaning when he saw what the text message was. "I take it not something you wanted see?" Barry asked, wiping away some crumbs from his mouth.

"I've been a summoned for another gala in a few weeks."

Barry raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Again? But you went to one already like a month or so ago. Aren't your parents done parading you around yet?"

Eddie shook his head, sighing. He began rubbing one of his temples, trying to ease the growing migraine there. "Apparently, the novelty of me awakening from my coma and being a Zoom victim hasn't worn off yet," he noted with no small amount of sarcasm and derision.

His friend blinked. "But everyone in this city is a Zoom victim."

"I know," the soon-to-be-detective-again groaned.

"…well that sucks. I'm guessing they're ordering you to get a new suit?"

The other man nodded glumly.

"Want me to come with then? I can't go to the gala the proper thanks to S.T.A.R. Labs paperwork, but I can come with you to help pick a suit at least."

"That's fine, Barry," Eddie said, releasing another sigh. "It's too bad you can't come. I could really use the support, and it'd at least be bearable with a friend around."

"Not gonna ask Patty or Iris? You know they'd both go to support you too."

Eddie shook his vigorously, shuddering. "No way. Iris shouldn't have to deal with my parents when she's still recovering from the whole Ralph thing, especially when we're not dating anymore. And if I show up with Patty around all that press, when everyone knew I was dating Iris beforehand, the optics would not be pretty."

Barry winced at the thought of the tabloids thinking Eddie was now dating Patty, a white woman, after breaking up with Iris, around the same time as his father's campaign for state senator. They'd have a field day at the non-existent implications. "Oh, yeah. Not good at all."

"Hugo would kill me," Eddie agreed.

"Are you sure you can't say no?"

"Nope. They paid the bills, so I'm their bitch."

"I could—"

Eddie held up a hand, silencing his friend. "It's fine, Barry. I can handle it. Just need to last until election day, hope the people do the smart thing and vote for the other guy, and then I'm home free."

"At least until next election cycle," Barry pointed out.

A wince. "Well, I'll deal with it when we get there," the detective promised.

Kara Zor-El was an assassin. A warrior. A superhero. One of the greatest combatants in the world. She was Supergirl, quite possibly the most powerful being on the planet. People envied her, loved her, hated her, worshipped her, but above all else, revered her. There was no denying her strength, speed, skill, and, for those who knew her true identity, her beauty.

Unfortunately, none of that stopped her from sucking at ice skating.

"AGH!" Kara yelped as she tumbled and fell on her ass for the umpteenth time today.

Standing next to her on her own skates with far more balance was Sam, who couldn't help but let out a small giggle at her expense. "Come on, Kara," she said, crouching down and offering her grateful best friend an arm. "Up you go."

"How is this so easy for you?" Kara complained, legs still shaky even as she got back to an upright position. Her balance slipped again, and she nearly fell back, but managed to grab the edge of the rink before it could happen. "And why is this so hard for me!?"

Sam shrugged, still smiling in amusement. "No one is good at everything, my dearest friend. Not even you."

Kara grumbled, forced to concede a point. As if to rub salt in the wound, Kal skated up to them with Ruby in tow, doing a really impressive spin while he was at it. He made a controlled stop, then crossed his arms and gave his big sister a smirk.

"Not a word, you. I still control your allowance."

About an hour and a half later, Kara was pouting as she rubbed her (not really) sore body and dusted off shavings of ice. She sat down, untying the laces of her rented skates and removing them, handing them over to Sam to collect and give back to the desk. Rubbing her feet a little to get some life back into them, she leaned back a bit and relaxed at the brief reprieve. She might be invulnerable, but constantly losing your balance and landing on your ass was not a fun experience no matter how you looked at it.

"Kara!" Kal called out to her, walking over with her bag in hand. It had been stored in one of the lockers for safe keeping. "There's some kind of news alert on your phone."

Kara blinked, then beckoned her charge to hand the device over. He dutifully did, allowing her to unlock it and scroll through the feed. Her brow furrowed as she read through the list of headlines, all basically saying the same thing, and clicked one at random. She frowned as she started reading the article, that frown growing deeper and deeper with every word.

"What's the matter?" Sam asked, returning from the rental desk. Next to her was Ruby, who quickly bounced over to Kal. The four were heading over to Big Belly Burger for lunch.

"There's this outbreak in Metropolis," Kara explained, handing the phone over. "It's been going on for the couple of days, but it's only affecting one part of the city. And suddenly there's been this huge drop off in cases, with no new ones in the past week. It's like the virus just up and left."

"Seriously?" Sam asked, sounding and looking disturbed as she accepted the phone. She scrolled through the article herself, and found that what Kara said was true. '25 Dead, around two hundred cases…' "Weird. Hopefully it doesn't show up in Star."

"Yeah," Kara agreed, a gnawing feeling in her gut. "Hopefully."

Next Day…

"You wanted to see me, Dad?" Oliver asked as he closed the door of his father's office behind him.

Robert smiled up at his son, though the expression seemed a little distant. "Yes. Sit down, son."

Oliver dutifully did, pulling out one of the chairs near his father's desk and seating himself. He waited for a moment for his father to finish working whatever he was working on his computer, and then sat up a little bit straighter as Robert's eyes landed on him. The older man turned fully so he could face his boy, taking a moment to really look at him.

For a decade, he had believed that he'd never have this moment. That his boy had died on that godforsaken yacht and Robert would have to live with the guilt for the rest of his life. That he would be forced to do this… this atrocity in Oliver's name, for Thea's sake and safety. But then a miracle had happened, his boy had come home and Malcolm had been taken down by that vigilante team and it seemed like all of his family's troubles were finally over. He would mourn the years he lost with his son, but it meant having him hale and hearty and ready to live his life with the love of his own life here and now, then it was a price he was willing to pay.

Except, his boy was in danger again. All of Malcolm's sins once again coming to haunt them, and as much as Robert wanted to rail against his former friend, it was useless. They didn't know this League, about what buttons they could push, what offerings they could make, all to spare their son and godson. And if Malcolm's words were true, then Oliver would never get his happy ending with Laurel if they had their way. And there is nothing, nothing, Robert wouldn't do to make sure that he didn't lose his boy again.

Nothing.

"Dad?"

Robert blinked, breaking away from his internal thoughts. Right. The task at hand. "Sorry, son. Just admiring how much you've grown."

Oliver blushed. Robert cleared his throat. "Right. I've summoned you here to talk about something. You know about the upcoming mayoral election next year, right?"

His son nodded.

"Well, I've decided to run."

His son stared.

"Not that I'm doubting your ability and all…" Oliver started slowly after a moment of silence, "But isn't this kind of sudden? I didn't know you were into politics, dad."

"Well, I am," Robert said with a smile. "I think this city needs some good, strong leadership after the past couple of years. City Hall has been lagging for a while, and I thought to myself: 'I can do better'. And if I can do better, why shouldn't I?"

"Right," Oliver said, once again slowly. "So what does this have to do with me?"

His father laughed. "Well, isn't it obvious, son? I can't be CEO and Mayor at the same time! It's time to take your place as head of the company."

Oliver was staring again. "…what?"

"Of course, there's going to be a transition period. I'll need to show you more of the ropes, help ease you into the position. Not to mention announcing it official to press and everything—"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Oliver cut his father off, holding his hands up. Robert quieted, blinking, as Oliver inhaled deeply and spoke. "Dad, I'm flattered that you think so highly of my abilities, but I think you're overestimating me. I'm not ready to run the company yet."

"Nonsense, son! You've already opened your own business and you've been an invaluable part of the company for the past several months. I'm sure you can handle it."

"Dad—"

"Oliver." Robert was still smiling, but there was something dangerous in his tone now. "Either take the job, or we're disinheriting you."

Now Oliver was really staring at him, mouth slightly agape. "Isn't that a little extreme?"

"Oliver."

An ultimatum, then.

"…Fine," Oliver acquiesced, wondering just what the hell was going on.

A few hours later, after the work day concluded, Oliver shot a quick text to Laurel telling him he was dropping by his house for a bit to talk to his mother. He then drove on over to his childhood home, being careful to dodge the ever-present rush hour traffic. Not an easy thing to do, and he had to do some side-street magic, but he managed somehow.

About an hour later, he was entering the Queen Mansion, marveling that, for the first time since coming back from Lian Yu, he wasn't actually living here. Oliver still had his own room of course, and more than enough childhood knick-knacks hanging around there to characterize at his room. However, most of his adulthood belongs, including his clothes, had been transferred to his place with Laurel, either on his side of their walk-in closet or strewn about their apartment. He kept a few pieces of clothing in the Mansion in case of a need for a quick change, but not much more than that.

"Oliver?"

And there she was. "Hi, Mom," Oliver greeted his mother, giving her a brief hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Can I speak to you for a minute? There's something that happened at work that I need to talk to you about."

Moira smiled. "Of course, dear. You know I'm always here for you." She took his hand and led him to the couch, gesturing to him to sit down. The Queen Matriarch smoothed the back of her skirt, straightening out before sitting down herself. Ever graceful, was Moira Queen. "Now, what is it you wish to speak about?"

Oliver scratched his cheek. "Did Dad tell you he was getting into politics?"

"Ah, I see. He told you about his plan to run for Mayor next year?"

"You knew about that?" her son blinked in genuine shock.

Moira nodded, perfectly at ease. "Your father and I have spoken about it several times over the past several years, but it is only recently that he's decided to finally to take the plunge. Robert has just good a mind for politics as he does for business, so I'm sure he'll make a good mayor. If you're worried about the campaign—"

But Oliver shook his head, creating an 'X' with his hands for good measure. "That's not it, Mom. I don't mind Dad running for Mayor. What I mind is him handing off the CEO position to me so soon."

His mother's expression closed off. "Why would you have an issue with that? It's your birthright, Oliver. We've been grooming you for the position since you joined the company all those months ago."

"I'm not ready, Mom," Oliver insisted. "I still have so much to learn about the company, and about business in general. In case you forgot, I don't have a college degree, nor the patience to get one. Not to mention my evolving relationship with Laurel, mending fences with Tommy—"

"Honey," Moira cut him off, laying a gentle hand on one of his knees and giving him a comforting smile. "You can easily handle those things while running the company. Both Laurel and Tommy will understand if you don't have quite as much free time as you did before."

"And what if I'm not fit to be CEO?" Oliver countered. "What are we going to do then? Am I going to have to wait until Thea finishes her MBA in a few years and then hand the job off to her?" Truth be told, even if he were a better CEO than he thought he was going to be, he'd was still giving the company to Thea, like he had initially planned. She had years compared to his months of grooming, and the education to back it up. More than that, she actually wanted to be in business.

"You'll do fine, dear," Moira waved his concerns, still smiling. "Oliver, you're almost thirty years old. It's time you fulfill your duty to the family."

The archer closed his eyes, trying not to fume. Despite the geniality of her expression, he knew his mother well enough to know she wasn't going to budge. And if she and Dad were on the same page, then, well, what choice did Oliver have? I hope Laurel and Kara don't mind patrolling without me for a bit, he thought dully.

"Right, Mom. You're right," Oliver said out loud, swallowing. "It's time. No point in delaying it further."

Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow, leader of the Justice League and former Horseman to Ra's al Ghul, desperately hoped he wasn't making a mistake.

Shorter chapter than usual, and filler, but necessary for set-up. You can also see that Malcolm has already forced the Queens to get the ball rolling on his plans. A reminder of the sheer irony of the situation, that Robert and Moira are alienating their son for nothing.

And just what is up with that plague? You'll just have to wait and see.

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