"Being normal is not necessarily a virtue; it rather denotes a lack of courage."

-Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic)

Chapter Three: Legends, Crusades, & Broken Legacies

A Coffee Shop in New Orleans…

"Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have."

-Saul Alinsky

A lone woman sat in the warmth of the night, the world around her was lit up by the bright full moon held aloft in the sky, her dark mocha colored skin mostly covered by a dark simple long sleeved Henley and skin tight jeans. Tabitha White sat calmly reading from one of her favorite novels, Call of the Wild by Jack London, when she felt the pull against her heart. Their kind was rare and most of them had come from the League.

Mirakuru had first come into the League's possession when Rhas Al Ghul came across a scientist by the name of Ivo, who was very much insane, who offered him a way to help make his warriors stronger, faster, and in every other way more superior then the common human soldier. The only problem was that Ivo had yet to test it on human subjects. Rhas was intrigued but did not fully trust the mad scientist, so with the promise of taking him to a place that he could use his concoction on poor unsuspecting humans, Rhas had Ivo and few of his men taken to a faraway remote island – Lian Yue. Rhas knew that the likelihood of Ivo surviving on the island was slim to none and before he sent the madman to his harsh fate in the jungles of Lian Yue, acquired a small sample of the Mirakuru for himself – no more than a litter of it – for which he was able to bring back to the League of Shadows for some tests of his own.

Rhas Al Ghul had been the first to use the Mirakuru combined with animal blood to strengthen himself – he had mixed the blood of a Russian Red Wolf into his own injection – next had been Tabitha with the blood of a northern white snow Tiger. Since then Rhas had not used the concoction, not for years. He had not deemed any of his students worthy enough to take it, except for his greatest student – other than Tabitha – Bruce Wayne, the only other student other than herself, Bane, and Nyssa that had complete the training of the League. Not even Bane had been worthy enough to take it, not even after he'd save Rhas' daughter.

Their kind was always closely attuned to one another; they could always tell when another was made. Usually the concoction would kill its victims, but this newly made warrior…Tabitha could think of only one person who'd have the strength to endure this.

It took little over an hour for Tabitha to make the proper arrangements to arrange a ticket for a flight that would take her to Starling City. She wouldn't be able to leave for a while, at least a couple of months, there were some things she needed to do first. She could only hope and pray that her Protégé could handle it until she got there.

Headquarters of the League of Shadows…

The distance between insanity and genius is measured by success."

-B. Feirstein

Rhas Al Ghul sat in his usual spot on the top balcony, the perfect place for him to observe his students' training while still being able to stay in the shadows. His body was riddled and deformed by burn marks and scars. The Animal Enhanced Mirakuru did much to heal him, but even it had its limitations. One of which was having his most prized student let him fall to his demise three years ago on that blasted train designed by Thomas Wayne. He had fallen through ash, fire, stone, and had been crushed by the train itself. His body had been broken and disfigured, but his mind survived. Do to his injuries, Rhas Al Ghul was unable to personally train the members of his League, so he had appointed his second in command, Bane – the man who had saved his daughter – to lead and teach in his place.

The pull in his heart made him gasp and jerk in surprise. Nyssa, who was standing next to his seated form startled – "always mind your surroundings" – and reached for him with a gentle hand. "Fath…Teacher, are you all right?" She had almost said father. He had forbidden she ever use that term. Once upon a time she'd been allowed to, but years ago when a small child had been brought to him, he'd enforced that new rule upon her. Nyssa had grown jealous of the child, even after said child had run far away and had never been seen or heard from since, for she had taken the attentions of her father away from her.

Nyssa was the daughter of Rhas Al Ghul – they shared everything: beliefs, fighting styles, and a familial connection – they shared everything…everything but blood.

Wayne Manor, Gotham…

"I've dreamt in my life dreams that have stayed with me forever after and changed my ideas: they've gone through and through me like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind."

-Wuthering Heights

Bruce Wayne jolted up in bed, his toned and muscular body drenched in sweat due to the nightmare that had been plaguing him for the last seven months…since the night that Harvey Dent died and his final face-off with the Joker. A lot had happened since then. Rachel had moved away (somewhere in Washington DC) – turns out that when Harvey had been injured in the explosion that took half his face and his sanity Rachel had deemed it necessary to cut her losses and leave town, unable to face her scarred fiancé and inevitably causing the man's self-destruction. The Joker was safely locked away in Arkham with top security watching him 24/7. Wayne Manor had been restored to its former glory along with the Batcave deep within the caves beneath the Wayne property. Batman was a hero and loved by Gotham. So, why did this nightmare torment him so much?

It was of a small child, held deep within the darkness, striving to break free. Was it him when he'd fallen into the well as a boy surrounded by bats? Or was it someone else entirely? He wasn't sure; all he knew was that child needed him. The nightmare combined with the echo of a woman screaming had awoken him in his distressed state.

Arrow Foundry…

"Childhood is not from a certain age; the child is grown and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies."

-Edna St. Vincent Millay

Digg and Sara watched on as Oliver was trying to teach Roy how to use his bow, it was proving very difficult, during which they were all discussing the different ways of how Mirakuru could have possibly been recreated since Ivo was the only one they knew who had made it and Slade was the only one they had known had it in his blood, but he was dead, too. This led Oliver and Sara talking about the effects of Mirakuru and how they had experience with it. It was a very depressing conversation, for which Roy pointed out to all of them mumbling under his breath, "If Felicity were here she'd at least keep the mood light."

Oliver's entire body stiffened at Roy's words when the very clear reminder of the fact that Felicity was no longer with them flitted through his mind. Sara ducked her head in shame as she remembered the part she played in Felicity's now obvious absence. Oliver had been determined to try and forget what they had done and put their mistake behind him, but Roy and Digg seemed determined to never let either of them forget it.

"Seriously, though. Don't you guys have any happy stories?" Roy's sarcasm was very evident as he put Oliver's bow back in its glass case and walked over to stand next to Digg who was looking at some information Felicity had forwarded him about a friend of hers that was trying to make a cure for the Mirakuru.

"Well, not any happy stories that I can think of, but certainly some interesting ones especially when I was with the League. They certainly knew how to entertain. They didn't really believe in electricity or technology, so we had to find different ways to entertain each other, so we would…"

"Let me guess. You all would fight to the death just for the fun of it," came Digg's interrupting dry reply. His voice sounded distant and uninterested in anything she had to say. He and Roy had been giving her the cold shoulder just as much as they had been to Oliver.

Sara was not about to respond to his remark, especially since it was very true. Rhas Al Ghul had seen it as a way to entertain, but also to sort through the warriors of the League and kill off those who could not survive against their own kind. "We would gather around and tell stories. Some from our own pasts, but usually Legends about the League itself. They were quite fascinating."

Oliver had moved to sit in the chair that Felicity usually sat in, his gaze fixed on her computers and his mind fixed on Felicity, he only half listened to what the others were talking about.

"Really? Like what?" Roy's voice held the same uninterested distance that Digg's did, but he could not deny his curiosity.

"Well, there was the story about Rhas Al Ghul's child."

"I don't think we need to hear a story about your ex-lover, Sara," said Digg with a role of his eyes as he now shared the tablet with Roy.

"It's not. Nyssa isn't even related to Rhas."

That seemed to get Digg, Roy's, and even Oliver's attention.

"She's not?" asked Digg.

"No…well, at least not biologically. He and the League took her in when she was younger and he is the only parent she's ever had, but they don't share the same blood." Sara said. She tried to keep her voice steady; talking about Nyssa just made her miss the other woman.

"Really, do tell." Roy continued with his sarcasm.

"Well, ok. Once upon a time…" Sara started.

"Seriously! You're starting with…" Roy stopped his antagonizing and put his hands up in a gesture of surrender after Sara sent him a withering look.

"Once, years ago in Nanda Parbat, a Mercenary worked for a local Warlord. He ended up falling madly in love with the Warlord's daughter, Selena was her name, and after some time they married in secret. When the Warlord found out he was furious and he condemned the Mercenary to death, but after a few days passed he was exiled instead. He knew that it was his wife, Selena that had secured his freedom, but when he learned the price of his freedom he came back to her and they escaped together."

"Wait? What was the price?" Roy asked.

"In this particular part of the world, there was a place – it was hell on earth – a pit hundreds and hundreds of feet deep dug into the earth. It was impossible to escape; its flat stone walls with very little ridges caused many who have tried to climb out of it to fall to their deaths. Selena had convinced her father to exile her husband and in return she would die in his place. The Warlord was a cruel man, but even he could not kill his only child and watch her die. So, instead he condemned her to spend the rest of her days in the pit. When the Mercenary learned of this, he returned and took her away. For but a few years they lived in peace and they even had a child, but one night the Warlord had sent a few of his most loyal guards to bring the Mercenary back to him and was going to throw him in the pit. When the guards came, the Mercenary hid his wife and child and surrendered himself to his fate in the hopes that Selena and the child would be free. But, the Warlord was a smart man – he had been hurt by his daughter's betrayal – and while the guards took the Mercenary with them…they were only a distraction. The guards abandoned the Mercenary in the northern mountains of china, near a monastery that was home to the League of Shadows, where he would find his place as the greatest student of Rhas Al Ghul."

Roy was about to interrupt yet again – Sara had said the story was about Rhas' child not his student – but Sara silenced him with a hard look. By this point she had everyone's attention.

"So, a few days later the guards returned to the Mercenary's home and captured Selena and the child. The Warlord decided that it was only fit that since he had ensured the Mercenary's exile that his daughter and her child would fulfill their promise. Selena and the child were lowered into the pit, condemned to a life of true darkness. I remember I once described what it was like on Lian Yue to Rhas – he laughed in my face and told me that I had not yet experienced true hell. The pit is a thousand times worse than the island ever was." Sara chanced a glance at Oliver; his body was tense as he listened to the story. "On the island you can run and hide from your fears and from any foe that might be hunting you. In the pit, there's no where you can hide, it is like an open prison where the murderous and rapist inmates roam freely amongst each other – killing and destroying anything that they feel threatened by. For seven years Selena and her child were condemned to live in that hell. They were only safe in their prison cell. When Nyssa told me the story, she told me how innocence could not survive in darkness – it is like a flower and needs sunshine to grow – it must be stamped out. So, one day when the doctor – a fellow prisoner in the pit – was checking on the mother and child, he forgot to lock the cell properly when he left."

Roy, Oliver, and Digg waited with bated breath. They knew what was coming next and they dreaded it, but they could not stop listening.

"A few of the prisoners noticed the open cell door, and before Selena could lock herself in they attacked. They raped her before they killed her. But, the child was kept safe, it had a protector. One of the prisoners saw the innocence in the child as their only redemption and that it should be protected. One day he fought off all the prisoners as the child made its way up the stone walls of the pit, until it had reached the top and was free. For all of those years the Mercenary had trained and learned under the teachings of Rhas Al Ghul. He was Rhas' greatest student and when Rhas died, the mercenary took his name. You see, every leader of the League of Shadows carries that name – Rhas is not so much a person as it is a legacy. When the mercenary, Rhas, was reunited with his child he exacted terrible revenge on those who had killed his wife. He killed her father the Warlord, and entered the pit…destroying everyone except for the one who had saved his daughter. The man who had protected his child was welcomed into the League and trained by Rhas."

"W-What happened to the child?" Digg asked.

"No one knows. From the way Nyssa told the story to me, the child died soon after." Was Sara's resigned reply.

There was silence throughout the Foundry. Digg, Roy, and Oliver all thinking the same thing…how could someone condemn an innocent woman – whose only crime was that she had fallen in love – and her child to a living breathing Hell on earth?! It was Roy who broke the thick tension.

"Are you kidding me?! I asked if you had any happy stories not tragedies! That was like reading freaking Romeo and Juliet." Roy gave an indignant huff before sauntering up the stairs for his date with Thea. Digg followed shortly after and soon even Oliver left.

Sara had tried her best to bond with them, to understand their bond, but she was no Felicity and would never understand what it was like to be part of a team. Even when she had joined the League three years ago – she had only spent a year and half with them before running away – she had not known that kind of loyalty, except with Nyssa. The League was built up of warriors who all had one common goal, but they were by no means a team or a family. They did not watch each other's backs. Too often they destroyed each other before they were willing to help one another.

Felicity...

"With the new day comes new strengths and new thoughts."

-Anonymous

Felicity had been thirteen years old when she was found wandering the cold dark streets of Central City. She had no memory of who she was or where she was from – only distinct flashes of a long forgotten family and a father who had left her, a father that she had loved. The social worker who had found her had named her Felicity due to her surprisingly happy nature in spite of what she had been through. For five years she would wander throughout the public system for unwanted children. She was fifteen when she had met Tabitha, a kind neighbor who often let her spend the night with her when her foster parents were left arguing.

The emotional and physical abuse that she had endured from her foster parents littered her heart, body, and soul. Tabitha had eventually trained her in self-defense quite thoroughly so that no one could ever hurt her. By the time she was eighteen and free of the system, Tabitha left her – but she'd given her a small gift, a silver chained bracelet with a starburst pendent with a Lapis Lazuli stone in the middle, and a promise that she'd always be there for her when Felicity needed her. And she hadn't, she hadn't needed Tabitha…until now.

Felicity awoke from the nightmares of her past – her memories seemed to return only in her sleep – to find her body changed. She was lying on her back on her bed in a very…alluring outfit. She tried to sit up to and get a better look at herself but her attention was taken instead by the many shinning diamond filled pieces of jewelry that fell from her body as she moved. Necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings glowed and sparkled tauntingly. Her mind flashed to the night before as everything seemed to flood her mind all at once.

Felicity awoke from her 'death' reborn. She lifted the small injured cat into her arms and stumbled back to her apartment in a daze. Her body and mind like a zombie, moving without any control or thought. As she entered her overly colorful and cheerful apartment she put the cat down on the floor where it limped around, familiarizing itself with her apartment.

"Honey, I'm home," said Felicity in a breathy-barely-aware voice. She snapped the lights on and was faced with the harsh reality that despite the fact that she was a beautiful 22 year old young woman, she lived alone. "Oh, that's right…I'm not married." Felicity entered her domain with slow and shaky steps, peeling the torn and ragged Jean jacket from her body before dropping it carelessly onto the floor before making her way to her bright turquoise fridge. She was parched. Opening the colorful appliance, she was immediately drawn to the small container of half-and-half cream that she usually kept for her coffee. Lifting the container to her lips she gulped greedily, a few drops falling from her lips and down her neck. After a second she distractedly grabbed a small cereal bowl from a half-opened cabinet and poor the small black cat a bit of the cream, placing it on the floor a bit too roughly – some drops sloshing over the sides.

Felicity's appearance was quite frightening. Any open wounds that she had acquired from her fall through that damned window were now healed due to the Mirakuru, but the blood that had seeped from said wounds was still on her, dried in flaky garish clumps on her clothes and skin. She walked around for a couple of second but paused before a wall of some pictures that she had of her, Oliver, and Digg.

Oliver…Sara…

The thought of Oliver and seeing his picture brought back her memories of what they had done to her…what Oliver had done to hurt her. Everything that had happened recently seemed to bring her fully to life and into action. Anger, rage, hurt over what Oliver and Sara had done consumed her. Rummaging through her small storage closet she withdrew a small can of red spray paint and proceeded to cleanse her apartment with it, the small cat she had brought home with her being ever watchful. She broke every silly knickknack, smashed every ridiculous picture of long forgotten friends, and broke and tore through the bright colored fabric of her furniture, walls, and pillows.

When she reached the closet in her bedroom she proceeded to spray the innocent and naïvely styled pieces of clothing. Once she was finished she tossed the empty spray can over her shoulder, hearing it smash through her bedroom window sent a thrilling reminder of what Moira Queen had done to her.

She tore through her clothes until she came to the small box on the floor of her closet. It was a black box with silver script on top, a gift from Tabitha sent to her last year for her 21st birthday; it read, "To my dearest Felicity, use in case of dating emergency." Felicity ripped off the top of the box and pulled out the skin tight black leather pants with a beautiful red leather belt, a leather jacket with a single small button to keep it together, and the most beautiful red swayed knee high boots. She pranced into her bathroom in order to put herself together. After applying a thick swipe of dark plum red shade of lipstick, dark eyeliner and eye shadow, she threw the leather getup on; she didn't bother with a shirt underneath the leather jacket which meant that with only one button to keep it clasped her stomach and most of her bosom was revealed, she didn't mind. Walking back into her bedroom and past her dresser she came across a naughty pair of red lace and leather gloves with shinning, sharp pointed silver studs over the knuckles; she quickly put them on and proceeded to jump out of her bedroom window. She landed gracefully in a cat-like pose on the ground six stories below.

Looking back up at her window where she saw her new feline friend peering out and looking down at her she smirked and said, "I don't know about you Ms. Kitty, but I feel so much more…" Felicity raised her hands above her head as she stretched sensuously, "Yummier." She strutted off.

When she soon spotted the lone vintage motorcycle parked in the alleyway next to a bar three blocks away, she figured "mine now." She was speeding through the nearly silent and sleeping city when she heard a faint crash as she passed a Cartier jewelry store.

Once inside it was easy to tell that it was in the process of being robbed. Well, not on her watch. Felicity spotted a small bright blood red ruby encrusted mask on display in one of the many glass cases. Smashing the glass of the case as quietly as she could – the robbers weren't alerted to her presence or the noise she had just made, they probably thought it was one of them – and placed the mask over her eyes, shielding her face from being recognized by the still running security cameras. She quickly positioned herself on the top balcony overlooking the first floor of the store which gave her a good view of what she would be working with – or better yet, what she'd be working against – which was four very inept thieves dressed from head to toe in black sweats carrying shot guns. Criminals these days had absolutely no imagination – stealing, drug, and money…that was all they seemed to care about.

"Amateurs." Felicity said snidely, alerting them to her presence. They all looked at her with their guns at the ready and aimed at her. "You boys thought you could just come in here and steal all of these beautiful things? What a puuurrrfect idea." The seduction evident in her voice seemed to distract the robbers, but not for long.

The sound of the guns being fired at her made her act on instinct and instinct alone as her body seemed to take complete control. She seemed to be watching her own movements in slow motion as she pulled herself up and over the balcony railing in an artful twisting flip that landed her on one of the robbers.

Her movements were quick, painful, and harsh as she twisted, turned, flipped, and cartwheeled around the store knocking all four robbers out in a matter of seconds. When she was done she walked over to the discarded black bag that held the stolen merchandise and literally skipped off.

Felicity's eyes snapped open at the memory of how she had stopped a jewelry heist came back to her as well as everything else that had happened last night. She looked down at herself and noticed that she was still wearing Tabitha's leather gift. She then turned back to the jewelry that was still draped all over her. Well, it appears that while I stopped the Jewelry robbery, I seem to have taken the thieves' loot as well. Oh, dear, she thought sarcastically. But, it really didn't bother her. The more moral part of her was freaking out but the cat that was crouching inside her body purred and scratched against her insides, longing to be let out once more. Granted that darker more seductive side of her had always been a part of her, but she had buried it deep within herself over the years.

The small "meow" reminded Felicity of the new little friend she had brought home with her last night. She pulled the small dirty creature into her arms and gentle started to pet it, which was when she noticed the little wound that was still on the cat's paw. At that moment the memory of the Mirakuru smashing against her scratched skin over her heart flashed through her mind. The cat had been sitting on her at the time and as she recalled how she had moved against the thieves – her body contorting and twisting in ways that only felines had the flexibility to do – and the thought of the cat's blood mixing with her own along with the Mirakuru was a curious notion. But, Mirakuru was a complex formula. You needed to have taken a sedative before mixing it into your blood or else it could kill you. Felicity then remembered how she had taken a couple of the pain meds that Digg had given her for her bullet wound from two nights ago. Painkillers often act as light sedatives – strong enough to numb the pain but not strong enough to nock a person out.

Felicity held the small cat closer to her as her only form of comfort as everything washed over her. This past week had been…crazy and…life altering. From Oliver and Sara's betrayal, to her quitting her job, and finally to this…her transformation as it were. She grew frightened and scared at what she was going to do next, unsure if she could handle what life had thrown at her, but then she heard Tabitha's voice speak to her inside her mind. "Yes, you are afraid, but you'll face it head on anyway. Because that is who you are, honey. You are brave and your are fierce."

A/N: I hoped you all enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please, review – it helps me grow as a writer. Also, if any of you are wondering, the flashback scene of Felicity going all crazy Catwoman was inspire by two movie adaptations. The first part of the scene (which can be found on YouTube under the title "Batman Returns – Miss Kitty Scene") where Felicity destroys her apartment was inspired by Michelle Pfeiffer/Tim Burton's interpretation of the character in the film Batman Returns. The second part of the scene involving the Jewelry Store Robbers was inspired by the awful 2004 movie Catwoman with Halle Berry (note that the outfit and movements of Halle Berry are very different from my Felicity Smoak version, especially considering Felicity's hair is still long in this fic and not short like Halle's was in the film). You can check that part of the scene out on YouTube under the title "Catwoman Robbery."