A/N: Everything has been updated/rewritten (smaller details will probably be edited down the line) so if you feel like browsing through the changes, now is a good time for those who read the first 'version' of this season. For those who don't care or are reading this for the very first time, simply go ahead and continue.
Synopsis: When Doctor Death completes a first version of Soul, Malcolm approves it for testing on civilians. He tasks his partner, the elusive Komodo, to help him distract Arrow. Meanwhile, Roy and Jane's attempts to find out Thea's secret lead to other truth being revealed and Roy turns his fury on his team.
3x14: Komodo
Malcolm jogged down the stairs with ease, the sound of his shoes reverberating low in the underground facility. He glanced inside and saw the room illuminated in all its sterile, pearly-white glory.
Behind a workstation, he saw Dr Hellfern hard at work, his back hunched over what appeared to be another one of his experiments.
"You called," Malcolm spoke up as he reached the bottom step and watched as the other man whirled around in surprise. Malcolm merely raised an eyebrow as he stood his ground. "Something tells me this will be good news."
Hellfern's contorted, burned features erupted into a sly grin as he waved the other man closer. "... I think I've completed a first test round of Soul. It's... Yeah. It's done."
Malcolm's eyebrows shot up to meet his hairline as he stepped over to the steel table and glanced down at the small test tubes. The content in the three small tubes swirled like purple tendrils of water and the seductive beauty of the liquid had him enthralled. "And you're certain?"
"All I need is test subjects," Seth retorted without hesitation.
"Tell me again..." Malcolm asked as he slowly turned towards his partner, sizing him up mentally. He carefully chose his words and watched the reaction take plain form before him, "How will you control them? How will you know the test subjects will obey your command and no one else's?"
"It's... quite easy," Seth shrugged and his eyes danced with irritation. It made no difference to Malcolm. Irritation was far better than suspicion. "Soul contains an active proponent linked with my blood that, when mixed with the subject's own tissue, will render them incapable of answering anyone else's command. In short: I'll be the commander, they the mercenaries. Except... not by free volition."
Merlyn took a step back and watched the other man under silence as he processed the news. "... Then we'll find you some test subjects. Tonight."
"Thank you... I have to ask, Mr Merlyn, though you know no one's gladder that Nightwing skipped town... What about that green hooded guy?" Seth questioned and a shadow of mad panic spread across his shallow, haunted features. "He can't disrupt our work."
"Oh, he won't. I'll put my best man on the job," Malcolm grinned elusively.
Roy stood beside the cabin of weapons Dick had left behind when he'd left a week earlier. It was all that now remained of a true friend and Roy had to admit the loss stung more than a little. Still, it hadn't been an end to their friendship, though an end it had been. Dick had kept in touch with Roy to let him now Dick was back in Gotham City. Last time they'd talked on the phone, Dick had sounded quite... content with life. Perhaps there was a hollowness to his tone that seemed somewhat fresh, but nothing time couldn't fill before long, or so Roy hoped.
His fingers traced across the Escrima stick, past several batarangs of various size and weight, a pair of striking sai, one katana, a nunchuck and his gaze skimmed over the rest. Compared to his own limited skill with different weapons, Roy felt a great awe for the objects before him.
Roy picked up a twisted batarang with two red gems for eyes and glanced back over his shoulder, "What does this one do?"
Felicity, clad in a peach-colored dress and high heels, stepped over to have a closer look. She took the small item from the man's hands and offered him a smile. "That's an explosive batarang. If you press the button here you'll have thirty seconds before it goes off. So be careful with that one."
As the woman placed the small bat-weapon back inside the cabin, her touch lingered a beat. Roy glanced at the blonde beside him and saw something akin to tension seep into her set shoulders and striking profile.
"You know, he..." Roy began tentatively and cleared his throat. "... left a lot of weapons behind."
A genuine smile touched Felicity's lips as she turned to face him. "He left them for you. And me. For the two of us. He said we deserved to evolve. To empower ourselves. With and... without the team."
"Huh..." Roy hummed as he eyed the sai knives before him. "I've been looking to expand my knowledge of weapons. Get myself like... an arsenal. Or something. I told Dick about it once long ago. Guess he listened."
Felicity nodded as she briskly turned around. "Guess he did."
Roy shuffled his feet, too, as he heard steps coming down the stairs. Oliver, dressed in dark jeans and a white tee, came down the steps towards them. He flashed them a grin and Roy frowned at the unusual feature. It was quite the rare occurrence to see the leader of the team offer up a genuine smile, but Roy had figured out the common denominator a while back. He glanced at Felicity and, sure enough, the blonde offered the new arrival a widening smile. Roy discreetly rolled his eyes.
"Hey, man," Roy called with a nod.
Oliver inclined his head as he put his hands into his pockets and strode closer to his team members. His gaze lingered on the blonde woman before he turned his attention back to the younger man.
Roy stressed to find any words as he felt the tension shift in the air. He had a feeling nothing had changed between his friends, and yet everything had changed since Dick's departure. "Have you talked to your sister?"
Oliver snorted as he came to a halt a few feet before his company. A ghost of something unreadable crossed his strong jaw as he gruffly questioned, "Which one?"
"... Right," Roy smiled sympathetically and glanced towards the staircase. "Eh, I should go. Meeting a friend. I'll see you guys tonight."
Felicity nodded and watched the young man hurry out of the room, "Bye, Roy."
As soon as they heard the door close, Oliver turned his gaze back down to Felicity. She offered him a small smile, hoping it could cut through the slight tension that lingered between them. There was still so much that had gone unsaid between them ever since Oliver's declaration of them not being unthinkable. They weren't ready, she wasn't quite ready yet. She still needed time to process the loss of one love. Still, she didn't want him to doubt her genuine affection in turn.
"So, how is..." Oliver began in a voice two octaves higher than normal. Felicity frowned as she noted the slight nervous tick to his face and bit back a grin. "... living with Detective Lance going?"
"Good," Felicity nodded slowly. "He's very kind. He's been very supportive, even when I've probably driven him halfway to madness with my antics. Of course, I feel like I'm intruding on his space all the time, but he says it's not a problem."
"You know... You could always... Eh..." Oliver swallowed and Felicity felt her pulse elevate at the way his gaze held hers captive, even when his words failed him. "Crash at my place. For awhile, I mean. While you look for your own place. In case you don't want to bother Lance anymore."
Felicity's smile came more gentle as she reached out and squeezed his arm. "I appreciate the offer, Oliver. But I'm good. We're good...Yup. Good."
Oliver's gaze roamed hers for answers not given and whatever he saw made his smile widen in unspoken reply.
"Hi!" Jane smiled as she held open the door to her townhouse and let Roy inside.
Roy shrugged his red hoodie on more properly as he stepped inside and took in his surroundings. Simple, tasteful, yet decidedly personal with photos. Though he didn't know Jane very well, her temporary home still met all his expectations.
He heard the door close behind him and spun around to face the young blonde. Their partnership was still quite fresh and new, all things considering. They'd both spent time on different ends of the spectra, trying to find any and all evidence connected to Thea that could explain the young Queen's recent behavior. Roy and Jane's tentative friendship lingered in the tension between them.
Hoping to diffuse some tension, Roy shrugged and said, "Thanks for meeting with me."
Jane snorted as she stepped past him, heading towards the kitchen. "How about I make coffee for us?"
"You found that much then, huh?" Roy questioned warily as he followed after. He leaned against the countertop as he watched the woman get to work.
"I don't know," Jane admitted and swept her short hair away from her eyes. "Maybe. Why don't you have a seat?"
Roy sighed as he sank onto one of the bar stools by the counter. "Nothing good ever followed that question... You're kind of scaring me here."
"I'm telling you, I'm not sure what I've found," Jane assured, though her voice remained taut with tension.
Roy plainly saw the stiff movements as she made their coffee for them and noticed the dark circles under her eyes as he peered closer. With slight regret, he leaned back in his seat and genuinely offered, "... I know you and Oliver..."
"Aren't talking?" Jane glanced back over her shoulders.
"...Yeah," Roy nodded. "I know it must be difficult. I just... He struggles with a lot, you know. Things I'll never understand. But he'll come around. Eventually. I just wanted to say that I appreciate you taking the time to help Thea, despite it all."
"She doesn't make it easy for me," Jane breathed as she turned back with two steaming mugs, placing one before Roy as she sipped from her own. "She's always been stubborn like that. Always strong, never weakened. We used to share everything when we were kids... We used to... Well, that's not true, I used to... I cared about her. It's not important, however. Things can't ever be what they were... For any of us."
Roy slowly inclined his head as he watched smoke curled from his cup. "I'm not giving up on her."
Jane's eyes shot up to meet his then and her azure eyes searched his for a quiet second. "... Me neither."
"So what have you got? 'Cause I've got very little, I tell you. She seems to be living alone in that hotel room, but I don't buy it."
"Neither do I," Jane agreed as she sank into the chair opposite from him. "I really don't think she's here alone. I think she's working with someone. She has to be."
"Okay..." Roy exhaled slowly. "Who? Why?"
"... I wish I could tell you. Look," Jane reached for the laptop that rested at the other end of the table and opened it to show her work. "I've gone over the official transactions for her purchase of QC stock. First it was all suspicious because she went under the alias 'The Queen', but now the numbers and everything are official... The money... can't be hers. Not entirely. It was a smaller purchase, sure, but Thea didn't have that kind of money after Moira died."
"We already know the transaction is shady, at best."
"... I don't think it was entirely legal, either," Jane added. "The 10 % were supposed to be purchased by Simon Cross, but something changed in the last minute. I can't tell what. But... then along came Thea and the purchase was finalized. The account numbers lead to an off-shore account and everything goes into fifty shades of grey beyond that. I did dig deeper into it, tried to see if the account had been used for anything else that might be related to the Queen family. All I got was this; several large transactions to different accounts in Starling City about seventeen months ago."
Roy frowned as he wracked his mind for useful information. "Seventeen months...? I can't think of anything- Oh, wait... Mrs Queen's acquittal. We all thought the jury would sentence her to prison for her involvement in the Undertaking, but the jury just acquitted her. There were more than one tabloid that suggested bribery... You don't think...?"
Jane shrugged. "Possibly. If it's true... Then whoever is helping Thea must be more important than we've given him or her credit. Large funds, clearly a keen interest in the Queen family... Any idea who it might be?"
"P-please?" Frida breathed as she ran down the abandoned street, the soles of her flats rushing quickly across the cold asphalt. She pressed her phone closer to her ear as she once more tried to plead with the operator, "Please, will you help me? I... I-I don't know who it is, but he's following me!"
"Stay calm, miss," the voice on the other end calmly reassured and did little to calm Frida's nerves. "I've sent a police car in your direction. Stay in the area. They'll be right there."
"Calm?!" Frida snorted in a shrill voice and whipped her head back to look for her strange stalker in the dead of night. She couldn't see anyone on the quiet street, but panic still gripped her heart. There was no way in hell she was going to slow down or relax. She'd seen too many horror movies to know exactly how badly this could end for her. "This guy appeared out of nowhere, wielding a bow and arrow and wearing like, I don't know, a metal ski-mask to cover his face! Like Jason, but real!"
"The police will be right with you."
"But what if he-" Something hard slammed into the young woman and she tumbled to the ground.
The cold asphalt slammed against her cheek and the air left her lungs in a heartbeat. The world seemed to swirl around Frida as she pulled herself onto her knees and glanced around for her phone. The small item lay discarded several yards away, but it was too far out of reach. Between her and the phone stood a pair of feet clad in combat boots. Frida's eyes travelled up the legs, up the torso and all the way up to the man's face. It was the same mask-wearing madman that had attacked her previously. Her heart beat furiously inside her chest and terror threatened to grip her heart like a vice as she scrambled to get away.
The man watched her for a second before he reached down and gripped hold of her shoulder. Frida shrieked in fright as he hauled her off the ground and she stumbled to remain standing. She tried to pull away, but his grip was tight and she realized only too late how futile her attempts were. She trembled as he leaned closer, the metallic mask inches away from her own face.
His voice was low and contorted by some machinery as he said, "It's nothing personal, girl."
Panic once more made Frida act out and she aimed several punches to his arm and chest, but he barely seemed fazed by her attempts, or maybe his protective vest was simply too strong to withstand any punches.
"W-why?" she managed meekly at last. "W-what do you want?"
"You're a young person, age 18-30, healthy body type," the villain explained in a drawl. "You were the first person to match the criterias. As I said; not personal."
"C-criterias?" Frida mimicked and felt her entire body tremble with adrenaline and fear, rising inside her chest like a tidal wave. "Criterias for what?"
"My associates need a guinea pig," the man snarled and before Frida could react, he'd withdrawn a small item from his pocket and pushed it into her neck.
Frida jerked back as she felt a small nick and pulled out the syringe from her neck, gazing down at it with widening eyes.
"W-what was that?" Frida stuttered as she dropped the item and watched it clatter against the cold, hard ground. She stumbled back a step as a wave of nausea threw her off focus and her legs threatened to give out.
She heard a swooshing sound and gazed up as a man in a green hood landed a few feet before her.
"A-arrow?" she breathed incredulously as she stumbled backwards in fright, landing ungracefully on the cold asphalt.
Oliver glanced back over his shoulder at the young red-head and watched as she tried to regain her balance, but fell back down to the ground. Her dark eyes were wide and unfocused, the pupils decisively larger than normal and her breathing getting more and more erratic.
"What did you do to her?" Oliver snarled, activating the voice filter to hide his true tone.
The other man simply tilted his head to the side and seemed to assess his opponent.
Without warning, the masked villain suddenly raised his bow and fired an arrow straight at Arrow's heart. The green-hooded vigilante bent out of the way for the attack. Oliver swept his leg out, hoping to knock his opponent to the ground, but his foot felt nothing but cold air. Arrow rose and glanced about in the dark night. The alley was empty aside for himself and the trembling woman. The masked man had disappeared into the shadows, leaving no trail to follow. Oliver frowned in confusion at the unusual assault but soon turned back to the woman. He loomed closer and placed a calloused hand on her shoulder. Before he could utter a word, she'd turned and sprayed something at his face. Oliver fell backwards with a pained growl, one hand reaching up to cover his eyes immediately.
Frida saw the large man fall to the shadows on the ground and remain down. Gratitude traded place with panic briefly as she turned away. She pushed back onto her feet, grabbed her purse and rushed down the alleyway, never once looking back.
Oliver wheezed and clammed a hand over his eyes as he reached for the earpiece, "Digg!"
Felicity flew forward as Diggle led Oliver down the steps not ten minutes later. The green hood was pulled back and Oliver carried his green mask in his left hand. His eyes were puffy and red, with tears having smudged the face paint around his eyes, making him look more emotional than frightening. Not that Felicity was about to say as much aloud, she had a feeling that might bruise his ego more than intended. He still hissed in pain as he came to a halt before the woman.
Felicity empathetically mimicked his expression as she grabbed hold of his larger hand and led him over to the medic bay, unsure about exactly how much he was still able to see after being sprayed. She glanced back at Diggle as the larger men followed them only a few steps behind.
John shrugged his eyebrows. "The girl sprayed him with pepper spray. He was lucky he was wearing the mask, it covered his eyes from most of it."
"Lucky," Oliver muttered through gritted teeth as he sat down on the steel table. "It feels like my eyelids are boiling... God, my eyes are burning up!"
Felicity placed a bowl of water mixed with a mild dish detergent in his lap and hurriedly breathed, "Put your face in this. Repeatedly if you have to. Don't wipe your hands in your eyes until the burning subsides. And, well, try to cry, if you can. Tears help flush out the capsaicinoids. Blinking rapidly might help with that. Okay?"
Oliver didn't answer as he proceeded to follow her orders and stuffed his face into the bowl.
"The menacing vigilante of Starling City... taken down by a girl with pepper spray," John smirked in jest.
Oliver's red, puffy eyes turned to glare up at his friend for a second, the threatening glare somewhat lost behind the puffiness. He slowly turned his head towards Felicity. "Any luck finding the girl?"
"Yeah," Felicity nodded, unsure if he was actually seeing anything through his pain. "I hacked a satellite to get access to thermo-graphic imaging and I've been tracking her for awhile. I haven't found anything about the masked villain, though. I kind of focused on the girl."
"We don't know what he injected her with," Diggle pointed out. "What if it's another round of Mirakuru? Slade is still on the loose, after all."
"It could be Doctor Death, too," Felicity suggested feebly. "We won't know until we find her or... well, the drug starts to take effect."
"That's great..." Oliver sighed with a low snarl. He blinked repeatedly as he felt the burning sensation very slowly subside. "Send Roy out to get the girl."
"You think that's such a good idea?" Felicity questioned in a low, gentle voice. "I mean, she was just attacked by a man in a mask and so frightened that she mazed another one. Do you really think sending a third one will do the job?"
Oliver inhaled slowly, raising his chin as if he was about to object. In the end, his shoulders slumped however and he sighed, "... Fine. You can do it, if you want, Felicity."
"I'm going with her," Diggle assured and nodded to the blonde woman with a warm smile.
"Remember," Felicity stepped closer to the wounded vigilante and placed a hand on his green sleeve. She pressed a small bottle into his free calloused hand. "Rinse a few more times and then try and flush your eyes out with this. It's just my contact solution. Don't scrub."
"Thank you, Felicity."
Diggle closed the car-door behind him as he eyed the vacant parking lot. "Are you sure this is the right place?"
Felicity glanced up from her tablet to face her friend and nodded fervently. "She seems to be hiding behind that building according to the thermo-graphic imaging."
The two of them stepped across the silent space side by side as Diggle's eyes searched the perimeter by pure habit. One hand rested on the gun in the waist band beneath his jacket and he made sure to walk one pace ahead of Felicity the entire time. His muscles tensed in anticipation. He knew they were simply searching for a young woman, but he'd seen enough of what these drugs could potentially do to people to lower his guard tonight.
Felicity's heels echoed across the ground as she gazed down at the tablet, to make sure the woman hadn't escaped. Felicity frowned as she glanced up at the man beside her, "She hasn't moved in like ten minutes, Dig. What if she's...?"
"We'll have to find out," Diggle spoke tersely as he stepped before Felicity and led them towards the alley behind the building. His hand flexed where it rested on the gun handle but he refrained from pulling it out just yet. There was no need to potentially scare the girl more than she'd already been tonight.
"Felicity..." he called as he caught sight of the blue jacket on the ground ahead.
They stepped over and knelt beside the young red-head who lay unmoving on the ground beside the dumpster, her fashionable outfit torn and dusty after the night's adventures.
Diggle's hand reached out to the pale skin and gently pressed against her throat. "She's got a pulse. She's alive."
Diggle eyed the unconscious, red-head on the steel table before his gaze shot up to search Oliver's. "What do we do with her?"
"Watch her. We need to find out what she was injected with, and why," Oliver suggested. The man's eyes were red-shot and he looked quite trashed after the pepper spray, but he was able to see at last and didn't seem to be in too much pain anymore.
"I'll see if I can take a blood sample," Felicity suggested from Oliver's right. "I could send it to Barry. I've been meaning to give him a call, anyway. We haven't spoken in a few weeks."
"Good idea," Oliver agreed with a firm nod. "Do it."
Diggle stepped around the table towards his brother-in-arms. "What are you thinking, Oliver?"
"That we need to find out who did this to her in order to get some answers." Oliver sighed as his hand sought out Felicity's elbow. "I'm going to see if Waller can tell me something about this guy... Take care of the girl. But be careful when she wakes up. Don't put yourself in danger."
Felicity slowly nodded.
"Komodo?" Oliver frowned. "Never heard the name."
Amanda Waller sank into her seat and waved a hand for Oliver to sit down opposite her. Stiffly, Oliver did as suggested and impatiently waited for the explanation he needed. He blinked repeatedly as a last flash burned his eyes but it soon diminished and he was able to ignore the irritation sensation in his eyes.
"He appears to be a new player," Waller explained in a strained voice. "A.R.G.U.S doesn't have too much on him yet, either."
Oliver could hear that something went unspoken and pushed for more, "What do you know?"
Amanda glared at the man and clasped her hands on the table top as she explained, "The security cameras from Slade's escape out of the A.R.G.U.S prison on Lian Yu managed to capture his accomplice on video. A man with a bow, a mask and matching the description of this new villain in Starling City helped Slade get out. We only recently acquired the name of this masked bowman."
"Since when are you so late in acquiring information?"
"Since our enemies got better at hiding the truth," Amanda retorted in an impassive voice. "Komodo's technique is reminiscent of the League. He might have trained with them for awhile. He's been sighted here and there in Starling these past few months, but he hasn't actually done anything until he attacked this girl tonight. We have reason to believe, however, that he worked with Drake Constantin and Doctor Death."
"The Doctor? So it is Hellfern's drug then?" Oliver sighed tersely.
"So we suspect. You should bring the girl here for supervision. We don't know exactly what the drug will do to a person's body and we ought to keep her under close watch."
"My people have it covered," Oliver refused. "Do you know Komodo's actual identity?"
Amanda gritted her teeth as if reluctant to admit the truth, but eventually said, "No. I leave it to you to find that out, Oliver."
Frida moaned as her head felt like it was about to split into two halves and managed to crack her eyes open a fraction. Her eyes gazed up at steel roof and she frowned. This wasn't her apartment.
"Hey, hey," a bright voice breathed soothingly. "Calm down. Take it easy. Which... I know, sounds like a really weird thing to do right now when you're in the company of strangers and in a secret lair, but eh... I shouldn't have led with that."
Felicity watched as the girl shot up to a seated position and glanced around her like a lost bird thrown into a strong wind. Her eyes widened with each new gadget or gizmo she saw until she finally turned back to face Felicity and Diggle.
"W-what the hell is this place?" Frida breathed, her voice strong and fragile at the same time as it reverberated in the lair.
"Well," Felicity shrugged her lean shoulders. "It's... a lair. It's The Arrow's lair. Our lair."
Frida's mouth fell open. "What?!"
After having explained the circumstances for Frida, Felicity and Diggle relaxed back into work. They'd come to a mutual understanding earlier to keep cases on a down-low as long as their guest was present, hiding any and all clues as to Oliver's real identity and the cases he worked. The less their young guest knew, the safer they'd all be when this was all over.
Frida shrugged her shoulders as she gazed between her two watchdogs. "I feel fine, you know."
"You were unconscious when we found you," Diggle retorted in a calm voice. "You didn't wake up until after nearly five hours, despite our attempts to wake your earlier. We still don't know how the drug affects your body."
"Yeah, but I feel fine now," Frida disagreed with a feeble smile. "I don't know what that crazy guy injected me with. Or why. I've told you that... But... Maybe it didn't work. Or maybe the whole point was that I'd fall unconscious for awhile. I don't know. But I don't think you need to watch me anymore."
"I have close friends in Central City going over your blood sample," Felicity interjected from behind her monitors and slowly turned around in her seat to face the scared, young woman. "As soon as they find something, or don't find something... We can see about letting you go home."
Frida sighed wearily and tugged on her sleeves. "You can't keep me here forever."
"No, only until we know you're safe," Diggle agreed as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"I won't tell anyone, honest!" Frida decided to try another attempt. "I wouldn't tell a soul. Look, me and my girlfriends... We love The Arrow. He's... amazing, for what he's done to our city. I guess, if you're helping him, that includes you, too. Starling is safe because of you three. The least I can do is keep a little secret for you."
Felicity and Diggle exchanged a look Frida couldn't quite understand. Still, she knew enough to realize not even that little speech would set her free. All she wanted was to forget about tonight. She wanted to forget being chased by a mad man, being drugged and being pulled into this adventure. She wanted to go back to normal again, to the way things were supposed to be in her life.
"Since I won't be going home anytime soon..." Frida breathed. "Will I... be meeting him, too?"
Felicity smiled as she turned back to the young woman. "No."
"It's just... Well, you know," Frida shrugged. "He's a hero. I know the city's been angry with him after that Wilson guy was found on the lose, but... He's done so much for this city and not everyone thinks badly of him because of one mistake. No one I know, at least. It'd be nice to just show him my appreciation. To apologize for pepper spraying him. And to find out who he is beneath the mask."
"It's better if you don't."
The young woman frowned as she faced her company. "Why? Is he like a leper or something? Is that why he's all hooded and masked?"
"What? God, no! He's fine! He's gorgeous, in every sense of the word, but he's also..." Felicity's voice trailed off slowly. "I can't say. It's just better if his identity remains a secret. For everyone."
"What about you?" Frida asked again, once more trying to start some small talk with the strangers around her. "Are you like... the woman behind the hero?"
Felicity grimaced. "I don't see myself as standing behind anyone. But, I do work with him."
"Cool!" Frida smiled. "Are you Arrow's girlfriend?"
"Eh..." Felicity hummed noncommittally.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Frida hurriedly turned towards Diggle in the back. "Maybe you're his boyfriend instead?"
Diggle snorted before he asked, "How old are you, Frida?"
"Old enough," she quipped and Diggle threw her a pointed glare. She shrugged, and tried again, "...Seventeen. Almost eighteen."
Frida blinked rapidly all the sudden and a shadow crossed her fair features, contorting them into something haunting and frightening. She reached out a hand to touch her temple as she winced in pain.
Diggle frowned as he took a step towards the young woman. "Are you okay?"
Her head shot up to look at the man and Diggle stopped mid-step. The previously brown orbs had turned into something else. Her irises were slowly becoming pearly white and her expression lacked warmth all together, as if she'd lost all humanity in a single heartbeat.
"Felicity..." Diggle breathed in a warning voice and made sure he had the young blonde behind him.
"What's... happening?" Frida asked in a slow voice and shook her head as if to clear it of water. The black pupil center stood in starker contrast to the ever fading color in her eyes as she stood tall and stiff in the heart of the lair. The compassion and concern once more vanished from her features as she glanced up at Diggle. Her eyes roamed his strong, tall frame as if assessing his capabilities before she flew towards the weapon locker, only to find it shut and locked.
"Dig...?" Felicity whispered as she slowly rose from her chair and clutched to the armrest of the seat.
Frida whirled around on them then, her pale eyes livid and unfocused. She staggered a little and seemed like a wild animal attempting to flee its cage. "You're the enemy... I can't let you live..." she snarled a vicious smile. "Everyone's the enemy. Everyone must die."
"I guess we found out what the drug's doing to her," Diggle breathed in a low voice as he took a tentative step towards the smaller woman. "Frida? Listen to me, Frida? Are you still with us? Frida?"
"He says you're the enemy..." she continued in a distant voice that chilled her to the bone.
Diggle took another slow step towards her. "Who is?"
"Don't know," Frida exhaled shakily. "But he says The Arrow must die... You first, though."
"How about you don't listen to the voice? Stay with us, Frida. Don't listen to whatever it is you're hearing," Felicity swallowed as she saw the carnal instincts in the girl's eyes mingle with something more familiar.
"North Street... He's on North Street," Frida muttered in a strangled breath all the sudden."Komodo is on North Street."
Frida stumbled backwards a step and shook her head once more, as if to shake the voice out of her head. Blood slowly ran from her nose and down her chin, but she didn't seem aware of it. As she raised her gaze to look at the man several yards before her, there was familiarity in her orbs, mingled with trepidation.
"W-what's... h-happening?" she managed meekly before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she slumped over. Diggle flew forward and managed to catch the falling woman before she hit the cold, hard floor.
"Frida?!" he called and glanced down at her face, only to find she was unconscious once more.
"Thanks for agreeing to meet with me."
"Yeah, well," Thea huffed as she sat down on the park bench beside her ex-boyfriend. A cold wind passed them and she wrapped her parkas closer to her shivering frame without turning to look at the man beside her. "Don't ask me why."
Roy sighed at the familiar cold that radiated from the brunette beside him. "I won't keep you on suspense, Thea. I promise."
"Well, then I'm all ears."
"We know you have a partner."
Thea frowned in curiosity as she raspy voice filled the air, "You and Oliver?"
"Me and Jane," Roy corrected with a stern shake of the head. "You couldn't have purchased QC without some considerable funds, and the paperwork suggest it wasn't all your money. I admit, I'm not a genius. I'm a kid who grew up on the streets, but even I smell a rat."
"Funny, I thought it was just your new cologne of the week."
Roy sighed as he glared sideways at her profile. "Whoever is helping you... they're pretty powerful. Jane's sources suggest the money came from the same funds that bribed your mother's jury." Roy watched as Thea's profile stiffened at the acknowledgement and he knew he'd struck gold at last. He turned to her and appealed to her once more, "... I know you, Thea. You have trust issues, and I don't blame you after what you've been through. But that only means that if you have accepted help... it's got to be from a close source. Someone you could trust. Family or close friends. Which is why I'm having trouble understanding... since you've turned your back on all your friends here in Starling. I'm worried about you."
"Me? Me?! I'm not the problem here, Roy!" Thea's voice trembled with something akin to fear as she lashed out like a cornered wild dog. Her eyes were ablaze with fire and brimstone as she spun around to face him. "What with your lies and the secret persona and... and mad killing sprees!"
Roy frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Thea sighed angrily. "I'm talking about before I left. Before you were... cured, or whatever they're calling it."
"You mean the Mirakuru," Roy said, but his voice bordered on a question.
"Yeah," Thea nodded. "And how you acted under the influence of said drug. How you tried to kill me, and The Arrow and killed a cop and-"
"What...?" Roy's voice was low and heartfelt, barely above a whisper as he tried to apprehend the meaning of her words.
Thea blinked in honest surprise and finally turned to face the handsome guy. He seemed like a lost puppy, almost, as he looked back at her, seemingly pleading with her to take it back. To make the truth unspoken.
"... So you don't actually remember what you did?" Thea asked, her own tone fading into the night.
"I didn't do anything..." Roy contended. "I was told I was knocked out for the duration of it after I came back to Starling."
"Oh, let me guess... Oliver told you? He lied to you, too, huh?" Thea snorted. "Unbelievable. You know what, Roy, maybe you should really get out of here... before you're as messed up as the rest of us."
Without uttering a word in reply, Roy flew from the bench and hurried away from the woman. Thea watched him disappear in the distance, feeling a part of her soul disappear with him. At length, she drew a shaky breath and looked out at the dark body of water before her, watching the reflection of the silvery moon in the small ripples.
While Frida had remained unconscious, Oliver had taken the chance to suit up and head out into the night. Within minutes, he'd driven his bike to North Street and leapt across the rooftops in pursuit of clues to match the young woman's suspicious words about their newest villain.
Oliver was still trying to process the news Amanda had told him about the mysterious Komodo, and the more he tried to understand, the less he seemed to know. Then again, there wasn't much to go on yet, apart from suspicion.
"See anything in my proximity, Felicity?" Oliver growled as he activated his earpiece.
"Not yet- Wait!" her voice exclaimed and he heard her fingers fly across her keyboard before she continued, "Okay. Yes. There's commotion two blocks West from you. It seems to be our villain Komodo looking for someone else to pin with a needle."
"On it," Oliver growled as he sped off across the rooftops. Within minutes he found himself above the alley and heard commotion coming from below. He glanced down to see Komodo towering over two young men in business suits. Without missing a beat, Oliver fired a grappling hook and zip-lined down to the ground. His arrival caused Komodo to spin around in surprise, aiming his bow at the green hood.
"Get out of here," Oliver ordered in a gruff voice and watched the two young men scramble to their feet. The sound of their panicked breathing and fast run soon died out in the shadows until there was nothing but silence to surround the remaining two foes.
"You're Komodo," Arrow began as he slowly circled his enemy, waiting for any reaction to his interference.
The other man simply tilted his head to the side, as if to suggest he was not impressed by Oliver's research.
"Why did you inject that woman with yesterday? What will the drug do to her?" Oliver growled as he aimed his bow at his opponent.
The villain before him remained silent as the dead of night as he aimed his own bow squarely at Oliver's chest.
Oliver fired his arrow, but the man fired, too. Komodo's arrow struck Oliver's in the center of it, and the two arrows flew off to the side, embedding themselves in the wall beside Oliver's head. Oliver grimaced as the last remains of patience started wearing thin and he drew another arrow.
"Tell me what I can do to save the woman you injected!" Arrow growled.
"There's nothing you can do," Komodo snarled at last, his voice slithering like a serpent as he stepped toward Arrow. "Just as there's nothing you can do to save yourself."
Komodo used his bow to punch Oliver in the face, surprising the green-clad vigilante momentarily. Arrow scrambled to his feet, only to receive a kick to the stomach and stagger backwards. He felt pain invade his ribs momentarily, but forced his body to ignore the pain. He recovered and went on the offensive. He wielded his own bow as a bat and aimed at the other archer's head, but Komodo countered. Their strong bows clashed in the center before Oliver pushed away with everything he had. Komodo staggered backwards and Oliver felt adrenaline strengthen his muscles as he stepped after.
Komodo suddenly turned and extended his hand. Three small flechettes flew from his arm-guard and Oliver ducked out of the way. He felt one imbed itself in his shoulder and grunted as he hit the ground. His hand found the small arrow and he pressed against the warm blood as he turned back around.
The alley was empty. Komodo had once more taken the opportunity and fled. Oliver snarled in frustration as he pulled himself to his feet and pressed the comm-link on his chest. "Felicity?"
"It's me," Digg's voice replied in a heartbeat. "Felicity had to take a call. It's Caitlyn... Apparently she has results about the drug."
"Komodo disappeared again, "Oliver grunted in dismay as he ignored the sharp pain in his left shoulder. "I nearly had him."
"I know. Get back here, Oliver. You did what you could."
"Thanks, Caitlyn. I owe you one. Tell Barry I said 'Hi'," Felicity said and hung up the phone, turning back to Diggle in a heartbeat. She glanced down at Frida, lying immobile on the steel table further away. The young woman was covered in cold sweat, paler than ever and blood was still running from her nose in uneven intervals. "Good news is Oliver was right - it's not Mirakuru."
Diggle snorted as he crossed his arms over his chest and turned from the monitors. "Bad news?"
"Caitlyn and Barry couldn't quite tell me what was in the drug. There are still a few components to work out. But there are traces of something very similar to Vertigo in it. Except, it doesn't seem to work well with the other components in the drug. The brain can't handle it... hence the bleeding. It might stabilize... "
"... It might not."
"Right," Felicity nodded curtly. "I'm just saying maybe we ought to get her to a hospital, after all. We can't do-"
Suddenly Frida's unconscious body started to violently tremble on the table and Felicity jumped in surprise.
"What's going on?" she asked as Diggle rushed across the room. The large man leaned over the young woman to press her body down onto the table, stilling the violent trembles that rocked her body.
"Some kind of epileptic seizure. Grab her feet. Hold her down," Diggle instructed in a low voice and Felicity followed suit.
Together they hold onto the young woman's trashing limbs before she stilled once more on the table, as suddenly and unexpectedly as it had started. The silence was deafening for a few, long seconds as both Diggle and Felicity held their breath, waiting for the inevitable.
"Diggle..." Felicity breathed in a low voice as she glanced down at Frida's face. Blood seeped out of the woman's ears and nose as she remained out cold.
"It's going to be fine, Felicity," Diggle reassured, but conviction seemed to have left his voice.
Felicity gazed up at him with a set jaw as something dark flashed through her eyes. "... Take her to the hospital."
Oliver rushed down the stairs to the lair not ten minutes later and stopped short as he saw Felicity's stiff frame stand with her back towards him by her computers.
"What's wrong?" he asked in a soft tone despite the pain invading his frame.
She spun around to face him, her eyes dancing with sorrow and confusion. The expression switched immediately though as she saw the small flechette arrow in his shoulder and she stepped towards him without another word. They walked over to the medical bay and Oliver pulled out the arrow with a low grunt. Felicity grimaced as he placed it on the table beside him and proceeded to unzip the hood. She helped him gently remove it from his left arm and inspected the wound closely.
"It's not too deep," she explained in a shaky voice. "It'll need stitches, though."
"I can do it," Oliver assured but Felicity was already assembling the necessary items. He exhaled slowly as she set to work. He could see her muscles clench with each movement and her face fell into shadow briefly. "... What happened?"
She paused briefly before she cleaned the wound from clotted blood and applied pressure, "Dig called a minute ago. He got the girl to the hospital... but she crashed. She didn't make it, Oliver. She was just seventeen. Still a kid... She was so full of life, but died because some jackass in a mask decided to use her for some kind of experiment or... I don't even know!"
Oliver closed his eyes tight as he felt her words punch him across the face and leave him speechless. Another failure on his conscience then, and this time a kid at that.
Felicity's gaze traced his features and she, too, released a breath that mingled with his in the small space between them. Her hand tentatively reached out for his stubbled cheek and he leaned into her touch. "You were her hero, Oliver. She looked up to you. She wanted you to know that. You never let her down... We couldn't have saved her, Oliver. We did all we could-"
Both turned as they heard furious steps echoing down the steps to the lair. Roy appeared before them, his red hoodie pulled up over his head and his bright eyes ignited by a blinding fury.
Oliver frowned at the young man as he stomped further into the enclosed space. "What is it, Roy?"
Roy strode back and forth before the couple, his hands shaking with anger and something far more bitter. "I killed a cop... And tried to kill Thea?! Is it true?"
Felicity's gaze flew up to meet Oliver's before she turned away from the man. She swallowed as she faced the younger man and she breathed in a gentle, broken voice, "Please, Roy... Not now. Not tonight."
Roy's cobalt eyes swirled with emotion - anger, sadness, repulsion, fear, betrayal - as he held the woman's gaze firmly. "... You lied to me, Felicity. Him I would have suspected -" Roy cried as he waved a hand in Oliver's direction - "but not you, Felicity. All this about being open and honest with each other, that we're like a family... and you still couldn't even tell me the truth even when I asked you for it!"
"I wanted to protect you, Roy..." Felicity sighed, recalling the day plainly. "You'd suffered enough."
"When will you people learn that the only thing that people suffer from are your lies?!" Roy cried back. "I needed to know what I'd done. It's no wonder Thea's acting this way if I... I saw the security footage from Vertigo. I nearly strangled her! And... And... That cop I killed on the streets? I... I didn't even know-"
"It wasn't you, though," Oliver attempted in a low breath. "It was the Mirakuru. That's why we didn't tell you. Because it wasn't on your conscience."
"But it was!" Roy furiously shouted. "I've done so much harm, and I needed to know. You know I have a hard time trusting people, and I honestly thought I could trust you guys... Was there something more you never told me?"
Oliver hesitated a beat. "... You snapped by knee. You broke out of the lair and Sara and I came after you. We found you in the clock tower and you beat us up. You snapped my knee that day. That wasn't Slade."
"... Have you all been waiting for me to break under pressure?" Roy questioned. "Waiting for me to prove that the Mirakuru is still affecting me?"
"No," Felicity assured hurriedly and took a tentative step towards the younger man. "You've shown no signs-"
"But you've been looking for signs ever since that day? Is that why you lied to me in the first place? To not have me fly off the handle and attack you?"
"No! I was trying to be a good friend and protect-"
Roy furiously shook his head as he took a step away from his team members. "Friends don't lie to each other, Felicity! Not on our team, at least... But maybe you don't think I fit on your team. Maybe that's why you have no problem lying to me when you would never lie to Dig or Oliver! Maybe I don't fit on a team, at all."
Oliver closed his eyes tight before he opened them and met the younger man's confused ones. "What are you saying, Roy?"
"Thea's shunned me... My team has lied to me..." Roy listed off the reasons as his shoulders slumped low. "How am I supposed to stay? I need some time alone."
"I understand..." Oliver nodded. "You should, eh... I get that you're scared right now, Roy. Though you might need time to adjust to and accept the truth; you are still a part of this team. We care about you. Take all the time you need. And take whatever you might need from here."
Having expected some kind of argument, Roy blinked in surprise before he inclined his head sharply. He stepped towards Dick's weapon cabin and unlocked it. He eyed several weapons before he removed the sai knives and held them firmly in his grip. He exhaled swiftly, spun around and rushed up the stairs two steps at a time.
Silence lingered in every corner of the lair as Oliver and Felicity processed what had just happened. Everything seemed to swirl inside of Felicity's head and she slowly turned back to the man still seated on the table with a blood-soaked cloth against his shoulder.
"Laurel, Dick and now Roy... Everyone seems to be abandoning us," Felicity sighed and massaged her neck with one hand as she stepped over and removed the cloth on the man's shoulder to continue her work.
Oliver gazed up at her even though she refused to meet his eyes. He sighed at length and breathed, "It's not our fault, Felicity. People need to find their own ways... and sometimes they need to get away to do that. We can't hold them back."
"In Roy's case it was because of my lies," Felicity spoke slowly and her eyes flew to meet his across the shrinking divide. "This happened because I tried to protect Roy by telling a lie. Like you did to protect Thea and everyone else around you, like Jane felt she had to when she first came here. It didn't work for me... and I'm not so sure how it's working for anyone else, either."
Oliver closed his eyes and sighed as he accepted the truth. Without another word he pulled Felicity into a hug and held her close. She clung to him, her fingernails digging into the green leather against his back.
Roy steered his vehicle across the lonesome road leading out of Starling. He inhaled slowly and felt freedom embrace his frame as he shifted in the car seat. He saw trees pass him by on one side of the road, a vast openness on the other side. He slowed down only briefly as he reached the town line and glanced down at the phone on the passenger seat beside him.
After making the decision to get away for a time, he'd gone home, packed the belongings he needed and set off. On the way, he'd sent one single text to Thea.
'I will be back.'
He looked down at her reply now, the words seemingly jumping from the screen.
'I know.'
With a rueful smile, he fixed his eyes on the road once more and left Starling City behind him.
The empty test tubes shattered against the floor, flying across the ground in a thousand, small pieces as Malcolm pushed Hellfern down over the countertop. He looked down at the man's terrified face, the grimace barely visible beneath his bad burns that splayed across his features. Seth trembled in fright and tried to remain still, as if playing dead would be a good tactic right now.
Malcolm snarled in a low voice, "You said it was done."
"No!" Seth shook his head, his voice gaining strength with each word. "I said a test version was done. There were no guarantees it would work."
"I believed in your abilities," Malcolm growled as he let go of the man's coat and pushed himself away. The space allowed him to think more clearly and he managed to continue faking the angry emotion behind a well-placed veil. He stalked across the room, back and forth, pretending to still be seething. "Instead I just received word that your test subject has been found in the morgue, having died what I am told was a most gruesome death. Does that sound like the agreed upon result?"
"It's a substance that I lack," Seth explained meekly. "The drug won't work without it."
"What?"
"Naniterium imperialis... It's a very rare plant that only grows south of the Equator. They have an almost technological reaction when it comes in contact with the brain, hence the name's reference to nano-technology. It's as if it overwrites the ability to make your own decisions and act. Instead you'll function as a robot under the naniteriums' control. With the rest of the proponents in the drug, I can link the naniterium to a Commander who'll give the order and control the recipients of Soul."
"Naniterium?" Malcolm asked and innocently hauled up a small item from his jacket pocket. He glanced at the small purple, dried up flower seeds as he asked, "Will... these... suffice?"
Seth's eyes widened a fraction as he wet his lips and stepped towards his partner. His gaze remained firm on the test tube in the other man's hand. "Where did you...?"
"Lian Yu," Malcolm cooed. "Komodo retrieved it when he released Slade from the prison cell."
"How?" Seth asked, trepidation finding its way into his voice.
"I make it my business to know anything that might help me."
"Why didn't you give it to me earlier?"
"Because we're about to make one final deal," Malcolm proclaimed as he stretched tall and felt victory slowly creep into his every limb. "You can have the naniterium, you can finish the construction of Soul in exchange for one small thing... I'll control the recipients. Not you, no one else. Me. I'll be the Commander."
Seth's eyes widened in realization, at last. He squared his shoulder, as if unwilling to surrender his drug to someone else's sharp mind, but eventually his entire frame slumped in defeat.
Malcolm's grin widened as he stepped closer to the man. "No offense, Seth. I just hate surrendering control to anyone else... Now, what do you need to make me the Commander of Soul?"
Hellfern inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with much needed air, before he revealed, "... Your blood will suffice."
Merlyn nodded as he handed over the small tube and grinned widely. "And remember... no cheating, Doctor Death."
Seth eyed the contents and slowly his gaze dragged back to the other man's face. Confusion spread quickly in his eyes as he pointed out, "This... It's not enough to mass produce."
Malcolm once more inclined his head with an unreadable grimace as he stepped closer still. "But it will suffice for one or two recipients. Won't it?"
Seth eyed his partner with confusion that slowly faded into suspicion. He had a sinking feeling that for the first time since entering this precarious deal, he was finally on the same page as his partner. The result, it seemed, risked being entirely different than first agreed upon, but it was too late to back out now. "... It will."
"Good. Then that's where we'll start," Malcolm spoke in a low voice that was at once enthralling and threatening as he towered over the other man. "And, Doctor? I don't think I need to tell you all the reasons why you shouldn't screw this up? Get to work. We have much to do before this is over."
To be continued!