Ghost of Dark

A little over a month after their wedding, Veronica and Oliver Queen came back to Star City to get back to work and get back to real life. They had had a great time during their honeymoon but were happy to be back in town, to see their family and their friends once more. They were even happy to get back to work.

Their first time back in their Vigilante outfits was weird but freeing at the same time. They had missed it and their friends seemed happy to have them back as well.

"Veronica, Oliver, wait up. Before you go, there's something I need to tell you." Mac told them in a nervous voice.

"What's wrong?" Veronica asked her friend.

"You know how I was in Central City when the particle accelerator exploded and how some people who were around when it happened were affected by this?" Mac asked them.

"The ones Barry calls the meta-humans?" Oliver asked.

"Yes... I... It started slowly but lately... It's grown... It's not dangerous or anything, I swear! Just... weird." Mac told them.

"What are you talking about?" Veronica asked her.

"I'm a meta-human. I've discovered that I can link my mind through anything electronic or computers, as long as I'm close to it. You have no idea how surprised I was when it first happened and I opened a file on my computer without moving anything or clicking. While you were away, I've been exploring my powers, practicing, without telling anyone. I can link myself with it, see through it and control it. For now it only works if I'm close to it but I think that, with time and practice, I'll even be able to travel through electronics not only with my mind, but with my body as well. Like enter a computer, follow a connection and get out from another computer." Mac told them, half nervous and half excited.

"That's great Mac! It fits who you are perfectly." Veronica exclaimed, knowing that her friend was nervous because she was afraid of being rejected.

"We'll have to find you a nickname now." Oliver added.

"I kind of thought about it... I like Overwatch." Mac told them.

"Nice, I like it too." Veronica agreed while Oliver nodded.

"Now we should all get some sleep. I have a bad feeling about these masked men that call themselves the Ghosts and have started to invade our city." Oliver suggested and the two women nodded.

.

When Veronica and her husband went back to work, it took the young woman a while to get used to being called Misses Queen instead of Miss Mars but she liked it. Pony was still with them, moving from one office to the other and Veronica caught herself thinking that, when Oliver and her finally had kids, they'd be able to both get back to work by letting the baby stay between them in the office as well. A part time baby sitter would be more than enough.

This thought surprised her because Veronica had never been one to think about becoming a mother much, but she liked it. She knew they'd make great parents. They were doing a good enough job with Hunter, they'd do just as well with a kid of their own.

For their first day back, Oliver and Veronica had lunch in town with Thea.

Their first week back went fine, so did the second one but Veronica couldn't help but notice that she wasn't feeling at the top of her game, so she decided to go see the Queen's family doctor. She didn't want to spread whatever she had caught. She hadn't even told Oliver, he had important meetings all day and she didn't want to worry him for what would probably turn out to be a simple cold.

"I'll come back later from my lunch break today, I have an appointment in town. Call me if there's anything important." Veronica told her assistant before she left her office.

She knew that she didn't have to worry about Pony today, her dog had stayed at home with Thea.

Veronica was nervous. The doctor seemed to think there was a possibility that she was pregnant and she didn't know if it was the right time. Would Oliver be happy about this?

"I'll call you tomorrow at the latest with the results." The doctor promised and Veronica decided to wait until she knew for sure before she told Oliver about it.

.

Veronica was so busy for the rest of the day and the next day that she almost forgot about the call she was expecting from the doctor. She was about to leave with Oliver to join Moira at a charity event that evening when her cell phone rang. Veronica stepped out of the room and answered nervously. The doctor announced her that she was indeed pregnant. Veronica promised to call the next day to set an appointment for a more thorough examination and she joined Oliver and Moira at the car.

"A problem?" he asked her.

"Not really." She replied.

She was about to say more, to tell him everything but they were interrupted and she decided to wait until later that evening, when she was able to tell him on her own.

They spent a couple of hours at the charity event before Veronica asked Oliver to step out. She was feeling a bit flushed and needed the cool air to feel better. She figured that it would be a good time to tell Oliver the news.

"Are you sure you're okay Veronica?" Oliver asked her, worried.

"I found out today... I wanted to tell you earlier but we were interrupted... I... I'm pregnant Oliver." Veronica told him.

"You... We're going to have a baby?" he asked her, shocked, but happy.

"You don't think it's too soon?" She asked him in a small voice while he hugged her.

"Of course not. We can do anything! I'm so happy, honey!" he exclaimed.

They knew that, a little bit away, journalists were probably filming them, trying to find out what was going on but they didn't care. It was their moment, they were happy.

Oliver stopped hugging Veronica and they turned around, ready to get back to the party when a black motorcycle with 2 men dressed in black with black masks on their faces drove by, guns in their hands, and started shooting at the couple. Oliver and Veronica went down, trying to escape the bullets. The journalists filmed the scene and it would be on every TV and in every newspaper the next day.

"The ghosts again, this time they took it too far!" Oliver cursed as he got up before turning to Veronica and asking her:

"Are you okay?"

But Veronica didn't answer and she wasn't getting up either. She wasn't moving at all.

"Veronica!" Oliver screamed, trying to wake her up as blood pooled out from the bullet wounds she had on her stomach.

At least one of the bullets who hit her had exited her body from the back, the others where still inside.

"Somebody call 911!" Oliver yelled as people rushed around him.

Oliver didn't care about what was going on around him or that blood was pooling out of his arms from where a bullet a scrapped his skin, he was just worried about his wife, the love of his life. He vaguely heard his mother and Tommy telling him that the ambulance would be here soon, that she'd get the best doctors and that everything would be fine. He didn't answer. He could feel that he had been injured as well, that he was bleeding from his arm but it wasn't serious, he had survived worst and he refused to let anyone look at it until he knew if he wife would survive.

He remembered informing the people who transported Veronica to the hospital that she was pregnant, that she had just found out. He answered all of their questions without thinking. He just wanted her to be okay but he knew from the look on their faces that her situation was bad, that there was a risk that she wouldn't make it.

"It's going to be everywhere tomorrow, Hunter will be worried." Moira commented later, once they were sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting to know if the surgery had saved Veronica and her baby.

"Dig, call Barry, tell him what happened and ask him to bring Hunter here. Mom, call the school to warn them that Barry Allen is going to come pick up Hunter, tell them why. Tell them that we don't know when he'll come back to school, that it would be best to send us his work for the next few days." Oliver decided, knowing that he wasn't able to do this on his own.

"Do you want me to warn Duncan too?" Dig asked Oliver who nodded.

"Of course, I'll do it right away." Moira nodded before she left the room with Diggle.

"I'll call Sara, ask her to warn Nyssa and her father. I think Talia's still with them too." Laurel told Oliver, knowing that he wasn't in any shape to do it himself but that they needed to be warned.

.

Roy was back in their Vigilante lair, planning on covering the vigilante-ing with Mac until Oliver and Veronica were better. Dig would join him later but he knew that people would get suspicious if Arrow and Karma weren't seen without any excuse to explain their absence. At least one of them had to be out so he called Bruce Wayne for help. Bruce had agreed to come and pretend to be Arrow while trying to locate the Ghosts. He had planned to come anyway, to see how Veronica was doing. Roy figured that once Sara, Talia or Nyssa arrived, they'd be able to put on Karma's suit and pretend to be her while in public.

.

Oliver had eventually let a doctor heal his arm and he was back to waiting on news about Veronica's status.

He didn't want to talk to the journalists but he knew that if he didn't want to see them try to break in to have informations, someone had to update them so he asked his sister to do so.

It had been hours and he knew that his wife was still in surgery. A few people had called or come by to show their support, extra security had been placed around the hospital with a list of people they could let through and others they had to keep out and Barry had arrived with Hunter moments ago. The young boy ran in Oliver's arms as soon as he arrived in the corridor and they hugged each other before Hunter sat down on Oliver's lap and waited with him. They gave each other support and strength.

Barry decided to join Roy and Bruce to see if they could find anything useful to stop whoever had hurt Veronica.

From Neptune, Wallace had called Mac as soon as he heard, figuring that Oliver would have other things on his mind than to answer his questions. Leo and Cliff also called and sent flowers. While Wallace would come as soon as possible, the other two men couldn't come but asked to be updated, which Mac promised. Logan had also called. First Veronica's cell phone, then Mac's. He was worried, wanted to know if she'd pull through. Mac promised to call him too when she knew anything more.

Argus had also offered their help in the hunt for those who shot at Oliver and Veronica, though it would have to be discrete. Duncan had come as soon as he heard what had happened, his daughter by his side. Of course he was dressed in a disguise but Oliver was grateful for his presence. He was reassured to know that he was here.

Laurel told them that she hadn't been able to reach Sara on her phone but she left her a message explaining everything. She had added that they'd call again as soon as they learned more before she hung up and left the same message on the League's private phone line.

Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity to Veronica's family, the doctor joined them, a grave look on his face, which worried everyone in the room. Motioning for Hunter and Lilly to wait back, Oliver, Moira, Thea, Mac and Duncan approched the doctor while Tommy and Laurel tried to distract the children.

"She pulled through but I'm sorry to say that the baby didn't survive. It was too soon to tell you the gender... Her recovery will be long and you have to be prepared for the eventuality that she might not walk ever again. The bullets did a lot of damages and she's lucky to be alive. We almost lost her twice during the surgery and she'll have to go through surgery again in a couple of days." The doctor told them before he went into more details about what they had done and what was left to be done.

Oliver nodded and did his best to pull a brave face, he needed to be strong for his wife.

"Hunter, come here buddy." Oliver called his adoptive son once the doctor had left.

"How is she? Can we see her now?" The boy asked, worried.

"We'll be able to see her in a few moments, but you have to be prepared... Veronica found out that she was pregnant yesterday, we were going to have a baby but because of the shooting, the baby didn't survive. Veronica is going to be very emotional, very tired and very sad. She might not be able to walk either. You're going to have to be strong and brave for her, because that's what she needs us to be, do you understand me, buddy?" Oliver told the child as calmly as possible.

As Oliver spoke, Hunter's eyes teared up but he nodded.

"You can cry now, son. Cry with me, with grandma, with Thea. You can cry and be sad, it's natural. You just need to be strong for Veronica when you're in front of her." Oliver added as he hugged him and let him cry on his shoulder.

On the side, Duncan was informing Lilly of the same news and they decided to leave for now, they'd come back later, once Veronica was awake. They didn't want to overwhelm her.

.

Jake Kane sat in front of the TV, watching reports of the shooting in Star City that sent Veronica Queen to the hospital in a life threatening situation after receiving 3 bullets. He watched and listened and the journalists gave frequent updates on her status. One of them learned that she had lost a baby and this was what hit Jake Kane the most.

"Why are you still watching this, Jake? It's been a week, she pulled through. You know her, she's strong, she'll be fine. There's no need to worry about her." Celeste told him with a frown.

"She gave us our son back, she gave us our granddaughter back. Without her we wouldn't even know if they were still alive. We can't keep doing this, stay on this side... I have to do something, tell her what's going on, why she lost her child." Jake told his wife.

"Why? It's not like she's your daughter, Jake, we did a blood test, she's not your daughter, Leanne lied. Let it be." Celeste shook her head.

"I don't care about that, Celeste! For once in my life, I want to be able to sleep knowing that I did the right thing! If Genesis happens, do you realize the number of people who'd die? When we signed up for this, we thought Duncan was dead, that we didn't have anything to lose. If Genesis happens, you and I both know that Lilly and him will die. I can't have that on my conscience." Jake insisted and he could see that she agreed with him.

"And you think that Veronica can do something about it in her present condition?" Celeste asked him.

"I believe that she'll know who to tell to make it stop." He nodded.

"Fine, but be careful, make it look like you're just visiting your ex lover's daughter, that you still suspect she might be your daughter, that you just care because she was your daughter's best friend and your son's first love. Make sure it's safe. Don't forget who's in Star City right now, who could be watching." Celeste told him.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful." Jake promised before he packed a bag and prepared to go to Star City for a couple of days.

.

When Jake arrived in Star City, Veronica was still in the hospital. She had gotten a second and a third surgery and she still couldn't walk or feel anything below the waist. Learning that she had lost her baby had been hard for her, even though she hadn't known she was pregnant for a long time but Hunter's presence and everyone's love and support helped her a lot.

Talia, Nyssa and Sara had come as soon as they had gotten Laurel's message and Talia put on Karma's outfit to make people think that Arrow's wife was still out there and to prevent people from finding out that Veronica Queen was Karma. Oliver didn't go out as Arrow for the time being, he just wanted to be there for his love and he knew that Bruce, Dig and Roy were doing their best to find out who the ghosts were and what they wanted.

Raz wanted to come, but he had to organize the League, intensify their training. After the attack on Veronica, he wanted them to be ready to fight as soon as they knew who to hit. He called her everyday though, sometimes twice a day, and he sent her beautiful flowers.

Hunter hadn't gone back to school, he wanted to stay close to his adoptive mother and so the school, who understood his situation, sent him his homework and he spent most of his day working or playing in Veronica's hospital room while Oliver tried to spend as much time as possible with them, whenever it wasn't absolutely important for him to be at the office.

Diggle had hired someone to filter through the visitors because journalists kept on trying to get in.

"Misses Queen, a man named Jake Kane wants to see you. He's not on the list but he comes from Neptune and he said that you probably didn't expect him to come." The security agent told her.

"Jake Kane is here?" Veronica asked him.

She was pale, it was obvious when looking at her that she had gone through something horrible and that she was fighting to stay strong and to pull through.

"Yes, here, I took a picture." The man showed her.

Veronica took the phone and recognized her dead best friend's father.

"Wait a minute, please." Veronica asked before she took her phone and texted Oliver that Jake Kane was there and that she felt he should be there with her.

Almost immediately, Oliver replied that he was already on his way and would be there in less than 10 minutes.

"Oliver's on his way, please wait until he's arrived before you let Jake Kane in." Veronica decided.

"Yes ma'm." The security agent agreed.

"Who's Jake Kane, mom?" Hunter asked her.

"Duncan's father. He used to be friends with Leanne too." She replied.

"Is he nice?" Hunter asked her.

"Only on the even days." The blond woman tried to joke, making him smile a little.

"Do you want me to get out when he gets here?"

"Not at first, but I might ask you to spend some time outside the room with Mike, the security agent. Do you mind?" She asked him.

"Of course not, he's cool." Hunter nodded, always eager to please.

Veronica was amazed at Hunter. Ever since she had woken up, he had been brave and even though she knew that he was sad and worried, he hadn't showed it to her, he had been her little soldier, bringing her mood up and doing his best to cheer her up.

Oliver arrived 10 minutes later and, after he hugged Hunter and kissed Veronica, Jake Kane entered the room with a bouquet of flowers.

"Veronica, Mister Queen." Jake nodded in greeting.

"Jake, I have to say, I wasn't expecting to see you here." Veronica replied while Oliver accepted the flowers and placed them on a table on the side of the room.

"Is this Hunter? Leanne's son?" Jake asked, intrigued by the little boy.

"Yes, he is. Hunter, this is Jake Kane, Lilly's grandfather, Duncan's father." She introduced.

"Nice to meet you, sir. I like Lilly a lot, she's my friend, family. Mom says we're like cousins and I like it." Hunter nodded and shook Jake's hand.

"You too. Veronica, I have to talk to you about something serious..." Jake said, looking at Hunter in a way that said that he thought it would be best if he didn't hear it.

"I figured you weren't coming just to see how I am doing. Hunter, why don't you go and hang out with Mike outside for a while? Maybe he can take you to get some ice cream?" Veronica suggested.

Hunter nodded and Oliver took his adoptive son to the security agent who happily agreed to take the boy outside for a while.

"So, why did you come, Jake?" Veronica asked him once the door was closed.

"I came because... I... Veronica, I'm so sorry... This... You losing your baby, your legs... For my defense, at the time, I didn't think I had anything to lose..." Jake didn't know where to start.

"What are you talking about?" Oliver asked, suspicious as he held Veronica's hand lovingly and strongly.

"I came to tell you what's going on in your city, who the people who shot you are, what they want, what they're working to build. My mind was clouded at the time but now I can see that it's wrong. Lilly wouldn't want me to be a part of this and Duncan and his daughter would get hurt too... Veronica, you already know that I am a member of the Castle, you found out years ago but what you don't know is that we're part of something much bigger and older. We're only taking care of the financial part of this..." Jake started to explain.

"This?" Veronica asked, confused.

"The Genesis project, a crazy plan built by Damian Dark." Jake was about to say more but Veronica interrupted him.

"Damian Dark? You've got to be kidding me!" Veronica exclaimed.

"You know him?"

"Yes, we do." Oliver nodded.

"I shouldn't be surprised... Can I ask how you know him?" Jake asked.

"His ex best friend is my biological father. Raz Al Ghul." Veronica replied.

"I'll text your sisters to drop by as soon as they can. They need to know this." Oliver whispered.

"We'll call dad when they get here. He won't like this." Veronica nodded.

"Well, maybe you can get him to help then. I came here because I believe that you'll be able to find the right people to help stop this Genesis project. I know you Veronica, I know that you know how to contact vigilantes and I believe they're the only ones who can stop this. I'm not blind, or stupid. I won't tell anyone of my suspicions but I believe you are Karma and that the woman out there right now is a friend of yours pretending to be you. It's who you are. I'm not looking for a denial or confirmation, I just want to make things right." Jake was nervous and Veronica could tell that he was sincere.

"Actually, the woman out there right now is my sister. One of them anyway." Veronica replied.

"What can you tell us about this Genesis Project?" Oliver asked.

"Damian has been building an underground city right here in Star City, with fields growing food, artificial sunlight, air filters and everything a city this big would need to survive. The members of Genesis and their family would live there and be able to survive the nuclear bombing Damian had been planning. I put everything I could get my hands on on this hard drive. The location of this city, the names of people working on it, the blueprints of the city and his central commands, the composition of the drug he gives his soldiers, the Ghosts... I tried to get my hand on anything that could be useful to stop them. I'm sure you still have what you took from me about the Castle, you'll be able to add the living members of this society to this list right here." Jake told them before he handed them a small black device.

"Why?" Veronica asked him, touched.

"I couldn't live with myself anymore, especially after Duncan contacted us, sent us pictures of his daughter, let us see her through a webcam... And when I saw what they did to you... What you were going through... I just couldn't live with myself anymore. I knew that I had to do something. I... I started seeing Lilly in my sleep, she was just like she was the day she died, but she accused me of being a monster, on doing terrible things... She accused me of being worst that Aaron Echolls... I knew that I had to do my best to stop Damian." Jake replied.

"Lilly has a way of popping up to save the day ever since she died." Veronica whispered, mostly for herself.

"I... I don't know if you'll believe me but... Damian... He's dangerous. He's... he can do things that seem... Unnatural, almost magic."

"Don't worry, we know someone who can help when it comes to magic." Oliver replied, thinking of Constantine.

"Good. I... If you have any questions, please be careful. They don't suspect me yet and I'd like it to stay this way." Jake told her.

"Of course. Thank you, Jake. I really appreciate this. I understand the danger you're putting on you and Celeste by telling us this." Veronica told him.

"I really hope you'll get better and be able to walk again Veronica. I never wanted this to happen to you... I know that I was never your father but for most of your life, I believed that I was. I care about you, your well being, even if I never really showed it. Tell me if there's anything I can do to help you and, when this is all over, if you come back to Neptune, please come and visit us. Hunter will be welcome too." Jake told her and she nodded before he left the room and the city.

"What do you want to do?" Oliver asked her.

"Call Talia and Nyssa, tell them to come as quick as possible. We'll call Raz once they get here and tell the three of them everything at the same time. We're going to Nanda Parbat in two days anyway to bathe me in the pit. I'm sure that Damian didn't choose our city out of luck, he has to have heard about me being Raz' daughter, he's doing this to hurt me, to hurt my father. In the mean time, Mac should see this. I think we should get as many people in town as we can to stop Dark and his soldiers, get the members of the League we formed to get ready to come as soon as we're ready to act." Veronica replied and so Oliver nodded and took his phone out to organise things.

This time, Hunter would go with them to Nanda Parbat and, on the way, they'd tell him the complete truth about who they were at night, they knew that he could handle the truth.

Oliver called Constantine, who was willing to listen to his plan and to help. Since he wasn't far from Nanda Parbat, he'd meet them there the day after Veronica had been dipped in the pit. He'd do whatever he could to help them kick Damian Dark's but and everyone was thankful for him because he was the only one they knew with this kind of knowledge and abilities. They had asked their vigilante friends and very few people knew anyone like this.

Hunter was especially excited about this trip to Nanda Parbat. he knew that his parents were going to tell him a very serious family secret and he was happy that they trusted him with this. He was willing to show them that he could keep the secret and that he was worthy of their trust. Plus, he got to miss school for a while longer while he went to an old fortress with his parents and his two cool aunts Nyssa and Talia.

This was supposed to be a normal chapter, but then it got so long that I cut it in two, the second part is the next chapter, called Kicking Dark.

Review please?

Lorelei Candice Black