"Laurel?" The other voice asked.
She nodded. God dammit. Of course, he was there. "Yeah, it's me," She told him. "It's me, Oliver." She told him as she let out a couple of tears. She took a step towards him and he shook his head.
He couldn't believe it was her. "You're supposed to be dead. We buried you. We went through that process. How can you be alive?" He asked her.
She thought of all of things that happened over to her, what was for over several months, but for him, what was a couple of days. How could she tell him? How would he even believe her? She shook her head. "I promise I'll tell you, but I can't right now," She told him. "Right now, we have an upperhand on Darhk and I want to make sure it stays that way, so just let me talk to Barbara and when this is all over. I promise," She told him.
He shook his head. This couldn't be any weirder than what they had already been through. This life, he remembered, is not something that you ask questions about. But he just couldn't. He lost so much in his life, losing her was the worst thing he could have possibly lost. It took everything in him not to go back to the island after her.
Like he did with Tommy. He broke her heart when he left after Tommy. She broke him by leaving too early.
He walked out of the doorway and into another room, where he paced around, alone with this thoughts. Barbara looked up to her and nodded her head to the inside. "I don't want to know." She told her friend. "Personally, I'm just glad you're alive." She said.
Laurel laughed. "You really don't want to know?" She asked.
Barbara shook her head. "Nah," She said. "I see enough weird shit inside my computer. If you start telling me how people can come back from the dead, I'm never going to sleep." She told Laurel.
"Sounds like working for the FBI is really making you something else," She told Barbara.
She shrugged. "Well, I suspect that's why you came to me," She told Laurel with a grin. "You want information don't you?" She asked.
Laurel nodded. "You know about Darhk." Laurel told her as they walked into Barbara's home office. The elaborate set up impressed her. State of the art computers with all the latest tech lying about. There was so much stuff. "You've done a good job setting up this place," She said with a smile.
Barbara shrugged. "They pay well," She told Laurel. "So this Darhk person? Am I looking for him?" She asked.
"If you could," Laurel said. "Any patterns he has are gonna be helpful," She told Barbara.
Barbara nodded and clicked her computer to live, scrolled through some programs, put his name, and the information they knew about him into a database and let it go for a second. All of the data whirred past faster than she thought it would.
It wasn't as glamorous as on TV, but it had its perks. Barbara furrowed her brow and looked and sorted through some of the information, binning what would be detrimental to the case and putting the stuff that would be good for them in another location.
The whole process took about an hour and Barbara turned to Laurel and smiled. "A full workup on one Damien Darhk. Scary looking guy. He was at your funeral by the way," She told her. "A lot of bad guys were, but it actually looked like they came to pay their respects. Darhk was there just to be creepy and to make sure your father knew how serious he was."
Laurel grinned a little. "We took down a lot of 'em in my days as a legal aid office," She told her. "You know back when you weren't working for the FBI and I wasn't dead." She told Barbara as she fiddled with her necklace.
Barbara shook her head. "You two are never going to be able to live without each other," She told her friend, chuckling. Laurel's brows knit together, unsure of what that meant. Barbara simply nodded to the necklace. "That. He gave it to the night before you got into college remember?" She asked Laurel. "I don't even think you know that you fiddle with it consciously. It's just a comfort thing. Something that he gave you that's a part of you."
Laurel sighed and looked to the other room where he wore himself out from pacing and now was just sitting in a chair, waiting for them to be finished.
"The last few weeks have been the worst place I've ever seen him in." Barbara confided.
Laurel nodded. She didn't want to die. Didn't want to stay away from him when Diana had told her she needed to get better. All she thought about was him. She couldn't imagine what he felt going through it on the other side.
Well, actually she could. She'd been on that side way too many times. Being the survivor is hard. And being the survivor when there is guilt involved. It can drive you to the edges of your sanity. "I know," She said, not really to Barbara, because all she was doing was looking at him. She forced herself to look away from him and back to her friend. "Thank you for keeping an eye on him." She told her. "You always look out for me."
Barbara grinned and took Laurel's hands in hers. "It's what we do, right?" She asked. "What did Joanna call us? Birds of Prey?"
Laurel laughed a little and nodded. "Yeah. The Birds of Prey," She acknowledged. "She's okay, right?" She asked.
Barbara nodded. "She's hurting a little, but she was able to get on with her life a little bit easier because she has so much work she has to do. She couldn't focus on herself and her grief." She told Laurel. "Maybe not the best way to cope, but certainly a way."
Laurel nodded. It hurt a little to know that Joanna didn't make it to the funeral, but she understood. Joanna and Laurel had been close. She'd gone out on a limb and told her about opportunities when she got sober. The city had given her a job before she had the opportunity to use that knowledge, but they also came together more often.
Not as much with the whole Black Canary thing anymore. She regretted not spending more time with everyone, but it was hard to juggle everything. Her social life was the one thing that slipped more often than anything else.
Barbara rubbed her arm. "How are you going do this whole thing?" She asked. "You know he told the whole world about you?" She asked as she nodded her head toward Oliver. "You can't just do this like you used to."
"After this," She said. "New city. As much as I love this city, I can't be here."
Barbara laughed and Laurel frowned. "You know, truthfully? I don't think you can just leave. You love this city too much. It's always been about this place for you." She said. Laurel and Star went together like Batman and Gotham. She just couldn't think of this place without her.
"How can I stay here?" She asked. "Everyone knows who I am. I can't exactly go around as the Black Canary anymore." She told Barbara.
Barbara understood. Laurel may have found the one thing she loved more than Star City. Being the Black Canary. Which was good, because it would always mean she would help people. "You know, if you decide a new city really is for you, I think I might join you. You could always you a little extra help. And the FBI has offices everywhere," She told Laurel and rubbed her arms. "But go. You have some work to do." She said, excitedly.
Laurel nodded.
"Oh, one more thing." Barbara said and Laurel looked back. "Try again. He wants to try again," She said as she looked at him. "And you guys have it. You always have. That special something." She promised.
She nodded once again. And finally left the office and looked to Oliver. "Come on," She said. "We've got him tracked."
He shook his head, "Why don't you tell me what the hell is going on?" He growled.
"I can't. Not now." She told him. "Just help me finish this. I'm going to give you everything you need for this. I just need you to trust me. You do trust me right?" She asked him as she put a hand on his cheek.
He sighed. How could she ask him that? How could she ask him to trust her? She just came back from the dead. He had to deal with that. How could he have asked her that? He asked her that so many times. She was on the receiving end of this battle so many times. And so many times he only made it harder for her to deal with.
A tear streamed down his face and she only smiled lightly. She swept it away.
He nodded as he put his hand on her cheek. They were always a team. The two of them, now they had similar come back from the dead stories, maybe that was what they needed. "You have to promise to tell me how you did this after we finish this." He told her.
She nodded. "Of course." She told him. "There's nothing I want more, but we're just in a bit of a time crunch." She told him. "We have a very small window of opportunity where we have the upperhand with this file and my being here, but people not knowing I'm here." She told him.
He walked beside her as they went out the front door and he got into the front seat of his car. "Come on," He told her as he started the engine. "It's gotta be easier than hopping rooftops." He promised her.
They rode along in silence to the lair. He couldn't believe that he wasn't her first stop. Everything about his coming home had always been about coming to her. She was always home. He let the drive smooth out his emotions because he clearly wasn't beating people up right now. That would have made him feel much better.
When they got there, she hesitated getting out of the car. She hesitated telling everyone she was really alive. He'd only gone out there because Felicity's system pinged him about a fire and a woman in a black suit.
He hadn't hoped it was her. Couldn't back then. How easy it was to think about it in that way. Back then. Like it wasn't a few hours ago, he thought to himself. He simply wanted to make sure no other copycats were coming out of the woodwork like that Sharpe character. When he looked over the footage from the security cameras and saw her, he couldn't believe it. She was back.
But getting out of the car meant exposing that she was alive to everyone on the team. Exposing that meant that she would have to deal with the fallout of her death and since she'd never experienced it, she didn't know what to do. How would they react? Would they hate her?
She took a deep breath and got out of the car.
And he took her hand and lead her through the dimly lit building, to the elevator, where he looked at her and nodded. She pushed the button and took another deep breath before she got and waited for the descent.
"Oliver," Felicity called, "We had a bank robbery. Thea and Digg are out on it now," She said, before turning around. "Holy shit," She said as her mug shattered on the ground.
"Overwatch, you okay? That didn't sound good?" Thea called into her ear.
Felicity shook her head. "Just fine. Green Arrow is back. But with a guest. Just get back here as soon as you can guys," She told them.
"You sound shaken, Overwatch, seriously, do we need to come back now?" Diggle asked.
Felicity shook her head and wrapped her arms around Laurel. "No. You guys are just gonna wanna see this," She told them with a little bit of a smile. "Finish up and hurry home," She told them, before she took her mic off and her earpiece out. "You're home," She said, through tears.
Laurel nodded. "Sounds like you found your way home too." She told Felicity as she pushed a piece of golden hair back behind Felicity's ear. There was so much to be done, but for now, reveling in this, that wasn't so bad, she thought.
Felicity looked around, this was always going to be home. Yeah, maybe they all found home in the wake of her death. Diggle and Thea were taking it exceptionally hard. Thea's home had always been with Laurel. And Diggle blamed himself for that. Home was no longer safe, but a way to think about all the things he'd done.
Yeah, they were all home. And soon, they'd all be better for it.
Laurel looked between the two of them, not a whole lot of good signs, but she shook her head. She purposefully did not think about what Barbara had said in the office about them. There was too much to do to worry about the romances of the team right now. That included her own.
"So, we should get down to the business of it," Laurel said as she slapped the file down onto the table in front of her. "This is all the information Oracle could give me," She told Felicity. "We have a very small window in the next couple of days to take him down for good."
Felicity shook her head. "But he still has his magic. It's just going to be the same thing as last time," She told Laurel.
Laurel grinned and shook her head.
Felicity looked to Oliver, confused, who shrugged also. In the excitement of tracking Darhk and the emotional fallout of him waiting there at the door for her, she hadn't actually brought it out.
She picked out of her breast pocket, the small item that would be the key to their success. "I was given this by a friend. She assures me that it is specifically tailored to Darhk's weaknesses. To keep him without magic and without his network with HIVE." She told them.
Felicity picked it out of her hands and started looking at all the components. "Interesting," She said. "I never would have thought an electrical wave, actually having the ability to curb magic." She rambled on to herself, a little in awe of the gadgetry.
"And it's nonlethal." She grinned. "So we can take him in. And he can pay for his crimes, the right way," She told them.
Oliver looked at his feet and Felicity did the same.
This woman had been stabbed to death by the man and yet still didn't want his blood spilled needlessly. She thought he deserved to be given basic human rights. They were trying to honor her memory by formulating plans where he could no longer hurt anyone.
"We don't have to do this nonlethally," He told her. "No one would blame you if you wanted to really get justice."
She shook her head. "What you're describing. That's not justice. That's revenge. And while I would more than like revenge. The city needs justice. If I just murder him, I'm no better than he is, am I?" She asked him.
He'd asked himself that questions for years, always came up with a different answer. She seemed so stalwart in her decision that revenge and justice weren't the same thing, he envied that position.
He nodded. "Yeah," He told her. "Yeah, okay, no killing him." He said to her as he walked away from the whole situation.
Laurel looked to Felicity who looked down at her feet. "Okay, that's the second time you guys can't look at me. What happened?" She asked, a little bit angry at the whole thing for a second. She died. How could they be the ones that felt out of sorts.
Felicity looked further into her shoes.
"Come on," Laurel prodded her
Felicity nodded. She sighed. "Just sit down," She said.
Laurel did what she said and looked her in the eye. "Now, tell me," She said. "You guys have been so weird about this whole thing." She told Felicity. "What happened?"
Felicity looked at this place. This place which became such a safe place. This place which had become such a beacon of hope. It was tainted by grief and the rash decisions they wanted to make. "When you died, it became a thing for all of us. Diggle thought he was responsible. I had doubts about where my place would be. I thought if I had been here, maybe you would have still been alive. Thea, well, she didn't get on very well after you left either. And Oliver, he took it the worst of all.
"He felt like it was his fault," She told Laurel. "You know him. He feels like he brought all of this into all our lives. And he's not entirely fair on himself, because you know, your father's deal with Darhk is the thing that got you killed. But he, Diggle, and I, we got to pretty dark places," She told Laurel.
Laurel nodded, finally starting to get it. "How dark?" She asked, narrowing her eyes on Felicity.
Felicity looked down at her feet again. This was going to be hard. She gulped and looked back up at Laurel. "We both wanted to kill Darhk. And Diggle tried to kill Ruve." She said, before looking down at the floor again.
Laurel pursed her lips. Yeah, that was dark. "You've got to be kidding me." She said a little bit flabbergasted.
"We were all in dark places," Felicity reminded her.
Laurel nodded. "How on earth did you think that this is something that I would want? Did you even get me in the entire time you knew me? Why on earth did you think this was an appropriate way to get over my loss?" She asked Felicity. The whole thing seemed like they didn't even get her.
Felicity took Laurel's hand in her own. "Our grief was really dark," She told Laurel. "But you're back now," She said to Laurel who looked at her like she had found something in that thought.
And it was then, that she understood what Barbara said. She nodded. "Well, we have a chance to change it now," She said, with a little bit of a smile. "We have a chance to do it my way." She told them.
Oliver looked over, a little confused, with his eyebrows furrowed. Felicity nodded. He came over, a little skittish, still reeling from everything.
And Laurel did a thing, he did not expect her to when she heard about their plans to kill Darhk. She hugged him. "I'm here," She whispered in his ear. "I'm not leaving," She promised him.
It was the first time all night that Oliver cried. He didn't even notice Felicity had left them alone to have this moment where everything was raw and real. He didn't expect that she would forgive him so quickly. All of the emotions ran out of him like they had when she died. She inspired big things from him. Always had.
In the end, he guessed that wasn't so surprising. He pulled away and looked at her. "How can you be so kind?" He asked.
She shrugged. "I had good people inspire that kindness." She said as she bumped him with her forehead and smiled. "Someone who always saw good in me."
"Hey Ollie, why'd you come back to the base and not come out on the mission with us?" Thea asked as she put her bow away. "This would have been just your kind of deal," She said.
She turned around and everything that she had just said was forgotten about, "Laurel," She said and pushed her brother out of the way, as she wrapped her entire body around the figure, "But how?" She asked, more tears.
"It's very complicated. And I'll tell you when we're done getting Darhk." She promised Thea as she smoothed over some of her hair. She looked over to Diggle. Thea got off of her very quickly, remembering that they were in a room full of other people. While Oliver understood their relationship as familial, he did not understand how deep that bond went. And she had never been quite comfortable discussing it with Felicity or Diggle.
Laurel took Diggle's hand and grinned. "It's not your fault, okay?" She asked him.
"You are being too kind," He told her.
She shook her head. "I'm not." She told him. "You spend weeks in another dimension with people who literally went above and beyond to save you, only to help you get back here, you start to understand how big and complicated the whole thing is." She told him.
He looked at his shoes. He didn't believe it.
"Your trust in your brother wasn't stupid," She told him. "I mean I kind of know how dead sibling relations work. I'm kind of an expert at it. And Sara could have been just as bad. Could have hurt just as many people. People who were just as important to me. One different choice and she could have been Andy." She told him.
He shook his head. "Love doesn't conquer evil." He said like he was mad it wasn't true.
Laurel nodded. "It doesn't, but it doesn't mean that loving your family makes you evil either. Loving my family made me this," She told him. "Loving my family brought me back to them." She told him as she gave him a hug.
He nodded and let a single tear roll down his face. "So how are we gonna do this?" He asked.
"Well," She said, "I'm glad you asked."
