Disclaimer: Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The characters of the Green Arrow and the Justice League is owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.
Chapter 31: Crucible
"Well, this one should be fun." Mia noted. "This is where Ollie finds out that Sara is still alive." She lifted the remote and pressed play.
The memory set opened on the Queen Mansion, where a lavish business party was being thrown. Isabel Rochev stood in the foyer to greet guests, while inwardly she seethed over the absence of one person- Oliver. Her eyes narrowed as Felicity walked quickly towards her.
Moira glared at the screen. "I fail to see how having that whore in my house is fun." She said crossly.
"Remember, the bitch dies at the end." Mia reminded her mother in amusement.
"Mr. Queen's going to be late." She told Isabel. "He's extremely sorry. It couldn't be helped."
"Where is he?" Rochev demanded.
"Um…"
Down at the docks, several gangbangers armed with assault rifles were firing up at the roof where the Arrow stood. The vigilante fired back, taking out one before he was forced to move to seek cover.
"Of course he'd be late to his own party to deal with gang bangers with automatic weapons." Tommy said with a smirk. "Of course, a few years earlier it would be a different kind of banging.."
Laurel looked at Tommy in disgust. "Did you SERIOUSLY just make that joke?"
"Did you HAVE to make that joke?" Thea added. "I want to know nothing about my brother's sex life. NOTHING."
"Over there!" one of them said.
"Where, man?!" another asked as he hosed the roof with bullets.
"There, man!"
Back at the mansion, Felicity smiled nervously. "Just got a little held up." She stammered. "You know, tying up some loose ends."
On the docks, Oliver fired a bola arrow at one thug. The wire wrapped around his ankles, allowing Oliver to hoist him up over a gantry. As he swung upside, down, he watched as The Arrow fired another arrow at one of the fleeing gang bangers, also ensnaring his ankles.
"I'm actually in direct contact with him now." Felicity was saying at the party. "Let me-let me check." She walked away from Isabel and activated her Bluetooth, then gave a startled gasp at the sound of automatic gunfire.
At the docks, Oliver took aim at the last Gang banger, who wisely dropped his gun and took off. "Where are you getting the guns?" he demanded of the one hanging upside down.
"Are you going to kill me? Get it over with." The boy replied. Oliver knocked him out with a single punch, then activated his com-link. "Dig. Took down two more gangbangers." He told his partner. "They were armed with fully automatic M4A1 assault rifles."
Diggle frowned. "That's some serious hardware." He noted. "How'd a street punk get ahold of that?"
"Walmart?" Felicity suggested.
"M4A1s are military grade weapons." Dig replied over the radio. "Stolen, most likely."
"Stolen from where?"
"Well, we can look into that after your party."
Oliver paused, looking confused. "What party?"
Several minutes later he arrived at his house in his tux. He was greeted first by Felicity, who was standing by with Isabel.
"He's here." She announced needlessly.
Oliver smiled at Isabel. "Sorry I'm late." He said.
"This party is to attract investors for your failing company." Isabel said sternly. "Being fashionably late might do well for the club circuit, but it does not inspire confidence in Wall Street."
Malcolm looked at Isabel shrewdly. "While I will admit what Oliver is doing is important," he began carefully, "he should have been at the party since before it began to make a good impression."
Diggle looked at him crossly. "He was taking automatic weapons off the streets." He argued.
"Using equipment he buys with money that is generated from Queen Consolidated." Malcolm countered. "Isabel Rochev obviously has designs of her own for the company, and I dare say they don't include Oliver." He pointed to the screen. "Despite how… unpleasant… she is, she is also correct. Being late to your own investment party does not inspire confidence in the moneymen, especially if you have a past as- shall we say, colorful?- as Oliver's."
"So you're saying he should have ignored the guns?" Diggle asked hotly?
Malcolm shook his head. "No, I'm saying he should have delegated the task to you and been at the party." He looked over to Moira. "He may not like it, but I think you and Walter should try to school him in business when he returns, at least a little. His inexperience is going to cost him dearly."
"As much as I hate to agree with you on anything, you're right." Moira said. She sighed. "I'll have my work cut out for me, that's for sure."
Mia grinned at her father. "That was a surprisingly constructive bit of criticism there, Dad." She said.
Malcolm smirked at her. "How would Miss Smoak put it? 'It hurts my soul' seeing him fail so badly at business?"
Mia nodded, then looked sharply at Tommy. "Skip the obvious remark, Thomas."
Tommy harrumphed. "You know me too well." He said.
"Not nearly well enough." Mia said softly.
She looked at his face closely. "Is that blood on your face?" she asked.
"Hmm?" Oliver felt at the edge of his chin where he had been nicked by a stray round and hadn't even noticed.
"Don't worry, it's not his blood." Felicity said in a rush, moving to wipe the blood off. "I mean, of course it's his blood. Why would he have somebody else's blood on his face?" she said to Isabel in a rush before turning back to Oliver. "Who taught you to shave? Mister."
Thea, Tommy and Laurel cracked up as Felicity blushed.
Oliver smiled at Isabel, then took Felicity by the arm and led her into the party.
"What kept you?" she asked softly after Isabel left. "Was it our masked blonde that carries that giant staff to beat the sauce out of attackers?"
"This time it was guns." Oliver replied.
"Guns?" they turned to see Sebastian Blood approach them with Laurel in tow. "We were just talking about guns."
"Hey." Oliver said in greeting.
"Oliver." Laurel said with a small smile.
"Hi." He replied with more warmth.
"What's your interest in guns, Mr. Queen?" blood asked.
"Never touched them myself." Oliver replied.
" 'I prefer archaic weapons instead.'" Tommy joked.
"The gun epidemic in the Glades has gotten increasingly out of control." Blood noted.
"Which is why the DEA's office has committed to ending gun violence." Laurel added.
"Well, I'm sure the police are doing whatever they can to catch whoever's bring the weapons into the city." Oliver said confidently, then frowned as Blood and Laurel laughed lowly. "Did I say something funny?" he asked, annoyed.
"They know who's been arming the gangs, Oliver." Laurel told him. "The Mayor."
Oliver looked at her in confusion. "The- I thought the hood copycats killed the mayor."
"Well, not the actual mayor." Blood said patronizingly. "A local gang lord calls himself the Mayor. Thinks he's the man to save our city."
"But that position has already been filled, hasn't it?" Laurel noted wryly.
"Oh, dear god." Laurel said suddenly. "I'm going to date him, aren't I? And he's evil, isn't he?"
Roy chuckled. "You're getting good at this, Counselor."
Blood chuckled. "Now this mayor has only one goal- to create chaos so he can rule the Glades with the barrel of a gun."
The scene changed to an abandoned strip club in the Glades, that wasn't as abandoned as it appeared. Inside, The Mayor was trying out one of the M4's on a display mannequin set up on the stage. He laughed at the carnage, but his smile faded as the last gangbanger from the docks walked in, his head down. "You are noticeably unarmed, son." He noted.
"Sorry, Mr. Mayor." The thugs said. "Um, we ran into the Vigilante, and, um, he ganked our weapons." He tried.
"Do you know who I was before the quake?" The Mayor asked rhetorically.
"A crazy man?" Felicity guessed.
"I was no one. I had no name. None that mattered, anyway. I was just another weak man waiting to get fired or evicted or killed." He stepped off of the bar and walked up to the boy. "But then the ground shook, and now I matter, because I know the guy with the biggest gun wins, and that's why I will rule the Glades." He lifted the M4 at the thug. "But there's no room at my table for weak ass punks like you."
"Mr. Mayor." Another man said from behind the terrified gangbanger. The other man stepped forward. "I want to ask for leniency. The kid's my cousin. I brought him in." he explained.
"Oh, you did?" The Mayor adjusted his aim and let loose with a burst of automatic fire at the other man, killing him instantly. The Mayor then looked back at the gangbanger and thrust the now-empty M4 into his hands. "Now let's hope you do your family prouder than he did." He snarled, then turned and walked out with his protection.
"Well, he's an asshole." Thea decided.
The scene shifted back to the party, where Laurel was enjoying yet another glass of wine, to Oliver's concern. "Hey." He said.
Laurel paused in her drinking, and then turned around to face Oliver. "Please do not ask me if I'm ok, because I am sick to death of everyone asking me that!" she exclaimed.
"I would never do that." Oliver assured her.
"Good." She said, satisfied.
A beat. "You ok?"
Laurel chuckled. "Should have seen THAT coming."
Laurel shot him a look. "The Doll Maker was just your garden variety traumatic experience." She said, moving closer to him. "After the quake and Tommy, I should be used to that by now."
"I've had a few of those." Oliver reminded her. "You never get used to them."
"Ahem." They looked over to see Felicity standing there. "Excuse me, Oliver, may I talk to you for a second? It's urgent." She said.
"Yeah." Oliver agreed.
Felicity paused, waiting for Laurel to leave. When she didn't, she added "You can have him back in a minute."
"Excuse us." Oliver said to Laurel, finally getting the message. Laurel gave them a pained smile, but moved off. Oliver shot Felicity a frustrated look that she ignored.
"I just realized something. What if our masked friend that keeps showing up everywhere you go-you know, her?" she said in a rush.
"What about her?" Oliver asked impatiently.
"What if we've been going about this the wrong way?" Felicity continued. "We thought she was obsessed with you. I mean, she showed up in the D. A.'s office when you were there," Oliver thought back to her dropping through the skylight. "And in the chemical plant where the Doll Maker was holed up." He thought back to the blonde coming in on her aerial silk. "But who else was at both those places?" Felicity finished. With a start, he looked up to see Laurel mingling with the guests. "What if our masked friend isn't following you?"
He understood. "She's following Laurel." He said.
Sara smiled at Felicity. "Clever bird." She said, raising her water in salute.
Later that night, Laurel walked back into her apartment. She tossed her purse onto the end table, then walked to her nightstand and tiredly started to take her earrings out. From across the way, The Canary watched over Laurel. Suddenly, though, she sensed a presence. She turned around and took off running- just as an arrow embedded itself in the wall besides her. She took off over the rooftops, running on the edge of one before jumping down onto another. As she started across the room, she crossed the path of two pre-positioned crossbows, both loaded with bola arrows. The crossbows went off, ensnaring the Canary in their lines and holding her in place. She struggled briefly, and then looked up as the Arrow approached. Scared, she managed to pull out her canary cry device and activated it, then threw it down onto the ground in front of her. It went off with an ear-piercing sound, but the Arrow just kept calmly walking towards her.
"Can it get any louder?" he asked, tapping the side of his ear. She huffed in annoyance, but remotely turned the device off. "Why are you following Laurel Lance?" he demanded.
"I could ask the same thing of you." She shot back. "I guess some things never change. You and her, always and forever."
Oliver stepped back, stunned. "Who are you?" he demanded.
"Once you know, your life will never be the same."
"I could take it."
"Not this time." She said, and then added "Ollie."
Mia shook her head. "Always so overdramatic." She teased.
"Oh, hush. It's my big reveal." she shot back with a grin.
His eyes widened as he realized she knew who he was, and then her voice registered in his memory. Haltingly, he reached up towards her mask, pushing it off her face. Along with the mask came the platinum blonde hair, leaving her dirty blonde hair exposed. Oliver stepped back, stunned, and threw back his own hood as he took in the sight of a very alive Sara Lance.
"Why wear a blonde wig if you have blonde hair?" Felicity asked suddenly. "Why not a black wig, or a purple wig, or a black-and-purple wig…"
"Well, you'd never expect a blonde to wear a blonde wig." Tommy reasoned.
SIX YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the Queen's Gambit. Oliver and Sara were on his bed, kissing. "Oh, Laurel's going to kill me." Sara said. Suddenly, without warning, the room seemed to flip and the far wall became the floor. Oliver and Sara were thrown out of the bed, slamming into the wall. Oliver staggered to his knees, pulling himself up on the edge of the bed.
"Sara?" he called out, looking around. There, across the room near the door lay Sara, a small cut on her head bleeding. She blinked in confusion, then look up and back at Oliver. She reached for him- but was suddenly swept from the room "Sara!"
PRESENT
Back in the present, Oliver looked at his ex-lover in shock. "Sara?"
"I'll give you some time to let it sink in." Sara said, and then activated the self-destruct on the canary cry device. It sounded once loudly, then exploded, sending Oliver crashing down to the roof. When he looked up again, she was gone.
"How'd you do that?" Laurel asked.
"I got mad skills, yo." Sara replied.
"Dear god woman, you're nearing fifty!" Mia exclaimed. "Stop talking like you're twenty four!"
"I'll have you know the Lazarus Pits reset your body to their peak physical years." Sara protested.
"Yeah, and you reset 24 years ago. Let it go!"
"Ladies, if you're going to fight," Roy started.
"At least let us get some Jell-O first." Tommy finished. The two men grinned at each other. Sara looked at Mia, then at Thea, and the pair as one smacked Tommy and Roy on the back of their heads.
"Ow." They both said.
"Dumb-ass." Mia/Thea both said.
"Okay, now you're getting creepy." Laurel stated. "And now I feel like I need a drink."
The scene changed to the Lair, where Oliver was filling his team in.
"Sara Lance?" Felicity said. "Laurel's sister? The detective's other daughter, the one that you took on 'The Gambit' with you even though you were dating Laurel at the time, which we never talked about—" she rambled.
"Felicity, please." He said quietly.
"I'm sorry, it's just… isn't she-isn't she dead?" she asked. "You told everyone that she died when 'The Gambit' went down, that she drowned."
Oliver raised his head, but he didn't look at them; he was looking past them, back to the Island.
"You lied." Diggle realized.
"When 'The Gambit' capsized, uh Sara was pulled under." Oliver said shakily. "It was so dark and cold. And I thought she drowned." He sighed. "About year later, I saw her."
Diggle straightened. "You saw where, on the island?" he asked incredulously. "She drifted to the island, too?"
"Not exactly." Oliver said evasively.
"Why didn't you tell the Lances that she didn't die in that boat?" Felicity asked. "Laurel and Mr. Lance, they blame you."
"Yeah, well, it was my fault." Oliver said simply. "What happened was my fault."
Sara sighed. "Oh, Ollie. It was my fault, too."
"Well, where has she been all these years, Oliver?" Diggle demanded.
"I don't know!" Oliver shot back. "Diggle, I swear to God. I was sure she was dead."
"Do you have any happy stories?" Felicity wondered sadly.
"Not of those years." Sara said darkly, looking at Felicity. "Trust me on that."
"All right, so just to make sure I understand this correctly, after not drowning when 'The Gambit' went down, Sara didn't exactly make it to the island with you, where you would see her die yet again. Feel free to fill in the blanks." Dig said sarcastically.
"Not right now." Oliver said, rubbing his face tiredly.
"You mean not ever, don't you, Oliver?" Dig said hotly.
"Don't you think her family had a right to know that she made it to the island, too?" Felicity asked.
"These were five years!" Oliver shouted, furious. "Five years… where nothing good happened. And they were better off not knowing."
"Do they deserve to know now?" Dig asked after a moment.
Oliver staggered to his feet. "I need to take care of some business at the office." He said, evading the issue. "Where are we with the Mayor?"
Dig sighed. "I'm in contact with some of my military sources." He told him. "Trying to get a line on how he's getting his illegal army weaponry. I'll keep you updated." Oliver walked past him. "You know, Oliver, somebody once told me that secrets have weight." Dig said, stopping the younger man with his words. "The more you keep, the harder it is to keep moving."
Oliver looked back at him, the pain in his eyes evident. "You see how hard I work out."
"He pushes himself so hard so that he'll be too tired to remember." Diggle said sadly. He'd seen guys like that when he got home from Afghanistan- pushing themselves hard so they wouldn't have to remember loosing friends in battle.
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene changed to the ''Amazo'', where one of the pirates approached Oliver's cell.
"You kill two of my crew." The pirate said without preamble. "How many others are with you on the island? What are your weapon capabilities?" Oliver just stared impassively at the man, not saying a word. "Did you find the graves?" Oliver said nothing. "Two things will happen- you will tell me everything I want to know, then I will kill you." The pirate said. "Or I will torture you until you tell me everything I want to know. And then I will kill you."
"I don't think he'd crack." Tommy said, glaring at the screen. "These guys have nothing on Fyers."
"Don't be naïve." Slade said. "Fyers had a code he lived by. These people are nothing more than savages."
Oliver stared back, then slowly rose to his feet. He walked up to the bars. "Go to hell." He said.
"Can't. We're already there." The pirate said. Then he fired the gun he was holding that Oliver hadn't even noticed. The bullet pierced his side and Oliver collapsed, screaming in pain.
Thea, Moira and Laurel all screamed in shock. Sara sighed. "Yeah, they did that." She said in disgust.
"That happened often?" Felicity asked in shock. Sara nodded. "Couldn't you do anything?" she asked hesitantly.
"I would have done something, but I was too busy trying to not get gang raped." Sara replied. Quentin hissed in anger.
PRESENT
The scene changed back to Starling City. Sara was in the old clock tower, staring at nothing as she thought about her meeting with Oliver earlier. Suddenly she sensed a presence behind her and spun around, her baton telescoping out-
And stopping right at the tip of Sin's nose.
Sin looked down at the point of the staff, then back up at the vigilante. Sara sighed and lowered the weapon. She saw the bag in her friends hand and smirked. "Told you. The Patty Shack on 5th and Brewer, best burgers in town."
"Eh." Felicity said.
Sara looked at her. "Eh?" she repeated. "What's 'Eh'?"
"They're okay." Felicity said. "I've just always liked Big Belly more."
"Bah." Sara waved her hand dismissively. "Corporate chain food. I'm not even sure it IS food."
"Never been a big fan of burgers." Tommy admitted.
Thea looked at him in surprise. "You don't like burgers?" she exclaimed. "What are you, a communist?"
"Are you even old enough to remember what a communist is?" Tommy shot back.
"Patty Shack is really good." Laurel said. "And their shakes are to die for."
"Ugh." Sara groaned. "You're thinking about dipping your fries in the shake, aren't you?"
"It's good!" Laurel said defensively.
"It's unnatural." Sara shot back. "It's the most disgusting thing I've ever been forced to witness, and I've seen J'onn go through a tear in downtown Metropolis looking for Chocos."
"I still have nightmares about that." Roy said with a shudder.
"Well, Patty Shack's in the Mayor's territory, so I'll take a sub-par breakfast over a bullet." Sin said, sitting Indian style on the floor and pulling out a sandwich. She held it up to Sara, who just looked at it listlessly. "What's wrong?" Sin asked with a worried frown. "Look, I know I'm skinny, but I can eat two of these, and I will."
Sara, Mia and Roy all smiled; Laurel Thea chuckled. "I like her." Thea decided.
Sara leaned against a support pillar, and then slid down to the ground to join Sin. "Just ran into an old boyfriend." She said. "I'm just worried that he might tell my family I'm back."
"You have family in Starling?" Sin asked.
"Yeah." Sara said. "My father, he's a- he's a policeman. And my sister, she's a lawyer."
"Well, they must be real proud of their masked delinquent." Sin said, taking a sip of her soda.
"Yeah, they think I'm dead." Sara admitted.
Sin paused for a moment, surprised by the revelation. Finally she gave Sara a wry smile. "Oh, cool. My folks think I'm dead, too." She said. "That, or they wish I'd never been born. One of those." Sara chuckled. Sin took another drink, and then asked "Why don't you want them to know that you're still alive?"
"'Cause I'm not what they remember." Sara said sadly.
"Good little daddy's girl?" Sin guessed.
Laurel burst out laughing.
Sara laughed again. "Actually far from it. I was a lot like you." She admitted.
Sin nodded. "Is that why you saved me from those guys that night?"
Sara looked at her with a serious expression, one bone from pain long past. "No woman should ever suffer at the hands of men."
Laurel instantly sobered and looked worriedly at her sister, who was watching with a haunted expression of her own.
The scene changed to a small park near the bay. Lyla was sitting on a bench, and smiled as Diggle walked up and sat down.
"We've got to stop meeting like this." She told him as he sat. "What would your girlfriend think, Johnny?"
"Lyla, I am checking the box marked 'single' these days." Dig informed her.
"Sorry to hear it." She said. "What happened?"
"Well, another man came between us." Dig admitted. "Deadshot."
"You're getting in the bad habit of letting him ruin your life." She opined.
"She always was smarter than me." Diggle said with a smile.
"So I've been repeatedly told." Dig said wryly. Now on to business. "Anything on those stolen army weapons?"
"A crate of 12 M4A1s went missing from Camp Kirby two months ago." Lyla told him.
"Yeah, I think I know where they went." Dig muttered.
"Every crate was fitted with a GPS system so they could be remote tracked. I tried pulling it up but it's not receiving." She handed him a USB drive with the information and codes. "Must have been deactivated."
Dig took the drive with a smile. "Thanks, Lyla." He said, rising to his feet.
"And your interest in this is what?" she asked.
Dig took a moment to frame his thoughts. "Lyla, you and I went to Afghanistan to try to bring law and order to a country overrun by war lords with weapons, right?" he asked rhetorically. "Should we do any less for our own cities?" he smiled down at her, and then lifted the drive. "Thanks again."
"Hey, Johnny." Lyla called out, stopping him before he could walk too far. He turned around an looked at her.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"These days, I check the box marked single, too." She told him with a smile. He returned it and walked off.
"Want my advice, Dig?" Mia said suddenly. When he looked at her curiously, she continued. "Stay friends with Carly. But reconnect with Lyla. I think you'll find your two are both in a different place now, and that isn't a bad thing."
"I'll think about it." Dig said after a moment's consideration.
The scene changed to Queen Consolidated. Sebastian Blood was waiting in the QC boardroom with Isabel Rochev as Oliver walked in.
"Mr. Blood." He said with a smile. "I see you've met Miss Rochev. She's my—"
"Superior." She said instantly.
"Partner." Oliver corrected.
"On paper." She shot back coolly.
"I like her." Slade said with a grin.
"If you liked her so much, you should have trained her better." Mia told Slade sarcastically. "There wasn't a physical fight between her and Oliver and his team that she managed to win."
"Really." Slade said coolly."
"Even Felicity managed to smack the bitch down."
"Yay me!" Felicity said, pumping her fist in the air.
"Is that why you asked me to come down here, Mr. Queen, to mediate your job title?" Blood asked sarcastically.
Oliver chuckled. "You and I have gotten off on the wrong foot repeatedly." He admitted.
"Seems to be your super power." Blood quipped.
"That and magnificent abs." Felicity noted. Laurel and Sara both nodded in approval.
"I was inspired by what you said the other night about gun violence in the Glades." Oliver continued. "And I had an idea that might help."
"Really? Another party at your stately manor?" blood asked dryly.
Oliver shook his head. "No. I wanted to sponsor a cash-for-guns event." He said. Isabel looked at him, startled. "I give you the money and you get your constituents to lay down their arms. Everybody wins."
"Especially you." Blood pointed out acerbically. "Trying to repair your family's tainted name by ridding the Glades of guns."
"You just get the money, Mr. Blood. I don't want my family's name involved." Oliver said, surprising the alderman.
Isabel went from startled to alarmed. "Mr. Queen, may I have a word with you?" she asked quickly.
"Let me think it over." Blood said, walking out.
As soon as he was gone, Isabel turned and glowered at Oliver. "We are not sponsoring that event." She said at once.
"Yes, I know. I am." Oliver replied.
"With what money?" she asked. "Your investment party cost QC 50 grand, and no one invested a dime. I will not continue to authorize corporate funds just so you can keep pretending that you are the CEO."
Oliver glared at the woman. "Fine. I'll pay for it myself."
"Maybe you haven't noticed, but your personal trust isn't exactly what it used to be, and this company isn't, either." She pointed out coldly. "As much as I would love to make this city safer, my first obligation is to Queen Consolidated. And yours is, too." She turned and stalked out of the boardroom, leaving Oliver alone with his thoughts.
"Moira, be honest with me." Malcolm said suddenly, startling the elder Queen. "You've seen me in business meetings." He continued, and she nodded. "I'm just like that, aren't I?"
"Hell, you're like that around the dinner table." Tommy said sarcastically.
Moira gave Tommy and amused look before looking to Malcolm. "Yes, you are."
Malcolm just sighed.
The scene changed to the D.A.'s office. Laurel was once again working late, listening to her iPod. She was startled when Donner walked out of his office and called to her, and turned her music down at once.
"I was going to order some takeout, you want in?" he asked.
"I appreciate the offer, Adam, but—"
"I've eaten takeout every night this week; I need a meal served on an actual plate. So do you."
Tommy scowled. Laurel looked at him, amused. "You wouldn't want me to move on?" she asked.
"Not with him." Tommy said. "Oliver I'd actually be okay with now. But this schmuck?" he shook his head. "You could do better."
The scene changed to a swank restaurant later that night. Laurel and Donner sat at a table, having enjoyed their meal and wine. Laurel was enjoying her second glass, finishing it off in one long pull, and then smiled at the waitress who brought her a fresh glass.
"I get it." Donner was saying. "It's easy to let the job become your life. I keep having to remind myself to go to the gym, see a movie, eat a good meal."
"That sounds dangerously like having a life." Laurel said slyly.
"What about you? You can't be all about work." Donner hedged.
"I'm the best me when I am working." Laurel said simply.
"And when you're not?"
"You don't want to meet her. She's not good company." She said, sipping her wine.
"I'd be willing to risk it." Donner offered.
Laurel choked a bit on her wine. "Excuse me. I have to go." She said suddenly, setting down the glass and grabbing her things.
Laurel sighed.
Donner rose to his feet. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"
"No, it's ok." Laurel said with a tight smile. "It's fine. I just have to go."
"Good night." He told her as she rushed past.
"Good night." Laurel said as she left.
Laurel climbed into her car and began to drive home.
Quentin, who was about to console his daughter, scowled at her instead. "What the hell are you thinking, driving drunk!"
"Well obviously I'm too drunk to be thinking straight." Laurel shot back.
She was halfway home when a patrol car got behind her, then flashed its lights in warning. Dutifully, Laurel pulled over.
"Crap." She muttered as the patrol officer got out of his car and walked up to her window, which she rolled down.
"License and registration?" he asked.
"Is there a problem, Officer?" Laurel asked, squinting as the officer shined his light into the car.
"Have you had anything to drink tonight, ma'am?" he asked.
Crap indeed. "I'm Laurel Lance. I'm an assistant district attorney." She tried.
"I'm sorry, Miss Lance, but I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the car, please." The officer said, not impressed. Laurel sagged slightly, now officially worried.
Thea slowly looked over to the lawyer. "Did you honestly just try to get out of a ticket by using your job?"
"Not the best role model anymore, am I?" Laurel said glumly.
"I make no judgments, I cast no aspersions." Thea said solemnly. "Especially since that was me the previous year."
The scene changed to the Lair. "I need some good news." Oliver said as he came down the stairs.
"The bad news first." Dig replied. "Somehow the Mayor did get his hands on a crate of military-grade weapons from Camp Kirby." He told Oliver
"The good news?"
"If he kept the crate, might be able to find where he's hiding." Felicity said, rising from her chair and moving over to her workstation. On her desk, hooked into her computer, was a white plastic device with a black box inset into the middle of it, encased in a clear plastic cover. The edges of the black box glowed green. "This is the same make and model of a tracking system the army installs on all of its weapons crates. If they lose a crate, they send out a remote signal that activates the beacon." She tapped in a code, and the green light turned red.
"The Mayor's clever." Diggle continued. "He deactivated his beacon. Send a signal, nothing comes back."
"You both need to work on your definition of good news." Oliver ground out.
"Ok." Felicity grinned. "How's this- guess which company designed the tracking system the army uses? I'll give you a hint- your CEO? Always late."
Oliver smiled back. "Nice."
"I pulled up the original plans from the QC mainframe." She told him, showing him the schematics. "Turns out there's a design flaw. The beacon is still susceptible to a sub form wave even if it's been deactivated."
"The Mayor turned it off, Oliver." Dig said. "We can turn it back on."
Tommy's eyebrows rose. "Not exactly a flaw, if it just means it makes the weapons easier to find." He said.
"Maybe I should pass that along to the military, so they know." Felicity said.
Felicity typed in the code, and suddenly the location popped up on the map." I believe you ordered the crate of stolen military weapons, Mr. Queen." Felicity said smugly. Oliver nodded, then headed over to the case and grabbed his bow.
Several minutes later at the club, the Mayor noticed the red blinking light in the crate. Hurriedly he jumped off the stage and ran over to the crate.
"I thought you deactivated the tracker!" he demanded of one of his thugs before smashing the tracking device with the butt of his rifle. Suddenly he heard the whistle of an arrow flying, and saw one of his men topple over with an arrow in the shoulder. They all looked up to see The Arrow standing on the second level, firing another arrow before they returned fire. He moved rapidly, dodging their pray-and-spray firing even as he returned the favor, dropping a new man with each arrow. But there were too many men, and they all bolted for the exit as Oliver dropped down to the floor. He aimed a shot at the Mayor, but he disappeared through the door before he could fire. Frowning, he walked over to the crate of assault rifles, then tapped his com link. "Weapons are secure." He told his team.
"And the Mayor?" Dig asked.
Oliver sighed. "Still in office." He said, annoyed.
"One out of two ain't bad." Quentin said. "Oh, this should be fun."
The scene changed to Laurel's traffic stop, where Quentin was just pulling up. He got out of his patrol car and gave a tired nod to his fellow officer.
"Thanks for the heads up, Officer Daily." He said.
"Just fyi- she blew .6 past the legal limit." Daily replied, handing her keys to him.
"Thank you." Quentin replied again. Daily got back into his squad car and pulled off, leaving the Lance's alone.
"He didn't need to call you." Laurel said sullenly.
"No. But you're lucky he did." He said. "You could have lost your job. You could have lost your life, and you could have killed somebody!"
"I had a few too many glasses of wine at dinner." Laurel protested. "It was an accident!"
"An accident. Well, I guess those happen." Quentin said sarcastically.
Laurel narrowed her eyes at her father. "Was I not supposed to notice that tone?" she asked.
"The two of us," Quentin started. "You got a lot from me, Laurel. Maybe you got this, too."
"You can hardly compare my one mistake to your drinking problem." Laurel shot back.
"Considering how much wine you've been knocking back, I damn well can." Quentin said darkly.
"Like to remind you- I'm not drinking that much yet." Laurel reminded her father. "And I never will."
"So long as it is only one mistake." Quentin said.
"I don't know if you've noticed," she ground out, "But I've had a little bit of a hard time lately. I was kidnapped, nearly murdered by a psychopath, and my boyfriend died. So, I don't know, maybe cut me some slack."
"You know, when I started having a hard time, I wish people had not cut me slack." Quentin said. "Leave your car here, I'm driving you home."
"I'll take a cab." Laurel spat, turning and walking away.
"Laurel… Laurel!" Quentin called out futilely. Then he sighed in resignation as he watched her walk off into the night.
Lance shook his head. "Stubborn." he said. "You get that from your mother."
Laurel shot him a look that said 'Seriously?'.
The next morning, Oliver pulled up to Verdant on his bike. He left his helmet on the seat and was walking up to the doors when he sensed a presence behind him. He turned around to see Sara standing there in civilian clothes. Wordlessly he turned back and opened the door, holding it open for her to walk through first.
She walked inside and looked around, taking in the club but not really seeing it. Finally, she turned back to Oliver. "Did you tell my family that I'm alive?" she asked.
"No." Oliver replied at once. She turned away from him. "Sara." He walked around her so that he was facing her once more. "I saw you die." He started.
"Not the first time that's happened, right?" he said ironically. "And I thought you were dead, too. What happened to Slade?" she asked.
"Wanted to make sure I was dead?" Slade asked Sara, sneering at her. "Sorry to disappoint."
"Well, the day is young…" Sara shot back.
"Where have you been?" he countered, ignoring her question.
"Everywhere." She said simply.
"That's not an answer." Oliver replied.
"Well, it's the one you're getting." She shot back. She sighed and started pacing aimlessly. "About a year ago, I started hearing tales of the Starling City vigilante." She continued. "The man in the green hood. I knew it was you."
"I had never known you as much of a fighter." Oliver stated. "Where did you pick that up?"
"I met some rough people." She said cryptically. "Thought I should get rougher, too."
"Does the League make you purposefully cryptic?" Laurel asked, bemused.
"Yes." Sara and Mia replied.
"Sara." Oliver moved in closer. "Why did you come back?"
"The earthquake." She said simply.
"Because you wanted to make sure your family was safe." Oliver sussed out. "But now you're still here, watching over them. Protecting them." He looked her in the eyes. "So, did you come here to make sure I didn't tell them? Or because you were hoping I had?" he asked. Before she could answer, there was a knock on the door. Oliver sighed. "I'll get rid of them." Oliver walked past Sara and unlocked the door. He opened in and leaned out- to see Quentin Lance standing there. "Mr. Lance?" he said loudly so that Sara would know who it was. Sara turned around, shock and terror on her face.
"Hi." Lance said.
"Want to try and arrest him again?" Thea asked the Detective in a teasing tone.
"Wanna search the basement again?" Tommy added. "You'd have much better luck this time…"
Oliver slipped out the door and closed it, hiding Sara from the detective. "Something I can help you with?" he asked.
"I'm here about my daughter." Quentin said. Oliver's breath hitched. "Laurel." Lance continued.
Quentin blinked. Laurel shook her head. "Wow, you really ARE worried."
Oliver let out a small breath. "Is she ok?" he asked at once.
Inside the club, Sara moved up to the door, staring out the window at her father.
"Yeah." Quentin started. "Well, no, she's not. She got pulled over for a DUI last night. I tried talking to her about it, but…" he sighed. "She wasn't hearing me."
"I…I saw her the other night." Oliver said. "She… didn't seem like herself."
"No, I know. She seems like me." Quentin chuckled humorlessly. "I don't know if you know, but when you and Sara disappeared, I hit the bottle pretty hard." He began as Sara watched on tearfully. "I know the two of you are friends. And she needs a friend. Maybe talk to her." He asked of him.
"Sure." Oliver said at once.
"Anyhow." Quentin turned to leave.
"Mr. Lance." Oliver called out, stopping the man. In the club, Sara's breath hitched.
"Yeah?" Quentin said.
"Um…" he thought about telling the man about Sara, but in the end, he couldn't do that. To do that would be to hurt her, and he had already hurt her enough for one lifetime. "I'd be happy to talk to Laurel." He finished lamely.
"Thanks." Quentin said, and then walked off. Oliver ran back into the club, but Sara was gone.
Quentin looked at Sara. "Why wouldn't you want me to know…"
"To protect you." Sara said. "Though that didn't work out so well in the end."
"Yeah, between the poisoning and the kidnapping…" Mia said with a smirk.
"Quentin shook his head. "You know, I can never tell when you're kidding." He complained.
"She's not kidding." Sara said wryly. "If you think I'm overly dramatic, wait till you meet my ex."
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the 'Amazo'. Oliver was groaning in pain from the bullet wound. He looked around helplessly, and then he spotted it- a small surgical dish with everything he'd need to remove the bullet and stitch himself back up. Oliver looked at in in confusion "Why'd they do this?" he asked of the man in the cell next to him, then groaned again in pain.
"They make all of us do this." The man replied with a heavy Russian accent. "Supposed to show prochnost." He lifted his shirt to show the scar from his own bullet wound. The man in the opposite cell did the same. "It's Russian. For strength."
"They-they did it to see if I'm strong?!" Oliver asked incredulously.
"They're doing this to see if you survive." The Russian clarified. "Living is not for the weak."
Oliver looked at the man, then reached through the bars and grabbed the tray. Then he proceeded to dig the bullet out, even as he screamed in pain.
"Christ!" Tommy said, squirming. "Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse…"
"On that ship, it could ALWAYS get worse." Sara said.
PRESENT
The scene changed to outside Laurel's apartment later that day. She came out to go to work to see Oliver standing on the sidewalk in front of her door.
"Oliver." She said with a tight smile.
"Hi." He replied.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. "Is everything ok?"
"I don't know. Is everything ok?" he replied.
Laurel sighed in exasperation. "You've got to be kidding me. My dad went to you?" she rolled her eyes, and then walked past Oliver down the sidewalk. "He spent the last six years cursing your name, and now you're what, gossip buddies?" she asked sarcastically.
"Laurel. He's worried about you." He said in a calm tone of voice.
Laurel stopped. "Perfect." She spun around to glare at him. "A recovering alcoholic and recovering party boy trying to tell me how to live my life. Don't you see the hypocrisy there?"
"Ouch." Thea said, lifting an eyebrow at Laurel.
"What I see is somebody that both of us care for having a rough go of it." Oliver tried.
"Do you know how many times I've had to pull my dad out of a bar?" she asked. "Or how many nights I've had to drive him home where he's passed out in my backseat? He's the one with the problem." She said. "Not me. Just because he can't cope with losing Sara doesn't mean I can't handle my life. Feel free to tell him that during the next chit chat." Laurel finished as she turned and walked off.
"They're just trying to help you, you know." Thea told the lawyer.
"Funny thing about help." Diggle said. "You have to want it to accept it."
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the 'Amazo'. Oliver lay on the floor of his cell having stitched up his wound. The Pirate came over and kneeled down, inspecting the work from outside the cage. "Sewing is not your strong suit." He said. Oliver held up the bullet, then let it drop to the floor. The pirate nodded. "Now we can talk." He said. "For two years my crew and I have been looking for grave site. Did you find the graves?" he asked. Oliver pulled himself up, but didn't answer the man. He just stared. "Were the bodies odd? The bones misshapen?" the pirate asked. Oliver said nothing, but his defiance told the pirate what he wanted to know. He stood and pulled out his radio. "This is the right island." He said into the device as he walked off.
PRESENT
The scene shifted back to the Glades, where the gun buyback was in full swing. Roy was there, dropping off his arsenal.
"Looks like we got a Colt 1911, Jennings .32, and a K-frame revolver." The attendant said. "Um… We'll give you $250 for the lot."
"Keep it." Roy told the man.
"Do I even want to know where you got those guns?" Roy tuned around to see Thea standing there.
He sighed, but smiled tightly. "They're from the old days." He told her. "I told you. Look, no more being a criminal. No more being a hero. Just Roy Harper. Bus boy and boyfriend." They drew close to each other, about to kiss…
"Yo, Abercrombie."
Mia shook her head in amusement. "Always the master of timing, that one…"
Roy blinked , the moment ruined. They turned around to see who had spoken, and Roy felt the bottom drop out of his stomach when he saw Sin standing there, her arms crossed and a smirk on her face.
"Where's your manners?" She asked mockingly.
"Sin." His eyes narrowed at the other girl. "This is Thea. Thea, this is Sin."
"Thea Queen?" she gave her a brief look-over. "Look at you, rolling with royalty. By the way, the salad fork's the small one." She added sarcastically.
"And right now he's thinking- 'What's a fork?'." Thea joked, causing Sara and Mia to snicker.
"It was good to see you again." Roy said coldly, a clear dismissal.
Sins' eyes lit up. She moved in close to Roy. "She doesn't know you're the Vigilante's delivery boy, does she?" she asked quietly. The tense look on his face told her everything she needed to know. Sin turned to Thea and gave her a mocking bow. "Nice to meet you, your highness."
"You, too." Thea replied dryly as Sin walked off.
"She's delightful." Thea remarked.
"Eh, she grows on you." Sara said.
"Like a fungus." Roy quipped, a sad smile on his face.
Thea turned to Roy. "So how do you know her?"
"From around." He answered vaguely.
Out on the fringes of the buy back, Oliver stood, observing the event. Sebastian Blood noticed him and walked over.
"You don't show up when you say you will, and when you promise not to, here you are." Blood said.
"It's going well?" Oliver asked.
"Last check, we've taken in over 200 guns in only 3 hours." He noted the tight expression on his face. "Try not to look so happy about it."
"A lot on my mind, alderman." Oliver said tiredly.
"My job is to help the people in this city with their problems." Blood said. An opening.
Oliver turned to face the alderman. "Two people that are very important to me are having a tough time." Oliver began. "Sisters, actually. And neither one of them is making it very easy for me to help them."
"Sooner or later, we all go through a crucible." Blood replied. "I'm guessing yours was that island." Oliver nodded slightly. "Most people believe there are two types of people who go into a crucible- the ones who grow stronger from the experience and survive it, and the ones who die. But there's a third type: the ones who learn to love the fire." He continued. "They choose to stay in their crucible because it's easier to embrace the pain when it's all you know anymore."
'Ain't that the truth.' Mia thought.
"That's why I'm on the clock to help this city. Before it becomes used to living like this."
"Living is not for the weak." Oliver said, thinking back to the 'Amazo'. "Old friend of mine once told me that."
"That's a wise friend." Blood said.
Suddenly the peace was ripped apart by gunfire. The Mayor, riding in the back of a tricked out pickup truck with a couple of goons with assault rifles smashed through the police barricades and sent the people scattering. The truck skidded to a stop, and the Mayor began speaking.
"Listen up, people. This is your mayor speaking." He said as the few officers drew their guns and held them on the gang leader. His goons aimed back with their rifles, creating a Mexican standoff. "Now I don't recall this here event being sanctioned." He continued. "What happens in the Glades only happens if I allow it."
"Would the cops just SHOOT the murdering scumbag?" Tommy asked rhetorically.
"Too many civilians." Quentin said angrily.
"All they have to do is aim for the big effin' truck!"
"Cop's aren't soldiers, Tommy." Diggle said. "They're taught to apprehend criminals and only use their weapons as a last resort. They won't fire until they're fired upon."
"You're not the leader of this community!" Blood shouted angrily as he stalked towards the truck. Oliver watched angrily, hating that he couldn't do anything without drawing attention to himself. "You don't speak for these people!"
"And neither do you." The Mayor replied, gesturing to his men. "Not anymore."
"He was a brave man, and he truly wanted to help people." Mia said, shaking her head. "Too bad he was a psychopath."
Just before they opened fire, Oliver ran at the alderman and tackled him, taking his out of the line of fire. He pulled the man behind a squad car that was soon raked with bullets. The goons then turned their guns on everyone else, spraying bullets everywhere even as the police returned fire.
Tommy sighed in disgust. "And apparently the Starling City Police learned to shoot at the same academy that trained the Storm Troopers."
"Give the guys a break!" Quentin pleaded tiredly. "You got a handful of cops against punks with automatic weapons and no problem shooting civilians."
"Should have shot them fi-" he pause in his sentence, suddenly horrified at himself. Slowly he looked over at his father. "This is how you feel every day, isn't it?" he asked. "Every time you read the latest crime story in the paper, every time you see something on the news. You feel like every one of them-"
"-Is the one who killed your mother." Malcolm finished, nodding. "Yes, I do."
Tommy took a shuddering breath. "Well, THAT just dumped a bucket of ice water on my temper."
Oliver sprinted over to Thea and Roy. "Hey! Are you ok?" he asked them. "Are you hit?"
Thea shook her head. "No." Oliver nodded, then got up and sprinted off to finish off the gang leader.
Roy heard a groan, and looking up he saw Sin hunched over. "Sin, you all right?" he called out.
"All's good." She moaned, and then stared at shock at her hand as she pulled it away from her abdomen. It was covered in blood. She fell back and Roy ran over to her. "Go get help!" he yelled to Thea. "Go!" she nodded and ran off to call the paramedics, leaving Roy holding Sin as she continued to bleed out.
Malcolm winced. Tommy's comment had brought those old feelings back stronger than ever before. Now seeing another innocent woman, bleeding out on the streets… but what was worse, is that this was all his fault.
And he knew it.
The scene changed to Verdant. Down in the basement, the trio were watching a news report on the shooting.
'The shooting was committed by the gang leader known only as "The Mayor," who, until now, has never been seen in public.' The broadcaster was saying. 'We do want to warn our audience that some of these images are graphic.'
Felicity paused the broadcast and started typing into her computer.
"The coward finally decided to show his face." Diggle said in disgust.
"Vanity is going to cost him." Oliver noted.
"I borrowed the FBI's facial recognition software." Felicity aid as the program ran.
"Look at you, pirating software." Thea smirked at the hacker.
"I only use my powers for good." Felicity said with a smirk.
After a few moments, the program beeped and a profile was pulled up. "Got a match. Xavier Reed." She said, reading off the name on the profile.
"Did Mr. Reed serve in the military?" Oliver asked.
"No military history." She replied.
"Family members?"
Felicity shook her head. "Reed was in and out of foster care his whole life." She frowned as she read on. "Wait, hold on. In 1996, Reed spent three years with a foster family and their son, Ezra Barnes." She said, turning to face Oliver. "He served three tours in Iraq. He's stateside now."
"$20 bucks said he was stationed at Camp Kirby." Dig said.
"Pay the man." Felicity replied, swinging back around to her computer. "The Mayor's foster brother is assigned to a weapons convoy that carries SCAR 16s by truck. The convoy's scheduled to come through Starling City tonight."
"FN SCAR 16s are military assault weapons with grenade launchers." Dig noted with concern. "The man gets a hold of these, Oliver, its game over."
Oliver scowled. "He won't." he said, turning to gear up.
The scene changed to Starling General. Sin was sedated in a hospital bed, being checked over by the surgeon. He turned to Roy, who stood with him in the room. Thea waited outside the room, leaning against the far wall.
"The bullet penetrated her anterior abdomen." The doctor was telling Roy. "We were able to remove most of the fragments. We'll know more in a few hours."
Roy nodded, and the doctor walked out. Thea walked into the room. "Hey." He told her. "I'm going to stick around, in case she wakes up."
"Is it ok if I stick around with you?" she asked. Roy nodded, and Thea placed a warm hand on his shoulder. "I mean, you saved her life, Roy." She said, gently rubbing the shoulder. "I guess you can't stop being a hero, can you?" they both turned to look at the sleeping Sin.
Thea looked up to make a crack at Roy, but held her tongue when she saw the loving look Mia was giving him.
Outside, The Canary watched on, sad for her friend's pain and angry that she couldn't prevent it. Suddenly an arrow struck the wall behind her. She turned to look at it, and saw a zip line attached. Without hesitation, she grasped the line and slid down to the adjoining rooftop, where The Arrow waited.
"I want to see how you do in a real fight." He told her.
"Good." She said. "I was looking for a fight."
Sara sighed. "I miss those days." She said wistfully.
The scene changed to deep in the Glades. The convoy rolled through the darkened streets, coming to a halt right in front of Xavier. His foster brother climbed out of the truck and walked up to Xavier, hugging him.
"They're with me." Ezra said, indicating the other men that had climbed out of the military vehicles. He then nodded at the open back of his truck. "He wasn't."
"Fucking traitors." Diggle growled.
Xavier looked in to see a dead soldier. He laughed and clapped his brother on the shoulder. "You're done being all you can be." He said.
Ezra held out his hand, and one of his men handed him a SCAR 16. He unfolded the stock and held it out for Xavier to look at.
"Ahh. You and I are going to own this town." He said with a grin. He hefted the gun. "Now let's see what this bad boy can do."
A sound grabbed everyone's attention, and they all turned to see The Canary standing there, her bo staff in hand. At once she attacked, expertly wielding the staff, taking out soldiers and gang members combined.
"Damn, Sara!" Laurel said, impressed.
"Yeah, they really shouldn't have pissed me off." Sara said with a smirk.
As the gang tried to regroup The Arrow joined in the fray, letting loose with a barrage of arrows. They opened fire, but they were firing blind. Oliver dropped down, running behind cover, and then dropped down again behind the truck he came around and belted the young gunman three times in the face with his bow, dropping him. He looked up at Sara, who had just finished off the last soldier.
"Behind you." She said. Oliver turned to see Xavier standing about fifteen feet away, the SCAR in hand.
"Old school weapon." He called out. "Respect. But can your arrows do this?" he fired off the grenade. Olive drew an arrow and fired, hitting the grenade and detonating it.
"Holy shit!" Thea exclaimed.
"That was a Legolas shot right there!" Felicity said, impressed.
"Naw, that was more Hawkeye than Legolas." Tommy argued.
"Oh, god! Could you imagine Oliver running around in a purple skirt?" Felicity said, giggling.
"Nothing wrong with purple." Thea noted. "It would actually be more appropriate."
"A little too on the nose." Moira said, amused. By this point she had resigned herself to the fact that her son would constantly be in jeopardy of some kind, but she took comfort in knowing that he lived past all of these events.
The shockwave sent him and Sara to the ground. His ears ringing, he noted the rest of the gang members rushing up to attack, so he grasped the first weapon he saw on the ground- Sara staff. He got up, spinning the staff around and wielding it like an expert. As the last of the gang members dropped to the ground, Ezra came out from behind one of the trucks, a SCAR in hand. He raised it to fire-
But was dropped by an arrow between the shoulder blades, courtesy of the Canary.
"What is this?" Tommy asked. "Anything you can do, I can do better?"
"She likes to think so." Mia said wryly.
The two vigilantes walked up to one another and traded back their weapons, Oliver grinning at Sara, then they moved off after Xavier.
Xavier was sneaking around, his SCAR in hand, looking for the crime fighters. "Come on, where are you?" he muttered under his breath. He turned around-
But the Canary was there. She belted him hard once, then twice, sending him to his knees. She brought her staff up under his chin, choking him as she prepared to break his neck.
"You hurt a friend of mine." She hissed.
"Let him go."
Sara looked up to see Oliver standing there. "You can't save a city with forgiveness." She told him harshly.
"You don't have to forgive him." Oliver replied. "But you do have to let him live."
Sara looked at him, and then relented, easing her grip on the staff.
"Bitch." Xavier gasped. "I knew you didn't have it in you."
Sara quickly jerked the staff back, crushing his throat. Then she lifted the staff away from his head and kicked him hard in the small of the back, sending him crashing face first to the ground, unconscious.
"Really shouldn't have said that…" Felicity noted with a wince.
"I really don't like that word." She said. Oliver gave her a look, but she just looked back, impassive.
The scene changed to Queen Consolidated the next day. Oliver was pacing in his office, watching the news on his computer.
'Demonstrations opposing the construction of the new Star Lab's particle accelerator have reached a fever pitch with five more protesters being arrested.' The anchor was saying. 'In other news the recent cash for guns event held in the Glades is credited for getting over 800 weapons off the streets.' Oliver leaned down, looking at the screen. 'Still a mystery- the anonymous donor whose generous donation funded the event.' He switched it off.
"I guess it's true what they say- one man can change the world." Sebastian Blood said, walking into his office.
Oliver smiled at the man. "I'll leave changing the world to you, alderman." He said.
"I'm only in the world because of you." Blood said, reaching out his hand. "Thank you."
The two men shook hands. "I was just acting on instinct." Oliver said, downplaying as usual.
"It wasn't instinct. It was strength." Blood insisted.
Oliver smiled at him. "I see the signs and the graffiti; 'Blood for mayor'. Now that the "mayor" is in jail, maybe you should run." He advised.
"There is more than one way to save a city." Blood replied before taking his leave.
The scene changed to Starling General. Roy and Thea were dozing on a seat outside of Sin's room when the doctor came out.
"Mr. Harper?" he said, getting the boy's attention.
Roy started awake, alarmed. "What's wrong, is she ok?" he asked. The doctor merely nodded, then walked off. Roy jumped to his feet and ran into the room to see Sin, awake, sitting up in the bed.
"Hey." She said as he took a seat next to her bed. "You saved my life. I guess I have to keep your secret now, huh?" she looked past Roy to see Thea walking in. "You know you're dating a moron, right?' she told her.
Thea gave her a small grin. "It's my first and last thought of every day." She replied.
"Crap." Sin looked back to Roy. "I like her." The three chuckled.
Thea snickered, then glanced over at Mia. She sat there watching the scene with a sad smile on her face. "What happened to her?" she finally asked. "Or, are we going to see…"
Mia shook her head. "No." she said, then looked to Roy.
"Sin had a rough life. She was clean then," Roy nodded at the screen, "but later on she got into drugs. She tried to clean up a few times, but it never took. She actually started working as a vigilante with the Titans, but…." He sighed. "I found her in her room one morning, a needle in her arm. She'd OD'd."
"I wish I had been a better friend to her." Mia said sadly.
"And I wish I had been there for her." Sara added.
Outside the room Sara looked in, making sure she was okay. Seeing that she was, she pulled the ball cap low and walked off. Down the hall she stopped as Oliver came up to her.
"Your friend." He said softly. "I took care of her medical expenses."
"Thank you." Sara replied. "Look, I don't want Thea to see me—"
"What's your plan, Sara?" Oliver asked. "Because right now, you just… well, you're whipping across rooftops and keeping watch over your family like some sort of ghost."
"We're both ghosts." Sara said sadly. "We died on that island."
"But we didn't." Oliver shot back. "We both lived. And I get that you have been in pain so long that it probably just feels normal now. But you can let it go and come home." He pleaded. "I mean, I know that the earthquake brought you here, but your family kept you here. You have to tell them, Sara. They need you." He emphasized.
"You told them that I died on 'The Gambit'." Sara pointed out. "If they know the truth—"
"They would never- they would never talk to me again." Oliver said, laughing humorlessly. "Not one of them. But it'd be worth it."
The scene changed to an AA meeting, where Lance was speaking. "My daughter's in trouble." He was saying. "She's, uh, she's been through some really terrible things. And Instead of facing up to them, she's running away from them." At Laurels apartment, Laurel popped a couple of her father's Oxycodone, then downed it with a glass of red wine.
All eyes turned to Laurel, who dropped her head into her hands.
"Not saying anything." Thea said. "Not one word. Nope."
"Thank you for being so mature." Laurel groused, her voice muffled by her hands.
"She's losing herself in her work, and maybe even worse. She's my daughter, I just want her safe, I want to protect her." At the hospital, Oliver held out a hand to Sara, and hesitantly she took it. He led her down the hall and out of the hospital towards an uncertain future. "But I guess like we say in our meetings, more will be revealed."
FIVE YEARS AGO
On the 'Amazo', a pair of pirates opened Oliver's cell and dragged him out. He screamed slightly in pain. The leader looked at him with cold eyes. "Your days of screaming are just beginning." He promised cruelly. The pirates dragged him through the ship, dumping him in some sort of lab. They left, closing the door, and Oliver looked up to see a pair of black boots standing in front of him. He continued looking up following the legs to the torso, to finally the head-
Of Sara Lance.
"I know it was hell for you, but you were rocking that look." Mia told her friend.
"Oh, absolutely." Sara agreed.
He looked at her in confusion. "How?" he muttered as she stared back impassively.
PRESENT
The scene changed to an undisclosed location. Xavier Reed was strapped to a chair with a bag over his head. Suddenly the bag was removed, and Xavier looked up to see a young patrol officer standing there.
Quentin squinted in confusion. "What the hell is Daily doing?" he wondered aloud.
He looked around in confusion, squinting at the harsh light given off by a set of shop lights.
"What the hell is this?" he demanded. "This ain't the police station." The cop stepped aside, and a new man walked in. He was dressed in slacks, a red shirt, and a blue windbreaker with the collar popped up. But what was really distinctive was the mask. It was brown leather, shaped like a skull, and concealed the man's face entirely except for the eyes, which regarded Xavier coldly. "Why are you wearing that mask?"
"And when did the nuts take over the nuthouse?" Lance added.
"This city is in chains, and I'm going to free it." The man in the skull mask said. He stepped aside so that another man, this one carrying a syringe filled with a green liquid, could approach the bound man. "But to do that, I need an army."
"Whoa, what's in that thing?!" Xavier said in a panic as the third man injected the green serum into his arm. "Get that off me! Get that crap away from me!" the injection finished, the man pulled the needle free and stepped back. Skull man stepped forward again.
"What was that?" Tommy asked.
"Mirakuru." Slade said. "The miracle."
"It was a Japanese super-soldier serum developed during World War II." Sara explained.
"So the Brown Skull is, what? Trying to create his own Captain America?"
"She said Japanese." Roy pointed out.
"Captain Hito?" Tommy tried.
"Are you ready to serve?" he asked. Xavier tensed as the serum coursed through his veins, and then screamed out in pain. He screamed for several moments before he finally died, his head dropping to his chest, and crimson tears of blood running out of the corners of his eyes.
Tommy was sickened. "So, no Captain Hito then…"
The man pulled off the mask, revealing the face of Sebastian Blood. Blood sighed in disappointment. "Bring me another." He ordered the cop.
"Yes, Brother Blood." The cop replied.
Laurel shook her head. "And he seemed so put together."
"Most sociopaths do." Mia pointed out.
TBC
A/N: You know, when Dig made the comment about bringing law and order to Afghanistan, I really wanted to make a joke about that. But quite frankly, I feel to do that would be to disrespect our troops, and despite the shit our government has gotten them into, I will ALWAYS support the troops.
A/N 2: "Cop's aren't soldiers, Tommy." Diggle said. "They're taught to apprehend criminals and only use their weapons as a last resort. They won't fire until they're fired upon."
Well, THAT remark just became timely didn't it? I would like to say that I also support the thousands of GOOD, HONEST cops out there (I've known a few cops in my day, and they were all outstanding people), and I hate the fact that the small minority of brain-dead idiots who don't realize that EVERYONE HAS A VIDEO CAMERA NOW is ruining it for them.
A/N 3: I had a real detailed guest review where the person made guess as to what the sequel would look like. I would have responded…
But you didn't sign in!
A/N 4: So, how about that season finale? Olicity is cannon, Ray is shrunk, Ra's is dead and MALCOLM is in charge of the League?! I guess Oliver felt that Nyssa could keep an eye on him, and if worst came to worst, he KNOWS he can beat Malcolm.
I was a little annoyed at how little Barry had to do in this episode- but nowhere NEAR as annoyed as I was with Tatsu just taking off. I wonder- did the show get the rights to use her first, but then the Suicide Squad movie was announced with Katana being a member, so DC only let them use her so much?
I'll say it- while this season has been VERY uneven, the worst part about it were the flashbacks. Not only were they drawn out, poorly paced, poorly PLACED, and barely tied to the main plot until the end (which came out of nowhere), they spent the entire time focusing on the Yashimoto we wanted to see LEAST. And to top it off, at the end of it, after all that he's done, he kills a general who was dying anyway, THEN says he's not worthy of Tatsu's love and WALKS AWAY FROM HER. They just lost their child, and he leaves her. That makes me actively hate the character, and then hate the flashbacks even more! The only flashbacks to work at all this season were the one where Oliver returned to Starling City- and ironically, that was to the detriment of the present day storyline we should have been focusing on, and that was Oliver and Thea vs Slade on the island.
You know, I think what should have happened is that Oliver should have been in Russia with the Bratva during season 3, THEN been taken to Hong Kong for Season 4, which would lead to him isolating himself back on the Island.
But Season 3 is over. Next season we'll have Thea in full costume (finally!), Dig's gonna get some kind of mask, we'll have a competent Black Canary, and Oliver will get a new costume. Maybe we'll also get some resolution with Lance, and we'll have the gang vs Damien Darhk and HIVE. And on top of that, Legends of Tomorrow with the White Canary, Sara Lance! I KNEW she wouldn't stay dead!