Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow.
Starling City
Night
The Arrow and Canary drove onto the rode on motorcycles, blocking the car's way. Nevertheless, the driver drove forward, aiming a gun out the window and firing, although none of his shots met their mark. The Arrow notched an arrow and fired, his arrow hitting its target. The car swerved, flipping over and crashing into a pile of wooden boards. The two vigilantes walked over to the car on either side of it, The Arrow with an arrow notched and The Canary with her baton out. The driver crawled out and aimed his gun at the Canary's face but she knocked it out of his hand before grabbing his arm and twisting it, causing him to cry out in pain.
"The man in the skull mask, who is he?!" She snarled.
"I don't know!" the driver said pained.
"You're the biggest street dealer in Crescent Circle; you know everything that goes on over there." The Arrow growled as he joined her partner.
"I ain't seen the guy before! A man in a skull mask, are you freaking kidding me?! Come on man, I'm still on parole." The driver whined.
"Not anymore." The Canary hissed as she struck him across the face.
Arrow Lair
Later
"Felicity still not back yet?" Sara asked as she and Oliver waked in to see Diggle watching a news report at the computers.
"She wanted to spend a few more days with Barry." Diggle explained.
"Any change in his condition? "Oliver asked, concerned for his friend.
"Still comatose. How'd it go tonight?" Diggle told them.
"Same with every other pointed conversation we have with the lowlifes of Crescent Circle: nobody has seen a man in a skull mask. But he's out there." Oliver said firmly as he put his bow back in the display case.
"Hey, you two have been pushing yourselves pretty hard lately, looking for this guy." Diggle said concerned.
"He has the Mirakuru Dig!" Sara snapped.
"You saw what that guy could do first hand; I practically had to drop a building of him to kill him. Now imagine ten or a hundred of them, imagine a thousand." Oliver told the other man.
"I've never seen you two spooked like this before." Diggle noted.
"That should tell you something." Sara said as she and Oliver turned to leave.
Lian Yu, five years ago
Day
Oliver and Sara stood silently as Slade put the last rock on Shado's grave. Sara reached over and silently took Oliver's hand and he squeezed back in support.
"Shado always told me I wouldn't die here…but looking back, I realize she never once said that about herself," Oliver mused sadly, "I just hope she's with her father."
Slade stood up, Shado's hood in his hand. He walked away from the graves but stopped by his friends.
"Here kid." Slade said as he held out the hood to Oliver.
"She'd want you to have that." Oliver said not looking at it.
"I can't look at it." Slade said a tone of grief in his voice.
Oliver looked over at Slade and, feeling guiltier than before, reached over and took it. Slade let go and walked off. Oliver turned around as if to go after him.
"Slade." Oliver called out.
Sara tensed, waiting to see what would happen now. But Oliver's own guilt and shame stopped him from saying anything as he stared after Slade's retreating form.
Verdant
Later
"He's the man we need to see in the mayor's office. So please, lend your support in sending Starlings favorite son there. To Sabastian Blood. Sabastian for Starling." Oliver raised his glass and took a drink as the crowd applauded.
"Thank you Oliver," Blood said as walked up on stage, "and not just your support, for your friendship. And thank you all for coming."
"We sure we're not taking this whole façade of friendship thing too far? I mean, what if he becomes mayor?" Sara asked Oliver quietly as Blood gave his speech.
"Keep your friends close and you're enemies closer." Oliver told her as the audience applauded Blood.
"Nice speech," Roy said as he walked up to them, "so what's the deal with Blood?"
"Nothing you need topo worry about Roy." Sara told him watching as her sister conversed with Blood.
Oliver's phone went off and he dug it out of his pocket, seeing it was a text from Diggle. Reading it, Oliver's expression grew horrified within seconds, which was noticed by his companions. Oliver showed his phone to Sara and Roy and they three were off to the lair in seconds.
"Was anyone in the building?" Oliver asked as they walked down the stairs.
"Cleaning crew and a group of bankers working on a late night deal." Diggle explained saw he stood up.
"Sara." Oliver said.
"Way ahead of you." Sara said as she sat down at the computer and started typing.
Within moments, Sara has tapped into the fire crew's frequency. The crew reveals that there are people on the fifth floor and Oliver and Sara move to get into their uniforms.
"You're not ready for this yet kid." Oliver told Roy before he could open his mouth.
Starling City
Later
The Arrow and Canary moved through the burning building when that ran into them.
"Help! Gary's still back there!" The woman said frantically as she pointed to the left.
"Get to safety." Canary ordered.
The woman didn't need to be told twice and the two vigilantes walked in the direction she had pointed. They quickly spotted a man with his legs pinned under some debris and walked over. Together, the pair was able to lift it off him and he slid out from under it. They let go and the three of them all stood up.
"Thank you." Gary told them gratefully.
They nodded and walked into the shadows as the firemen burst into the rooms.
Lian Yu, five years ago
Day
"Hey, you okay?" Oliver asked Slade as the older man stopped, where ya going?"
"To the plane, to get geared up." Slade said simply.
"For what?" Oliver asked wearily.
"Ivo is still out there. I'm gonna find him and when I do, I'm gonna cut him into pieces." Slade snarled.
"Slade, Ivo has a ship full of men. I've seen it; you can't take them all out. We need a plan." Oliver warned him.
"Of course you'd say that, you're still that same spoiled brat who washed up her." Slade sneered, suddenly hostile as he stalked towards Oliver.
"Slade, calm down." Sara tried to reach him.
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Slade roared as he grabbed Oliver around the neck and lifted him into the air.
Arrow Lair
Next night
"Here's everything the CSU collected from the blast," Quentin said as handed an evidence bag it to Oliver, "it's got melted broken glass, multiple explosive fragments, and a trace residue that looks like nitroglycerin. Which means we're dealing with more than just our basic nutjob." Quentin explained.
"Someone with training." Diggle greed.
"Thank you dad." Sara sad gratefully.
"I need a favor," Quentin said and Team Arrow looked at him startled, "the son of a bitch who killed my men, my partner-"
"Is dead." Oliver assured him.
"And whoever tipped him off, told him we were coming, he's doing just fine." Quentin said grimly.
"You think there's a leak." Oliver noted.
"Yeah, and phone records are the only way to know for sure. And last I checked, she was pretty good with computers." Quentin said as he gestured towards Felicity, who had returned to town this morning.
"That'll have to wait," Felicity called over and they looked over at her, "our anarchist has struck again. Starling City Municipal building."
"Do you have a location?" Oliver demanded as Sara sat down next to Felicity.
"He's moving." Sara announced.
Starling City
Later
The Arrow and Canary drove their motorcycles in pursuit of the bomber. With Felicity's warnings, they swerved in pursuit of the van. They swerved through traffic, getting closer and closer to the van until the bomber threw something out the window. A second later, it exploded in a light of sparks, blinding the pair momentarily. Once they regained their vision, they were once again after the bomber but he tossed a smoke bomb out the window, which unleashed a smokescreen. They drove through it but the bomber was nowhere in sight.
"Felicity, we've lost him." The Canary announced.
"Me to. Wait, got him, bank left on Gerrard Street, you're almost right on top of him." Felicity told them.
They revved the engines and took off where Felicity told them. They turned the corner but were forced to stop as they were in front of a bus.
"Felicity, he's not here. You picked the wrong signal." The Arrow told her.
"What? But…he must have scrambled the signal." Felicity said stunned.
"It doesn't matter, he's gone." The Canary said grimly.
"How was he able to scramble your signal, that's never happened before?" Diggle asked as Team Arrow stood in the lair.
"He must have a background in computer engineering, or something like that. He's obviously very skilled." Sara hypothesized.
"Okay, let's take a breather." Oliver said as he held a hand to his forehead.
Lian Yu, five years ago
Day
Sara picked up a large tree branch and struck Slade with it. Slade dropped Oliver as he seemed to come out of his state of rage. Oliver gasped for breath as Sara held the branch towards Slade shakily. Slade stared down at his hand horrified at what he had just done.
"I'm sorry." Slade said as he staggered towards a tree.
"You're not well Slade." Sara told him gently.
"It's the Mirakuru; it's messing with your head." Oliver told him.
"It's gonna be dark soon, we should make camp." Sara said once they were sure Slade wouldn't kill them.
Arrow Lair, next day
Afternoon
"He's just committed suicide and invited the entire city to join him." Oliver said dismayed as Team Arrow watched blood's news broadcast.
"Well, this can only end well." Roy said sarcastically.
"Blood thinks you're his friend, can you talk him out of it?" Diggle asked Oliver.
"He won't listen to me." Oliver said as an idea came to mind.
Blood's office
Night
"Sabastian Blood," The Arrow called out after the lights went out and Blood almost jumped, "this rally tomorrow night, you need to call it off."
"The Arrow pays me a visit to wave you off, I'm flattered." Blood said
"This event, you might as well be painting a giant bull's eye on your chest." The Arrow warned.
"This city needs to come together. And I need to show them how." Blood said firmly.
"You can't show them anything if you're dead." The Arrow said firmly.
"Every night, you risk your life for the people of this city. How can you expect me to do any less?" Blood demanded.
"And what about the lives of the people at that rally?" The Arrow demanded.
"This Rally is about the people of Starling coming together and declaring with one voice that living in fear isn't living. I won't send a contrary message, telling them to stay home, to stay scared. I've made my decision." Blood said stubbornly.
"That's the thing Alderman, what happens isn't up to you." The Arrow warned him before he stepped into the shadows and vanished.
Arrow lair
Next night
"Tried to get him to stand down." Oliver said as the four of them watched the news report on the rally.
"He seems as stubborn as you two when it comes to backing down." Diggle noted.
"Maybe we just head down to the rally." Oliver suggested with a sigh.
"Maybe we won't have to," Felicity said as she brought up some blueprints of the bombs, "I Sara and I analyzed the bomb remnants her father got us. The design's identical to an anti-government group called The Movement. Luck for us, they have a very active hackable message board."
"One of the most prolific has an IP address here in Starling." Sara noted.
"Where?" Oliver growled.
"In a souvenir shop, a local one." Sara noted as she stood up from the computer.
"You two want backup?" Diggle asked as they gathered their weapons.
"Yeah. Back up Roy at the rally, cover out bases." Sara ordered and Diggle nodded.
Souvenir shop
Later
The Arrow and Canary entered the shop and no one seemed to be here. Exchanging a glance, the pair began walking cautiously through the shop when their danger senses went off. In an instant, The Arrow had an arrow notched n his bow while The Canary had her baton out as ultra-red sensor lights came up around them.
"Boom, you're dead. Or you will be if you take one more step or move a signal muscle. And then you'll miss the show," a TV screen came on, showing the rally, "Candidate Blood's unity rally. Already rigged with fifty pounds of RDX high explosives. Not unlike what's in the drywall of my store. The city thinks Sabastian Blood can keep them safe. Tonight they learn that the only thing politicians care about is their jobs."
The Arrow turned his head and almost gasped. The Canary followed his gaze and saw, to her horror, Thea and Moira on the screen.
"Felicity." The Arrow growled.
"Did you get him?" Felicity asked through the comms.
"No. he said he rigged the plaza with explosives." The Canary told her.
"It's crazy town there. That bomb could be anywhere." Felicity told them.
"We can narrow it down. Get Diggle and Roy." The Arrow ordered.
"Yeah." The two men said in sync.
"Roy, Thea and my mom are there. Stick close to them if you can't get them to leave. Diggle, the bomber said he rigged the perimeter with RDX." The Arrow ordered.
"On it." The two said as they moved out.
"You two are on your way, right?" Felicity asked.
"The bomber left us a little surprise, said he packed the drywall with explosives. Pull us up anything you can on the building. Blueprints, permit schematics, anything Felicity." The Canary ordered.
"The trigger would need to be hooked up to a power source. That assuming that the detonator's hooked up to the store's power and not something independent," Felicity said as the vigilantes waited as they started sweating, "that building was built in thee seventies. That's good news, the wiring in a lot of construction back then is faulty. If you server one wire, it will blow fuses in the entire building and shut off power to the bomb."
"Hold tight, I see a fuse box." The Arrow said as he spotted the item.
The Arrow aimed very carefully, trying not to move too much. Using the shaft of the arrow to deflect the beams, The Arrow waited before firing. The arrow hit the fuse box and after a moment, the beams went off.
"We're alright," The Canary said as they moved towards the door, "get to the rally, help Dig, we're on our way."
Starling City
Later
Diggle and Felicity stood in front of the bomber, who had a gun aimed at them Diggle tried to rush him but the bomber fired, hitting Diggle in the shoulder. Hearing the gunshot, the crowd began to panic. The Arrow and Canary drove up on their motorcycles just as the bomber threw a grenade into the air. Fast as lightning, The Canary took out a dagger and threw at the explosive. The moment the two items impacted, there was an explosion in the air. Spotting the two vigilantes, the bomber fled on foot as they pursued him on their motorcycles.
The pair pursued the bomber through the plaza, him shooting at their vehicles to slow them down. But he only had so many bullets, so eventually he ran out. The Canary rode up and knocked him on his back. She and The Arrow got off their motorcycles and took out their weapons of choice as the bomber took out a detonator attached to a wire.
"Drop your weapons, I have charges all over the city. I drop this stick, they all blow," he said and neither of them moved, "did you hear what I just said?"
"Yep." The Arrow said before firing. The arrow cut the wire and the bomber realized he was had when the switch wouldn't work. The Canary them walked up to him and slugged him right in the face. He went down to the ground, out cold.
Lian Yu, five years ago
Night
Oliver and Sara were lying on the ground, Oliver's arm around Sara as they drifted off to sleep when the radio that Oliver had snatched from one of the dead guards buzzed to life.
"Oliver, I know you're listening." Ivo's voice spoke up.
Oliver and Sara sat up, Oliver pulling out the radio.
"This is very simple Oliver. I know you and your friends have the Mirakuru, you know I will lay waste to this entire island to get it." Ivo told him.
"Get Slade." Oliver ordered and Sara got up to go find their friend.
"But it doesn't have to be this way. All I want is the serum. In exchange, I'll offer you and your friends' safe passage off the island. Within ten days, you and your friends can be making port in Shanghai. The alternative is I send my men into the jungle to take the serum from you. They'll be under orders not to kill any of you. Instead you'll remain alive for me to indulge my, um, scientific curiosity. Make up your mind Oliver." Ivo said before the feed went dead.
Oliver threw the radio to the ground and put his hands to his face, tormented by the impossible choice before him. Then, Sara rushed back, a distressed look on her face.
"He's gone!" She cried and Oliver lowered his hands as he looked up at her.
"What?" Oliver demanded.
"Slade's gone and he took the Mirakuru with him." Sara told him.
Arrow Lair
Later
"Hey, you did good tonight." Oliver told Roy as he walked up behind the younger man beating a punching bag.
"You did the real work." Roy said dissatisfied.
"You saved my mom, I will forever be grateful for that. I have something for you." Oliver said as he led Roy over to a table.
On it was a briefcase. Looking at Oliver uncertainly, Roy opened it up. Raising an eyebrow, Roy picked it up and observed the bow.
"A bow?" Roy asked.
"Your bow. I think it's time I start teaching you how to shoot." Oliver said and Roy began to grin, excited.
So, I know this chapter wasn't all that different from the episode but just wait. Next chapter is where Laurel starts to become more import to the story.
So, please leave any thoughts or comments in a review, feedback is greatly appreciated.