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 42: The Promise
"Slade Wilson!?" Moira said in shock.
"In your HOUSE!" Malcom snarled, staring at Mia. "You knew he would—"
"I know a lot of what he could do." Mia said sharply. "That's the point of this, remember? To change it?"
"Then why not kill him while he was here!" he shouted.
"For the same reason I wouldn't let YOU be killed." Mia shot back. "Look, we are trying to tamper with time- something that is notoriously hard to do. Time has a way of correcting itself, and by bringing you here and showing you these events, we are trying to get around that. But if we killed Slade here, then something else would have taken his place back then- something potentially worse."
"So what you're saying is 'The devil you know is better than the devil you don't'?" Tommy said.
"Exactly." Mia said. "Slade is just a normal man now. No super strength, no enhanced healing. He's smart- never underestimate him- but he can be beaten a hell of a lot easier." She sighed. "When this started, I said that secrets and lies are what destroyed us. But truly, no secrets hurt us more than Oliver's. He NEVER told us about Slade. NEVER. He destroyed our world around us, and we never knew they had a history until it was too late. By the end of his second year, we had lost everything—"
"He kills me, I know." Mia froze at her mother's words, even as the others looked shocked at her words. "You're dancing around it, but you don't have too. Besides, I'm fairly certain I'll watch it happen in the near future."
Mia sighed heavily. "You died protecting me." She clarified. "But that doesn't happen in this memory set. And it won't happen again. So let's put that aside and get through this." Without further comment, she started the memory.
The memory set opened right where the last left off. As Slade dropped his hand, a still stunned Oliver asked the first question that came to mind. "What are you doing here?"
Moira, misunderstanding, frowned at her son. "Mr. Wilson just made a sizeable contribution to my campaign." She told him, walking back over to the two men.
Tommy frowned. "I thought he was backing Blood."
"Do you honestly think he cares who is mayor?" Laurel asked him.
"Good point."
"How generous of him." Oliver's voice was raspy, still shocked by the return of his old friend.
"Well, I felt compelled." Slade said with a pleasant smile. "It was the least that I could do for your mother. And what this city needs is a pro-business mayor like Moira to spread growth through urban investment."
"And we were just discussing how to combat the rising wage gap." Moira added.
"And the answer lies in your budget proposal." Slade said. He moved away from Oliver, walking around Moira and putting a 'friendly' hand on her shoulder.
"Get your hands off of my mother." Thea growled.
"You know, when I look at your mother, I think about everything that you went through after the quake." He started. "All I can say is, you and I have something in common." He told her.
"What's that?" Moira asked.
"I know how difficult it is to pick yourself back up when other people have written you off." He said honestly.
Moira shot a look to her son. "Indeed." She agreed.
Moira's eyes narrowed. "Oh, you silver-tongued devil." She murmured.
Slade looked at Oliver with mock concern. "What's wrong, Mr. Queen? You look a little piqued."
"I'm fine, thank you." Oliver lied, desperately trying to compose himself.
Moira smiled as a maid wheeled in the drink cart. "Ah, thank you, dear." Moira said happily. "Oliver, Mr. Wilson was kind enough to bring a bottle of authentic Australian rum." She said. Oliver looked down at the cart- the bottle of Reuther Rum, the glasses, the ice bucket-
The ice pick.
"Will you join us in a drink?" Moira asked, oblivious to the tension.
"Yes, of course." Oliver said.
"Wonderful." Slade said. He prepped three glasses with a finger of rum.
"What shall we drink to?" Moira asked as he handed her a glass.
"You're horrible, horrible death." Thea said.
Slade handed one to Oliver, than raised his own. "To friendship." He declared. He and Moira took a sip; Oliver followed a moment. All three were silent as the rum went down.
"Oh, delicious." Moira complimented.
"It IS good rum." Mia admitted.
Slade looked around the room, noting the large model of a sailing ship. "This here is a beautiful piece." He said, moving over to it to examine it closer. "Tell me, does your family spend much time on the water?"
"Oh, we spent some time…" Sara said sarcastically.
"Uh, no." Moira said hesitantly. "Not since my late husband…"
"I'm sorry, Moira, forgive me." Slade said, looking abashed. "I do remember reading about that accident in the paper." He looked at Oliver . "You were a brave soul."
"I don't like to talk about it." Oliver replied.
"I can understand." Slade said. "All that time on that island… it must have been hell for you."
FIVE YEARS AGO
Oliver ran.
Through the forest, along the coast. Up hills and down through valleys, he ran and fired arrows at random targets carved into trees along the way. The more times he ran his course, the closer his arrow came to hitting the center of the targets.
"So that's how he trained to do that." Tommy noted, impressed.
As he finished his latest run through the course, Slade pulled the arrow out of the tree where it had hit the bulls eye. "Shado would be proud." He said.
Oliver huffed, catching his breath. "Thank you. But those trees don't move, or shoot back. Ivo's men on the freighter will."
"Then shoot first." Slade advised.
"Generally sound advice." Diggle noted.
The two made their way back to the fuselage. Slade pulled out his map to go over the logistics with Oliver one more time. "Ivo's freighter is located here." He said, pointing to a spot on the bay. "He keeps eight men on deck. Three on the starboard, three on the port and two up in the bridge. But our bigger concern are these GP 25 grenade launchers that they're walking around with at all times."
"Do they have night vision?" Oliver asked.
"Not according to blondie." Slade jerked his head at Sara, who stood over at their makeshift table prepping some special 'medicine'.
Oliver joined her at the table. "That smells awful." He noted.
"It'll taste even worse." Sara replied.
"But it'll work?"
"I spent a year with Anthony Ivo. I know how he thinks. It'll work." She assured him.
"You planned to poison him?" Felicity asked.
Sara shook her head. "Not quite." She said.
Oliver nodded, then took eh by the arm and led her out of the wrecked plane. "Hey, what about the Mirakuru?" he asked once they were outside.
"Well, what about it?" she asked.
"Well, look, I mean, it can cure, I don't know, maybe anything." Oliver started. "Maybe… maybe it's a miracle drug." He dropped his voice. "But it's also something else. Something that people like Ivo should never be allowed to control." He stated firmly.
"What about Slade? He might not let us." Sara pointed out.
"Might not let you do what?" they turned to see Slade leaning against the doorframe. "You think we should destroy the Mirakuru?" he guessed.
"This thing doesn't go our way… we can't let Ivo have it." Oliver told him.
Slade considered that for a moment. "You're right." He said finally. "We should burn it."
Diggle blinked in surprise. "I didn't think he'd go for that."
"He didn't." Sara said darkly. "Maybe it was already warping his mind; maybe he was always that devious and kept it well hidden. But he kept the Mirakuru around."
Later that night Sara and Oliver stood in front of a small fire. In the center of the fire was the wooden crate of Mirakuru.
"Anthony devoted his entire life to finding this." Sara said a bit melancholy. "Nobody even thought it was real. It was his dream." She shook her head.
"Did he ever say why?" Oliver asked, curious.
"He wanted to save the world." She sighed.
"He wanted to save his wife." Sara clarified. "Of course, I didn't find out about that until a few years later when I was with the League."
"Why would the League know about this Ivo fella?" Lance asked.
Sara looked at her father. "Ivo wasn't the only one interested in the Mirakuru. It was the reason Nyssa was at Lian Yu to begin with."
"The League of Assassins on Mirakuru. There's a cheerful thought." Roy said sarcastically.
"We need to talk about tomorrow. About what to do with Anthony once we take the freighter."
"What do you mean?" Oliver asked.
"Because Slade wants to kill him." Sara said.
"I'm not going to let that happen." Olive said at once.
"Why not?" Tommy asked in surprise.
"He was still…hesitant… about killing back then." Sara said delicately.
"No, Slade wants to kill him for Shado." Sara pressed on, trying to explain. "Oliver, you don't know him like do. Look, if he's given the chance, then he's going to turn this around. He's going to make Slade think that it's your fault that she's dead. That you chose to save me instead of her." Oliver sighed in exasperation. "You can't give him that chance." She told him.
"Sara I can't." Oliver started.
"You've killed before." She argued.
"That's not what you are talking about." Oliver shot back. "You are talking about executing somebody in cold blood."
"Look, Slade has the Mirakuru in him. He's unstable." She reminded him. "If he loses control; if he snaps again, then we're both dead. You have to kill Ivo." She pleaded.
"I, on the other hand, had become quite pragmatic." She said dryly.
"That's how you survived." Mia said simply. "No shame in that."
"You survived by becoming a killer; and now we're trying to change the past." Sara pointed out.
Later that night, the two made their way back to the fuselage to continue prepping. As Oliver stocked his quiver, the sound of metal on glass caught his attention. He looked up to see Slade standing in the door tapping the edge of a half-filled bottle of Reuther Rum with his knife. "Who's thirsty?" he asked with a grin.
"Where'd you get that?" Oliver asked in wonder.
"Who cares? Let's drink it." Sara said happily. She grabbed three tin cups, then handed the other two to the men.
"Ahh, this is one of the few precious pieces of cargo to survive the crash." Slade said, pouring some rum into each of the cups. "Billy Wintergreen and I were planning on saving it for a rainy day but considering, God willing, this is our last night on the island…"
Sara raised her cup. "To taking the freighter." She toasted.
"To getting off this island forever." Oliver added.
"To Shado." Slade finished. The three drank happily.
"Mmm." Sara said appreciatively.
"And that's why he brought the Rum. To further taunt Oliver." Moira realized.
Mia smiled darkly. "Slade was always good with mind games."
"You know, if something happens to me tomorrow…" Oliver started, but Slade cut him off.
"You can't think like that." The soldier told him, walking past the two to get into his sleeping bag.
Oliver looked at Sara. "If I don't make it I need you to…" he swallowed hard. "To tell my mom and my sister that I wasn't that same, stupid kid that got on that boat. Tell them I was different."
"Ok." Sara said after a moment. "And if I don't make it," she said to Oliver, "Tell my family that I died on 'The Gambit'."
"Why?" Oliver asked in confusion.
"Let them remember me the way that I was." She replied simply.
"Oh, Sara…" Laurel sighed sadly.
Slade exhaled loudly from his bunk. "We should all get some sleep." He told them.
That night, Oliver dreamed. He was in a field. Across from him, Shado stood.
"I've missed you." She said.
"Shado?" Oliver said in shock. "How are you still alive?"
"I'm not alive. Remember?" she said. "I'm dead. Because you chose Sara over me." Suddenly Shado had a long, curved blade in her hand and began stabbing Oliver, who stood there, frozen. "Why didn't you choose me? Why didn't you choose me? Why didn't you choose me?!"
Moira, Thea and Laurel all bowed their heads. How could they have thought that Oliver would come back as the same person he was before? How could they not realize how much pain he had been through; how much guilt he carried?
Oliver gasped as she shot awake the next morning, still feeling the lingering panic from his nightmare.
"Rise and shine, kid." Slade said. "It's time."
Oliver walked over to a small wooden crate. Opening it, he found Yao Fei's hood- Shado's hood. Reverently he took it out, feeling the fabric between his fingers. After a moment, he put it on, fastening the straps around his waist, then pulling the hood up over his head. He looked at his companions, and Sara smiled and nodded at him. Slade looked as well, and then moved over to his own crate. He opened it and withdrew his blue and gold mask.
"And hello, Deathstroke." Roy muttered.
Soon the three were hiking across the island. Oliver looked over at the bay, staring at the form of the freighter. On board the ship, the prisoners were doing the only thing they could do to pass the time- rolling dice.
"Glaza zmei!" Anatoly chuckled. "Better luck next time, Hendrik." He said, handing the dice back to the man in the next cell.
Hendrik took the die with a snarl. "You cheat! He cheats!" he shouted.
"So do you." A man said from the third connecting cell. He was a wiry man with sandy blonde hair, glasses, and a crucifix around his neck, and he sat on the floor reading a bible. "He just cheats better."
"Get up, preacher boy." Hendrik snarled. "I said get up, coward!" Preacher said nothing, merely picked up a rat and petted it. Hendrik spat in his face.
The men all started screaming and hollering, banging their tin cups against the bars of their cells. They all fell client as the new captain made his way down into the cell block. Soon they were all rhythmically clapping their cups against the bars as the Captain walked up to Anatoly's cell. "Ivo wants to see you." He growled in a low, menacing voice as he opened the cell.
"Have faith, my friend." The preacher said. "God will protect you."
"I think God's gonna sit this one out." Tommy said darkly.
"There is no God." Anatoly said as he was led out of the cell block. "If there was, He's not on this ship."
Sara watched the scene sadly, the guilt still eating at her over 25 years later.
In his lab, Ivo was talking on his satellite phone. "How is she?" he asked.
A man on the phone replied in a somber tone. 'I'm sorry, Anthony. I wish I had better news to give you, but her condition is progressing quicker than we anticipated.'
"Have you tried upping her dosage?" Ivo asked, looking through the file on the Mirakuru.
'Twice already, but we both know modern medicine has its limitations.' The man reminded the good doctor.
"Oh, yes, I know quite well." Ivo said in frustration. "Thank you, Doctor." He hung up the phone just as Anatoly was led in. He paled when the men threw him into a modified dentist's chair and began strapping him down.
"No. No, wait." He said desperately. "Wait, Mr. Ivo. My family is Bratva. Russian mafia." He explained. "They pay millions for me."
"I'm sorry, I have very little use for money." Ivo said, turning on the overhead light. He picked up a menacing looking tool and held it up for Anatoly to see. "I do, however, require an eye for my research."
"I ALMOST felt sorry for that sick son of a bitch." Thea said, paling.
"We're not going to see him take out that guy's eye, are we?" Felicity asked.
On a cliff overlooking the bay, Oliver took up his position. He pulled out his micro binoculars, confirming the position of the freighter, then calmly withdrew a tar-covered arrow and lit it. He calmly took aim at the explosive pyre he had pre-built on the shore below, drew back the string, and fired-
And, it missed.
Thea and Tommy snickered. "Oops." Laurel said, chuckling.
"It's a tricky shot under the best of circumstances." Malcolm pointed out, feeling solidarity with Oliver.
Oliver stared at the still-intact pyre incredulously.
"Well, we don't have all day." Slade noted dryly as he and Sara looked on.
"There's a breeze." Oliver argued lamely.
Everyone laughed.
He withdrew another arrow, lit it, and fired. This time he looked on in satisfaction as the pyre exploded.
And just in time, as on the freighter Ivo was about to dig out Anatoly's eye. He dropped the instrument and raced to his window, looking at the shore and seeing the tall gout of flame. "They're on the beach." He said. He turned to the Captain, who stood their holding Anatoly's head still. "Take them. Alive." He ordered.
"What about him?" the Captain asked. Ivo indifferently waved him off, and Anatoly collapsed in the chair in relief.
From the cliff, Sara watched an approaching launch through her binoculars. "They're coming." She said. "Two men, armed."
"You know, when we first tried to get off this island, it was as strangers." Slade said to Oliver. "But now it's as brothers."
Oliver turned to Slade and nodded. "See you on the freighter." He told his friend, before moving off towards the coast.
Thea turned to Sara. "Please don't tell me his brilliant plan is to get caught."
Sara shrugged. "In his defense, it ultimately works. Sort of." She added darkly.
A few minutes later, the two pirates landed on the beach. They moved towards the pyre cautiously, stopping as they saw Oliver standing there, his hood up, his bow in his hand.
"There." The captain told his companion. The two raced towards Oliver, who turned and ran off. He didn't make it very far before he tripped over a tree root and crashed into the ground. As he started to pull himself up, a punch form the captain knocked the fight out of him. "You're lucky Ivo wants you alive." The Captain snarled as he and his companion pulled Oliver up and dragged him back to the launch.
"How long until the next captain is promoted?" Laurel asked.
"End of this memory." Sara said bluntly.
"Good."
A short time later, Oliver was dropped back into his original cell on the Amazo.
"I told you I'd come back." Oliver told Anatoly weakly from the floor.
"Fantastic. We're saved." Anatoly said dryly.
Dig chuckled. "I like Anatoly."
"Even better, Anatoly liked Oliver." Mia said. "That's how he got into the Bratva. They're who ultimately completed his training."
"Are we gonna see that?" Thea asked, not sure that she wanted to see her brother as a mobster.
Mia shook her head. "No. That happened about two years before he came home. After his time in Hong Kong."
As night fell, Oliver stayed motionless in his cell. A squeaking noise caused him to look up, and he saw a rat crawling over his chest. Gingerly he picked it up by the tail and set it back down on the deck, where it scampered over to the Preacher's cell.
"He likes you." The preacher said. "Don't worry, he won't bite. Reverend Thomas Flynn." He said in greeting.
"Oliver Queen." Oliver replied.
"This is Abraham." He said, gesturing to the rat. "I remember you from before. You escaped."
"With that blonde whore." Hendrik added maliciously as he did one-armed pull-ups in his cell.
"That's Hendrik." Flynn said. "He's a charmer."
"Yeah, I hope she rots in hell." Hendrik snarled.
"He was pissed I never fucked him." Sara said bluntly. "Though to be fair, I made sure I DIDN'T fuck anybody on that boat."
"Thank god for that." Lance murmured.
"Hey, Sara was a prisoner, just like all of us." Oliver shot back hotly.
"Right. Funny, I never heard her scream." Hendrik replied.
Oliver tuned the man out. "How long have you been here, Thomas?" he asked the Preacher.
"A little over a year." Flynn replied. "I was working as a missionary in Maliku, just off the coast of India. This ship docked there for supplies, Dr. Ivo asked me to come aboard to administer last rites for a dying man." He chuckled wryly. "My mistake."
"I'm sorry." Oliver said.
"Don't be." Flynn replied. "Can you imagine a better place for a man in my line of work?"
Oliver looked up as his cell was opened. The prisoners all started their rhythmic clanging as Oliver was led out of his cell. "Hey," Anatoly called to him. "Prochnost."
Soon Oliver was strapped into the chair Anatoly had been mere hours before. Ivo sighed happily. "Mr. Queen. Welcome back." He said, clapping his hands together once. "My men are still searching the beach for your friend and Sara. They have the Mirakuru. So," he leaned down over the chair, looking right into his eyes. "Where are they?" he demanded.
Moira's hands balled up into fists.
"Go to hell." Oliver replied in a whisper.
"Maybe you'd like to rethink that." Ivo said. He picked up one of his tools and used it to cut open Oliver's shirt on his arm.
"Ivo… you torture me all you want to. I am never going to tell you where they are." Oliver said defiantly.
"No." Ivo agreed, lifting a syringe filled with a milky-white fluid. "Not willingly."
"What is that?" Oliver asked in a panic as he thrashed in the chair. The Captain grabbed him from behind in a chokehold to hold him still.
"Oh, this? See, this is sodium pentothal." Ivo said conversationally. "It's more colloquial, yet very descriptive name, is truth serum."
"No, wait, wait!" Oliver stammered in panic as Ivo injected him. "No, no, I'll tell you everything!" his face began to relax as the drugs started to take hold.
"Let's begin." Ivo said.
Malcolm looked up at Sara with a smirk. "You gave him something to counter the sodium pentothal." He guessed. "Very clever. And the League hadn't even trained you yet."
Sara shrugged. "That's what happens when you spend a year working with a bio-chemist." She said simply.
Lance smiled at her proudly. "That's my girl."
PRESENT
Slade and Moira were laughing genially, sitting next to one another in the lounge. Oliver sat across form them with a stony look on his face. "Are you married, Mr. Wilson? Do you have any children?" Moira asked.
"Sadly neither." Slade replied.
Well fuck you, too. Rose said. At least he left Joey alone.
"Well, there must be someone special in your life." Moira insisted.
Slade sighed, placing his drink down on the table. "There was." He admitted. "But she passed away a few years ago."
"I'm sorry." Moira said sympathetically.
"My mother and I have had to deal with a lot of loss, unfortunately." Oliver interjected. "And eventually we learned… that you just have to move on."
Moira shook her head. "I can't believe he is behaving this way."
"Thea gave her mother a look. "You do remember that Slade Wilson is a bad guy, right?" she asked sarcastically.
"I think what your mother means is that he's lost control of his emotions." Malcolm put in. "By behaving so brazenly and emotionally, he's both pleasing Slade and angering Moira, which would make her less likely to listen to him."
"That's a… good point." Thea said reluctantly.
"Bet that hurt." Mia said teasingly.
"You have no idea." Thea muttered in response.
Slade smirked at him. "I don't believe that." He said. Slade stood and moved to the mantel, admiring a painting that hung there. "You know, I heard that your family has an affinity with the fine arts." He said, changing the topic of conversation smoothly.
"Yes, my husband amassed quite the collection of 19th century American landscapes." Moira said.
"Hmm. I'd love to see them." Slade suggested.
"And I'm going to show them off, aren't I?" Thea asked Mia disgustedly. "Argh! I'm going to kill Ollie!"
It was only due to several decades worth of training that Mia managed to keep her face impassive, though she was grateful that Roy subtly reached over and squeezed her hand.
"Maybe another day." Oliver said harshly, rising quickly from his seat. "We have some family business that we need to discuss right now." He told Moira urgently.
"I'm sorry." Moira said as she rose, appalled. "My son seems to have forgotten all his manners." She chuckled. "Let me just get my staff to open up the rest of the house." She offered, moving out of the room.
"Thank you." Slade said. An instant later he spun around, catching Oliver's hand in an iron grip. He squeezed, and Oliver gasped in pain and was forced to drop the ice pick to the floor.
Malcolm shook his head in disappointment. "Sloppy." He remarked. "He needs time to regroup, but Slade isn't affording him any."
"Slade had Ollie on the back foot from the start." Mia said. "It was as much luck as it was skill that Oliver used to finally beat him."
"Mom? Ollie?" Oliver looked over in horror as Thea walked in the house.
"Not yet, kid." Slade said with a sinister grin. "I'm still going to meet the rest of your family."
Out in the foyer, Thea looked around. "Hello?" she called out. Out of habit she walked into the lounge. Oliver kicked the ice pick out of sight and Slade let go of his hand. The two moved a more respectable distance from one another, now looking like nothing more than two friendly acquaintances. "Hey, Ollie, have you and mom talked, 'cause this whole not speaking thing…" she started, heedless of the other man in the room.
"Thea, now is not a good time." Oliver said sharply.
"Who's your friend?" she asked pleasantly.
"I'm an idiot." Thea groaned.
"Well, apparently you marry an idiot, so it all works out in the end." Tommy quipped. Mia snorted in amusement.
"Slade Wilson." He said with a charming smile. He move forward and took her hand gently. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard such wonderful things from your mother."
"About me." Thea chuckled.
"Thea, what perfect timing." Moira said happily as she walked back into the room. "This is Slade Wilson, and I—
"They've met." Oliver said angrily.
Moira shot him an annoyed look. "-was just about to show him our collection." She continued, ignoring Oliver. "But you're far better suited." She said. "Come." She said, leading the two out of the room and towards the East Wing. Reluctantly, Oliver followed.
"So who's more oblivious- Mrs. Queen or Thea?" Tommy asked.
"I'd be offended if you weren't correct, Thomas." Moira said dourly.
"Moira is blinded by her ambition," Malcolm said, "and Thea is blinded by her optimism."
"What about you, Dad?" Tommy asked. "If you were in that room, meeting him for the first time?"
Malcolm looked at his son. "I'd feel the same way I felt when I saw him in the transport bay when we all arrived- that he was a threat that needed to be dealt with."
"Agreed." Diggle said. "The dude radiated menace He only chose to be non-threatening until that no longer suited him."
"I think what we're all saying is," Laurel turned to Mia, "WHY didn't you toss his ass out an airlock?"
"Careful, your inner Dinah is showing." Mia replied dryly. "No one dies. Period."
Thea chuckled as she led the group on the impromptu tour. "Senior year, I was obsessed with art." She revealed. "My teacher made me bring my entire art history class over here to show our pieces. It was exactly as mortifying as it sounds."
"Oh, I'm sure it wasn't." Slade said. "But you're a very lucky girl to have known such privilege. And I am fortunate to have your entire family here." He said with a happy chuckle, once again placing his arm on Moira's shoulder as Oliver followed behind, glaring.
"I never thought I'd say this, but I wish you were there." Moira told Malcolm.
FIVE YEARS AGO
"Oliver." Ivo said, shining a pen light into his eyes. "Oliver, what's your name?"
"Great. From one fun event to another." Lance said. "Jeeze, as much as I don't like Queen, I don't want to see him loose an eye."
"Oliver Jonas Queen." He replied dully.
"Oliver, where were you born?" Ivo asked, shutting off the light.
"Starling City." Oliver replied with a smile.
"Why did you build a bonfire on the beach?" Ivo demanded.
"I thought I was at 'Burning Man'." Tommy joked, earning a chuckle from Laurel.
"So you'd see it." He said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I told you." The Captain snarled.
"Was the bonfire a trap?" Ivo asked.
"Not a trap. It was a…" he searched for the right word. "A distraction."
"How was the bonfire a distraction?" Ivo asked. "Where are Sara and Slade right now? Where are they?!" he demanded.
"They're on the freighter."
Ivo paled. "Where on the freighter?"
Oliver struggled not to answer, but he did anyway. "They're in the engine room because we have a raft." He lied.
Malcolm smiled at Sara. "Well played, Miss Lance."
"I don't get it." Thea said. "He just announced they were all on the boat! How is that good?"
"Because he sent them down into the engine room, and away from the deck." Diggle said. "He gave Sara and Slade a clear landing platform."
"We couldn't take the boat by stealth." Sara said. "There were just too many pirates. Instead, we had to rely on misdirection, guile, and Slade's brute strength."
"Sound the alarm." Ivo ordered the captain. "I want every man on this freighter down in that engine room. Search the entire floor. Go!" The captain took off.
"Oliver Jonas Queen." Oliver mumbled as the alarms started going off. As most of the pirates made their way down to the engine room, a small contingent led Oliver back towards his cell.
YESTERDAY
'It'll taste even worse.' Sara told him.
'But it'll work?' Oliver asked.
'I spent a year with Anthony Ivo. I know how he thinks. It'll work.' She assured him as she finished making the paste.
'What is it, exactly?' he asked.
'Cocculus indicus.' Sara said. 'It's a natural source of picrotoxin, which will counteract effects of barbiturates—'
'like sodium pentothal.' Oliver finished.
Lance shook his head. "You HATED science." He said, staring at Sara.
Sara shrugged. "It was either learn to love science, or learn to love getting gang raped." She said bluntly. Quentin paled.
"Let's not give our father a heart attack." Laurel said pointedly.
"There's no use sugar coating it." Sara said. "If I wasn't of use being a lab assistant, I'd be of use as a lab rat. And on a ship full of men, a woman is a woman, no matter what's missing."
"Well, that's a cheerful thought." Felicity murmured.
'Ivo's favorite.' Sara confirmed. 'But you still got to act stoned to sell it.' She warned him.
Oliver grinned. 'Lucky for me. Before all this, I had a lot of practice.'
"See, it was a good thing we got stoned so much." Tommy joked, trying to ease the tension once more. Lance grunted, but didn't take the bait.
PRESENT
Oliver immediately dropped the act, and then proceeded to drop the two guards. He grabbed one guard's keys and took off for the cell block.
On the cliff, Sara was observing as the pirates moved into the ship.
"They're clearing the decks." She shouted over the wind. "The top of the ship's emptying."
"Are you ready?" Slade grunted, letting the parachute out and allowing the wind to fill the sail.
"You really don't want an honest answer to that." Sara said. On her back was Oliver's bow and quiver they had recovered earlier. "But you've done this before, right?"
Slade ran at Sara and grabbed her around the waist with one arm, then threw them both off the cliff. "Nobody's done this before!" he shouted as they went airborne. They sailed through the air, crossing the bay and making an impossibly soft landing on the deck of the ship. As Slade shrugged off the parachute, Oliver made his way onto the deck.
"You are beyond insane." Felicity stated.
Sara grinned. "Yup."
"Here, I think these belong to you." Sara said, handing him his weapons.
"We're on a clock, and she needs to free the prisoners." Slade said.
"Ivo sent his men to the engine room just like we planned." Oliver replied.
"More convenient for me to take them out." Slade noted, pulling on his mask. "Go find Ivo. He can't get off this ship. But don't kill him." He aid sharply." Son of a bitch is mine." He said, pulling his gun.
PRESENT
"And here we have a Curtis Swan from 1882." Thea was saying, showing off another of the many works of art in the East Wing. "Fun fact about this one- he actually painted it with his left hand due to severe arthritis."
"And here we have the oblivious tour guide with a homicidal sociopath." Thea said, shaking her head.
"And Slade." Mia added with a smirk.
"That is not funny young lady." Moira said sternly, and Mia's smirk softened into a smile.
"It's been a long time since you've told me off." She said wistfully. "I've missed it."
"It's absolutely exquisite." Slade said, moving closer and running his hand over the frame.
Malcolm's eyes narrowed. What was he doing?
"I know." Moira said. Off to the side, Oliver had slipped his phone out and quickly hit Felicity's speed dial from memory. "I can't tell you how many offers we've had from private collectors for it."
"But it was one of dad's favorites." Thea added, turning to her brother. "Wasn't it, Ollie?" she prodded.
"Yes, it was." He said, looking at his mother. "He loved that one."
"Then you must never sell it." Slade advised. "I believe that when we lose someone we love, we have the obligation to honor their memory."
The scene changed to the Lair. Felicity's phone started ringing on the edge of her desk, but it was ignored as Sara tried to lead Roy in a little archery practice. Another arrow, another hit way off the target.
"Oof. I think eventually I'd hit something." Roy groused.
"Be patient." Sara advised. "Ollie makes it look easy."
"And I couldn't hit anything with the Mirakuru in me." Roy said, shaking his head. "Once I got that shit out of me, my aim improved, like, 1000 percent."
"Is anyone going to get that?" Felicity called as she and Diggle returned from their Big Belly Burger run. "I'll take that as no." she dropped the bag of food on the edge of the table and picked up her phone. "No worries. No matter where I go, I'm just answering phones. Hello?" she said, picking up the call. She frowned. "Oliver?" She smirked as she set the phone down on the table, and then hit a key to tie it in to the Lair's speakers. "Well, I do think we have been butt dialed." She noted wryly.
"You can't butt dial an iPhone!" Tommy argued. Felicity winced.
Malcolm smiled. "Oh, well done, Oliver."
** And here is a Joseph Cooper from 1890.** Thea was saying over the line, oblivious.
Roy perked up at once. "Hey, that's Thea."
**That's gorgeous.**
Sara froze. "Wait, hold on. I know that voice." She said, a feeling of ice in the pit of her stomach forming.
**I actually have a painting from his first solo exhibition in Boston.** Slade continued.
Sara paled. "Oh, God, no." she whispered.
"Who is that?" Diggle demanded, on guard at once.
"His name is Slade Wilson. And unless we stop him, he's going to kill Oliver and his entire family." Sara said urgently. "We have to move. Now." Sara walked over to the equipment rack and pulled out a knife. She tested the edge with her thumb.
"He called in the cavalry." Diggle said, nodding in approval.
"Are you sure it was Slade Wilson? I thought he was dead." Diggle said, remembering what Oliver had told him.
"I'm sure. That's not a voice I'd ever forget." She slid the knife into a holster attached to the back of her belt. "What's the biggest gun you got down here?"
Diggle pulled out a hard case that contained a Robar RC-50 .50 sniper rifle. "That might work." Sara noted grimly.
"Might?" Roy asked, dumbfounded.
"He has the Mirakuru in him." Sara told him.
"So do I." Roy said, pulling up his hood. She noted his shaking hands.
"Can I trust you?" she asked.
"I'll be fine." Roy assured her.
"Slade was a trained killer even before he was injected." Sara told the men as they moved to leave. "You get the chance, you get a shot, you put him down."
Felicity watched them leave, once more feeling helpless. "Please save Oliver." She said.
Felicity frowned. "I wish there was something I could do."
Sara smiled warmly at the hacker. "Trust me, there is. You'll just have to wait for it."
FIVE YEARS AGO
Alarms were blaring all over the Amazo as Sara ran around, unlocking every cell she could.
"Why are you doing this?" Anatoly asked as she unlocked his cell.
"I'm with Oliver now." She replied.
"Why should I believe you?"
"Because you don't want to die! Go!" She yelled. Taking her for her word, Anatoly ran off. Sara moved to Flynn's cell and unlocked it, letting the preacher out, then moved to Hendrik's cell. As soon as the door was unlocked, Hendrik burst out, grasping her by her throat and slamming her to the ground.
"You helped that maniac torture us." He snarled as he choked the life out of her.
Sara winced. "Probably not my smartest move." She admitted.
"No!" she gasped, terrified.
Down in the engine room, Slade was going all out in massacring the pirates. He tossed them around like rag dolls, shrugging off their best hits like they were nothing. A few of the pirates, seeing the hellish figure of the man in the mask tried to run, but Slade didn't allow them to escape.
Thea shivered. Slade was terrifying back then, she shuddered to think what he could do when had more time to plan something than he had on the station.
In the cell block, Sara was almost unconscious when Flynn came up behind Hendrik and clocked him on the head with a pipe. Sara gasped, sucking in large volumes of air as he pushed the man off of her. "Follow me." She coughed, leading the preacher out of the cell block towards freedom.
"So much for turn the other cheek." Laurel said in relief.
All around them the prisoners were running wild, taking out their anger on the guards. Some guards opened fire, but were quickly overrun by the numerous prisoners.
"Where's Ivo?!" One man shouted, looking for the source of their pain.
"He's heading to the bridge!"
Oliver, hearing that, made his way up. When he reached the top deck, he saw Ivo pacing in the wheelhouse, and made a run for it. He was stopped by one guard whom he quickly dispatched, yanking a grenade off the man's vest before dropping him to the deck.
In the wheelhouse, Ivo was nervously pacing as the phone rang. "Answer the phone." He muttered. Finally, a woman's voice answered.
"Hello?"
"Jessica, it's me." Ivo said.
"Who?" she asked.
"It's Anthony."
"Anthony." The woman said as an explosion ripped through the deck outside the window. "I was married to a boy named Anthony."
"I know, sweetheart." Ivo said sadly.
"But he went away." She said absently.
"I went to find a cure. And I found one, sweetheart. I found it, and soon, we're going to be—" he paused as he heard footsteps outside the door.
"He was a doctor, but he went away." Jessica noted absently.
Laurel shook her head. "I almost want to feel sad for the man."
"That's his wife. She had an advanced form of Alzheimer's." Sara said. "Ivo, he believed the Mirakuru could cure it. And not just Alzheimer's, but Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Cystic Fibrosis… he wanted to cure them all."
"I can see how you would be taken in by such a dream." Malcolm said.
"Yeah, but at what point does the dream become a nightmare?" she asked rhetorically.
Ivo smiled sadly, and then was thrown to the ground as Oliver's grenade blew the door off the wheelhouse. Ivo groaned as he tried to pull himself up. He glared at Oliver as he raced in, his bow raised and ready to fire. "It's harder than it looks, isn't it?" Ivo asked. "Killing an unarmed man."
"It seemed pretty easy when you murdered Shado." Oliver snarled.
"I didn't murder her, Oliver." Ivo protested.
"Ivo, you shot her in the head!" he shouted.
"I gave you a choice! You chose Sara." Ivo shouted back. "You blame me, but that's because you can't face your own guilt! I loaded the bullets, yes, I pulled the trigger." He smirked at Oliver. "But you- you aimed the gun. And you hold yourself responsible. Don't you?" he asked.
"Yes." Oliver admitted. "But that doesn't mean I won't kill you."
"The question is," Ivo said, looking past Oliver. "What will he do?"
Oliver slowly lowered his bow and turned to see Slade standing there, still in his mask. As he walked into the wheelhouse, he pulled it off.
"Is it true?" he asked, heartbroken. "Tell me."
"Slade, I tried to tell you- "Oliver started.
"Tell him, Oliver." Ivo interrupted, pulling himself back to his feet. "I was angry, like you are right now. And I wasn't thinking clearly."
"Shut up!" Oliver snarled at the doctor.
"I acted rashly; I told him to choose between Shado and Sara."
"Don't listen to him." Oliver pleaded. "He's a monster, he will say anything. You know that he will!"
"Tell him I'm lying, Oliver." Ivo taunted. "Say it."
"I can explain…" Oliver started weakly.
"That was Ivo's true power." Sara said sadly. "He always did have a silver tongue."
"Did it save him from Slade's wrath?" Felicity asked.
Sara shook her head. "No. But he knew, I think, that he was going to die. And if he died, he wanted to take Oliver along with him, just out of spite."
"I can understand the impulse." Lance said.
"You've known…" Enraged, Slade drew his sword and swung it at Oliver. Oliver ducked as Ivo bolted out of the room. He moved over to the wheel, trying to escape, but Slade swung again. Oliver moved back, dragging the wheel and causing the ship to make a hard turn to port. Everything not bolted down crashed to the decks except Slade, who kept his feet. Reaching down, Slade grabbed Oliver with one hand by the neck and lifted him over his head, slamming him into the ceiling.
"Slade…" Oliver gasped. "Please…Ivo…."
"He's dead." Slade snarled. "As dead as you are!" suddenly the ship ran aground, the crash jolting both men and sending them crashing to the ground.
Out on the deck, the surviving Pirates poured out of the holds and started opening fire on the prisoners who were also pouring out in a desperate big to escape. Some prisoners who had grabbed weapons exchanged fire. Huddled near the edge of the ship farthest from shore, Flynn tried to look out with a piece of broken glass to count the pirates as Anatoly and Sara huddled close next to him.
"How many?" Anatoly asked. A random shot shattered the mirror before Flynn could get an accurate count. An armed prisoner was shot dead near them, dropping his AK-47 to the deck. All three looked at the gun.
"This one time, you can pray for me." Anatoly said, diving for the gun. He opened fire, taking out serval pirates. But he clip ran out just as another approached, and Anatoly looked on helplessly as the man drew a pistol to shoot him-
Then suddenly there was an arrow in the man's leg, and Oliver was there. "Behind you!" Anatoly shouted, and Oliver spun and fired another arrow into another pirates shoulder. A third threw a knife at him, and Oliver ducked and rolled forward, firing and killing the man as he came up.
"Ollie! Are you ok?" Sara shouted as he ducked down next to them. "Where's Slade?"
"He knows!" Oliver replied. It was all he needed to say. All around them, the pirates were regaining control.
"We've got to get off this ship!" she cried.
"That is a truly excellent suggestion." Tommy said.
"But I thought you wanted to take the freighter." Thea asked in confusion.
"If Ivo hadn't set Slade off, we probably could have." Sara said sadly. As it was, he wasn't interested in getting home anymore- he wanted vengeance for Shado."
"No!" he shouted, unwilling to give up his chance to go home.
"Ollie, it's over! It's over!" she cried. "We've got to go! We can still swim back to the island."
"She's right!" Anatoly said. "We must hurry!" Oliver nodded, and then donned the hood as the small group dashed for the edge of the boat. One by one they jumped overboard, but as Oliver made the leap, Slade came out of nowhere and grabbed him by the leg. Oliver slammed against the side of the ship, and then Slade hauled him up, swinging him like a bat and sending him crashing to the deck.
"Jesus!" Lance shouted in surprise.
Oliver struggled to sit up as Slade sauntered over to him. "Slade, wait—" he tried, but one punch knocked him out.
Moira bit her lip, terrified for her son despite knowing he would survive.
It was over. The revolt had been put down. As the surviving pirates put the prisoners back in their cells, Slade tossed Oliver into a cell of his own. He closed the door and glared at his friend.
"Stop. Don't move." Slade turned to see the Captain, flanked by four of his men, all holding weapons on him. "Get in the cell." He ordered.
"Well, THAT will work." Felicity said. "Not."
"I do not take orders from you." Slade said calmly.
"I am this ship's Captain." The man spat.
"Uh, you may be a pirate, but that ain't Tom Hanks." Tommy said apprehensively.
Slade calmly walked towards him, pausing only a moment when the Captain shot him. Undeterred, he reached out and grasped the man's head between his hands, and SQUEEZED. The Captain's head squashed like a grape, and Slade let the body drop to the deck. "Not anymore." He said contemptuously. He glared around the cell block. "This is my ship now. Any objections?" he asked rhetorically. As one, the pirates all quietly disarmed and stepped away from their guns.
PRESENT
"Slade Wilson is dangerous." Sara reminded her team over their comms. "No chances, no mistakes."
"I'm in position." Dig said from his impromptu sniper's perch in the bushes. "When Slade comes out, I'll have the shot."
"Felicity?" Sara asked,
From the lair, Felicity pulled up a map of the Manor. "Thermal imaging's coming up now. They're in the northwest hall."
Sara jumped up, catching a bar and pulling herself up to the second floor. "Roy, remember, just get Thea and Moira away from Slade. Don't start a fight, you'll lose." She told Roy as he walked up to the front door. "Ok?"
"Ok." Roy said, pushing his hood back.
"I should be offended, but you were so right." Roy noted.
"Let's go." Sara said as Roy walked in the front door. On the second floor, she used her knife to slip the latch on Oliver's window, and silently made her way into the house. She paused upstairs as she heard Slade laugh.
"It's that easy to break into our house?" Moira said, aghast.
"It really was." Sara said. "Though in your defense, I'm know to your security and your alarm systems were off. Still, you may want to look into beefing that up."
"I certainly will." Moira promised.
"Thank you again for such a wonderful and insightful tour." Slade said jovially as Moira led him back out into the foyer. Thea turned and gave him a friendly smile as Oliver slipped into the archway of the lounge. "You were a remarkable guide." He complimented.
"Did you have a favorite?" Thea asked.
"I found 'The Promise' to be particularly compelling." Slade said, glancing over at Oliver.
"Thea, you home?" the small group turned to see Roy walk in.
"Roy! I thought I was meeting you at Verdant." Thea said in surprise.
"Oh, yeah." Roy replied, glancing over at Oliver and giving him a subtle nod.
"Uh, this is, uh—" Moira began awkwardly.
"I'm Roy Harper." Roy said, extending his hand.
"Slade Wilson." Slade replied amicably. He moved close and shook his hand. They were still as each took the measure of the other's strength. "That's a particularly firm handshake you have there, son." Slade said with a grin.
"Yeah, you, too." Roy replied.
"In retrospect, I'm shocked you two didn't whip 'em out." Mia said dryly.
"Yeah, that would have gotten you over GREAT with my mom." Thea said sarcastically.
"Oh, I don't know." Moira said with a serious look on her face. "After the initial shock, I probably would have enjoyed it." She smirked when Roy blushed and both Thea and Mia groaned.
"Now you see where I got that from." Mia told Thea apologetically.
At the top of the stairs, Sara appeared. She looked at Oliver, who subtly shook his head, then slipped the knife back into the holster and covered it with her jacket.
"Ollie." She said, drawing Slade's attention. He looked up in surprise, shock, and then delight as Sara came down the stairs. "There you are."
"That's right, motherfucker. I'm back." Sara growled angrily.
"Sara, we didn't hear you come in." Moira said warmly.
"I didn't want to interrupt the tour." She lied.
"Mr. Wilson, this is my son's friend Sara Lance." Moira introduced as Sara moved to stand next to Oliver.
"Of course." Slade said, reigning in his emotions. "You're the girl who came back from the dead."
"Ah, we're just glad to have her home." Oliver noted.
"Well, I can see." Slade replied. "I mean, it's hard to find that special someone who means everything to you. You were very lucky."
"So…" Oliver looked around at his team, then back to Slade. "What would you like to do now? Mr. Wilson." Oliver asked.
Slade smirked at the pair, and then looked back at Roy. "Well, I'd hate to break up the party," Slade told Oliver. "But I think I should be going." He chuckled as he allowed Moira to show him to the door. "I look forward to seeing more of you, Moira."
"Oh." Moira said, blushing as he kissed her cheek.
Mia let out an audible growl. She wasn't sorry she hadn't killed Slade- murder wasn't a path she wanted to go down anymore- but she hated seeing her family in such danger, and most of them being oblivious to it.
"And your lovely family." Slade said, smiling pleasantly at Thea.
"Dig's got a shot lined up outside." Sara whispered to Oliver.
"Mr. Wilson." Oliver said suddenly. "May I walk you to your car?"
The two men walked out. As Oliver escorted Slade to his Lamborghini, Dig lined up his shot. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, though- a figure came up behind him and smashed him across the back of the head, knocking him out.
"OHMYGOD! Dig!" Felicity shouted in a panic.
"Don't worry, it's just a flesh wound." Mia assured her.
"Who-" Diggle started to ask.
"Rochev." Mia said sourly.
"Cyrus Gold, the men in the skull mask, all this was you." Oliver was saying, waiting for the shot. "They worked for you."
"Well, I have my allies, just as you have yours." Slade remarked casually. "John Diggle, for example. I suppose you're wondering why he hasn't taken his head shot." Oliver looked startled. "Don't worry. He's still alive-for now."
"Slade." Oliver hissed as the businessman opened the car door. "What do you want?"
Slade scoffed and climbed in. He closed the door, and then rolled down the window. "Five years ago, I made you a promise. Do you remember?" he asked. Oliver nodded. "Well, I'm here to fulfill it. I'll see you around, kid." He said cockily as he drove off, leaving Oliver standing alone in the dark.
FIVE YEARS AGO
The escapees gratefully hugged the sand as they finally made landfall. "We made it!" Anatoly said happily. He looked around. "Where's Oliver?" he asked suddenly. Sara looked around, a feeling of dread falling over her.
On the Amazo, Oliver still lay in his cell when Slade opened the door. Slade stared down at his former friend in silence for a moment before he spoke. "I need you to see something." He said. He moved out, and a guard came in and dragged him out, tossing him to the deck in the center of the cell block as two more guards led out Anthony Ivo.
"Ok. Wait." Ivo started. "You need me. Ok, you have the Mirakuru in you." He bargained.
"Not just in me." Slade pulled out several syringes filled with green fluid- the Mirakuru. He looked down at Oliver. "You burned a box full of dirt." He told him as Oliver looked on, dejected.
"So he was already full-on crazy." Diggle noted.
Sara nodded. "Mirakuru can warp a sane person's mind in a matter of hours. The fact that Roy lasted as long as he did is astounding, and I credit Thea for that." She nodded at Mia. "Her relationship with Roy kept him sane. Maybe, if Shado had still been alive, she could have done the same for him." She sighed. "There's just no way to know."
"I can help you understand how it works." Ivo continued to bargain. "I've spent my entire life studying it, all right?"
"It was you." Slade said, interrupting him. "You were the one who killed Shado."
Ivo paled. "No. No, he chose." Ivo said, pointing at Oliver. "It was him."
"Give him your gun." Slade ordered a guard. The man instantly held out his pistol. "Take it." Slade ordered Ivo, who reluctantly took the gun. "And show me… how you killed Shado. Show me!" he roared.
Hesitantly, Ivo pointed the gun at Oliver, who rose unsteadily to his feet. "Slade," he said weakly. "This isn't you. It's the Mirakuru. And you're sick!" he said.
"I don't care." Slade said.
"I was trying to protect Sara." Oliver admitted. "But I didn't want Shado to die. I cared for her, too. You know that I did!" he cried.
"I don't care." Slade said, turning to face Oliver.
"You said we were brothers." Oliver reminded him. "You said that."
"Is that how you did it? Is that how you pointed the gun at her?" Slade asked Ivo.
"Yes." He replied weakly.
Growling, Slade spun and brought his sword down, severing Ivo's hand from his arm. Ivo screamed in agony as he fell to his knees, clutching the stump of his arm as it bled. "Get him out of here." Slade ordered the guards, who picked up Ivo and dragged him out.
"Holy shit!" Tommy exclaimed.
"No, the shit hasn't begun yet." Sara said darkly.
"Why don't you just kill me?" Oliver asked wearily.
"To kill you now would be a mercy." Slade replied. "You cannot die until you have suffered the same way that I have suffered. Till you have known complete despair. And you will. I promise."
PRESENT
Oliver walked back into the house, feeling as dejected as he had in that cell block five years earlier. He found Moira in the lounge, cleaning up.
"Mr. Wilson leave?" she asked.
"Yeah." Oliver replied quietly. "It's getting pretty late, I'm going to go, too."
"Hmm. Oliver." She began sharply, not even looking at him. "I know you and I have our differences, but they hardly excuse your behavior tonight." She glanced at Oliver, but quickly turned away. "If this is the way you're going to act around me from now on, then don't come by the house anymore." She ordered, moving out of the room. Oliver turned and walked out as well, heading for the door.
Moira sighed. "He should have told me."
Mia nodded. "Yeah, he really should have."
Later that night, as Slade sat in his office with his eye patch off, he looked at his three screen setup as all of the micro cameras he had planted transmitted their feeds. He sat back, watching, plotting his next moves to destroy them utterly.
Moira blanched. "He bugged out house!" she exclaimed in dismay.
"Please tell me there were no bedroom cams." Thea begged.
"There weren't." Mia assured them. "Just cameras in the public areas, and places he went."
"Why?"
"Intelligence." Malcolm said. "He wanted to know everything he could about Oliver's family- so he knew how to hurt him the most."
Mia nodded. "Exactly. Slade is a master at mind games. Keep that in mind as we go on." With that, she loaded up the next memory set and pushed play.
TBC
A/N: Did Slade TELEPORT back to his office? I'm assuming he was watching playback later, and not a live feed of Oliver leaving not two minutes after he himself had left.
AN/2: For those who have seen it, how about that pic of the new Arrow Bunker? This is as close as we'll get to the Watchtower on TV, kids.
A/N 3: Well, here is the cast list so far...
Superman-Henry Cavill
Batman- Ben Affleck
Wonder Woman- Gal Gadot
Hal Jordan- Nathan Fillion
Supergirl- Melissa Benoist
Cyborg- Ray Fisher
The Atom- Brandon Routh
The Flash- Grant Gustin
Barbara Gordon- Dina Meyer
Tim Drake- Dylan O'Brian
Dick Grayson- Adam Gregory
Jason Tod- Steven R. McQueen
Donna Troy- Maria Avgeropoulos
Stephanie Brown- Skyler Samuels
Cassandra Cain- Arden Cho
Martian Manhunter- Phil Morris
Rose Wilson- Taylor Momsen
Thoughts?