A/N: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews and the continued support. Please, keep reviewing…I love reading what you all have to say. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Chapter Five: The Woman in Black

"I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night."

-Galileo

The drive back to Gotham was an interesting one for a certain Bruce Wayne. Alfred Pennyworth, his butler and guardian, had been all too pleased to be his driver. Although, Mr. Wayne suspected Fox had something to do with it. Bruce had offered to drive Fox himself, since with his taste for speeding the thirty-five minute drive would have been closer to only fifteen minutes with him behind the wheel, but he had a feeling Fox had not wanted to brave Mr. Wayne's speeding habits anymore then he had to. Fox had never forgotten the first time he had shown Mr. Wayne the Tumbler and how crazy his driving had been; since then the poor older man had been scarred beyond comprehension of Mr. Wayne's driving abilities.

"Well, Mr. Wayne, what did you think of our adventure at Queen Consolidated?" asked Mr. Fox.

"To be honest, I'm still not sure the merger would be such a good idea. Queen Consolidated and the Queen name in general, are not looked upon very highly. Plus, I do not trust Isabel Rochev," was Bruce Wayne's reply.

"Hmm, understandable. However, Queen Consolidated does have some interesting projects in their Applied Sciences division that I would very much like to get my hands on. Speaking of getting your hands on something. What did you think of Felicity Smoak?" Fox asked slyly. Ever since Rachel's betrayal, Alfred and Fox were determined to play matchmaker at Bruce's expense.

"She's…a mystery. When I first saw her she gave me the impression of someone innocent and unguarded, but when she spoke…there is an air of knowledge about her as well as an understanding of darkness. She's…intoxicating." Wayne was not entirely aware that he had spoken out loud until he chanced a glance at Fox, who was sitting beside him, and Alfred who was driving and he could see him looking at him through the rear-view mirror. Both smiled.

"Well, I'm glad you like her. It is a pity that Queen Consolidated snatched her up before Wayne Enterprises could; she would have been an unreplaceable asset."

Bruce Wayne thought back to the enigma of Felicity Smoak and couldn't help the heat that ran through his blood. She was like a spectral image, with a thin vale pulled over and around her, hiding a part of her from the world. There was that air of innocence about her – like that of the sexy librarian fantasy that every man was known to have – while the rest of her radiated sensuality and a confident intelligence.

Indeed, Felicity Smoak knew exactly the kind of power her mind was capable of.

1 Month…

It took Felicity two whole weeks to correctly establish the look she wanted for her night-time alter ego, Catwoman. Her first priority had been about the mask. She wanted the Cat part of her look to be obvious, but not ridiculous looking. It was when she broke into the catacombs Merlyn Global – which had been sold off piece by piece to the highest bidder – that she had truly found her face as it were. Any projects and equipment that had not been sold had been thrown into the deepest parts of the basement where it was left abandoned by the city of Starling. It was a pair of night goggles and the head gear it came with that inspired the rest of her costume. They were thick but light and would be every effective. They fit around her head with a molding mask that would allow her to see just as well as she could without them. The goggles part came down and could be pushed up and out of the way whenever she didn't need to use them. When they were up and the mask was left on its own, the goggles appeared to be in the shape of black pointed cat ears on the top of her head.

Although, due to the feline senses she had inherited, she didn't really need night vision goggles, so she had replaced the magnifying lenses for regular darkened ones; to act as a barrier of protection against the elements when she was riding her new motorcycle. As for her motorcycle, she had purchased a small storage locker within her building right behind her new parking spot for her car, and kept it under wraps in there. She had to make a special device that she built into the bike so that whenever she drove in and out of her parking garage, the security cameras would stop working when the bike was near them. It had been hard but worth it to create that little device.

The rest of her costume was rather simple. There was her mask, but she had decided to re-do her outfit. When she had found the mask in Merlyn Global, she had also found some fabulous material that was perfect for her to make her new costume. It was thin, but warm, and very comfy. She had decided to go with the all black look with some touches of red; she kept her original red leather and silk belt where she kept one of the Sais knives at her right side, while the other she stored in a sheath hidden under her boot leg against her left calf. The boots were something she had picked up on one of her little robbery escapades. They came up to mid-thigh and were made entirely of leather, with a steel pointed heel. With the proper sharpening tools, Felicity had been able to sharpen the steel points into razors that would cut through anything.

Her favorite part of her little get-up was her gloves. She loved the red leather and lace gloves she had worn the second time she'd gone out, but she had eventually thought they were too much and decided to order a second pair that were very similar. The new gloves were made of leather and silk that conformed to her arms perfectly and reached just below her elbows with intricate laces on the sides that went all the way up. The knuckles still had the sharp pointed studs sown into them. Felicity had made one small change to them when they had finally arrived in the mail. Intricate metal claw-like fingernail rings that she'd sewn onto the tips of the gloves. The silver of the claws matching perfectly with the knuckle studs.

The last part, and certainly the wicked, was the whip she'd picked up from a very interesting…adult store. It was all black and fit perfectly in her hand, and was nine feet in length. She kept it wrapped around her abdomen like a coiling snake.

Now, despite her new found strength, feline agility, and senses Felicity was still a very realistic person and new that safety was key. Shad had watched Oliver and even Digg learn that truth the hard way many times after a many particular hard mission. She purchased a couple disposable mace sprayers that fit into the little loops of an intricate spy-garter she'd ordered on line. A small hand held stun gun, a little beauty compactor with a small dosage of knock-out-gas, and a lipstick that really held a hidden blade was just some of the few safety spy gadgets she'd purchased online – honestly, it was amazing what you could by on the internet these days.

As for the bag of loot – jewelry – that she'd gotten from those silly robbers, Felicity had anonymously donated them to a women's shelter located in the deepest part of the Glades. That had been when she'd realized just what she would do. She wasn't going to out right call herself a Robin Hood, but she would certainly give back whatever she could in money and power to the lower citizens of the Glades; she'd make them feel safe and she would do it all by teaching the wealthy a thing or two about sharing and charity. And she would fight any crime necessary to do it.

The only problem she had ever had with Oliver's vigilantism was that he had been so hesitant to branch out. First it had all been about the list and taking from the rich and giving what they had stolen back to the people of Starling City, but beyond that the need to help those in need not just financially, but physically as well. The Glades was not a safe place and she intended to make it safe. It didn't matter how big or small the crime was…she would fight against it.

Gradually the name Cat burglar took on a whole new meaning as she robbed her way through the rich and wealthy class. Robbing Isabel Rochev of every expensive piece of jewelry she owned had given her a particular thrill that left her on an adrenaline high for days.

However, it was when she had broken into the Queen family vault at Starling City National bank that had given her the biggest thrill of all. She had taken everything, but knowing how meaningful a lot of it was she didn't give it away…simply kept it in a safe of her own she had placed in the back of her closet. Felicity had positioned herself right outside the family room window at midnight that night and watched from the dark as Moira Queen got the call from the bank. The look on her face was…priceless.

She would never forget the call that Roy had made to her about a hysterical Thea being heartbroken that such rich family history and heirlooms had been taken. Placated, Felicity had given them all back to Thea one night, leaving the bag of jewels on the younger woman's bed pillow at the Queen Manor. Oddly enough, Thea did not tell Oliver or Moira that the jewelry had been returned.

From her brief phone conversations with Roy and Digg, Thea was not on speaking terms with her brother and mother and no one could seem to figure out as to why.

Despite the fun she had steeling from the rich, it was even more fun taking down genuine bad guys. Sin – whom she had given a burner phone much like the one Oliver had given Lance after running into her a second time – kept her informed of where all the big crime was in the city and often helped to steer her in the right direction. Yup, she had street contacts…or contact in this case considering it was only one person. Her little sidekick.

The first time Sin told Roy that she knew who the Cat burglar was – or Catwoman as she had referred to her as – was when she had run into him and Thea who were doing a little lunch date at Big Belly Burger. Thea being the good friend that she was, invited Sin to join them

Sin liked Thea, she was well grounded which was good for a guy like Roy. So, there they sat eating hamburgers and French fries. Having a good old time together.

"So, Sin. How have you been doing lately?" Thea asked as she proceeded to stuff her face with French fries.

"I'm doing well. Been making new friends. Speaking of which, you know that thief that's been making headlines recently?"

"You mean the one who stole my family jewels and then returned them? The Cat burglar? Yes." Theas said with an indignant huff.

"Hey, she returned said family jewels. Unless we're talking about Roy's family jewels, in which I think you might need to trade in your boyfriend for a new one." Sin joked.

"Wait? The Cat burglar returned everything?" This was the first time Roy was hearing about that, and he was pretty sure that Oliver and Mrs. Queen were equally unaware of that fact.

"Yes. How did you know?" Thea posed her question to Sin, who was blushing at having slipped in her knowledge of the Cat burglar.

Roy turned his shocked expression on Sin at that point. "Yeah, Sin…how do you know that?"

"Um…well, like I said. I've been making new friends. By the way, she prefers to be called Catwoman."

Sounds like someone else I know, thought Roy.

Oliver missed Felicity. There was no other way of describing his feelings at that moment. Things were so different without her. Not just in the Lair, but at Queen Consolidate, too. Just…his life in general was different without her and everyone else seemed to notice it, too. Everyone in the Lair was less cheerful. It was cold and empty…it lacked the life it used to have in Felicity's presence. Everyone was different without her.

Digg no longer made joking quips. Felicity wasn't there to encourage him to do so. He rarely smiled and no held a certain lack of respect for Oliver and Sara…especially Oliver. They were no longer brothers in arms…they just…were. They seemed to lose purpose and meaning without Felicity.

Roy had not been on the team very long, but it had been Felicity to truly help him feel welcomed and cared for when he did join. She made it feel like a family, which was something very foreign to Roy.

Sara had been rather scarce for a while now. She felt just as much shame and guilt as Oliver at being the cause for Felicity's absence. At first she had tried to fill the hole that the other woman had left behind, but she'd been quickly reminded that she was nothing like Felicity. Felicity was a better woman, a better human being, than Sara could ever hope to be. If anything, Felicity was an inspiration that Sara was trying to fallow. She wanted to be more like her – not in character or attitude or behavior – but in morality and understanding. She wanted to be good like Felicity was. She wanted to regain her humanity. Felicity had been the first to accept her the way she was and now Sara wanted be worthy of that acceptance.

Sara helped the team when she could, but she put most of her focus on her family, and on reconnecting with Laurel. Earning her place back into society and civilization. She was not a part of the team and she doubt ever could be. It just wasn't who she was.

Oliver on the other hand took Felicity's leaving much harder then everyone. And he had no one to blame but himself and his past. He still had trouble realizing that she wasn't right there next to him, guiding him towards a light on heroism. He wanted to be the hero that she always saw him as.

That first month Oliver still referred to Felicity. When something needed to be done on the computers or some research needed to be done, he called out to Felicity asking her to do this or that for him…only to look over at the bay of computer to realize that she wasn't there. She hadn't been there with him for the last month.

The wall of stone and ice that had gripped his heart when he'd first arrived from the island had slowly thawed with Felicity by his side. She had taken hold of him like a wildfire, setting his heart and soul a flame…thawing him. Now, that wall of stone and ice was slowly building itself back up. His fire…his hope was gone. His light had gone out. Now there was only darkness ahead.

2 Months…

Oliver had always been attracted and drawn to Felicity. How could he not be? She was innocence, fantasy, intelligence, and bright laughter all rolled up into one. Her style had always been her own but still very tasteful, elegant, and sensual. Perhaps what had appealed to him about her so much? Every woman he had ever known – even his mother – used sex and their feminine wiles to entice a man or manipulate others. Felicity was just as sensual as most of the women he knew but she lacked the manipulative slutty nature that the rest of them. Her innocence protected her from that. It was like the sexy librarian fantasy that he and many other men in the world had been enticed with for decades now.

However, as much as he loved her style and femininity, it was her mind and quick wit that he missed the most along with her sharp laughter. Her smile. Her light. That very part of her that had kept the darkness at bay.

Oliver was ripped from his thoughts as Digg's cell phone started beeping with a notice of a text message. He looked up to see Digg pull out said cell phone and read the text.

"It's from Roy. He wants us to check out channel five news," said Digg. Oliver spun in his desk chair in his office at Queen Consolidated and looked towards the small flat screen television on the table in the corner of his office, turned it on and switched to channel five news.

"The Cat burglar has struck again. This is the thirteenth robbery this month alone. Starling City Museum of Art and History was robbed late last night. It appears the Cat burglar took an Egyptian statue of a Cat carved out of Lapis Lazuli. The statue was reportedly worth four million dollars and was over a thousand years old. No word yet on how this fast becoming legendary thief is steeling these high end items. First, from the wealthy and socialite class of Starling and now its museum. And not only has the Cat burglar been terrorizing Starling City, but our neighboring City, Gotham, has also been hit by tis petty criminal…"

Oliver had heard enough and switched to television off. "Call Roy and tell him to meet us at Verdant in an hour. I'm gonna call Lance and see if he has anything new on the Cat burglar." Digg and Oliver left Queen Consolidated and by the time they arrived at the Foundry beneath Verdant, Roy was already there and looking up Gotham City's reports on the Cat burglar, but he had been sidetracked by other interesting news involving Gotham.

"Well, according to Lance, the only thing that has been consistent about the robberies – from the museum, to Isabel, to my family's vault – was that a small black cat had been spotted by the guards right before they would notice the missing items. Also, it appears our residential Cat burglar is not just a petty criminal," said Oliver as he hung up his Arrow phone after his conversation with Lance, walking over to Roy and Digg who were standing around the med bay table in the center of the Foundry.

"How so?" asked Digg.

"Well, it appears that the Cat burglar is also targeting the other criminals, not just the rich and upper class of Starling City."

"He's right. I read a recent article that just last night she took down ten would be rapists, four muggers, and a dirty cop. She doesn't kill, but she's not afraid to get physical. She broke the back of one of the rapists – he'll never walk again – and castrated another. All of the criminals she goes up against with a lot of cuts and scratches. Almost took one of their eyes out." Roy elaborated on what Oliver had said.

"Lance also confirmed that it's a woman," said Oliver as he acknowledged what Roy said.

"Well, maybe we have another vigilante on our hands," was Digg's two-cents before he turned to look at what Roy was reading on his laptop. "What exactly are you looking at, kid?"

"Oh, well I was doing research on the Cat burglar, by the way she prefers Catwoman, and found even more information about another vigilante in Gotham," said Roy as he turned the laptop towards Digg and Oliver so that they could see. "Meet the Batman, or the Dark Knight, or the Caped Crusader. The news and reporters can't seem to come to an agreement on what to call the guy. Anyway, check this out!" Roy said excitedly as he scrolled down the page and showed various images that had been caught of Batman. "He's got like this mini tank thing and a really cool looking motorcycle, not to mention his own jet thing. Plus, unlike us…the people of Gotham seem to actually like the Batman. Even the police."

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked, his body tensed in slight jealousy. The police and he – other than Lance – were not on good terms with each other.

"Well, for one thing the police actually work with him instead of trying to catch him. They even have a calling card of sorts for whenever the City's police commissioner, Jim Gordon, needs to talk to him. It's a giant spot light on the top of their Major Crimes Unit Police Precinct with a bat on it and all they have to do is shine it in the sky and Batman shows up. I mean, seriously…it's a Bat-signal. Cool, right?" Roy was practically jumping up and down with his enthusiasm.

"Right," was Oliver stiff reply. "Wait. You said the Cat burglar prefers to be called Catwoman. How would you know that?"

"Oh, well…my friend Sin seems to…have made…friends with her," was Roy's hesitant reply. He looked back at the picture of Batman standing next to what appeared to be Catwoman as did Digg and Oliver.

"There's something really familiar about her," muttered Oliver. Digg nodded in reluctant agreement.

"I can see why they went with the black. I mean it's a really good camouflage for nighttime activities like that. Plus, you know what they say about the color black," said Roy.

"What do they say about the color black?" asked Digg with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, its modest but can also be arrogant. It's lazy and easy, but mysterious. However, the important thing is that black says: I don't bother you, so don't bother me. Which is the whole image that I think a Superhero like Batman and someone as mysterious as Catwoman are both trying to portray. Plus, it's really intimidating," said Roy as if it were all really obvious.

"That was actually very insightful," said Digg with as much surprise as Oliver wore on his face at what Roy had said.

Meanwhile, in Gotham City, Bruce Thomas Wayne sat in his Batcave beneath his family home and looked over his research on Oliver, the Arrow, Felicity Smoak, and Catwoman. He had discovered many things within the last two months. First, it was not hard to figure out that Oliver was the Hood/Arrow considering said vigilante had the audacity and foolishness to appear just within a week of Oliver Queen's return from death. Second, the Arrow was nothing more than a lost soul…a vigilante scrambling for some sort of meaning for his life. Perhaps one day the Arrow would be the hero for Starling City, but there were many things that Oliver Queen needed to learn about being a hero first. Next, was that there was more to Felicity Smoak then he had first thought. She was a complete mystery. There was nothing on her from before she was thirteen years old, as if she just appeared out of thin air at that age. Finally, as for the Catwoman, she was just as much as a mystery. His run in with the leather wearing thief had been…interesting and very…intoxicating.

Bruce Wayne looked between his brief image of Catwoman and to the Image of Felicity Smoak that sat before him. "Who are you?" he mused out loud to himself.

Slade Wilson's Hideout…

"Be careful of love. It'll twist your brain around and leave you thinking up is down and right is wrong."

-Rick Riordan

All of his contacts had come back with very interesting information on a certain Felicity Smoak. When Slade Wilson had first heard it he had scarcely believed his ears. Yes, Ms. Smoak was very interesting indeed, and continued to remind him daily of his beloved Shado. She was so much like her. A fighter at heart, a survivor, but still untainted by the darkness. Felicity's recent activities as Catwoman were also intriguing.

In spite of the fact that Slade knew that Felicity could very easily be used to break Oliver completely, he was not going to use her that way. It was her reminder to Shado that prevented him from using her as nothing more than a means to an end. She was an innocent just like Shado, and he would not taint Shado's memory by harming an innocent.

No, Slade Wilson's plan to break Oliver was much more sinister then a few well-placed pawns on a chess board. First, he would watch as Laurel Lance drew herself closer to the edge of sanity, and then he would push her over that edge. She would fall from her pedestal and Oliver would see the real Laurel very soon. Second, were Slade's plans for Moira Queen. He planned to continue his financing of her campaign to run as Mayor, but in the end he would see that she would fail. People like Moira gave a whole new meaning to the words 'corrupt' and 'power' – after all, like John Emerich Dulbery once said, "All power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Soon, Moira Queen would be de-throned. As soon as that happened, he would then reveal Thea Queen's true parentage to the entire world. The daughter of Malcolm Merlyn.

And just like he would corrupt Laurel Lance, he would show Oliver Sara Lance's true colors as well. She was a killer…and that would never change. Sooner or later she would find her way back to the League of Shadows…Slade would make sure of that.

Next would be Oliver's team – the team that the kid had taken for granted. Oliver's loyalty was so blindly placed with his precious Lance sisters that he often forgot about the other more important people in his life. Slade would simply act on the doubt of Oliver's loyalty to the team that was already swimming inside of John Diggle and Roy Harper's minds. Soon, there wouldn't be any team left.

Finally, he would reveal to Laurel, Moira, Lance, and Thea that the famous vigilante – the Arrow – was Oliver and just how he had failed them. He didn't save Tommy. He tried to threaten his own mother. He went against the law, even killed, and still claimed to be a hero. He had hurt Roy just to make a point. Yes, Laurel, Moira, Lance, and Thea would lose hope and respect in Oliver just like Felicity had. He would further that loss of trust between Felicity and Oliver by revealing to Felicity how Oliver had let Shado die.

But, step one…Slade must reveal himself.

There he was in the Queen Manor, and he couldn't help the smirk that flashed across his face as he and Oliver came face to face.

"Hello, kid. Long time, no see."

3 Months…

Foundry Beneath Verdant…

Oliver was frantic. Slade was alive. He needed Felicity. He needed her help. He hadn't been aware that he had spoken out loud until he heard Digg speak to him.

"I'll call Felicity," Digg said, his cell phone already out and dialing.

Oliver wanted to say that he would call her, but he doubted that she would answer if she saw that it was him calling. He had been calling her a couple times every day trying to talk with her, but she wanted nothing to do with him. Roy and Digg were the only calls she seemed to respond to nowadays.

"She's going to do some research on Slade and see if she can find any weaknesses of his for us to use against him.

Sara was as silent as ever. She had come to help with their Slade problem but didn't think she'd be as much help.

It took a good six hours before Felicity had a good idea of where Slade was hiding out. When she called Digg to pass on the information to Oliver, Oliver was reminded of just how much he needed her.

Felicity…

When Digg had called her asking for help and after explain the whole Slade situations, Felicity had gotten to her research as fast as possible. She had kept her promise to Oliver. She may have quite the team and Queen Consolidated, but she would continue to help with the big stuff. After a good five hours of hacking and research, Felicity had finally gotten a hit and discovered that Slade was hiding out in the catacombs of the District Attorney's offices. However, she did not pass the information on to Digg immediately. Instead, she suited up and made her way to Slade's hideout on her own.

From the little that she knew of Slade and the circumstances of his death, she knew that he was angry at Oliver for something and wanted revenge. So, her intention when she decided to confront him was to discover his angle. He couldn't know who she was, that she was the Catwoman, and maybe that would give her an edge. Maybe he would be willing to talk with her.

How wrong she was.

There she stood about an hour later in front of Slade. She had fought off all ten of his Mirakuru-pumped minions, much to his surprise. He knew she was the Catwoman, but he had no idea that she had Mirakuru-effected-with-animal-blood in her system. She had called Digg just before she had gone in to confront Slade and figured that with the time that Oliver, and probably Sara, would need to suit up that she would have about an hour before they would show and it would give her enough time to make her own escape.

Again, she'd been wrong.

Her conversation with Slade had been quick and harsh. His words echoed through her head as she tried to make her way through the maze of his own secret Lair. "He's not a hero my dear. He will hurt you. It's what he does best."

She spotted Sara fighting her way through a couple of Slade's goons as Oliver made his way through the double doors of Slade's office.

Damn him.

Felicity had tried so hard to distance herself from Oliver, to not care, but here she was just as worried about him as ever as flashes of his fight with Cyrus Gold ran through her mind on repeat and how that had not ended too well.

Right now, he needed her. But first, she had to save his little damsel in distress.

She raced to Sara's side just in time to save her from a particularly nasty blow from one of the big brut-like goons. Her movements were fast and based all on instincts. Flips. Cartwheels. High twirling kicks. Spinning leaps. She tossed them all into a corner and pulled her make-up compactor out and blew the nock-out gas on them. She had upped the dosage before coming that night and it was now strong enough to knock out a small heard of horses. The goons fell like pile of deadweight onto the ground.

Catwoman didn't so much as chance a glance in Sara's direction as she quickly turned to race towards Oliver to rescue him…a first no doubt for both of them. When she burst through the double doors it was just in time to see Slade holding Oliver up by his neck, practically squeezing the life out of him. With a quick tug on the whip wrapped around her upper body and a flick of her wrist, she had the ends wrapped around Slade's wrist and gave an almighty tug…landing Slade flat on his ass.

"Get out of here!" she yelled to Oliver. As soon as Oliver and Sara made a run for it, she too high-tailed it out of there just as Slade got back to his feet. Everyone seems very surprised at her strength.

Foundry…

"So, how'd it go?" asked Roy, who was a little annoyed that he hadn't been allowed to go out with them on their little mission.

"I had help from a mysterious masked woman in black," said Oliver whose voice was still a little raspy from Slade's choking.

"Like I've never heard that before," said Digg with a raised eyebrow.

"What he means is that the Catwoman came to our rescue," said Sara. "And I'm pretty sure Oliver has developed a little crush on her, too."

"Wait? What?"

Oliver ignored Sara's comment and Digg's frantic words of curiosity. Instead he turned to Roy and said, "You said Sin knew who this woman was. Well, here's your first solo mission. Call Sin and get her to arrange a meeting for you with this Catwoman."

At Oliver's mention of Sin, Sara winced internally as she recalled her once-upon-a-time friend and realized that before her life had fallen apart a few months ago after her return, she had plans to meet up with Sin, but had never showed. In fact she hadn't spoken to Sin for the last three months. She had completely forgotten and abandoned the girl and Sara felt more shame creep through her cool exterior. So much for trying to be better.

"Wait, you want me to what? Are you serious?" was Roy's shocked reply to Oliver's plan.

"Dead serious. You're gonna find a way to meet that Catwoman," said Oliver.

A/N: Has anyone noticed that Laurel knows some basic self-defense fighting but Felicity doesn't? Why is that? Felicity is part of a Team of Vigilantes and yet they still haven't trained her properly. How is that ok? When Felicity first joined Team Arrow, Oliver said that they could and would protect her but they (or the writers of the show) have purposefully left her vulnerable by neglecting her self-defense training. Am I the only one upset by this fact?! Why can't they make Felicity a genius and just as much of a kick-ass as the other vigilantes on the show?! It's like that age old theory that a woman can be pretty, or independent, or intelligent…but she can't be all three. This is another reason why I have stopped watching the show is because the writers have completely deviated from what they had going on in season 1. In season 1, Felicity was confident in herself, not afraid to be quirky, had a fun and colorful personality and wardrobe. Now, in season 2 it is like she has changed everything about herself just to please Oliver…and yet he still doesn't seem to notice her importance on the Team.

Also, I was super annoyed that Oliver practically guilt tripped Felicity into becoming his secretary (Executive Assistant) – she gave up her career for him, as well as her reputation with the company (like Isabel, a lot of people think Felicity is Oliver mistress or something or other like that), risks her life on a nightly basis, and digs herself into an illegal hole with all the federal and international laws she breaks when she is hacking into certain websites. But…Oliver still manages to keep using her as a means to an end.

Back in season 1 Oliver was growing into a better person and accepting his new life back home as well as his road to becoming a true hero. Now…he's a completely different and not so nice person. What is up with that? It all started when he slept with Isabel and ever since he has been on a slow spiral downhill until episode 2x13 when he slept with Sara…and now I feel like he's about to hit rock bottom. The only thing is that Felicity might not be there to pick him back up.

Felicity is the one who helped him see that he could move past his father's list and help defeat any and all criminals no matter how large or small the crime may be. She helped him see that there was another way for him to do things; that he didn't have to kill. She was the only one on the show that called him a hero (not a vigilante like everyone else).

Do you all remember what Rhas Al Ghul told Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins what a vigilante was? He said, "A vigilante is just a man lost in the scramble of what he thinks to be justice in actions of his own gratification. A vigilante can be destroyed or locked up." Oliver/Hood/Arrow has so far always been referred on the show as nothing more than a vigilante. He has yet to reach hero status. However, Bruce Wayne/Batman has always been called a hero or a legend. That is a big deference between the two characters. Oliver is a vigilante (so far) and Bruce is already a hero. Rhas said, "If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can't stop you…then you become something else entirely. A legend."

Felicity was the one to help Oliver see that it wasn't just the villains on his father's list that were terrorizing the city, it was every other criminal out there, too. She was the only one who saw him as a hero, or the hero he could be. The only one who has believed in him completely from the beginning. He should treat her with more respect, I think.

What do you guys think?