Chapter 14
Scared of the Darkness
"In order for the light to shine so brightly,
the darkness must be present."
-Francis Bacon
Sometimes those most perceived as brave, have moments of pure fear. Bruce Wayne seemed to find his in this moment as he stupidly decided to follow the advice of Oliver. That's how he found himself standing in the middle of Palmer Tech's halls, staring at the blonde sitting in the glass office just a few feet away.
"Bruce?" a voice spoke, and Bruce felt his entire mood change as Ray Palmer appeared in front of him. "What are you doing here?"
"I came by to see Ms. Smoak." Bruce said taking a step, only for Ray to step in front of him to stop him. A heavy sigh escaped Bruce's nose as he felt his patience dwindling with every passing second.
"I think we should talk." Ray spoke, and Bruce turned his eyes to the man. "Look, Felicity told me there was nothing going on-"
"Ray I'm not having this conversation with you." Bruce said, before once again trying to move around him, but Ray once again blocked him.
"Bruce, I'm trying to tell you that I would've never even-"
"Ray!" Bruce snapped as calm and quietly as he could without drawing attention. "Felicity is a grown woman. She chooses who she wants and doesn't want to be with. Who she chooses is and will always be her decision." Bruce finally made it around the man.
"That's just it Bruce." Ray spoke and Bruce stopped and looked back to him. "She seems to be choosing you, and you're not doing anything about it." Bruce let out another deep sigh.
"Like I said, I'm not having this conversation with you." Bruce replied before turning and finally walking to Felicity's office. He knocked on the glass door, and her eyes went slightly wide when she spotted him. She waved for him to come inside as she finished up her phone call.
"Yeah, that's great, I will read that as soon as I can." Felicity spoke, before hanging up the phone and looking up to Bruce. "What are you doing here Bruce?" the woman stood to her feet. "Is there any luck with saving Katie?"
"Uh-" Bruce had been thinking about how this moment would go, what he would say and now that he was actually here, staring into the woman's eyes, his mind just went blank. "Well no, I'm here because-" her eyes stared at him, and he couldn't even form words.
"Bruce are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, I uh-" he once again clear his throat hoping he'd find the words soon. "I love you Felicity Smoak." those definitely weren't the words he planned on saying, and he couldn't even believe he said them out loud. Felicity stared completely speechless as Bruce suddenly turned and left without another word.
The blonde stood in her office, still trying to make sense of what just happened and she couldn't.
"What the hell was that?" she muttered to herself as she turned to see Bruce retreating onto the elevator.
The moment John walked into the lair, he was met with grunting and heavy breathing. He moved in closer to see Oliver working away on the salmon ladder.
"Oliver-" John spoke, but Oliver didn't even acknowledge the man's presence, and kept on with his work out. "Oliver!" Oliver's eyes glanced over to the man, before he fell back to the floor. "You ok, man?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Oliver muttered harshly as he grabbed his towel to dry off the sweat from his face.
"You're worried about Katie, and I get it, but right now we don't have the upper hand here." John stated. "There is no perfect plan that allows any one of us to just walk in there and take her back. She voluntarily joined the league, something we all know isn't something you can just walk away from."
"I can't let her stay there." Oliver said with a shake of his head. "Her nightmares were filled with that place, and what it did to her. I don't know what I have to do, but I will do anything to get her back."
"Working with Merlyn included."
"John-"
"I get it. Exhausting all avenues to get to her, I understand completely. As long as you understand that Malcolm Merlyn is still a snake, and that you should watch your back when it comes to him." John replies and Oliver simply nods. "So he say how you guys should start all of this?"
"He says that if we're going to do this, then I should tell Thea the truth about-" he glances around the lair with a heavy sigh. "All of this."
"What do you think?"
"I think I would like to stop lying to my sister." Oliver said turning back to his friend. "I think she's been lied to about so much and that this is something I think she should know." John simply nods in understanding. Oliver turns and grabs his shirt from a nearby table, and the moment he lifts it, the sight of a sombrero wearing banana is visible.
"I was wondering where little Jose Banana went." John said and Oliver followed his eyes to the stuffed toy and let out a snort. "You know I didn't want to pry, but I see this is like a thing with you now. What's up with the banana?" Oliver picked up the toy and smiled at it's goofy smile.
"The truth?" Oliver asked looking over to John who gave a nod. "It's a fantasy. One we really wanted, but never got." the man just shook his head before tossing the toy back to the table before turning and heading off to get changed.
The moment Katie opened her eyes, she knew something was off. There is no gray sky above her head, only a pale white ceiling. When she sits up from a comfortable bed, she grimaces at the soreness from her side. She lifts her shirt to see the bandage, and lifts it slightly to see a professionally stitched wound. Katie turns letting her eyes moved around the room in confusion.
Jacob Robins was nervous. He doesn't usually get nervous. He can tell you two times in his life when he's been nervous. The first time, he was waiting at the end of an aisle waiting for his bride to appear. He was so sure that she'd realize just how much he just didn't deserve her, and she would run off. The second time he was nervous was in a speeding taxi. He'd been in Central City on business, and he was on his way home when he got the call that Grace was at the hospital in labor. Traffic was heavy and he didn't even see a way around it. Jacob was sure he would miss the birth of his daughter. Luckily he did make it, after a couple of calls, and a helicopter ride later.
But now though, Jacob was truly finger twitching, leg bouncing nervous. He'd jumped up from his chair once again and began pacing back and forth passed his window, glancing out ever so often. He suddenly stopped when door to the office pushed open and in walked Martin.
"Sir, she's awake." Martin said, his voice soothing and calm. Jacob just looked at the man for a full minute before continuing his pace. "Sir, did you hear-"
"I heard what you said Martin." Jacob snapped. "I just-" he shook his head. "I can't do this." he looked over to the man. "I just can't do this now."
"Then what is it that you want me to do?" Martin asked, still with a calming tone.
"Go, get her clothes, get her set up with a plane to take her where ever she wants to go." Jacob replied, and Martin simply nodded before turning. He told himself to just keep walking, and yet he stopped and turned back to his boss.
"Sir, I think our relationship is at the point where I can tell you to man the fuck up." Martin spoke, and Jacob stopped pacing, and turned to the man in slight shock. "She's your kid. So many damn people know you're alive, that at some point she's going to find out, and if she hears it from anyone but you, then there's no doubt that she'll hate you."
"You don't have kids Martin." Jacob replied. "There's this look that's going to be in her eyes, betrayal, and it's going to hurt, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that."
"You're never going to be ready sir." Martin replied with a shake of his head. "She's never going to be ready. But the longer you allow this lie to go on, the longer it'll take for you to even try to rebuild a relationship with her." Jacob turned away, is eyes going to the window. "Sir-"
"Get her whatever she needs, whatever she wants and then let her go." Jacob replied not even turning to see the disappointment he knows is in the man's eyes. Martin simply sighs, before turning and heading out of the office, down the long hall. When he reaches the door, he lets out a deep breath before pulling a smile to his lips.
"Well look whose awake." he greets to find Katie standing and searching the room. The moment she sees him, her eyes darken in annoyance. "I thought you were a gonner there for a second. I mean when we found you there in the snow, you were pale and bleeding. You're lucky we got to you in time."
"How the hell did you know where I was in the first place?" Katie asked and the man simply smirked. "Never mind, I forgot you and your boss were creepers." she began looking around the room. "I need-"
"Clothes, maybe some food, a little something to drink." Martin listed and Katie turned to see that stupid smile on his face. "You know I knew you could do it. I knew you were ready."
"Do what?"
"Do you know how many people are able to just walk out of the doors of Ra's Al Ghul's fortress?" Martin asked. "I can count them all on one hand. It's just a sign that it was all worth it." The sentence came out of his mouth and it felt like a slap to the face. He noticed the expression change of the woman, and knew those words were probably not the best. "I didn't mean-"
"Yeah you did." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "You meant that all my years of being pushed, and tortured, and beaten, and being scared was all worth it because I was able to walk away from the league." Martin simply sighed before pointing to the closet.
"There are clothes for you in there. There is food in the kitchen, and there will be a number by the phone. Call the number and tell the person on the other end what you need. A car, or plane, or whatever, and you will have it."
"That's it?" Katie asked with a quirked brow. "I'm not going to walk out of here and be immediately hunted by mercenaries you and your boss hired."
"No more tests are needed." Martin said with a sharp nod. "When you're ready to go home, you can just go." and with that the man turned and walked out of the room. Katie stared at the door for a moment before walking over to the window in hopes of discovering where the hell she was. A police car sped down the street, and Katie noticed the CCPD written on the side.
"Central City." Katie muttered to herself with a shake of her head before turning and heading for the closet.
After showering and getting dressed, Katie ventured to the rest of the penthouse. Martin seemed long gone, leaving her there alone. She stopped inside of an office, that made her think of her dad for some reason. She hadn't thought of him lately, and in this moment, she wanted nothing more then just to have a conversation with him. She let out a sigh before walking back out to living room where she found the phone and the number, and a white envelope. Katie picked up the envelope, opening it to find it stuffed with cash.
"What the hell?" she said with a shake of her head before picking up the card. She looks at it for a moment before just balling it up and tossing it aside. She left the money sitting right where she found it before stalking out the door.
It was late, and Katie found herself walking down the dark streets of Central City without money, or a cell phone which she reprimanded herself for with each step she took.
"Somebody help!" a voice screamed and Katie stopped walking and searched for a source.
"shut up, bitch!" a voice snapped, before Katie heard the audible sound of someone being hit which only elicited another scream. Katie's eyes looked across the street just as a woman practically crawled from the alley, before jumping to her feet to run away. "Get back here! You're going to tell us where that boyfriend of yours with our boss' money." Two men walked from the alley just as the woman they were after was speaking with another woman. "Oh lady you seriously don't want to be getting involved in this."
"Run, and find help." Katie told the woman who didn't hesitate before she ran from her like a bat out of hell. One of the men was about to follow, but Katie took a step back. "Wait!" he stopped and both men's eyes were on her. "She doesn't know where her boyfriend is, and hitting her won't suddenly jog her memory."
"Wait a minute." one of the men spoke. It was the more chubbier one, who looked Katie over. "Aren't you that chick?" he glanced over to his partner. "Rich, you know who I'm talking about. She was in the magazine, the one who sleeps around with all the rich guys."
"Nah." Rich said looking over to Katie with a shake of his head. "Can't be her. What the hell would she being doing in our neighborhood, getting in our business. Doesn't make sense Cal."
"I know that." Cal said turning back to Katie. "But I get the felling Big Al might not ream us too hard for not finding that little bastard if we brought her in."
"You just might be right." Rich said, taking steps toward Katie. "Plus she does need to be taught how to mind her own business."
"I do need to be taught that." Katie replied with a nod. "Too bad you're going to be too unconscious to teach me." the man simply chuckled, before his slow pace turned into a full run toward Katie.
Detective Eddie Thawne stood outside of CC Jitters ready to surprise his girlfriend who should soon be getting off of work. He smiled down to the bouquet of flowers in his hand, just as the bell on the door rang. The moment he looked up, he saw the smiling face of Iris who only took a single step forward, before almost being knocked off her feet by the woman who suddenly ran passed her, and tripped.
"Oh my gosh, are you alright?" Iris asked walking over to help the woman to her feet.
"I have to get help. She said I had to get help." the woman said frantically. That's when Eddie walked over , and flashed his badge.
"I'm with the CCPD, who exactly needs help?" he asked.
Katie rolled her aching shoulder as she stared down to the men who laid unconscious in front of her. She placed a hand on her side and cursed when she felt something wet. She didn't even know she'd torn her stitches until now, and now that she did, the pain was now coming in waves.
"Shit." Katie said turning and rushing off, her palm pressed against her wound.
"Hey!" a voice called and Katie knew she couldn't be found with these guys, and so her slow pace turned into a full run. Running with torn stitches was not the best idea, but at this point she had no other options. Some one was chasing her, and from the sound of sirens in the distance, she figured it was probably the cops.
She glanced over her shoulder as she ran, trying to see if she was still in the clear. The momentary distraction is why she didn't see the truck coming right toward, its why she didn't even notice it until she heard the loud honking of its horn. Katie turned toward the truck with wide eyes, and knew this was it. But before she could even blink something suddenly grabbed her, and pulled her with a force she couldn't even explain. The moment she stopped it felt as if she couldn't breath. She bent forward, grabbing her knees as she tried to catch her breath.
"Too bad I saved your life, only for you to have to spend the rest of your night in jail." a voice spoke from in front of her. "Why were you running from the cops?" Katie still inhaled, and exhale trying to calm her racing heart. "Doesn't matter, they should be here-" she held up a hand to stop the man from speaking before she stood up straight her eyes going wide. "Katie?" Katie's eyes looked over to the man clad in a tight red suit, a mask covering most of his face.
"Barry?" Katie asked, when the sound of sirens once again made it to her ears. She looked over her shoulder to see the flashing lights. "You have to get me out of here." she turned back to Barry. "Look I'll explain everything later, but I don't have the time or patience for jail tonight."
"Fine." Barry said before taking a step forward, before leaning forward to hike Katie into his arms bridal style.
"Just so you're warned, I might barf on you." Katie said closing her eyes tightly.
"Try extra hard not to please." Barry replied before zipping away.
Barry Allen, and his buddy Cisco Ramon stood peeping through the small window that lead to the lab's exam room where Caitlin was currently stitching up Katie's side. The night had turned to day quite quickly and they were still awaiting answers that only she could give.
"Why do you think she's here?" Cisco asked, and Barry simply shrugged.
"No idea. I thought she'd be in Starling after all that craziness with that Brickwell guy." Barry replied with a slight shake of his head. "You think I should call Oliver?"
"Dude I don't know." Cisco replied his eyes tilting when he finally get a got look at the wound on Katie's side. "Gnarly scar. Where do you think she got it?"
"Katherine Robins has never been an easy one to read." Barry said as Caitlin bandaged the wound. "Plus I always get the feeling there's more to her then she lets on."
"Alright you two can stop skulking!" Caitlin called and both Barry and Cisco walked inside with nervous smiles.
"So now do you want to tell me what happened?" Barry asked walking over to Katie side.
"I was walking and seen those guys attacking some woman, so I stepped in." Katie replied with a shrug.
"And by stepped in you mean you kicked their asses?" Cisco said with a wide smile and Katie turned to him with a quirked brow. "Sorry, it's just it's weird learning all of these rich people are like secret crime fighters. I mean its cool, but it's weird." Katie just chuckled, as the man walked over holding out a hand. "If you haven't guessed it, I'm Cisco."
"You know I did guess it." Katie replied before shaking his hand.
"So did one of the guys do that to you?" Barry asked pointing to the bandage on her side.
"No." it was Caitlin who spoke and Barry looked over to her. "That wound seems like maybe a day or so old." she looked over to Katie who nodded. "How did it happen?"
"Rich people fight club." Katie said with a half smile.
"Seriously?" Cisco asked with utmost fascination.
"No, I think that was her way of evading the question." a new voice spoke, and they all turned to see Dr. Well wheel himself into the room. The moment he saw Katie a small smile came to his lips. "Hello doctor."
"Katie this is-"
"Dr. Harrison Wells." Katie finished sitting up from the exam table and standing to her feet. It was strange seeing the man again. Well it was always strange seeing someone from her time away. Sometimes she wanted to believe the the years she spent away were just a dream, but it was moments like this that only proved her wrong. "You're a bit shorter since the last I saw you."
"Did you just make a joke about my handicap?" Wells asked and Katie gave a nod. "You're such a weirdo." that caused Katie to laugh, which she wished she hadn't because the moment she did, the pain from her side only got worse.
"So I'm going to take a wild guess here and say you two know each other." Barry said after watching the exchange.
"Well Barry, Doctor Robins and I are old pals." Wells said with a smile as he stared up to the woman.
"Yeah, we met in Bosina." Katie said as the memories seemed to come back to her. "You were searching for your spark and I was-"
"Trying to get home if I remember correctly." Harrison replied as he looked the woman over. "I guess you made it."
"I guess I did." Katie said with a small smile. "You know I don't remember if I ever thanked you for helping me. You don't know this but you really saved my ass when you stopped for me."
"It was no problem at all." Wells replied.
The room suddenly went silent, and everyone simply stood waiting for someone to finally address the elephant in the room.
"So..." Barry said and they all turned to him. "What are you doing in Central City?"
"I actually have no idea." Katie replied honestly as she ran a hand over her tired eyes.
"Should I call Oliver and-"
"No." Katie said quickly as she turned back to the man. "I'm not sure what my next move is going to be and until I do, I just don't want to get anyone else involved." she turned to Caitlin with a smile. "Thanks for your help, but I think I should leave."
"Is everything alright?" Barry asked. Something was wrong, and he could feel it. "Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"Not at the moment, I don't think." Katie replied before walking over to the man. "I'm fine. I just need some time to think. Thanks for the lift." she gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder before turning and heading for the door. "Oh-" she stopped and turned back to Barry. "The red suit..." her face seem to be fighting not to laugh. "It's looks good."
"Bite me." Barry said, and Katie couldn't hold her laughter anymore.
"Oh, ow." she said in between laughing as she held her side, before walking from the room.
"Ok, so something is definitely up with her, right?" Cisco asked looking around to the others. "I wasn't the only one getting those vibes."
"You definitely weren't." Caitlin replied folding her arms over her chest. "The wound seemed to be a couple of inches in diameter. Most likely the blade from a knife. There were other bruises and scars that looked fairly recent." she looked over to Barry. "I don't believe the whole rich people fight club, but I would say she's been somewhere taking a lot of hits."
"Right." Barry said taking out his cell phone.
"Are you going to call Oliver?" Wells asked and Barry simply shook his head.
"No, she asked me not to and so I'll respect her wishes." Barry said as he brought his phone to his ear. "She didn't say anything about Felicity though."
Thea Queen finally seemed to be moving passed the shock that struck her just an hour earlier when her brother revealed something she still couldn't quite believe. Her brother, Oliver Queen, the party boy was actually Starling's vigilante. They come back to her loft, where she kept thinking about it, all the times he flaked on her, or made up some ridiculous story about why he had to leave, she now knew the reason.
"Why now?" she finally asked turning back to her brother. The Arrow had been around for a long time, and she wasn't sure why he chose now to tell her this. Her question was momentarily interrupted by the door opening and they both turned to see Malcolm walk in.
"Because Ra's al Ghul is coming for us." Oliver says glancing over to Malcolm. "All of us. And the only chance that we have to survive is to work together." he glanced over to Malcolm the words not as convincing as he hopes."To trust each other."
"He's right." Malcolm says and Thea shakes her head.
"No. No, no, he's not." Thea replied standing to her feet, turning a glare to Malcolm. "I turned my back on everyone I know, including my own brother, and Katie, because you told me there was nobody else I could trust."
"I was only trying to protect you."Malcolm countered.
"Yeah, by driving a wedge between me and Ollie? By telling me that I couldn't be honest with Katie, because she just wouldn't understand?" she asked. "You manipulated me." Thea huffed before storming out the door.
"Thea..." Oliver called, about to go after her.
"Let her go."Malcolm said, and Oliver was about to argue, but his ringing phone stopped him.
"John." Oliver answered and his groaned as the man told him of Werner Zytle's escape. "Felicity-"
"She's in a meeting at Palmer Tech, I texted her and she said she would get here as soon as she could." John replied.
"Fine, we need to find out the details. I'll meet you at the foundry." Oliver said before ending the call and looking over to Malcolm and letting out a deep sigh.
"I have to go."
"And when exactly does the training portion fit into your schedule?" Malcolm asked and Oliver shook his head. "The demon-"
"I know, he's coming, and when he does I'm going to need to be ready to face him. I know all of this Malcolm and trust me when I say I will do anything it takes to beat him-"
"You don't really care that he's coming for you, do you?"Malcolm asked. "The danger on your life, on your sister's life it's the last thing on your mind." Malcolm shook his head. "Oliver if your sole motivation for the fight against Ra's is you thinking you'll have some chance to rescue Katherine, then you're sadly mistaken. Katherine Robins is dead, everyone who steps through the doors of Ra's fortress and takes that vow are lost forever, and she is no different."
"Malcolm-" Oliver said, his tone full of warning as he took a very dangerous step closer to the man. "You have one purpose here, and that is to make us ready for Ra's when he comes for us. You should probably only worry about doing that." and with that, the man stalked out of the room without another word.
Felicity Smoak sat in the board room paying absolutely no attention to the meeting happening around her. She told herself that she would take notes, even had the note pad and pen. Just thirty minutes into the meeting and the the notepad was blank, and she held the pen at the corner of her mouth, her mind still thinking of the previous day when Bruce decided to just stroll into her office and drop a turd on her life. She thought she was finally doing it, finally getting over him and moving forward with her life, but three words from him just threw all of that in the garbage. Pair that with the whole Werner Zytle breaking out of jail, and Oliver and Laurel clashing over her being the Canary, Felicity was just surprised she was still able to stand.
"Felicity?" a voice suddenly spoke, and the woman nearly jumped out of her skin. She was once again back in the moment, back in the meeting, now with eyes suddenly on her. She gave an apologetic smile before turning to Ray whose eyes were on her as well.
"Yes?"
"Your phone." he said and the woman looked down to her vibrating phone.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll just—" she was about to turn it off when she noticed the number, and her brow furrowed. "Actually I have to take this."
"Is everything alright?" Ray asked and Felicity turned to him with a nod.
"I'm sure it is." she replied as she stood to her feet and hurried from the boardroom. She quickly answered the phone and brought it to her ear. "Barry, this better be good."
The moment the words came out of Barry's mouth, Felicity nearly dropped to the floor. Katie was in Central City, he didn't know why, but he knew that she was there. The moment she hung up the phone, her first instinct was to run back to the hideout and tell Oliver. It's what she was about to do when she heard the door to the boardroom open, and turned to see Ray.
"Is everything alright?"
"It is actually. I think." Felicity said with a bright smile. "I just-"
"You're not leaving again, are you?" Ray asked and Felicity sighed. She did have to admit that since Oliver returned and the team was sort of back that she did find herself lacking on her Palmer Tech duties which she hated. "This meeting-"
"Very important, I remember." Felicity said before glancing down to her phone with another heavy sigh before looking back to Ray. "We should get back in there, right?"
"Right." the man said with a smile as he held the door open for her.
It had to have been the longest meeting in the world, because when Felicity finally arrived at the lair it was night time. The moment she rushed inside, she stopped. She saw Oliver and Roy both in their hero gear, but what caught her eyes was Laurel laying unconscious on the table as Ethan looked her over.
"What the hell happened?" Felicity asked dropping her bag and rushing to the woman's side. Laurel looked like she'd gone a couple of rounds with Mohamed Ali from her bruises.
"She went after Zytle by herself." John said looking over to the woman. Felicity looked over to Oliver and Roy who seemed to be trying to glare each other to death.
"And them?"
"Oliver seems to think that now that he's back that he can just run the show once again." Roy said and Oliver growled taking a step forward.
"Alright, maybe we need to just throttle back." John said catching the man's arm and pulling him back.
"No, maybe we need to do this." Felicity said and Oliver turned to her. "Oliver you were gone. Katie was gone. We thought you were dead, and Katie-" she sighed. "We thought we'd never see her again and as much as we didn't want to, we had to move forward with our lives and doing that meant doing things our way."
"Fine! Well I'm here now!"
"That doesn't mean that we can go back." Felicity replied with just as much ferocity. "And you do not have the right to come back here and question everyone's choices." Oliver simply shook his head before glancing over to Laurel.
"Just let me know if there are any changes to her condition." Oliver said before stalking off. The room was silent after he was gone, no one quite sure what to say.
"You guys are so dramatic." Ethan muttered and everyone looked over to him as he just continued cleaning Laurel's wounds. "She's going to be fine. Maybe a little sore, but I guess she knew that was a risk the moment she put that wig on." he glanced over to Felicity. "You know you're hot when you stand up for yourself there Fee Fee."
"When you're done helping her, someone is going to hit you." Felicity said before walking around to her bag and grabbing her phone. She thought now would be the perfect time to tell Oliver that Katie was in Central City, but she's sure he probably wouldn't listen to anything she had to say at the moment and so she would have to make other arrangements. The moment she brought the phone to her ear and heard ringing, she prayed that it would go to voice mail and she could leave a message and avoid the awkwardness that was sure to ensue.
"Hello?" a voice spoke and Felicity mentally cursed. "Felicity?"
"Bruce, I need your help. I can't talk now, but I need you to come by the club." Felicity replied before hanging up, not even giving a man a chance to ask any questions.
After changing, Oliver found himself sitting alone in the empty club. He stared up to the bottles that lined the wall in front of him, but his mind was elsewhere.
"This is juvenile! You do know that, don't you?" Oliver heard from somewhere in the house. He was practically covered in flour after Katie attempting to make cookies turned into a food fight. At the moment she was hiding, her weapon was a bottle of ketchup, and his was a bottle of mustard. It was the first thing he could grab before chasing after her.
"It is, but if I'm not mistaken, it was you who started all of this!" Oliver called back as he glanced around corners searching for the woman.
"I will take responsibility, and I'll even be the bigger person and just wave the white flag." she called and Oliver stopped because her voice seemed closer than before.
"Ketchup bottle is empty isn't it?" he asked with a chuckle when he noticed a flour hand print on the closet door near the living room. "Fine, we can end this. Just come out with your hands up." he didn't get a reply, and so he quickly reached forward opening the closet, with his bottle of mustard at the ready. But the closet was empty. A smile curled at his lips when he heard steps behind him.
"Drop the mustard, and put your hands up where I can see them." Katie ordered and Oliver turned to see her with the bottle of ketchup held in front of her, waiting to shoot him.
"That bottle is empty." Oliver said now aiming his bottle at her as well. "You're bluffing."
"You willing to take that chance?" she asked with a quirked brow. The pair stood there staring at each other with big smiles as they waited for someone to make a move.
"You know what?" Oliver said before tossing the mustard bottle to the floor. "This was fun and all-"
"Yeah." Katie said before tossing the ketchup bottle aside as well right as Oliver's lips attack hers. Katie brought her arms around the man, a moan escaping her lips. "Last one to the bedroom has to clean the mess." she muttered against his lips before pulling back and turning and running for the stairs.
"You're such a cheater, Twinkie!" Oliver called as he chased close behind her, stripping off his shirt.
A hand on the man's back, tore him from the memory. Oliver cleared his throat to see John.
"This seat taken?" John asked pointing to the seat beside Oliver.
"It's a free country." Oliver muttered turning away from the man. "Apparently."
"The first time that we went after Zytle, I told you that this was my crusade." Oliver said turning to look to the man. "Doesn't seem to be the case anymore."
"You're right." John said firmly. "It isn't."
"Diggle, I get that I was gone for- "
"No, you weren't gone- " John said, interrupting the man. He had the feeling Oliver didn't quite understand what was happening in his absence. "You were dead. Katie was lost to the League of Assassins and all of us, including me, we were ready to hang it up."
"Why didn't you?" Oliver asked.
"Because I realized we weren't just fighting for you; we were fighting for ourselves, too. That includes Roy. And, yes, that includes Laurel and sometimes Bruce." Oliver shook his head as he turned away from the man.
"She's not a soldier." Oliver sighed, and John let out a slight snort.
"Neither were you." John said. "Neither was Katie, or Bruce."
"That's not the same thing, and you know that."
"What I know, Oliver, is that you started something." John said. "Something strong enough to live on past you." Oliver turned back to the man who only seemed to have one question. "Question is, can you live with what it's become?" The archer turned away because at this moment he didn't have an answer to that question. When he came back to Starling, and decided to take on the mission given to him by his father, he didn't expect this. He thought it would be just him, and now there are people involved who seemed just as intent on seeing this through as he did. Oliver dropped his head, looking down to the slight bruises on his hands. "Oliver-"
"I get it John." Oliver replied looking over to his friend. "I get it." he turned away and let out a deep sigh. "I guess I'm a little on edge."
"A little?" John asked and Oliver sent a slight glare over to him. "We're going to get her back."
"You know when I ended things with her, I thought that distance would help me embrace the Arrow more." Oliver shook his head, as he turned back to the bottle that lined the wall behind the bar. "I thought I would finally be able to give my all to this mission."
"Then you realized that was impossible." John countered and Oliver let out a dry chuckle.
"I think I thought about her more in those few months that we were apart, then I have in my entire life." Oliver sighed as he looked back down to his hands. "I actually gave her up of my own freewill." he looked back over to his friend. "Why didn't you stop me?" John just shook his head as he gave the man a slight pat on the shoulder.
"You remember all those talks I tried to have that you evaded?" John asked and Oliver simply nodded. "That was me trying to stop you."
"I know." Oliver replied. "It was my choice, but this-" the man closed his eyes and released another heavy sigh. "The not knowing what is happening with her, not being able to talk to her, or see her."
"Oliver we're going to get her back." John assured once again and Oliver turned back to the man. "Just have a little faith."
There isn't much to do for a person with no phone, and no money except to wander aimlessly. Katie didn't know how long she was walking. She finally took a seat in a park, and decided to try to figure out her next move. The only problem was that she didn't know what that was. Her options were either go back to Starling, or disappear. Both had an upside and a downside, and so choosing the right one was tougher than Katie would've thought. She closed her eyes and just hoped the answer would just come to her.
Katie's eyes flit between the clouds below them, and the man that sat across from her. Just moments earlier Lyla had transferred her over to his guy who apparently knows Bruce. She had lots of questions, she just wasn't sure where to start.
"You know he didn't tell me how you two know each other." Dick said, and Katie turned to him with a quirked brow. "Not that I'm surprised. He's has a thing about talking you know. Dr. Phil calls it being emotionally repressed." the man shook his head as he looks to the woman who just staring at him as if he'd grown a second head. "He said you were old friends. I think I saw some old pictures of you at the mansion. Did you guys like date or something?" Katie narrowed her eyes for a moment, unsure if she really were having this conversation especially after everything she's been through in this last couple of days.
"Where are you taking me?" Katie chose to ask.
"A safe location." the man replied with a smile as he continued watching her. "You don't really seem like his type you know." Katie simply sighed before turning back to look out her window. "He says you've been away from home for a while now."
"Longer than a while." Katie said not even glancing in the man's direction.
"Well, hopefully that changes really soon." he said with a slight smile.
Felicity stood watching as Ethan held the stethoscope to Laurel's chest. Roy had long gone after the argument with Oliver.
"Thanks for coming." Felicity said and the man looked over to her with a quirked brow. "I know your new position is pretty time consuming and you having to come here is not something you would like to be doing when you have free time. So thank you."
"You're right." Ethan replied pulling the stethoscope from his ears and letting them rest around his neck. "It does get crazy, but it's the same crazy you know. I actually like getting a call from you guys because I never know what craziness you guys have gotten yourself in." he chuckled with a shake of his head. "Makes me feel like I'm actually part of this team sometimes."
Felicity's phone suddenly beeped and she glanced down before jumping to her feet.
"I just have to step outside for a moment." Felicity said before turning and heading for the door. But before she left, she stopped and turned back to the man. "Oh, and Ethan, I'm not sure where you've been, but you are apart of this team. Everyone here will always have your back, remember that." the man simply nodded before watching the woman finally leave.
The sound of the door closing seemed to jolt Laurel awake, who suddenly groaned as she tried to lift herself up.
"Hey, take it easy." Ethan said walking around the woman who opened her eyes a bit surprised to see him. "Do you feel as bad as you look?" Laurel turned a glare to the man before looking around the lair. "There's a lot of intensity in the air. Everyone just walked away for a moment." she turned back to the man. "Seriously-" he shined his tiny flashlight in her eyes. "How do you feel? Any dizziness, or are you feeling faint. The vertigo should be out of your system by now, but this drug seems to surprise me more and more every time I come in contact with it."
"I'm fine." Laurel replies with a rough voice.
"Tell me the last thing you remember."
"When Zytle hit me with Vertigo, I- I saw Sara." she looked up to the doctor's eyes. "She was alive. And she was calling me a fraud." she glanced down to her clothes and just shook her head. "I was crazy to think that I was fit to wear Sara's jacket. Much less follow in her footsteps."
"Maybe you're right." Ethan said with a shrug, and the woman looked back to him with confusion. "When I took over as Chief Resident, I thought if I did everything like Becks did them, then things would move just as smoothly as when she had the job."
"Did it?"
"At first, but then something happened and everything went to shit and I was the one people were looking at to fix them." Ethan replied with a heavy sigh before meeting the woman's eyes. "Look I'm in no way comparing the life of a doctor to-" he gestured to her and the lair. "But I think the lesson I learned could help you. We can't fit everyone's shoes. We weren't meant to. We have to step into our own shoes and follow our own paths. I mean I met Sara a hand full of times, and she seemed like a good person, but I didn't see her smile all that often. I always got the feeling there was something inside of her that she couldn't get passed. A darkness or whatever." he smiled up to Laurel. "I don't think you have that. There's a light in you Laurel Lance that I don't think Sara had, so maybe you should stop trying to be her and just be like yourself." The doctor stood to his feet and walked over to his bag where he began putting his things away.
"Thank you Ethan." Laurel said and the man looked over to her with a smile. "This has been a surprisingly nice conversation."
"It's all in a days work." the man replied with a nod before glancing down to his watch. "And I have a whole two hours before I have to return to my castle." he looked over to the woman. "And I think I'm going to sleep every second away." the man grabbed his bag and headed up to the stairs. Laurel watched him, actually a bit disappointed that he was leaving. She let out a deep breath before standing from the table. He was right. It was time for Laurel to stop trying to be Sara, and do things her way. It was that moment Laurel decided to give into that little voice in her head telling her that it was time to tell her father the truth.
Ethan walked into the club, spotting Oliver and John who both stood when they saw him.
"Is Laurel alright?" Oliver asked.
"She's fine. She's awake now, so I'm going to head out to finally get some sleep." Ethan said with a tired smile.
"Thanks for coming by so short noticed." Oliver replied and Ethan looked at him for a moment before glancing over to John. "What?" Oliver looked from John back to Ethan.
"I'm a doctor, so helping people is what I do." Ethan replied and Oliver gave a nod. "Helping people is also what you do, and I'm just hoping my girl is on that list of people."
"She's at the top Ethan. I promise." Oliver replied and Ethan just gave another nod before turning and leaving.
The moment Felicity saw Bruce, her heart actually started ramming in her chest, but she made sure not to show it.
"Felicity-"
"Katie is in Central City." Felicity blurted out before the man could even speak.
"What?"
"I got a call from Barry, he said that she's there and that she seemed pretty beat up." Felicity replied and Bruce turned away in thought. "Bruce-"
"It doesn't make any sense." he said turning back to the woman. "She wouldn't run. She thinks Oliver walked off that mountain that day, and she knows he could be at risk if she ran."
"Well maybe it got to be too much to stay?" Felicity said with a shake of her head. "There's no telling what was happening there."
"She wouldn't run."Bruce said once again. "If she's gone, then he let her go and that would only happen for one or two reasons."
"What's that?"
"He finally realized she would never be his and he just let her go..."
"Or?"
"Or she really is his, and now she's his puppet." Bruce glanced down to his watch before pulling out his phone. "Does Oliver know about this?"
"No, Barry said she didn't plan on calling anyone because she didn't know what her next move was. Whatever that means." Felicity said as she watched Bruce typing away on his phone. "What are you doing?"
"I'm getting my plane ready." Bruce said before looking back to the woman. "I'm going to find her and see what's going on. Until I call you, don't let Oliver know about this."
"Bruce I don't know if I can do that. You don't see how much not knowing what is going on with her is affecting him. If this is hope-"
"Right, if." Bruce countered. "Or this could be some elaborate game set up by Ra's to draw out the man that's supposed to be dead. Just wait for my call, ok."
"Fine, but the moment you realize that Katie is just Katie and not some league murderer, you better call me." Felicity replied and the man simply nodded. She turned to leave, but stopped because no matter how much she wanted to just walk away, she just had to know what happened yesterday. So she turned around to the man ho looked up from his phone. "Yesterday, when you came to my office-"
"Look that was very inappropriate, and I don't even know why I even-" he let out a deep sigh because that was a lie. He does know why the words came out of his mouth. "I came by the office to tell you goodbye."
"Goodbye? Where are you going?"
"I planned on heading back to Gotham and-"
"But you promised that you were going to watch Malcolm, that you would be there if he tried anything." Felicity said angrily walking back over to the man. "You can't just leave when I...we still need you here."
"Felicity-" he made to touch her, but she backed out of his reach. "I don't know what you want from me. I can't be the guy you need. I can't be the guy you deserve, and I can't be the guy who stands by to witness someone else who can. Ray-"
"Don't you dare bring Ray into this. This has nothing to do with Ray. This is you, and this ridiculous idea you have about the life you think you deserve. You blame yourself for Rachel, and Harvey, and you think that means you have to punish yourself. You think that means that you don't deserve to be happy." Felicity took a deep breath, holding back tears. "I'm tired of having this conversation Bruce." she took a step toward the man, so he could see her eyes and know her words were true. I love you too, and all I ever wanted from you Bruce was your heart." Those words seemed to hit the man hard, all though he didn't show it. It almost happened though. He almost grabbed her, told her all the things he wanted to tell her, but he didn't. Despite what he wanted and what she wanted, in the end a relationship with him isn't the type of life a woman like Felicity's deserves. "Look just go to Central City, bring back my friend. She needs to be here, this is her home." With that the woman turns and heads back to the club.
Katie doesn't know why, but she finds herself standing outside a dilapidated house that still held the faint burnt smell from the fire that destroyed it. Even now, standing in front of this house, she can't believe that David was such a monster. She couldn't even read the articles about this Smiley killer, and not feel sick to her stomach. Katie wasn't sure what the point of coming here was, but now that she's here she can't leave without at least searching for a clue as to where the man has disappeared.
She wished she had at least a flashlight as she treks through the dark house. There was only a slight glimmer of light that shown through the place this late at night and it didn't do much for her search. She was able to navigate her way to the stairs that lead to the basement. When she headed down, memories of being chained down here flooded her. When she finally reached the last step her eyes went wide. The fire really did destroy everything. There was no sign of the prison he built for his victims, and because of that she was sure they probably couldn't even pin these crimes on him. This was still a cold case even though they knew who the perpetrator really is.
Katie shook her head before turning and heading back up the stairs. She needed to leave this place, because there was absolutely no answers there anymore. She thought she would just be able to leave just as quietly as she came, but it would seem that would be impossible. The moment she began walking toward the back door, she heard the noticeable sound of footsteps behind her and so she stopped.
"CCPD! Put your hands in the air and turn around slowly." a voice ordered and Katie rolled her eyes before lifting her hands and turning as she is told. She's suddenly hit with the blinding light of a flash light. "Doctor Robins?" the light moved from her eyes and the man walked over to her finally, giving her a pretty good look at his face.
"Detective Thawne?" Katie said. "What are you doing here?"
"I got a call that a neighbor saw someone coming in here. I thought it could be Parker, so I came to check it out." Eddie said with a shake of his head. "But it was you. What are you doing here, doctor?"
"I don't know." Katie sighed, as she ran a hand over her face. "I don't know much of anything right now. I'm just going to go and-"
"No." the man said and Katie looked at him in confusion. "You're trespassing, and that's a crime."
"You being a cop must take me to jail, right?"
"Right." Eddie said before walking behind her, and bringing his cuffs around her wrists.
The CCPD at night wasn't as crazy as it was during the day, which both Katie and Eddie were happy about. He didn't place her in a cell, but did sit her in front of his desk and order her not to move. Katie listened because a person with absolutely no idea where she's going really isn't itching to run away.
Eddie called his partner on his way to the station, and he was glad the man was there when they arrived.
"You call the chief?" Joe asked from their place across the station, where they kept their eyes on the woman.
"Yeah. He says he's not interested in getting into some media circus again." Eddie said as he sipped the terrible old coffee. "He said he didn't want her here when he came in the morning, so I should just let her go."
"And why haven't you?"
"I don't know." Eddie replied turning back to his partner. "Something's not right with her. She seems a bit out of it."
"I can't imagine the victim of a kidnapping would be well adjusted." Joe said with a shake of his head as he looks back over to the woman. "Let's just call someone-"
"I already asked if there was someone she wanted me to call and she said no." Eddie sighed. "I just don't feel right about letting her go off on her own."
"You find out why she went back to Parker's place?" Joe asked and Eddie shook his head.
"Not yet." Eddie said with another sigh.
"She's probably just looking for closure or something. Look see if she knows something, and I'll call Barry, maybe he can get in touch with someone for her." Eddie gave the man a nod before heading back over to his desk.
"Am I going to jail?" Katie asked once the man sat down. "Because if I am then I think I should call my lawyers I guess." she turned away in thought. "I have no idea what their numbers are, but I guess I could like google it or something." she turned back to Eddie who simply smirked. "Can I use my one phone call for like five minutes on your computer."
"You're funny. A lot of people I bring here in cuffs don't usually joke about the possibility of going to jail." Eddie said before standing to his feet. "Stand up." Katie quirked a brow, but stood to her feet as the man walked behind her and removed the cuffs from her wrists. "You're not going to jail, but I am going to ask you a couple of questions." he went back to sit down, and Katie did the same. "Why are you in Central City?"
"Needed some air, so I decided to go for a walk, and ended up in the next city over." Katie said with a shrug.
"That's your way of evading the question."
"That's my way of saying that I don't have to tell you why I'm in Starling if it doesn't directly relate to any case or crime that you are investigating." Katie replied and Eddie simply nodded. "I've been brushing up on my rights."
"I'm glad." Eddie said. "When's the last time you've slept?" Katie shook her head before turning away. "Or ate something?"
"I'm fine, detective." Katie replied looking back to the man.
"And the bruises on your fists?" Eddie asked and Katie looked down to her hands before slipping them slightly into her sleeves to hide them. "You know I ran into a woman last night, she was scared out of her mind because there were these guys who were looking for her boyfriend who attacked her. She said she only got away because so woman, with dark hair came to her rescue." Katie turned away, and Eddie quirked a brow because he was starting to believe his theory might be more than a theory. "So when I find the spot she said I would find the woman, all I found were two unconscious thugs with rap sheets long enough to land them both very heavy sentences."
"Sounds like a very good night." Katie replied turning back to the man. "What does that have to do with me?"
"Where were you last night?" Eddie asked and Katie shook her head as she folded her arms over her chest.
"With my good friend Barry Allen, you know catching up on old times." Katie replied with a shrug.
"Did you and Barry get into a fight?" Eddie asked.
"Nah, sometimes I just get mad and punch things. This was from a random wall in a random bathroom."
"That's your story?"
"Yeah, and if you can prove anything different, then by all means please let me know. And if I'm not going to jail and I'm not being detained then I'm just going to-" she stood to her feet about to leave, but stopped when she saw the familiar face walk into the police station. "Shit."
"Good to see you too, Robins." Bruce said with a shake of his head.
"How the hell did you know I was here?"
"I'm a resourceful guy." Bruce said before walking over to Eddie who stood to his feet. "I hope Ms. Robins hasn't gotten herself into too much trouble tonight."
"Trespassing is a very serious offense." Eddie said glancing over to Katie who didn't even look at him. "But giving the circumstances, I'm willing to give the good doctor a warning." Katie turned to the man with a smile.
"And I thank you so much. You won't have to worry about me anymore tonight or any other night because I'm leaving." Katie replied before turning and heading for the door. Bruce turned to follow, but Eddie stopped him.
"Mr. Wayne, is everything alright with her?"
"It's been a rough couple of weeks." Bruce replied both honestly and vaguely. "Don't worry, I'll look after her." Eddie simply gave a nod before watching the man turn and rush out of the station.
The moment Bruce stepped outside, he spotted Katie walking down the street, and he ran to catch up to her.
"You know when the last time you're seen is being inducted into a group of killers, when you get out it's just common courtesy to contact your friends." Bruce said once he appeared at Katie's side.
"Well when you spend almost a week being put through grueling and demeaning tests, the last thing you want when you get out is to even be around people." Katie said, when Bruce suddenly quickened his step to stand in front of her. "Bruce-"
"There is only one way you leave the league, you and I both know that." Bruce said looking into the woman's eyes. "So how are you here standing in front of me, right now."
"Does it matter?" Katie asked before trying to step around the man, but he only moved to continue blocking her.
"It does because you're either my friend right now, or your the demon's puppet and I would like to know which one." the man said and Katie let out a chuckle. "What's so funny?"
"You thinking that I was so weak minded that it would be inevitable that he would break me." Katie said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm standing right here because that's exactly what didn't happen." she once again tried to move around him, and this time was successful. "I doubt Barry called you."
"No, he called Felicity, who called me." Bruce replied moving to walk beside her.
"So Oliver doesn't know?" she glanced over to the man who let out a sigh, but shook his head. "You didn't tell him because you didn't know who you were going to find."
"Can you blame me? Ra's is a sadistic bitch, and I see how warped he has those men in his league." Bruce said. "I thought—I don't know what I thought, but I didn't want to get everyone's hopes up by telling them that you escaped."
"I didn't escape." Katie said looking over to the man. "He let me go."
"After all his efforts of trying to bring his blood back to Nanda Parbat, why the hell would he just let you go?"
"My face." Katie sighed. "My face opened a door in his unbeating heart that he thought he shut." she looked back over to Bruce. "I saw a glimmer of humanity in the demon's eyes and I think that scared the hell out of him."
"You reminded him of his sister." Bruce concluded still not able to believe that he would just let her go. "It still doesn't make any sense."
"I don't really give a damn." Katie muttered before running to cross the street. "Just leave me alone!" Bruce ran to catch up to her.
"So you choose now to run away?" Bruce asked running to catch up to her. "What do you think happens after this? You think your friends won't look for you, you think Oliver is just going to let you hide away in some hole. There are people who care about you Robins and-"
"And I care about them!" Katie snapped angrily turning to the man. "That place, it does something to me. Brings out something I never want to get to them, to you." Katie turned away with a shake of her head. "I felt the darkness, and I liked it and I don't know what that means."
"What, that's it?" Bruce said and Katie just shook her head before walking off, but he walked up, grabbing her arm to stop her. "You felt darkness and that scared you?"
"Let me go!" Katie snapped angrily trying to pull from his grasp, but he wasn't going to let her get away that easily. "I can't go back there. I can't just go back to them, to Oliver when there's this thing inside of me." she continued to try to pull away. "I can't let it get to them. Just let me get as far away as I can."
"No, because I thought you knew this but obviously you don't. There is darkness in all of us, some darker than others, but it's the fact that we can pull ourselves from the darkness that sets us apart from the others." Bruce said. "You're not a monster Robins, he could never make you a monster. So stop believing that you are." Katie dropped her head, before Bruce pulled her against his chest in a tight hug.
"How do I face him?" Katie asked. "How do I face any of them?"
"They're your family Robins. They take you just as you are without question." Bruce pulled back from the hug. "That's why it's called home."
"No more running, huh?"
"I don't think so. I think Starling still needs it's Guardian. I think a lot of people still need her. One guy comes to mind whose been a bit hard to handle since she's been gone. So lets get you home."
"I have to make a stop first." Katie muttered against the man's chest.
Katie and Bruce stood in Star Labs as a familiar team of heroes stood and listened to a story Katie hadn't told before.
"I don't know what it means, or if it means anything, but the last time I saw David, he was swept away by some yellow flash of light." Katie said and she watched as Barry and the others shared looks. "Am I crazy? Did I imagine it?"
"No." Barry said turning to the woman. "We've named him the Reverse Flash. He's just as fast as me, if not faster, and I believe-" Barry shook his head. "No I know he's the man that killed my mother." Katie stared with wide eyes definitely not expecting that.
"Maybe he's also helping David." Caitlin suggested and they all turned to her. "I'm not sure why."
"Well the truth is we're not even sure if what Katie saw was the Reverse Flash." Dr. Wells said and they turned to him. "No offense doctor, but from what we know of this guy, working with murderous cops doesn't seem like his M.O."
"Look I guess you would know better then I would." Katie said looking back to Barry. "It's what I saw. So maybe there's a connection, maybe there isn't, but I thought I should tell you before I left." she glanced over to Bruce. "We should get going, right?"
"Yeah." Bruce said glancing back over to the others, his eyes settling of Dr. Wells. He walked over and held out a hand to the man. "Dr. Wells, it was good seeing you again."
"And you too Mr. Wayne." the doctor replied giving the billionaire a firm handshake that lasted a bit longer than a normal handshake should. Bruce turned to Barry, and shook the man's hand as well.
"Good seeing you again, Mr. Allen." Bruce said and Barry gave a nod. "I have heard about The Flash and the things he's doing here and I gotta say I'm impressed."
"You have absolutely no idea how good that is to hear, especially from you." Barry replied. "I hope you know if you ever need someone who can move really fast, I'll be there-"
"Don't say, "There in a flash." Caitlin said with a shake of her head.
"I wasn't, I was just going to say I'll be there-" he turned back to Bruce with a nervous smile. "Fine I was going to say in a Flash, but it's true."
"Well that's very good to know."Bruce said with a chuckle. "And I hope you know the offer works both way. You have my number." Barry simply nodded.
"Mr. Bruce Wayne, uh sir-" Bruce pulled from the handshake and turned to Cisco who looked like a kid on Christmas eve with a wide smile. "I just want to say that I think the Batman is the coolest hero ever-" he looked over to Barry. "No offense Barry."
"Much taken Cisco." Barry said with a chuckled, but his friend didn't even seem to care.
"I actually have been toying with some ideas about a more light weight metallic polymers for your suit, that's also more intensive resistant to handle your vigorous hero duties, uh sir." Cisco said and Bruce gave a nod before holding out a hand to the young man.
"I think I would love to hear more about this Mr. Ramon." Bruce said before reaching inside of his pocket and pulling out a business card. "Do you have a pen?"
"Uh-" Cisco began patting himself down rigorously before looking to the other with wide eyes. "A pen? Guys do we have pens?" he began frantically searching, tossing papers a side. "An entire office and not one single pen."
"Cisco for God's sake here!" Caitlin said finding a pen, which the man quickly took and handed it to Bruce. He watched as Bruce wrote something on the back of the card before handing it to him.
"That is my personal email, I'd love to see the specs for this idea of yours." Bruce said and Cisco simply looked down to the car as if it were a golden ticket. "How's that sound?"
"Perfect." Cisco said with a wide smile looking up to Bruce. "I'll get them to you ASAP." Bruce simply gave nod, before waving to the others and he and Katie finally left.
"Fanboy much?" Caitlin asked, but Cisco was too happy to even be offended by the comment.
"Oh crap." Cisco said a frown coming to his face before looking up to his friends. "I forgot to ask him about rich people fight club."
"What are you thinking over there Barry?" Wells asked, noticing the man deep in thought.
"I'm just wondering if there really could be a connection between the Reverse Flash and David Parker." Barry said with a shake of his head. "I mean David's only intention seemed to be to get close to Katie. I'm not sure how that would have anything to do with the evil bastard who killed my mother."
"Because it probably doesn't." The doctor replied with a shake of his head. "I'm sure Dr. Robins was just mistaken by what she saw. We'll continue with the leads we already have, and go from there."
"Right." Barry said with a nod, still hesitant to completely write off the woman's story.
Katie could honestly say that just one week ago, that she believed that she would never step foot in Starling again. The moment she stepped off of Bruce's plane, she felt nervous. Despite what the man said, that darkness that found her back at Nanda Parbat was still inside of her. She felt as if she were so close to giving into it and that scared her to death.
Soon she was standing in front of the door that lead to the basement, and for the life of her she just couldn't go in.
"Remember what I said Robins." Bruce spoke from beside her and Katie glanced over to him. "You don't have to be afraid of the darkness. There's a light inside of you that's much stronger, and that much I know."
Katie turned back to the club and let out a heavy sigh before finally taking those steps toward the basement entrance. When she stepped inside, something inside of her changed. Something she felt instantly. The void of being away from home, suddenly filled slightly. It gave her the courage to walked further inside until she finally saw more familiar faces.
John, Felicity and Roy were all crowded around Felicity's computer totally unaware of her presence.
"I think I should worry that I was able to walk in here without any of you guys noticing." Katie spoke and suddenly their eyes were on her. No one said anything at first, all them completely shocked to see her standing there. Katie smiled as she looked around the place, and couldn't help the wave of relief that washed over her at the feeling of being home. "I never knew how much I would miss this place." she looked back over to her friends that still just stared. "Or you guys. I really missed you." Felicity jumped from her seat and rushed over to Katie, throwing her arms around her in a hug.
"You're never allowed to join an evil league again." Felicity said as tears fell from her eyes. "We need you right here."
"I second that." a voice spoke and Katie pulled from the hug to see John and Roy had walked over as well. "That was a stupid thing you did."
"Sometimes I do stupid things John." Katie replied as the man brought his arms around her in hug, placing a kiss on top of her head.
"Yeah, but I think it was one of the bravest things I've ever seen too." John replied before pulling from the hug. Katie couldn't even reply, before Roy tossed his arms around her in another hug that Katie happily returned.
"You're such an idiot, you know that don't you?" Roy muttered as he hugged the woman tightly. "Don't do that again, alright?"
"Fine." Katie said pulling from the hug and giving the man a smile, before turning to Felicity and John. "I'm sorry. I should've called or something, but-"
"It's alright." John said and Katie looked to him with a smile. "I get it. Place like that, it's hard to escape even when you do. So did you run? Should we be worried about another League attack on the city?"
"No." Katie said with a shake of her head. "If the demon is true to his word, then I am released of all obligations to him and his league." she noticed the skepticism in their eyes and she couldn't blame them. "I know, I don't understand it either, but until he makes any moves to contradict himself, I'm just inclined to believe that I really am free of him." Katie turned, her eyes searching the lair.
"He's not here." Felicity said answering the unspoken question in Katie's eyes.
"Where is he?" Katie asked and Felicity actually looked nervous. Katie turned to John and then Roy, all of whom seemed to want to answer the question. "Please don't tell me he's-"
"No, Oliver is fine." John said with a shake of his head. "He's just not been himself since he came back."
"What do you mean?" Katie asked looking between their eyes, waiting for someone to tell her something. "Where the hell is he?"
No one was quite sure where to start because none of them quite understood it themselves. Oliver seemed to finally accept Laurel as a part of the team and the pair brought Werner down, and back in jail. Afterwards Oliver found out that Thea was attacked by one of the league and Malcolm seemed to have only one suggestion.
"He's gone back to Lian Yu." Felicity spoke and Katie turned to her with wide eyes of surprise. "With Thea." surprise turned to confusion. "It was Malcolm Meryln's idea." confusion morphed to anger. Katie closed her eyes and inhaled deeply before releasing the heavy breath. Katie had been gone a week and it would seem that in that week a lot had changed. "Katie?"
"I'm going to call you." Katie said opening her eyes and turning to Felicity. "And you are going to tell me everything that I've missed since I've been gone. Every last damn detail." with that the woman went stalking toward the door.
"So she's going to Lian Yu?" Roy asked.
"Yep." John replied.
"I just hope they all come back alive." Felicity said still staring at the door. "Well not Malcolm. If he was to somehow not make it back, I wouldn't lose any sleep."
"I think I'm more nervous about them all being trapped on an island together." John said, both Felicity and Roy turning to him with looks of nervousness as well.
They all had the feeling that Lian Yu was about to get a bit more interesting.
Author's note:
Katie's back...for just a few moments. Now she's going to Lian Yu, which never holds back the crazy. Favorite part of this chapter was fanboy Cisco, and rich people fight club.
Review Replies
Adela: I totally agree. I just wanted this deeper issue with Ra's and Katie that even he's not even really aware of. It also was a good way to look at the relationship with his sister and why he let her go so easily. The title of Ra's Al Ghul and what that entails truly does outweigh everything else, including the thing he tells himself is important...his bloodline. We will see Ra's again, and it is going to be very surprising.
rockyroyal,dr: Yes, I totally ship swayne. And I hate how much of a tortured soul Bruce is becoming. His darkness is drawn to the light in Felicity, and yet for some reason he just won't let him have it. But something will spur him, I just hope Felicity had the patience to wait. I know "Katherine Robins is gone." was a very overused saying the past couple of chapters, but it was only to show the fear that maybe it was true. The league and Nanda Parbat has a reputation of killing people and bringing them back as murderers, I'm just glad Katie had the strength to over come it. Which Oliver Queen absolutely know wholeheartedly is true. My Ra's moments were Katie in the last chapter were very fun to write. Especially that lullaby scene, where just for a moment we saw the human part of Ra's come through, and I think that was the last straw.
Well we're really winding down, getting closer and closer to a very surprising ending, but lets not think about that now. As always I can never end a chapter with out giving my appreciation to everyone who is taking this wild ride with me. Thanks for everyone who has added this story to your alerts, and a special fist in the air to my peeps who continue to hold me down with the reviews. I love reading them and encourage everyone to let your voice be heard.
P.s I'm so excited for you all to read the next chapter, because it will have a very big development.
I won't give too much away, but I promise it will begin unexpected, and end with a jaw dropper.
As always I leave you with a sneak peek...
Katie jumped to her feet, reaching into the over head compartment and grabbing her bag. She let her eyes scan the plane, before spotting the compartment next to the door. She walked over, and pulled open the doors to reveal the parachute packs and let out a very deep sigh.
"The things I do for you, Liver." she muttered before grabbing one of the packs.
There was a sudden alarm and both pilots shared a look before one of them stood to their feet and quickly left the cockpit. He rushed down the aisle, glancing to all the seats and not seeing the woman at all. He heard the sharp wind, and looked up to see the open door. He braced himself against the wall, before peeking out the door, and seeing absolutely nothing but darkness.
"I have no idea how I'm going to explain this to Mr. Wayne." the man muttered before sliding the door closed.