An Offer
Disclaimer: Something of a crossover idea with 'Stargate SG-1' that I started thinking about and it just wouldn't leave me alone. In this, Ra's Al Ghul is actually a Symbiote that ended up on Earth centuries ago and founded the League of Assassins after taking control of a dying Assassin. In this idea, around 2007, Oliver is dying of cancer and because of it, he's gotten a new perspective on a few things.
Summary: A dying and disgusted Oliver Queen is given a way out of his situation.
Alone in his private room at Starling Memorial Hospital, Oliver Queen brooded in his bed. Too weak to really get out of it and brood while staring at the view the window from his private room gave him. For roughly a year, he'd been battling against an aggressive form of Cancer and despite all the resources his family had available to them thanks to their fortune and the access that granted him, the battle wasn't one he was winning. Which… When he really thought about it, wasn't something he minded all that much. Not after realizing what a piece of shit he was to not only Laurel Lance (and really, was it any wonder she didn't want much to do with him these days?) but to others in general. Another part of his realization being that his family really weren't made up of the greatest people around thanks to certain attitudes and the like of theirs.
Something he hadn't realized had been a part of him until he started getting sick and had to deal with his cancer problem. Another unfortunate aspect of this whole thing with him having had his eyes opened to the truth of things, was when his slightly younger sister, Emiko, had snuck in to see him and told him how things had been handled with her and her mother. Things that had disgusted him and made him realize his parents were worse than Malcolm Merlyn's cold bastard self. It honestly worried him that his baby sister, Thea, would turn out like them and that there was nothing he could do about it. Though when he actually let himself think about it, he could admit to himself that she kind of already was starting to display certain attitudes and such that their parents had. Knowing the truth of things really does suck sometimes…
"You seem troubled, Shab Wahid." Came a voice that made the dying young man's head snap up in the direction of its source.
To see a man dressed in a green and black outfit with stylish designs embroided on it with some jewellry as well. The man's hair was dark and wavy but short while it looked as if he hadn't shaved his face in several days. But despite this, to Oliver, the vibe about the man practically reeked of upperclass to him. "Uhh… Who are you?"
Instead of replying, the unknown figure stepped further into his room and even closed and locked the door before turning his full attention to him. What happened next would shock the ever loving Hell out of Oliver when he saw the man's eyes glow white briefly! "What, what the Hell!?"
Did he get a little too much of the good stuff!? "Be at ease, I mean you no harm, Shab Wahid. I am Ra's Al Ghul and I have come with an offer for you." Declared the figure in an other worldly voice that only further served to freak the young Queen out.
"I uhh… I think you have the wrong guy here, M-Mister. I'm, I'm no Shab whatever."
"It means 'Young One' in Arabic, Mr. Queen. So no, I am most certain I do NOT have the wrong person." Replied the figure.
"Apologies, my other half can sometimes allow impatientness to get the best of him." Continued the man in a more normal voice.
Naturally, this only further served to unnerve Oliver. "Dude… I really think you should leave before Security shows up in here."
His visitor merely smiled at him. "I needn't worry about such a thing, Mr. Queen. I have measures in place to ensure we are not disturbed. But as my other half mentioned, we are here merely to make an offer of you, nothing more, nothing less. One you can so decline if you wish. Though I am most certain you will not decline once you hear the offer." Said the figure.
Oliver calmed down somewhat and though he shouldn't play along with someone who clearly had some mental health issues, he decided he would anyway for the time being. "Alright… I guess I'll listen." He said cautiously.
"I am here to offer you a chance to be free of your sickness. This chance would see to it you would never suffer an illness of any kind again."
"Is that right? Did my parents somehow come across you? Or are you just some nutjob who wants to make a buck off my situation cuase its all over the news? Because with our resources, every possible thing has been looked into."
"Yes, everything possible known to the Tau'ri on this planet." Declared the man in that other worldly voice as his eyes flashed white again.
Having easily heard the emphasis on the word 'this', Oliver couldn't help but chuckle and scoff. "Oh, so you ARE a nut job then."
In response, he'd watch in shock and awe as the man who called himself Ra's Al Ghul opened his mouth and from it, some kind of creature came out for a brief time. The sight of which made Oliver's face turn green and almost puke as it went back inside the man. "WHAT THE FUCK!?"
"Yes, I suppose that would be the reaction to have." Mused the man calmly to Oliver's stunned disbelief.
"Dude, you've got a SERIOUS parasite problem there!"
Ra's' eyes flashed again. "I am no parasite, Mr. Queen. I am a Symbiote, or as my people call ourselves… A Goa'uld. Though such a name has given a number of people an inflated sense of ego as they believe themselves to be Gods and pass themselves off as such." Ra's told him and there was a sense of disgust there to his voice.
Were he not so Earthbound, he would have sent his people off planet long ago to rid the galaxy of those ego minded fools. "How come I've never heard of your… Your people?" Wondered the still green faced Oliver.
"We are not from Earth, Mr. Queen. I trust you to have the intelligence to quickly learn the meaning of my words there."
Despite himself, Oliver scowled at the man. As contrary to popular belief, one he had admittedly helped perpetuate himself, he was a lot smarter then people, including his own friends and family, thought he was. It was just easier that way so his parents wouldn't harass him so much about the family business and learning about it. Not that it always worked of course. "So… You're telling me that you're an Alien? An honest to God Alien?"
"That is correct. Though my host is purely Human as I merely share a body with him. And have done so for 300 years. My brethren would be displeased by the fact I do not subjugate him entirely to my will however. But of course, not my concern for they are not here as I am."
And considering he lacked certain technological aspects, he'd been forced to switch to new hosts every three centuries. Even though he has access to the Lazarus waters, it has proven time and again to not always be reliable. But this all in a sense had allowed for Ra's to create the myths and legends of 'The Demon's Head'. The leader of the League of Assassins. And even have something of a symbiotic relationship with his hosts. Which wasn't something that was done with his people thanks to their domineering ways. His first host had even been the reason he had taken the name of 'Ra's Al Ghul' all those centuries ago as well. "You'll uhh… You'll have to forgive me if I have trouble believing all this."
"Understandable, Shab Wahid. Such knowledge is hard to fathom at first. I too was troubled by it when I first learned the truth three centuries ago."
"Uh-huh, right. So what's this got to do with me exactly?" And hey, if he was being rude, you couldn't really blame him!
"I wish for you to accept me within you. Become the new Ra's Al Ghul so to speak as though I am essentially long lived, my host is not. Even with the Lazarus and my own ability to heal and keep him young, they unfortunately have their limits."
Though to be honest, Ra's wouldn't have bothered with such a Tau'ri as this one, but a Seer among his ranks had informed him of the great potential Oliver Queen had. One that would never be achieved if his illness killed him. A potential to be a great warrior in the fight against the darkness he had fought against since his first host. Another thing his brethren would be utterly disgusted by if they knew. Oliver just stared at him, wondering if he was somehow being screwed with. "I see that you have your doubts of my offer, Mr. Queen. Understandable. But know this, should you accept my offer, you will not only be healed of your condition, but you will lead a great army, one that will live and die at your, our, mere whim. You will not even have to cut off access to your loved ones."
The boy was too high profile as it was and he figured it would appeal to him to know that he could still be with them if he so chose. "I… I umm..."
"We'll give you a few days to think our offer through, Shab Wahid. But if you accept, you will bear witness to history as it happens. That is one such advantage to a long lived life as ours."
Ra's handed him a card with contact information and then left, leaving Oliver on his own as he stared down at the card in his lap. It'd be 2 days later when he would end up accepting the deal after learning his father had cruelly screwed over the workers in his Steel Factory workers and his mother and sadly enough his sister thanks to not knowing better, agreed it was for the best. He'd have his death faked so no one could find him and once in the halls of Nanda Parbat, would become the new host of Ra's Al Ghul.
Author's Notes: I was gonna have this idea showing that he was alive and well 8 years later (around the time of the third season) but instead I decided to go with the origin aspect of the idea instead. Using Google Translate, instead of using one phrase 'Young One', I just kept the words separate to see what I got for each one. Young being Shab and One being Wahid. Plus, I liked it better then what I was shown for the combined words. R and R!