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 47: Seeing Red
Roy reached over and took Mia's hand, holding it tightly as one of the worst memories of their lives started to play.
The scene opened up in the Lair. Felicity was at work on her computers while Dig paced the lair, pausing to check on Roy, who still lay on the exam table unconscious.
"At least you put a shirt back on me." Roy joked weakly.
"And the hoodie. Don't forget the hoodie." Mia added.
"You know, despite how bad it is... your face kinda looks hilarious, laying on the table like that." Dinah quipped.
"Nice."
"No change?" she asked.
"Nope." Dig replied. "So much blood mixed in with so much Mirakuru, I don't know if it's good or bad." He sighed. "We could really use that cure."
"I talked to Caitlin this morning. They're working on it." She informed him.
"No mention on Isabel Rochev's death?" he asked, walking over to her station.
"Not a thing." She said in surprise. "I wasn't expecting a glowing obituary, but she's a Fortune 500 CEO that's been missing for a week now. You'd think she'd have some column inches." She noted.
"She didn't die?" Moira said with a disappointed sigh.
"No." Mia said. "So your kiss with Dig that we shall NEVER SPEAK OF AGAIN was a bit premature."
A sudden bang caused her to gasp, and the two looked back at Roy, who had jerked uncontrollably in his sleep. "Does the fact that him lying there freaks me out a little make me a bad person?" she asked.
"Na." Roy said. "It freaks me out, too."
Dig chuckled. "Felicity, I don't think there's a force on earth that can make you a bad person." He pulled on his jacket. "But I am starving. Dinner?" he asked.
"Yeah. No Big Belly burger, though. It's giving me a big belly." She said.
"Sushi, then." Dig decided, heading up the stairs.
"Sushi, then." She replied distractedly. She continued to peruse news articles looking for information on Isabel. "How can you be unconscious and freak me out at the same…" she turned back to the exam table- but it was empty. "Time?" she stood up and walked to the table. "Roy?" she called out nervously. She looked around the room, but didn't see him. She nervously turned back to her computer to call Oliver, then jumped when she saw Roy standing next to her table. "Oh, my God! Oh, you scared me." The little relief she had felt faded as she took him in- he was silent and shaking slightly. His hood was raised giving his blank face an almost sinister look. "Roy?" she asked hesitantly, moving closer.
"Uh-oh…." Felicity said worriedly.
"Forgot my phone." Dig said, coming back into the room. He paused in surprise when he saw Roy standing there. Roy's shaking hand was on the edge of the computer table, and suddenly he threw it backwards with tremendous force. He stalked forward towards the stairs, walking right at Diggle.
"Roy, listen—"Diggle stared, but Roy shoved him without breaking stride. Diggle flew into an equipment cart and crashed to the ground, dazed.
"Dig!" Felicity screamed in panic. She ran over to him as he pulled himself up. "You ok?" she asked. Diggle just shrugged it off and took off up the stairs.
Diggle hit the club and paused by the bar, looking around the crowded club for the boy. He spotted a flash of a red hoodie across the dance floor, then drew his gun and started running towards the exits. "Move!" he shouted over and over again, plowing through the crowd and out the door. He looked around, desperately searching for Roy-
But he was gone.
"What's wrong with you?" Thea asked. "Is it the Mirakuru?"
Roy nodded. "Yeah. There was so much in my system, it had driven my out of my mind. I was basically acting on instinct."
The scene changed to the Ritz Carlton in downtown Starling City. Oliver had gotten one of the nicer hotel rooms for him and Sara to spend a romantic night together as a break from all of the stress of the past few weeks. They lay kissing in bed as their clothes were scattered all around the room, a bottle of champagne on ice on the floor besides the bed.
"Well, here's something I could have done without seeing." Dinah said.
"Agreed." Mia added.
As they took a break from making love, Sara looked at Oliver thoughtfully. "You think Roy's ok?" she asked.
He smiled at her incredulously. "Please tell me that you're not thinking about Roy right now." He asked with a chuckle. "We're finally alone, in bed, in a very nice hotel room."
Roy smirked. "I'm flattered that you were thinking of me."
"Of course, a few hours later she shot you, so…" Mia joked.
"A hotel room that you couldn't afford." She pointed out.
"I have something of a history with the manager." Oliver told her.
"Mmm. I can only imagine." She said with a grin.
Laurel scoffed. "I know that room." She said. "Ollie got it for us a couple of times."
"I thought it looked familiar." Dinah said.
"Well, that's awkward." Tommy said, noting Sara's uncomfortable look.
Oliver paused and looked around the room thoughtfully. "I think I trashed this specific room once." He said, and Sara chuckled. He kissed her. "But favors run out. We should think about getting a more permanent place." He suggested.
"We?" she asked hesitantly.
"Well, you're probably getting tired of staying with Laurel, and we can't sleep in the foundry now that Roy's there, so…"
"But, I mean, 'we,' now you're asking me to move in with you?" she asked. Oliver smiled, and then placed a kiss on her jaw.
"And now I'm back to being pissed off." Laurel said archly, glaring at her sister.
"Laurel—"
"No!" she said hotly. "I want to move in with him, so he runs off with you! But now he's ready to commit?!"
"Maybe it's a sign from god that you two aren't supposed to be together." Thea interrupted. "Besides, Tommy's the better brother of mine for you, because unlike Ollie, he wants to commit to you!"
"I couldn't have said it any better myself." Mia said, smirking. "Oh, wait…."
Laurel sighed. "Sorry." She said after moment. "I thought I was past all of that, but to see him using the same old tricks…"
"Well, if it makes you feel better, this time I couldn't commit." Sara said.
Suddenly his phone started vibrating. "Hey, your phone's ringing." She told him.
"I know." He said, ignoring it and kissing her neck.
Then Sara's phone started to ring. "Okay, both our phones are ringing, that's never good." She noted. They both looked over at their phones. The caller ID screen showed Felicity for both.
The scene changed to the Lair a short time later. Oliver and Sara returned just as Diggle was up righting Felicity's table from the sparking computers.
"What happened?" Oliver asked.
Diggle let out a breath. "I don't know. One minute he's comatose, the next, he's flipping over computer equipment." He said. "He was a lot more out of control than Slade was at your house."
"He looked like Roy, but he wasn't Roy." Felicity said shakily.
"Where do you think he's headed?" Sara asked.
"I don't know, but we have to find him." Oliver said urgently.
The scene changed to Queen Manor. Moira, with Mark Frances at her side, was giving an interview to the Starling Gazette reporter in the lounge.
"Despite everyone's predictions, you've managed to pull ahead of Sebastian Blood in recent polls." The reporter stated into his recorder.
Moira looked pleasantly surprised at that. Thea noticed and smirked. "Great, now she WANTS to run." She teased.
"Yes." Moira replied. "I think our message is resonating with the voters. The people of Starling know that I have a vision, and the experienced apparatus to make that vision a reality."
"What would you say is the main reason they should vote for you over alderman Blood?" he asked.
"Well, um Alderman Blood isn't a parent." Moira began. "And the soul of being a parent is making sure that your children have a bright future. And I've been very lucky to be able to do that for my own."
Thea shook her head. "Well, there's no way that statement could backfir-oh, wait."
Unseen to her, Thea had entered the room behind her.
"Yeah. Mother of the year." She said sarcastically, her arms folded across her chest.
Moira turned and gave her a look. "Uh, we're in the middle of an interview." She told her daughter.
"Oh, I'll keep it short." Thea said. "You can't have your rally at Verdant. It's the only place I have that hasn't been poisoned by you." With that, she turned and stalked out of the room
Moira rose, but turned to the reporter. "Can you give me one moment, please?" she asked, moving after her daughter.
Mark stared hard at the reporter. "Turn it off." He ordered.
Moira caught Thea out in the foyer. "Thea, I know you're upset, and you have every right to be, but we need to talk somewhere else."
"I'm done talking." She said angrily. "I just came by to tell you, it'll be a cold day in hell before you can use my club."
"You know, in comparison I actually took the news rather well." Thea stated.
"It helps that you can't kick me off the station." Moira added.
Thea pointed to Mia. "Actually, I could."
Mia smirked. "Nah. I stopped being such a drama queen a long time ago." Sara let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like 'Bullshit.'
"We can't just change the venue the day before." Moira argued.
"I'm sure you can figure something else." Thea gave her a pointed glare. "I mean, you have such an experienced apparatus."
"You signed a contract." Moira said sharply.
"Huh." Thea shook her head. "Just when I thought you couldn't go any lower… you threaten your own daughter." Thea turned and walked off as Mark came out into the foyer.
"It's not threatening. It's pointing out you signed a legally binding contract." Malcolm said. Thea rolled her eyes.
"Moira." He said, gaining her attention. "What's going on?"
"Sorry you had to witness that." She told him tiredly.
"After her abduction, I'd think that the two of you would be closer than ever." He noted with surprise.
"It's a very complicated situation." Moira said.
"Well, my advice? Simplify it." He said. "You have to be either a mother or a candidate. You can't be both. Not right now. You cannot split your focus."
Moira nodded. "You're absolutely right." She said.
SEVEN YEARS AGO
Laurel and Oliver were in the lounge, with Oliver lying across the couch with his head in her lap. She sat there, gently brushing his long hair with her fingers. "You're really cute when you're mopey." She joked, trying to lighten his mood.
"I'm not mopey." He argued moodily.
"Mopey's your default, Ollie. It's part of your smoldering charm." She quipped.
Felicity snickered. "Smoldering charm?"
Oliver was thoughtful for a moment. "I do have smoldering charm." He agreed.
"He has something alright." Thea murmured.
Laurel laughed. "But you're more than usual mopey. Is everything all right?" she asked.
Oliver pulled himself up and moved closer to his girlfriend. He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a kiss. "It's fine." He lied.
"Ollie." She said, seeing through some of his bullshit.
Oliver sighed wearily. "Tommy had me out a little bit later than maybe I should have been, and," he chuckled. "I'm wiped."
Laurel looked at him with understanding. "Well, you want me to go? I promised Sara I'd help her with her trigonometry." She offered.
"And he was helping me with my biology." Sara quipped. Quentin groaned and glared at her.
"I don't know what that is." Oliver joked.
"You are very cute." She said, kissing him gently. "Get some sleep." She said, rising and heading for the door. "Bye."
"Bye." He called out, staring into space.
"Good night, Mrs. Queen." Laurel said, walking past the woman on her way out of the house.
"Good night." She said warmly. As the door closed, Moira headed into the lounge and started fiddling with the flowers on the table. "You didn't go out with Tommy last night." She pointed out.
Oliver laughed. "Hey. Thanks for eavesdropping on my entire conversation, Mom." He complained weakly. "That's… that's nice."
"Sweetheart, something's bothering you," she said, sitting down next to her son. "Tell me what it is."
Oliver sighed. "Dad's going to kill me." He said bleakly.
Moira paled, instantly remembering what this conversation was about.
"Your father loves you." Moira promised him. "I love you."
"I screwed up." Oliver said. "It's bad."
"What happened?" she asked.
"I got a girl pregnant." He revealed.
"Say what?" Laurel asked in shock.
"Son of a bitch!" Quentin exploded.
Moira sighed. "I won't even argue with you this time, Quentin." She said wearily.
"Laurel's pregnant?" Moira asked, already knowing the answer.
"No. Not Laurel." He said, ashamed. Moira looked at him in disappointment.
Thea looked at her mother in shock. "Is that true?" she asked. "Did he really get a girl pregnant?" Moira nodded reluctantly. "Then why haven't I ever heard about it?" she asked hotly.
"Because I convinced the mother to leave town and tell Oliver she lost the baby."
"Convinced?" Diggle asked leading.
"I paid her two million dollars." Moira admitted.
"And Ollie just went along with it?" Thea asked in disbelief.
Moira looked at her daughter sadly. "You have to remember the boy he was back then, Thea. He didn't want responsibility, and he certainly didn't want to be a father. He simply wanted to carry on as a party body, an attitude I all but encouraged from him with my indulgence. He all but asked me to make the problem go away, and so I did. And Oliver never knew he had a child."
"That is remarkably ruthless and coldblooded." Malcolm noted with a smirk. "I approve."
"Dad..." Mia warned. Malcolm just shrugged in reply.
"I sure as hell don't." Laurel said angrily "How many girls was he cheating on me with?" everyone turned to Tommy, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Why's everyone looking at me?" he asked weakly.
"Because if anyone here would know, it would be you." Thea stated.
Tommy sighed. "Look. There was a lot of alcohol, a lot of parties, and a LOT of girls. Did he score with all of them? Probably not, but he did score with a lot. So sorry, but he was a cheating bastard and we're lucky if he only knocked up one girl."
Thea turned to her mother. "There was only one he told me about." She said.
"I'll be honest." Mia said suddenly. "Connor thought about sitting in on this one."
"Connor?" Moira asked.
"Oliver's son." She replied. "He's the OTHER Green Arrow. Anyway, he decided not to so he wouldn't become a distraction. But you will meet him before you all leave." She promised.
PRESENT
The Arrow and the Canary skidded to a stop in the middle of a deserted road outside the Glades. "This is ridiculous." Sara complained. "We can't just ride around all night hoping to lay eyes on him."
Oliver hit his comms. "Diggle?" he asked.
At Roy's apartment, Diggle was just coming out from checking on it. "His place is clean. I don't think he's been back here." He opined.
"Call just went out for an ambulance at 14th and Hobart." Felicity said from the Lair, where she was monitoring the police band. "There's four men seriously assaulted… by someone wearing a red hoodie."
The two vigilantes looked at each other, then spun their bikes around and headed to 14th and Hobart. They arrived just minutes later to see three men on the ground, with a fourth grasping a pole to keep himself upright.
"What happened?" The Arrow asked the bloodied man.
"Guy jumped us." He said weakly, spinning at the glare of the bikes headlamp. "Came out of nowhere. The dude is 'roided out or something. Crazy like." He said.
Oliver glanced back at Sara. "Roy."
A few streets over, Sin was leaving a bar when she saw a familiar hoodie.
"See ya, Sin." The bartender said.
"Adios." She replied distractedly, running out to the street. "Yo, Abercrombie! Hold up." She reached out and grasped his arm, stopping him. "Where you been, man?" she asked worriedly. "I went over to your place like 20 times. Thea said you skipped town." She looked at Roy, but he just stared back silently, a dead look on his face.
"Why couldn't she just walk away." Roy wondered silently.
"Because you were her friend, and she cared about you." Mia replied.
She started looking him over for injuries, and then noted his hands. "Holy crap." She said, taking his hand and bringing it closer to her. She noted the bruised knuckles. "Have you been in a fight?" she asked.
Roy stared back blankly, saying nothing. Suddenly he yanked his hand free, then grasped her by her shoulder and pushed her hard into the side of a parked car. A couple of her friends from the street noticed and moved quickly towards her as she stared at Roy in shock.
"Hey, Sin, is this guy bothering you?" one of the guys said.
Instantly Sin realized how bad it would get if Roy started fighting. "No, no, no, he's chill. Seriously, just step off." She warned them.
"We going to have a problem, guy?" the leader said.
"Seriously? Just leave him alone, he's fine." Sin said anxiously.
He glanced at her, but Roy was giving him a bad vibe. He reached out and clasped a hand on his shoulder. "Oh, what, you got nothing smart to say?"
Roy snarled, then grasped his hand and twisted it, breaking his wrist and arm at the same time. The other two guys started pummeling him, with one grabbing him from behind. Roy grabbed his hands, broke his grip, and tossed him over his shoulder onto the room of the car, denting the roof. He then spun and grabbed the third guy by his face, then drove his head through the passenger side window of the car.
"Roy!" Sin screamed, moving towards him. Roy backhanded her, sending her to the ground hard. He glared at the stunned girl before turning and walking off.
Roy winced in anger. "Dammit!" he growled to himself.
The scene changed to Verdant the next day, as Moira's people got the club ready for her rally that night.
"Felicity's running facial recognition on traffic cameras throughout the city." Oliver was telling Sara as they entered the club.
"Which could take forever." Sara said crossly. "We need to take Roy down now before he attacks any more people."
He was about to respond when Thea stomped up to him. "What part of 'I want nothing to do with you' are just not understanding?" she asked snarkily.
"I came by to see Sara." Oliver said quickly, smiling at his girlfriend.
Thea glared at him, and then gestured with her head at Diggle, who stood in the background. "And what about him? He's been stalking me." She complained.
"He's protecting you." Oliver said.
"From what?" she asked, exasperated.
"Slade Wilson is still at large." He reminded her. "He already tried hurting you once."
"He didn't hurt me." She shot back. "He told me the truth, which I know you think is a bad thing, but it's actually not."
"It is if it costs me you." Oliver said softly.
"Your lies did that." She replied hurtfully, relishing the look on his face. "Now, I'm going to go upstairs to the stock room, and if I get attacked by some shot glasses, I'll call 911." She spun and headed upstairs for the stockroom.
Oliver stepped over to Diggle. "Thanks for taking care of her." He said quietly.
Diggle smirked. "Lucky for me, she's not as good at disappearing as you were." He said, moving to follow his new principle.
"Yet." Sara quipped.
Sara looked over to see Sin walking hesitantly into the club. "I'll be right back." She told Oliver, heading over to her friend.
Sin saw her and smiled weakly. "Have you seen Thea?" she asked.
Sara stared in alarm at the bruise on her face. "What happened to your eye?" she asked.
"It's ok." Sin said quickly. "I could cover it with make-up. If I work make-up." She flinched back when Sara reached out to brush her hair away for a better look. "It's fine." She said defensively.
Sara ignored her and brushed the hair back, looking at the bruised eye. "Who did this to you?" she asked.
"It's a long story." Sin hedged.
"I asked you who." Sara demanded.
Sin sighed in defeat. "Roy. But he's not right in the head." She added quickly, seeing the rage on Sara's face. "He got injected with something. A drug, I don't know, but it made him strong. Like, comic book strong. Look, I know it sounds nuts—"
"It really doesn't." Sara said sadly.
"Sara, Roy's a friend." Sin reminded her. "He needs help, not a beat down." Sara nodded at her, reluctantly agreeing.
"She seems like a good kid." Quentin said.
Sara nodded. "She really was. "She was the little sister I always wanted."
"I'm not sure if I should be offended or not." Laurel said with a smirk.
"I said younger." Sara replied impishly. "She always saw the best in me, even when I couldn't see it myself."
The scene changed to Blood's campaign office. He was on the phone with one of his supporters when Clinton Hogue led Moira Queen into his office. "I'll have to call you right back." He said, hanging up the phone and rising from his seat.
"Do you want me to stay, Mr. Blood?" Hogue asked.
"Uh, no, no, thank you." Blood replied. "I'll be fine." He smiled at Moira after Hogue left the room. "My new body man. He's a little over-protective."
"Should have let him stay then. Mom can totally kick this guys' ass." Thea said.
"Hmm." She said noncommittally.
"Please." He gestured at the seat in front of the desk.
"No, thank you." Moira said.
Blood took a breath. "I'd say this visit is unexpected, but I despise understatements." He began.
"I'm dropping out of the race." Moira said, cutting him off. "I'm making a concession speech at my rally tonight."
Thea blinked. "What?"
"That's… unexpected." Felicity said.
Blood stared at her in shock. "You're ahead in the latest polls." He pointed out. "Even the most skeptical pundits are saying you could actually pull this out."
"I felt I owed you the courtesy of informing you in person." Moira said calmly. "I don't, however, owe you an explanation as well."
"No, you don't." Blood admitted. Moira turned for the door. "But I'd appreciate one." He added, stopping her in her tracks. "What you're doing, Moira, as much as it benefits me, doesn't really make much sense."
"It's my daughter." She said after a moment, turning to face him. "At the moment, she needs me more than Starling does."
"Mom…"
"When you have children, then you'll understand." Moira told her daughter. "There is nothing I wouldn't do for you. Or your brother." She said.
"Well, you're doing the right thing." Blood said. "I'm going to change this city, Moira. A new day is coming. A better day. For all of us." He promised.
SEVEN YEARS AGO
Oliver was still moping in the lounge while Moira tried to comfort him. "I know things seem bleak, sweetheart, but we're going to figure this out, I promise." She said
"Mom, does it seem fair?" he whined. "To make… one mistake, and it…" he sighed. "feels like my entire life is over."
Quentin looked at both of his daughters skeptically. "What the hell did you see in that punk?"
"He could be very charming." Laurel said defensively. "When he wasn't crying to his mommy." She added.
"And he was incredible in bed." Sara added, causing Quentin to sputter.
"I do NOT need to know that!" he objected.
"Neither did I." Moira said sourly.
"It's good to know." Felicity said absently, then blinked. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"
"Oh yeah." Dig muttered.
"Oh, your life is far from over." Moira assured him. "Are you sure it's yours?" she asked. "Where there is money, Oliver, there are people looking to take advantage." Moira pointed out.
"Geeze, Moira…" Quentin grumbled.
"It's a valid concern." Moira argued. "As distasteful as it may sound, the question needs to be asked."
"WAS it Oliver's?" Thea asked, looking at her mother. "I know you had a paternity test done, with or without the girl knowing."
Moira nodded. "It was."
"She's not that type of person." Oliver argued. "She's a good person, Mom. She's…"
"All right." Moira rose to pace the room.
"I don't know what to do." He said morosely. He looked at his mother. "What do I do?" he asked.
"We all make mistakes, Oliver." She said. "And I had hoped that one day you'd forgive me for any that I might make, so…" she took a breath. "All right, um, I'll be right back." She said quickly, stepping out of the room.
PRESENT
Oliver and Sara were standing behind Felicity at her station. She pulled up a map on her one remaining monitor of all of the locations of Roy's attacks. "Verdant, 14th and Hobart, and the bar Sin spotted him at." Felicity said. "He looks to be moving east."
"What's east?" Sara wondered.
"Queen mansion." Oliver realized.
"If he still remembers where Thea lives well, used to live, but Roy doesn't know that…" she looked at Oliver hopefully. "There might be something in Roy still left in there." She said.
"Or it's just a coincidence that he's moving east." Sara said.
"Ahem." Oliver looked seriously at Sara. "I know that Sin's involved, but don't let that cloud your judgment." He warned.
"Well, don't let the fact that this used to be Roy cloud yours." She shot back. He glared at her phone started to ring. She pulled it out and answered. "Sin."
"I found Roy." Sin said.
"Well, I thought I told you to go home." Sara scolded.
"Yeah, that's where I am right now." She said, standing across the street from the clock tower. "And so is he."
A short time later The Arrow and The Canary arrived in the clock tower.
"Roy!" Oliver called out. The two looked around, pulling back tarps and looking into the darkened corners.
Sara sighed in frustration. "He's not here." She said.
Suddenly, Roy dropped down from the ceiling. At once The Canary attacked, hitting him as hard as she could with her staff. Roy shrugged off the hits, swatting the staff aside and grabbing her by her throat and throwing her back against the far wall. She hit hard and fell to the ground, unconscious.
Oliver drew an arrow filled with Tibetan pit viper venom and fired, but Roy easily caught it before it hit. Frustrated, Oliver threw back his hood and pulled down his mask. "It's Oliver." He began, moving slowly towards him. "It's me. What you're doing right now, it's because of the Mirakuru. You're a good person, Roy. You have a conscience and a soul." He reminded him. "I need you to use those and fight this. You can do it!" he urged.
"That MIGHT have worked if he hadn't just shot at him." Mia said.
"Actually, that might have worked if I hadn't just attacked him." Sara replied.
"Nothing either of you did would have worked." Roy cut in sharply.
Roy stared at him for a moment, then snarled and attacked. Oliver blocked the first hit with his bow, but not the second. Roy punched him in the chest, sending him crashing into a metal support column. Oliver fell to the ground, groaning in pain, and as he tried to pull himself up, Roy stomped down on the back of his knee, dislocating it. Oliver screamed in pain as Roy turned and fled, punching a hole in the floor and dropping down through it.
Roy closed his eyes, knowing what was coming. Mia reached over and took his hand and squeezed it hard.
Roy stepped out onto the street just as a police cruiser pulled up, its lights flashing. Sin watched from the sidewalk as two cops got out and approached Roy with their guns drawn.
Diggle tensed. "Not good…."
"Drop the arrow, drop it!" One of the cops screamed. Roy looked down at his hand and saw he still had the arrow clenched in it.
"Back off, back off…" Quentin mumbled frantically, to no avail.
In the tower, Oliver hobbled over to the broken clock face and looked down as the two cops closed in on Roy. One started pulling his arms behind him to cuff him, but Roy spun around, grabbing the cops gun and hand and yanking down hard, dislocating it. The cop screamed in pain as Roy spun and planted the arrow in the second cops' chest, killing him instantly. Roy spun around again; sweeping the first cops legs out from under him and sent him crashing to the ground. He fell on his back, hitting his head and knocking him out. Roy looked around in anger, then took off running as Sin and Oliver both watched, horrified.
"That's what I'VE lived with for the past 25 years." Roy said shakily. "And god willing, if you succeed- I won't have to live with it again. PLEASE make sure I don't have to live with it again."
"We will." Thea said firmly.
"There won't be any Mirakuru, so this won't happen." Felicity added reasonably.
The scene changed to Glades Memorial Hospital. It was late and the halls were deserted as Dr. Lockhart made his rounds, talking on his phone. "A full moon tonight." He noted to the person on the other line. "That really brings out the whack jobs. Good news is, it can't get any stranger." He opened the door to an exam room and walked in to put away some paperwork, then froze at what he saw. The Arrow was sitting on the exam table, grimacing in pain, as the Canary stood next to him.
"My friend needs your help." She pleaded to the doctor.
"I was wrong. Got to call you back." He said into the phone, hanging up.
A short time later, Dr. Lockhart was hanging up the x-ray's of Oliver's knees on the light board. "Some of this damage is chronic." He explained. "The cost of jumping off rooftops, I guess."
"Yeah, that's a definite downside." Malcolm said.
"You got bad knees?" Lance asked.
"Not as bad as that, but then I don't run around every night." He replied. "Being in the League of Assassins is actually easier on the body than being a vigilante."
"How's that?" Diggle asked, curious.
"Assassins only go out on assignments. Otherwise, we just train in controlled environments." Malcolm explained. "And we get plenty of rest, to allow our bodies to heal. What Oliver is doing… that will be hell on his body." He looked to Roy and Mia. "Frankly, I'm shocked that you two are still active."
"Future medicine is great." Mia said with an impish grin. "Plus, I got knew knees a few years ago."
"I think half the bones in my body are carbon composite." Roy added. Dinah nodded in agreement.
Quentin looked at Sara, who shrugged. "All natural. Lazarus pits are great."
"I need to get back on my feet." Oliver said through the voice changer.
"I can give you a brace, but you'll still be in horrendous amounts of pain." The doctor said. He opened a cabinet and started rifling through the pill bottles, looking for the right one. "Six months ago, this cabinet would have been empty. The Chinese Triad was stopping all of our med shipments until someone stopped them." He grabbed a bottle and looked over at The Arrow. "Ever since, I've been looking for a way to thank you." He said earnestly.
Tommy smiled. "It's nice that the good he does is recognized."
The scene changed to Verdant. Thea was checking her inventory, needing to do something at her club since her mother took it over for the night. She sighed in annoyance. "If you're going to have to follow me everywhere, at least don't lurk, all right?" she called out.
Diggle stepped into the room from the hallway. "I can't let you out of my sight. You're sick of seeing me everywhere you go; lurking seemed like a good compromise." He explained, examining one of the bottles on the shelf.
"Yeah, well, it's not." Thea said, moving out of the room.
"If I start acting like that when we get back, feel free to slap me." Thea told the bodyguard, who chuckled in response.
"Sorry. I don't like hitting ladies." He replied.
Diggle followed. "Family's hard. Sometimes they're the hardest in the world." He said as they walked. "Loving someone so much and letting them love you back."
"You know, you're right." Thea said, annoyed. "You should go back to lurking."
Tommy snickered. "If you can weather Hurricane Thea; hell, I'LL hire you."
"Shut up, Tommy." Thea growled.
"I've spent a lot of time with your family." Dig pointed out.
"If you think that gives you the right to weigh in, you're wrong." She shot back as she headed down to the bar. "Plus, Oliver will be out of money soon and you'll be unemployed." She added with a wicked smile.
Dig sighed. "Right. I guess I should get this in under the wire." He leaned up against the bar. "You know, your mother isn't perfect. Her judgment definitely isn't. But there's one thing she's consistent about is that she loves you and Oliver."
"And that should buy her what in your mind?" she asked.
"Well, I don't know, Thea. But she is your mother. That should buy her something. A second chance, maybe." He suggested.
Thea glanced up at the TV, trying to ignore Dig, and froze. On the screen a newscaster was talking, but what drew her attention was a blurry photograph of a man in a red hood. 'A citywide man hunt for the perpetrator of an attack that left one police officer seriously injured and the other dead.' The anchor was saying. 'We have video shot by a bystander, but please be warned that the footage may be too graphic for some viewers.' The picture changed to a blurry cell phone camera video showing a guy in a red hood killing one cop and crippling another. It never showed the man's face, but Thea instantly knew who it was. "Oh, my God." She said, horrified.
"Thea—" Diggle started.
"I have to go see a friend." Thea said shakily. "If you have to follow, follow." She hurried out of the club, with Diggle following closely behind.
Moira looked to Mia. "Please tell me you didn't go looking for Roy." She said worriedly.
Mia chuckled nervously. "Not exactly…"
The scene changed to the lair, where Oliver was grinding up some of his herbs for his knee.
"These aren't going to fix your knee." Sara told him.
"They'll help it heal faster." He replied crossly.
"And until then?" Sara demanded.
"Where are we with facial recognition?" Oliver asked Felicity, ignoring Sara.
"Traffic cams can't get a clear shot." She replied. "Now I see why you wear that hood."
"Felicity," he sighed. "We need to find Roy before the police do." He said urgently.
"Because they'll kill him and we won't?" Sara demanded.
Oliver turned and glared at her. "S.T.A.R. Labs is working on a cure." He reminded her.
"Which they may never come up with." She shot back. "And even if they do, I mean, how many people are we going to let Roy kill in the meantime?"
"You know, you wanted to kill Helena, too. You found another way." He reminded her.
Sara scoffed dismissively. "That was different, and you know it." She said. "Roy has the Mirakuru in him, just like Slade. And if you had a clear shot of Slade right now, you would take it." She pointed out.
"Roy isn't Slade!" Oliver said hotly.
"Roy isn't Roy." Sara replied. "He's not himself anymore, he's too far gone."
"I don't believe that." Oliver said quietly.
Sara sighed and knelt down in front of him. "Do you even hear yourself right now, Ollie?" she asked. "This is the exact conversation that we had five years ago, except we were freezing on Lian Yu." He remained silent. Sara stood and headed over to the weapons drawer.
"What are you doing?" Oliver demanded.
Sara pulled out a Colt 1911 and inserted the clip. "What needs to be done." She said firmly, slipping the gun into her waistband. "The Mirakuru won't do anything against a head shot."
"Sara!" he called out angrily as she headed towards the stairs.
"Why are you so bloodthirsty about this?" Laurel asked her sister.
Sara sighed. "Because I've seen what Mirakuru can do to a person. I saw what it did to Slade. And I was pissed that he hurt Sin. I felt that nothing would stop Roy until he was killed."
"You weren't wrong." Roy said.
"Yes, I was." She replied, looking at him.
"We got lucky." Roy said with finality.
"Your mother's rally starts in a half an hour. I'd start getting dressed if I were you." She advised, heading out to hunt Roy.
Oliver sighed in defeat. He limped back to his seat and leaned against the table. "She reminds me so much of me after I came home." He said despondently. "When it just seemed…" he sighed. "Seemed impossible to believe in anything even resembling hope."
"But you did." Felicity reminded him quietly. "You did. Eventually. Sara will, too." She told him. He smiled weakly at her before limping off to change.
The scene changed to the Alley outside of Verdant. Thea, with Diggle close behind, walked out and she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw a hooded figure at the end of the alley.
"Oh, thanks for coming." Thea said, walking up to her friend.
Sin looked up. "It's chill." She nodded towards Diggle. "Who's that?"
"I…my shadow." She said tiredly. "Listen, something is going on with Roy."
"I know, I saw him." Sin said. "He's totally crazed."
"What's happening to him?" Thea asked.
"Do you remember around Christmas when he bailed on us?" Sin asked after a long pause.
"Yeah?" The replied uncertainly.
"He got shot up with something, this drug, and it's been messing with his head." Sin revealed.
"Did you tell my brother any of this?" Thea asked after a moment.
Sin looked at her, confused. "No Why?"
"He's got this bodyguard all over me." She said. "He must know about Roy, think he's coming after me or something."
"And yet, I still can't put together that Oliver is the vigilante." Thea groused, shaking her head.
"Well, what are you going to do?" Sin asked. Thea sighed.
Father off in the Glades, Roy was walking aimlessly when he heard a familiar voice.
"Roy?" he looked up and saw Thea walking slowly towards him. "Roy, it's me. It's Thea. I'm so glad I found you." She said emotionally. "I've been looking everywhere. This is all my fault." She said. "I did this to you. When you broke up with me, it was a cry for help, and I didn't listen. I should be punished. I deserve to be punished." She said harshly. "Someone hurts you, and you hurt them worse. You hurt them permanently." Roy stared ahead at the empty street as the phantom Thea's voice continued to ring in his head. "You should just kill me. Kill me." Her voice said, echoing in his mind.
Tommy blinked. "What the fuck?!"
"You're seeing what I was thinking at the time." Roy explained. "Including the hallucinations caused by the Mirakuru."
"The drug twists a persons thoughts into something dark and violent." Sara added. "It takes what you love and turns it against you. In this case, it was turning his love for Thea against him; making him want to destroy it and, by extension, her."
The scene changed to Verdant. Oliver was sitting on a bar stool, taking the weight off of his leg when Mark walked hurriedly up to him. "Oliver, where have you been? Haven't you got any of my calls?" he asked frantically.
"I've been busy." Oliver said shortly. "What's wrong?"
"It's your mother." Mark said.
"She'll do fine." Oliver replied offhandedly.
"No, she won't." Mark said urgently. "She's not using this event to rally the troops. She's using it to tell people she's dropping out of the race." He revealed to his shock.
Upstairs in Thea's office, a small make-up table had been set up. Moira sat in the office, alone, going over her speech when Oliver limped in. Moira looked up and saw Oliver hobbling, and turned to him in alarm. "Oliver. What happened?" she asked worriedly.
"It's a motorcycle accident, it was stupid." He replied automatically, sitting down on the edge of Thea's desk.
Moira rolled her eyes. Thea groaned. "Seriously?" she said.
"He's nothing if not consistent." Diggle remarked.
"Yes, this would be the second accident in as many weeks, if my math is correct." Moira said dryly.
"Mark says you're dropping out of the race." Oliver said, dodging the remark.
Moira sighed. "The truth is, I should have done it weeks ago, after Thea was abducted." She said. "My complete focus needs to be on repairing our relationship."
"Mom, what's happening with Thea right now isn't because you weren't spending enough time with her." Oliver pointed out.
"Well, maybe not." She moved to the windows to look out over the club. "I have to do something and I'm not sure what else to do."
"Thea hates you right now because of the things that you've done." Oliver pointed out. "Terrible things. So let her see you do something good- as mayor. Mom, I know a little something about… sacrificing the people closest to me for the good of this city." He said as she tuned to look at him. "It's what you need to do now."
"I know." Moira said.
Oliver smiled. "Good." He said, He started to hobble out of the room.
"Oliver, I know." Moira repeated, stopping him cold. "I know." She said again quietly. Oliver turned to look at her in shock. "I've known since last year, I suppose." She revealed. "The night of the Undertaking, everything became so clear. It was pretty much the night I stopped sleeping."
"Before you say anything else—" Oliver began.
Moira cut him off. "There's nothing else to say." She said, taking his hands in hers. "Nothing I need to say. Except I could not be more proud."
"Well, at least one of us was on the ball." Thea said sourly.
Moira chuckled. "Mothers notice things that sisters do not." She said.
"Plus, Oliver wasn't exactly subtle near the end there." Tommy pointed out.
Roy chuckled. "You have no idea how much that meant to him, Moira." He said. "We talked about it, once. It meant the world that you accepted who he had become."
Moira smiled, but the smile fell off her face as the scene changed.
SEVEN YEARS AGO
Moira led Sandra Hawke into the lounge at Queen Manor. "Can I have Raisa get you anything to drink?" Moira asked pleasantly. "Or something to eat, perhaps? Please." She gestured at the couch for Sandra to sit.
"Where's Oliver?" she asked.
"Ah, he's running an errand for me." Moira replied. "I thought it would give us a chance to talk." She said, sitting down.
"With all due respect, um, Mrs. Queen, what's happening, it's between me and your son." Sandra said, sitting down next to the intimidating woman,
"Yes." Moira said, opening a file she had been carrying with her.
Sandra eyed the file warily, seeing her picture in it. "What is that?" she asked.
"Oh, I had one of our investigators write up a dossier on you." Moira said offhandedly. "I'm sorry, but it's a necessary precaution against a fraudulent claim of paternity."
"Well, the baby is Oliver's." Sandra said firmly.
"Oh, of that I have no doubt." Moira replied. "Our investigators were quite thorough. But you can imagine how many people my family attracts who are looking for handouts." She said, looking at Sandra.
"Well, I'm not looking for money." She stated.
"Of course not." Moira replied. She pulled a check out of the folder and held it out to Sandra.
"I told you, I don't want money." Sandra repeated.
Moira placed the check down in front of her. "And I'm telling you that this is my first grandchild." She said. "And I want to make certain that he or she has a bright future. Please." She smiled, pushing the check closer to Sandra.
Reluctantly she picked it up, and then gaped at the amount. "This is a million dollars.' She said in astonishment.
"I want to make certain that my son has a bright future as well." Moira said. Her voice turned colder. "That money is yours once you tell Oliver that you've lost the baby."
Thea sighed in disappointment. "Oh, mom…"
"So, this is how the other half lives." Quentin said acerbically. "You got some real class there, lady."
Laurel was shocked as well. She hated seeing the evidence of Oliver's cheating; but she would never want him deprived of the chance to even know his own son.
"What?!" Sandra exclaimed in shock.
"And another million when you return to Central City, never to speak to him again." Moira continued. "Can I offer you some advice, one mother to another? When it comes to your children, there is no action that is inconceivable; there is no decision that is impossible. You do what you must to provide the life that they need. And I think that $2 million is sufficient to provide the life that both our children need." She reached out and took Sandra's hand. "Don't you?" she asked.
Lance shook his head in disgust. "You bought that poor girl off for two million bucks. Unbelievable."
"I thought it was the best decision at the time." Moira said defensively.
"At least she sought to provide for the child and its mother." Malcolm said. "I've known men who just settle for threats and intimidation to make these sort of problems go away."
Tommy looked at his father in alarm. "I—"
Malcolm shook his head. "No, I never had to do that." He assured his son. "I would have made sure you actually committed to the girl, if only to teach you to be more responsible."
Tommy sighed in relief. "Can't argue with that."
PRESENT
The scene changed to Verdant. Moira's supporters cheered her as she climbed onto the stage. She smiled and waved as she stepped in front of the microphones. She waited a moment for the applause to die down before she began to speak. "When I was first approached about entering this race, the prospect of winning seemed a distant, nearly impossible feat." She said. "Now, how could a city that had suffered so much place its faith in someone so responsible for its suffering? But as the weeks progressed, good people such as you raised your voices in support, and I began to think that I could make a difference. I could help save this city."
From his office, Blood watched the television coverage in anticipation.
"But… recent events have changed things, and…" she trailed off, spotting Thea in the crowd. The two stared at each other for a moment, and Moira turned to find Oliver, who gave her a small smile of encouragement. "And now I know I can make a difference." She continued strongly.
Blood stared in disbelief as Moira didn't concede.
"Screw you, asshole." Laurel said with a smirk.
Thea chuckled. "You're happier than my mom is." She noted in amusement.
"And should the honor become mine, I promise with every breath I take to do what is necessary; to sacrifice what is necessary for the good of this city."
Thea stared at her mother, and then looked back at the TV, seeing the live coverage, and a plan formed in her mind.
"Uh-oh, she's thinking." Tommy teased.
"Starling City is my home, you are my family, and there is nothing more important to me than family. Thank you, thank you all." She smiled and waved as the crowd cheered. Moira walked off the stage towards Mark and Oliver.
"Ahh! Great speech, Moira." Mark said in relief. "A little too off-book for my liking, but we'll work on that."
"I thought it was perfect." Oliver said, smiling at his mother.
"Um… Hi." They turned to see Thea standing on the stage in front of the cameras. She chuckled nervously. "I just wanted to come up here and say a few words. I am so proud to have my mom here tonight at my club, Verdant, in the Glades." Thea said awkwardly.
In the crowd, Diggle looked at Oliver. "What is she doing?" he wondered.
"She knows this is being televised." Oliver realized. "She's sending a message to Roy, trying to draw him out."
"That's either really clever, or really dumb." Felicity said.
"Dumb." Roy replied.
"Clever." Mia said at the same time, and the two glared at one another.
"It's been 26 years. Let it go." Sara interjected with a grin.
"So vote Queen. Tell your friends. Thanks." She said, raising a glass of champagne in a toast. She walked off the stage to applause.
"Thea," Moira began.
"That was… that was not for you." Thea said, not even looking at her as she walked past.
Oliver limped quickly as she could down the stairs into the Lair. Felicity caught him at the bottom and let him lean against her shoulder. "Oh, God, you're heavy." She groaned. "Is this really all muscle?"
Thea snickered as Felicity blushed.
Oliver cleared his throat. "How many of those venom arrows do we have?" he asked.
"About 20.' She said.
"I need all of them." He said, leaning against the medical cart.
"Okay." Felicity said. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Can you even get into those leather pants with that knee?" she wondered.
"Lidocaine. Now." He ordered.
"If he's not careful, he'll over-medicate himself." Diggle warned.
Felicity opened the drawer and pulled out a bottle of Lidocaine and a syringe. She stuck the needle into the bottle and looked at the label. "Ok. Let's see, the bottle says the proper dose is—"
Oliver reached over and pulled the stopper all the way up. "Is all of it." He finished.
"I don't think that's a good—" Felicity started, but Oliver pulled the needle out of the bottle and jammed it into his knee. She winced. "Ooh." Now medicated, Oliver turned and headed towards his costume as Felicity gagged.
Tommy, Felicity, Laurel and Thea all groaned. Moira winced while Malcolm nodded approvingly.
Upstairs, the champagne was flowing as Moira mingled with her supporters.
"Terrific speech, Moira." One gentleman said. "How did we not think of running you years ago?"
"Thank you." She said with a smile. As he moved off, she looked over and Saw Thea and Diggle standing at a table. "Uh, can you give me a moment?" she asked Mark.
"Mm-hmm, of course." He said happily.
She started moving towards Thea, determined to make things right, when suddenly gun shots rang out. She looked over in alarm to see Roy rushing in, throwing one of the security guards across the room. People started screaming and running for the exits as Diggle ran over to Moira.
"You need to go now!" he urged, passing her off to one of the other guards.
"No, no, no! I can't leave without my daughter!" she cried fearfully.
"I'll see to the safety of your daughter! Go, go!" Moira struggled as she was pulled towards the exit. Diggle turned to Thea. "Thea, we have to go now!"
"No, it's Roy!" she yelled back. "I'm not leaving him! He came here for me!"
"That's not a good thing." Roy ground out.
Roy grabbed another guard by the hand, blocking his gun, and tossed him at Diggle. Both men were sent crashing to the ground. Roy looked over and ripped the velvet rope off of the metal pole, then picked up the pole and swung it into Diggle's head, knocking him out.
Dig winced. "Oh, that's gonna hurt…"
"Roy!" Thea cried out, drawing his attention. "Roy, listen to me! Listen to my voice! I don't know what's going on with you, but I have to believe the man I fell in love with is still inside there, somewhere." She cried. As he moved towards her. His hand was shaking as the Mirakuru kept hold of him. "You have to fight." Thea urged. "You're strong. You can fight this. Fight this!" Suddenly Roy's hand snapped out and grabbed her by the throat. Thea was gasping and choking as he lifted her a foot off of the ground.
Moira paled as Thea was slowly choked to death, and Malcolm was gripping the edges of his chair tightly. Roy squeezed his eyes shut even as Mia leaned over and whispered, "It's okay. I'm fine." Over and over into his ear.
"Roy!" The Canary yelled, coming into the club with her gun drawn. "Put her down." She ordered.
"Please don't." Thea choked out. "He can't control it!"
"That's why I don't have a choice." Sara said coldly.
Suddenly Sin was there, blocking her shot. "Whoa!" she yelled.
"Get out of the way." She told her friend.
"Don't do this." Sin urged.
Roy suddenly tossed Thea to the ground and turned fully towards Sara. The Canary shoved Sin out of the way and dropped to one knee, shooting Roy- in the leg. The boy fell to the ground, groaning in pain as Sara stood over him, her gun pointed at his head.
Roy looked up at her. "Kill me." He gasped out. "Please. Kill me." He begged.
That startled Mia. She remembered him briefly regaining control, but had forgotten what he had begged Sara to do.
"Please don't do it!" Thea pleaded. Sara's finger tightened on the trigger as Roy got back to his feet…
Then The Arrow arrived, firing three venom-filled arrows into Roy's chest. Roy looked down in surprise, and then fell back to the ground, unconscious.
"No one dies tonight." Oliver told Sara harshly.
Both Malcolm and Moira visibly relaxed, as did Thea. Mia looked over at her husband. "See? Clever."
"I could have killed you. I ALMOST killed you." Roy argued.
"I wish you had." She replied quietly, though Thea heard her. Thea's eyes narrowed, and once again she wondered what Mia was hiding that was so horrible.
"The police…" Thea croaked.
"Go outside." The Arrow ordered the two girls. "We'll get Roy the help he needs. I promise! Go!" he urged. Sin led Thea out of the club, and Oliver and Sara picked Roy up and dragged him back down to the basement. Soon, he was back on the table, hooked up to an I.V.
"Ah, Tibetan pit viper venom. A constant dose of that can't be good for you." Felicity said worriedly. She looked to Oliver. "Right?"
"It'll keep him sedated like it did Slade." Diggle said.
"Until when?" she asked. "And what happens when we run out? It's not like you can buy this stuff over the counter. Unless you're in Tibet. Then maybe."
"We'll take care of him." Oliver said. He looked at Sara. "I'm not ready to give up on Roy." He stated before limping off.
"He never did give up on me." Roy said.
"And you never gave up on me." Mia added, leaning into his side.
"Anyone else crave dim sum after fisticuffs?" Felicity asked. The others were silent. "No? Ok. Dumplings for one, then."
"Actually, Chinese sounds really good." Tommy remarked.
"Wait about five minutes, and you won't be hungry." Mia said darkly.
"I would have killed him." Sara said after Felicity walked off. "I was ready to." She turned to Oliver. "He'd be dead right now if you wouldn't have stopped me."
"But he's not. That's all that matters." Oliver said, limping off.
"That's not true." Sara said. "I wanted to kill Roy. Because that's what I do. That's who I am." She said in realization. "I spent six years in the darkness. And I looked into the eyes of the devil and I gave him my soul."
"Let me help you get it back." Oliver quietly pleaded.
"No, you deserve someone better." She said sadly. "Someone who can harness that light that's still inside of you. But I'm not that person. And I never will be."
"Sara…" he turned to her as she started to leave. "Don't." he begged.
"I'm sorry." She said. "I just care about you too much to be with you."
"Wow. Is that bullshit line contagious or something?" Thea asked sarcastically.
"Us masks all have martyr complexes." Sara quipped.
"This is when you went back?" Lance said dejectedly.
Sara sighed. "I wasn't ready to come home, Dad. I only thought that I was. Plus, with Slade having an army, I knew we'd need an army as well to defeat them. Returning to the League, returning to Nyssa- it may have helped save the city. And I'm fine with that."
A few minutes later, Sara was climbing onto her bike when Sin walked up to her. "Hey." She said. "Everything ok?"
"Yeah. Just had a long day." Sara said tiredly.
"How's Roy?" she asked.
"Well, he's alive, no thanks to me." Sara smiled at her friend. "You know, that was brave getting between us. It took guts."
"Not really. I knew you wouldn't really hurt him." Sin said confidently. "You're not a killer." Sara looked at her sadly, and then hugged her tightly. "What's this for?" she asked.
"Saying good-bye."
"What?" Sin said in alarm. "Wait, where are you going?" she asked.
Sara climbed onto her bike and started it up. "To see an old friend." She said, before revving the engine and taking off. Sin looked on sadly as another person she cared for left her behind.
"She always thought the best of me- always." Sara said. "Maybe she was just naïve. Or maybe it was willful ignorance because I was the first person to care about her since her father had died."
"Or maybe she saw the real you- the you that you weren't ready to see yourself." Laurel added.
Sara chuckled. "Maybe."
Inside the club, the police were running their investigation while a detective reported to Moira. "We've got every cop in this city canvassing. We'll find this guy." He said.
"Thank you." Moira said. The detective moved off just as Olive limped in. "You ok?" she asked her son.
"Fine." He said.
"Where were you?" Thea asked, her arms crossed.
"He was with me." She lied. Oliver gave her a grateful look.
Thea sighed. "Glad to see the two of you are getting along again." She said before storming out.
Moira sighed as well. "Thea…" the three headed out and climbed into a waiting limo, which pulled off as soon as the doors closed.
The three sat in silence, with Moira and Oliver both looking out the windows. Thea, however, was looking at Oliver. "You knew about Roy." She said.
Oliver looked at her in surprise. "What?" he asked.
"That's why you had your bodyguard stalking me." She continued. "Somehow, you knew what was going on with him."
"Come on, put it together…" Thea groused. She quieted when she noticed how tense Mia was.
He let out a long breath. "I'm just trying to protect you." He said.
"By not telling me the truth." She pointed out. "Just like with Malcolm Merlyn. You know, the two of you; you think you're protecting me by lying and by keeping secrets. But that's what's actually hurting me." She pointed out.
"You're absolutely right." Moira said to her surprise. "We need to turn a new page."
"It's not going to be that simple. Or easy." Thea argued.
"I know." Moira conceded. "If the truth were easy for me, we wouldn't be in this situation. But to start… there's something about Malcolm that both you and Oliver need to know." She took a breath. "Malcolm—" Suddenly their limo was t-boned hard, sending glass flying as the three passengers were knocked out.
The viewers all cried out in shock. Then they were surprised again when Mia suddenly bolted out of the room.
"I'll go after her—" Sara said, starting to rise.
Roy shook his head. "No, let her be." He said. He looked over to Moira and Thea. "I'm truly sorry."
Thea shook her head as she grabbed onto her mothers' hand.
When Oliver regained consciousness, the first thing he realized was that he was bound exceptionally well- his hand and ankles were bound, and thick cord was wrapped around his arms to prevent him from slipping his bonds. As his eyes opened, he blearily saw a woman crying, and for a moment thought it was Shado. As his vision cleared, he saw it was his mother, and Thea besides her. Both were on their knees with their hands bound behind them.
"No….." Thea groaned fearfully.
"Oh, my god…" Lance breathed, watching the scene in horror.
Malcolm was silent, barely breathing, as he watched the two most important women in his life kneeling on the brink of death.
"Oliver!" Moira cried out. Thea was crying next to her, and behind them both was Slade Wilson.
"I was dead the last time you were offered this choice." He said, walking towards him.
"Slade," Oliver groaned, forcing himself to sit up. He tried to slip out of the ropes, but they were just too tight.
"What's happening?" Thea sobbed, terrified.
Slade knelt in front of Oliver. "I often wonder how you looked… when he pointed the gun at Shado… and took her from me."
"You psychopath." Oliver growled. "Shado… Shado wasn't yours!"
"No, she was yours." Slade replied angrily. "Until you chose another woman over her."
"That's not what happened!" Oliver shouted.
"It is what happened! It is!" Slade shouted back, standing. "She told me!" he pointed behind himself- to nothing.
"The delusions…" Diggle breathed. Sara nodded.
Oliver stared in confusion. "What do you mean, she?" he demanded. "There's nobody there!"
"Slade… you were on the island with Oliver?" Moira said in realization. Thea stared at him in shock.
"I thought I had known true despair, until I met your son." Slade told her. "I trusted him to make the right choice."
"Let me make the right choice now." Oliver said. "Kill me." He begged.
Thea and Moira both cried "No!"
"Choose me, please!" he begged.
"I am killing you, Oliver." Slade said, pulling out a gun and cocking it. "Only more slowly than you would like."
"Don't." Oliver begged.
"Choose." Slade demanded.
"Don't…."
"Choose." Slade repeated.
"Please…." Thea was begging through the tears
"CHOOSE!" Slade roared.
"I swear to God, I am going to kill you!" Oliver screamed as he pointed the gun at Thea's head. "No! No!"
"No." Moira said, rising to her feet.
Thea looked over in horror. "No!"
"Mom, no…" Thea groaned with tears in her eyes.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Oliver asked, terrified.
"There's only one way this night can end." Moira said tearfully.
"No!" Thea pleaded.
Moira turned to face Slade. "And we both know that. Don't we, Mr. Wilson?"
"Mom!" Oliver shouted, straining against the ropes. "Please, don't!"
"Both my children will live." She demanded of Slade.
"God, Moira…" Malcolm breathed. It was like Rebecca all over again.
"Mom! What are you doing?!" Thea cried out.
"Thea, I love you." Moira said through her own tears. "Close your eyes, baby!" she said as Slade raised the gun at her head.
"No!" Oliver roared.
"You possess true courage." Slade said, slowly lowering the gun. He put it back in its holster. "I am truly sorry…" Slade continued, turning away from Moira.
"What?" she asked in confusion.
"You did not pass that on to your son." He finished. In one smooth motion he drew his sword and spun, stabbing Moira through the heart.
Moira closed her eyes as Thea cried out in despair. She pulled her daughter in close, whispering comforting words to her as on the screen, her body dropped to the ground, dead.
"No!" Thea cried out, sobbing as Slade withdrew the sword and Moira's body dropped to the ground, dead. Oliver fell over onto his side, utterly defeated. He stared in anguish at his mother's open, dead eyes.
"There is still one person who has to die," Slade said, placing the blade of the sword against Thea's neck. "Before this can end."
"No…" Oliver pleaded weakly. Slade stepped back and used the sword to cut Thea's bonds, before turning and calmly walking back to his waiting vehicle.
"Mom?" Thea scrambled over to her mother's side. "Mom! No! No! Mom!" she sobbed, laying hugging her body as Oliver passed out from the pain.
SEVEN YEARS AGO
Oliver was walking the halls in Queen Manor talking on the phone to Sandra. "Well, yeah, I'm sorry, too." He was saying. "Well, listen, if there's ever anything that I can do… hello?" he looked at the phone sadly, before hanging it up.
"Who was that?" Moira asked as she walked into the room.
"That was, um…" Oliver looked at Moira, conflicted. "She lost the baby." He said.
"Oh." Moira said sadly.
"She said she's sad about it, and she's going to go back to school in Central City." He told her. "Apparently she has family there."
"Well, I'm sure this has been very traumatic for her.' Moira said. "But it sounds for the best."
"Hmm?" Oliver looked up at her. "Sure." He said distractedly.
"You ok?" Moira asked.
"Yeah. Yes." He said more firmly, a smile on his face. "I continue to be the luckiest guy on the planet. What… what would I have done if she…" he sighed, "Ahh. I'm not ready to be a dad." He said with a chuckle.
"No." Moira agreed. "But someday. It's my fondest hope for you." She told him honestly.
"I'm glad I told you." Oliver said. "I don't think that I could have gotten through something like this without you."
"You're never without me. My beautiful boy." Moira pulled Oliver in for a hug,
Oliver relished the hug for a moment before pulling away. "It's, uh… I love you." He told her.
"I love you." She replied. She leaned against the railing, watching Oliver move off into the house with a content smile.
PRESENT
In the forest, Thea hugged her mother's body as Oliver lay still bound nearby.
The memory set ended, and there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Roy slowly rose. "I think we'll call it a night." He announced. "And take tomorrow as well. I think we all need a day…." He wearily rubbed his face before turning and walking out of the room. Slowly, one by one, the rest all rose and followed him out, heading back to their rooms.
When Felicity got back to her room, she took an hour to compose herself. Her feelings about Mrs. Queen were mixed, to say the least- but she respected the woman and it pained her to see Moira killed so callously in front of her children.
'Well, that won't happen this time.' She thought to herself. 'Not this time.' Finally composed, she moved over to her computer and brought up the main screen. Sure enough, after a few keystrokes she was into the Justice League database. 'Okay, Mia. Let's see what you've got…' she hummed to herself as she navigated around the complex system, giving herself a fist pump once she found Mia's file. Quickly she brought it up and glanced at the highlight sheet.
NAME:
Dearden-Harper, Mia
AKA Malika Sihème
AKA Thea Merlyn
AKA Thea Dearden Queen
AFFILIATIONS
League of Assassins- Member 2014-2021
Titans- Member 2021-2027
Justice League- Member 2027- Current
SKILLSET
Archer, Swordsman, Martial Arts master
"All around bad-ass." Felicity muttered to herself. "Okay, if I was hiding something, it would be about my time in the League of Assassins." She brought up the files on the League of Assassins and started scrolling down.
NOTABLE CONFLICTS:
Justice League
Green Arrow (Oliver Queen)
Titans
Deathstroke (Slade Wilson)
NOTABLE ASSASSINATIONS:
Prince Haqauri of Kandaq
Alexi Nimenev
Senator Kelley Puckett
Amanda Waller
Ambassador Jim Aparo
Felicity Smoak-Queen
Felicity's breath hitched and her eyes widened as she read the next name on the list, and suddenly everything else became clear.
Oliver Queen
"Oh, my god…" she breathed as she opened the file.
TBC
A/N: "I'm sorry." She said. "I just care about you too much to be with you."- Sara to Oliver. Boy, this sounds familiar….
I actually teared up reading Moira's death. That was so shocking at the time, and I think the show lost something when she left.
Hey, if you have the time, head on over to AO3. The story over their has animated GIFs that are the highlights of the episode.
To CG:
I swore I wasn't going to do this anymore (respond to reviews from someone not signed in), but you made some excellent points and asked some excellent questions, so…
will be paid off in about 2 chapters.
You know, I had the thought while I was editing "Oliver, why don't you run over to Slade really quickly and jam a few arrows into his head? Maybe an explosive arrow…"
Hopes:
Wait for it….
You know, the funny thing is I did insert a video reference in the final chapter- for something else entirely. I'm totally stealing that idea of Sara making a video for her mother, though!
I will be exploring Malcolm more in the sequel. As for him going after Slade- it's possible that he couldn't find him…
You're missing the point. This whole deal is so Thea WON'T be putting on a costume and fighting crime, or killing people. She wants her younger self to lead a safe, boring, normal life.
I have been considering it.
As for your predictions….
Well, since I cast them all it's a pretty good bet that the Justice League will appear in some form or function. As for everything else?
Not even close
Finally, I was checking out my visitor stats (I like to do that every now and then), and i was blown away by how far some of my readers are from me. So I'd like to give a shout out to all the readers from-
The US
The UK
Australia (really want to visit here one day…)
Canada
Germany (Land of some of my ancestors!)
Ireland (land of some more of my ancestors!)
India (where all my tech support questions are transferred to!)
BRAZIL!
New Zealand (another place I want to visit)
France
Spain
Sweeden
Mexico
Netehrlands
Trinidad and Tobago (!?)
Croatia
Iceland
South Africa
The Philippines
Poland
Denmark
Slovakia
Italy
Finland
Czech Revar
Ukraine (wishing you peace!)
Norway
Greece (No, not the one with John Travolta and Olivia Newton John)
Hungary
Russian Federation (Prochnost!)
Singapore
Israel (My Peeps!)
Austria
Romania
Pakistan (?!)
Portugal
Egypt
Malaysia
Thailand
Turkey
Puerto Rico
Argentina
Europe
Oman
Lithuania
Jamaica
Chile
Dominican Revar
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Venezuela
Suriname
Islamic Republic of Iran (Seriously? Cool!)
Maccedonia
Belgium
El Salvador
The Virgin Islands
Senegal
China (Dudes, stop hacking us. Seriously, our systems were down at my workplace for a week!)
Hong Kong
Morocco
Switzerland
And…
Panama
It's truly humbling to know my story has been viewed in so many countries around the world, and I wanted to thank each and every one of you.