Chapter 16
Crisis on Earth-X Part IV
"Something good comes out of every crisis."
-Dave Pelzer
The water looked beautiful today, Katie thought. She sat on the bench across from the pond with a smile on her face.
"It really is perfect out here."
Katie turned at the voice, the smile on her face widening at the sight of her mother.
"Mom?"
"Hey there, my baby." Grace brought an arm around Katie who dropped her head against her mother's chest. Grace pressed a kiss to Katie's head. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you." Katie didn't dream of pulling out of her mother's embrace. "Did I ever tell you the story of how I ran away to this pond when I was pregnant with you?"
"No, I don' think so." Katie replied as she snuggled her head against her mother's shoulder. She couldn't even describe the peacefulness of this moment. It's how she always felt in her mother's arms.
"How about we tell you before you have to go."
Those words tore Katie from the moment, and she pulled back and looked over to her mother in confusion.
"Go?" she said. "Why would I go?" she looked back over to the beautiful blue water of the pond. "Why would I ever leave."
"Oh, sunshine."
Katie turned to her left, a smile coming to her lips when she saw her father who reached over and took her hand.
"Daddy?" she turned, bringing her arms around him and he let out a slight chuckle as he pressed a kiss to her head. She pulled back, unable to even stop smiling. "You're here." she turned to her mother, taking her hand. "You're both here."
"We are honey, we've always been here. We've never left you." Grace placed a hand on Katie's cheek. "And we never will." she smiled down to her daughter. "It's just you're not meant to be here, not yet. Not for a very long time."
Katie shook her head. "I'm not letting you leave me. Not again." she dropped her head to Grace's shoulder. "Not again."
Oliver doesn't know how long he's been at it. Repeating the same steps over and over again with only one goal in mind. Katie has to open her eyes and she has to breathe. He will not stop until that happens.
"Oliver, mate," Constantine walked over, trying once again to tear the man away. "She's gone."
"She's not gone." Oliver muttered before stopping, tilting her head back and bringing his mouth to hers and breathing. As before, nothing happened, and so he placed his hands on her chest and continued chest compressions. "She's in here, she just needs to wake up. She wouldn't leave. She wouldn't stop fighting. She knows the kids need her. She knows I need her!"
Suddenly the door flew open and in came Felix Faust who tsked with a shake of his head as he looked between Constantine and Zatanna.
"You know I spared your life because I was on tight schedule, but it would seem that no longer matters." the man walked further into the room, lifting his hands and chanting a spell that sent Constantine and Zatanna flying across the room, pinning their bodies to the wall.
Felix turned his eyes to Oliver whose focus did not turn from his wife. He couldn't help but to chuckle.
"It's no use. She's not coming back." Felix said.
Oliver turned to him without a word, never stopping the rhythm of the chest compressions. He looked back down Katie.
"Come back to me!"
Felicity currently stood frozen, an arrow aimed right at her by Earth-X Oliver.
"Give me the lantern!" he growled.
"I said lower your weapon, or I'll kill her!" came the graveled voice of Batman, a knife to Overgirl's throat.
"Don't listen to him, just shoot her!" Overgirl said, trying to tug from Batman's grasp.
"Her throat doesn't seem invulnerable, so I say again, lower your weapon."
Dark Arrow, glanced over to the man and the knife pressed against his wife's throat. Soon the doors slid open behind Batman, and Dark Arrow couldn't believe his eyes at the sight of the woman he thought was dead.
Earth-X Katie pointed her gun toward him. "How much you want to bet, my bullet is faster than your arrow?" The woman took careful steps until she was in front of Felicity, becoming the one in front of his arrow. "Go," she said to Felicity.
Felicity hesitantly takes a step before hurrying to stand behind Batman. She peeked around him, the scene before her shocking. It was Oliver standing with an arrow pointed at Katie, while Katie stood with a gun pointed back at him. It was something she never thought she would see.
"Just drop the arrow. This is over now." General Robins said, watching the man. "We will find a way to save your wife."
"Do not listen to her!" Overgirl angrily spat and Dark Arrow turned to her. "You were robbed once of the chance to kill her, now you can. Do it."
Dark Arrow turned back to the woman, and he tugged the arrow a bit tighter and yet he couldn't release it.
"Do it!" his wife ordered.
"He can't." Earth-X Katie said turning to the woman. "He won't kill me." she turned back to the man standing in front of her. "He's still in there isn't her. The man I once knew. Who didn't want to follow the path of your father. The man who wanted to create change. You can still do that. There is still hope, you just have to-"
He released the arrow, and it pierced her shoulder. She glanced down with wide eyes before turning to see him reaching for another and that's when it happened. That's when she realized he was gone. Her friend and once love, was gone. She pulled the trigger, and she didn't stop until a blur of light sped past them, and before she knew he and Overgirl were gone.
General Robins dropped her gun to her side before looking down to the arrow sticking from her chest and she stumbled back.
Batman soon hurried down to steady her, and she turned to him, and a smile came to her lips.
"You're Batman." she said again. "You were always my favorite." and those were her last words before her eyes fluttered closed and she let the darkness take her.
Felicity walked over, looking down to the woman in his arms.
"She's still breathing." he said. "We should get her to Gideon."
"She's blonde." Felicity said looking from the woman to Bruce who couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips. Felicity suddenly remembers the lantern in her hands. "Oh, I should-" she wasn't sure what to do, and so she just slammed it on the floor.
The lantern shattered, and the light inside, shot up into the air before splitting off. A portion a of the light seemed to shoot up into the air, while the other seemed to head straight into the woman in Batman's arms.
"What was that?" Batman's eyes when to Earth-X Katie, before looking over to Felicity.
"Hopefully the leg up we need in this fight."
Katie smiled as she rested her head on her mother's shoulder, while her hand rested in her father's.
"I was a wreck." Grace said. "I was seven months pregnant, and I was freaking out." she looked down to her daughter. "I didn't think I could do it. I didn't think I could be a good mother." she smiled as she slide her fingers through Katie's hair. "I went for a drive."
"Which she wasn't supposed to do." Jacob said and Grace playfully glared over to him before looking back down to Katie.
"I was supposed to be on bed rest, but I was getting stir crazy and being trapped in that bedroom only helped me sink deeper and deeper in my head. So, when he went out, I took the car, and I went for a drive." Grace looked out to the water. "And I spotted this pond. I remembered he's brought me here before and how lovely it was." She placed a kiss to Katie's head. "This is where I named you."
"I had to put out a BOLO to find her." Jacob chuckled. "And when I did, I planned on giving her the lecture of her life about following the doctor's orders and leaving without saying anything."
"He showed up and didn't say squat." Grace laughed and so did Katie who glanced over to her father. "He just sat down beside me and took my hand. And we just sat there. Until I just wasn't nervous or worried anymore."
"Come back to me!"
Katie lifted her head and looked around because she recognized Oliver's voice. She looked around but didn't see him.
"Liver?" she continued searching for him, but he wasn't there. She turned to her mother. "Is Oliver here too?"
"No, he isn't." she replied placing a hand to her cheek. "He's out there, waiting for you to come back."
Katie turned away from her mother, her eyes looking out to the beautiful water. It was quiet here, peaceful and here she didn't have to fight. She could just...be.
"I can't stay, can I?" she asked glancing over to her father.
"No, sunshine you can't, but deep down I know you don't want to." he grasped her hand tighter. "You have so much to look forward to. So many happy moments waiting for you." he sighed. "And there are going to be some not so happy moments, but you are going to make it through."
Katie brought her arms around him in a hug.
"I'm sorry I didn't save you." she whispered.
"Never apologize for that. I'm not here because of anything you did or didn't do." he placed a kiss to her head, and she pulled back to look back to him. "It's time for you to go. It's time for you to fight."
Katie turned to Grace who just smiles and nods. Katie stands to her feet and turns to them trying to etch this image into her brain. She doesn't want to forget them, or this moment, or feeling.
Grace stands to her feet and takes Katie's hand in hers.
"I wish I could've told who we are, and where we come from. The powers are not a curse, they are a gift my sweet girl. They are a destiny. Your destiny." she placed a hand on Katie's cheek. "You have no idea how special you are. But one day you will. For now, go, go make us proud."
Katie's eyes snapped open with a gasp. She heard a crash, and when she turned her head, her eyes happened upon Felix who stood above Oliver, a handout stretched as Oliver gasped for breath.
She quickly sat up from the table.
" Stop." she said and the man's hand was forced back to his side and he turned to her. She glanced over to see Constantine and Zatanna pinned to the wall, and so she waves her hand releasing them from Felix's spell.
"Katie?" Oliver sits up from the floor a hand to his neck as he looks over to her.
"Give me one sec," she says before walking over to stand in front of Felix. She tilts her head a bit and a smile pull at her lips as she waves to the man. "This is going to hurt. And I hope it hurts like hell you sadistic bastard."
Felix only takes a step before he's shot from the back. And not by a weapon. It was the light he'd pulled from Katie that shot straight through his body. He witnessed as the light painfully, passed through his body returning to hers.
"Now, return what you've stolen."
Her words forced its way into his brain, forcing him to comply. He turned toward Constantine and Zatanna, before reaching up and pulling the pendant from his neck that held their powers and other powers he'd stolen. He dropped it to the floor and stepped on it. Once broken, all the powers inside, shot off to return to their owners.
As the powers left him, she saw how weak and frail he became, and she took a step toward him.
"Am I formidable now?" she asked as she watched him. "Was I a challenge?" she shook her head. "Your mission when crossing over onto our Earth was to steal my powers and kill me. A fate that you deserve, but I'm not going to do it." she glanced over her shoulder to see Constantine and Zatanna dusting themselves off as they stand to their feet and walk over. "Now I'm going to leave you to them." she looked over to the pair. "Now can you take care of this?"
"You know I have some ideas." Zatanna said before turning to Constantine. "You know Kara once mentioned this place called the Phantom Zone." she turned back to Felix with a smile. "You're just going to love it." the woman grabbed his arm, a muttered a spell opening up a portal. She looked over to Katie. "I think you got it from here."
Constantine grabbed Felix's arm and pushed him toward the portal. He glanced over to Katie and gave her a wink.
"I told you; you had it in you, love." he replied before they all disappeared into the portal that closed behind them.
Katie walked over to Oliver, and he moved to meet her. The moment she was within reach, he brought his arms around her in a tight hug.
"Are you ok?" Katie asked first, just relieved that he was here.
Oliver pulled back, placing a hand on her cheek and smiled. He lost count of the minutes her eyes were closed, and she wasn't breathing. And now here she is as if it never happened.
"You scared me." his thick with emotion. "I thought-"
"I'm right here." she said sliding her arms around him once again and he just returned the embrace.
They stood there for longer than they probably should, relishing in the moment. But they knew reality was waiting for them. There was still a fight, and they couldn't hide from it for much longer.
"We should see what's happening." Oliver finally said and after a moment Katie pulled back and he took her hand, before picking up his bow and heading out into the hall.
They moved cautiously unsure if they'd run into any Earth-X soldiers. When they heard footstep, Oliver released Katie's hand, before using his arm to push her behind him which only made her roll her eyes. He grabbed an arrow, and he brought it to his bow, and Katie watched how easily he moved.
Soon Curtis and Rene came around the corner, stopping at the arrow pointed at them. Both lifted their hands.
"Whoa Hoss, it's just us." Rene said and Oliver dropped the bow. "You two alright? Everyone was wondering where you went." he glanced over to Katie. "Doc?"
"We're fine." she replied. "What's going on?"
That's when they explained that they'd successfully cleared the Nazi soldiers from Star labs. Dark Arrow and Overgirl along with Thawne had escaped. They'd also learned of Stein's worsening condition. They told her Gideon was monitoring the man, but she wanted check herself.
Oliver, not ready to let her out of his sight followed her.
"Twinkie, do you know where you're going?" Oliver asked and she glanced over to him and just shrugged.
"I really don't." she said. She'd been wandering around this place for hours and so the halls looked vaguely familiar. She thinks she arrived outside of the medical bay, and so when she spots a door, she walks over.
When she stepped in front of it, and it slid open. Inside, she realized this was not Stein's room. Katie found herself frozen in place as she stood there looking at the woman lying on the med chair, who looked just like her. Oliver came in behind her, stopping and looking over to the woman as well, a frown coming to his face. He moved aside when he felt someone coming into the room.
"Oh, good you're here." Caitlin said looking over to Katie. "I've been trying to bounce between her and Stein's room. The stab wound was superficial, and I gave her something for the pain, but I figure once it wears off, she'll want out of here."
Katie didn't say anything as she turned away from Caitlin back to her doppelganger. Caitlin looked from her to Oliver with a quirked brow. She turned back to Katie.
"Wait did you not know she was here?" Caitlin asked.
Katie didn't say a word as she walked over to the other side of the med chair to get a closer look. She looked over the woman's features, her hair and the scar. This was the figure she'd seen that she thought was a hallucination.
"She was in a coma." Oliver said and Katie looked over to him. "A few of us were taken to Earth-X and that's where she was." Katie looked back down to the woman. "But then she woke up and she found me and told me that I was lost and that she was there to help me get home."
"She's blonde." was all Katie could say as she looked at the woman. She saw a smile come to the woman's face, before her eyes opened.
"Why does my hair fascinate you all so much." General Robins said as she looked up to Katie. She grimaced as she sat up, lifting her eyes to Katie before reaching out a hand to her. "You must be Mrs. Queen."
"And you are-"
"General Katherine Robins." she replied as Katie shook her hand.
"I'm going to go check on Stein." Caitlin said before moving around Oliver to leave.
Oliver stood there in a very bizarre twilight zone moment as he looked over to the two women who had his wife's face. General Robins looked over to the man before turning to Katie.
"I see you two found each other." she replied, and Katie smiled looking over her shoulder to the man.
"We did. And it has made him a bit clingy." she replied, and Oliver looked over to her unamused. "Go, see if your doppelganger has made any demands yet. He's not leaving until he gets Kara." she turned away. "Possibly me."
"I won't let that happen."
"That's not going to happen."
General Robins and Oliver turned to each other, their sentences said simultaneously. The woman just chuckled before turning back to Katie.
"I think I'm jealous you got the good one." she turned away, suddenly back to the moment she watched/ Dark Arrow release the arrow that shot her. "And I got the one who-" she slid a hand over her bandaged shoulder. "Became something not worth saving." she shook her head before turning to Oliver. "She's right though, he isn't going any where until he gets a heart for his wife. I should-" the woman sat up and turned about to stand.
"Wait-" Katie placed a hand on her arm. "Just let me check this out first before you jump back in the ring."
The General nods before Katie turns and walking over to the medical station. She glances over to Oliver who is still standing there by the door, his eyes moving from the General to her. She lets out a sigh, before walking over to him.
"You're still here."
"I'm still here." he replied dropping his eyes to her. "And I'm finding it very hard to turn around and leave you because the last time I did that, I came back and you weren't breathing."
"But now I am." she placed her hands on his chest. "This needs to be over. We need this to be over, because we have three crazy kids to get back to, and an even crazier life and this just needs to be over."
Oliver brought his arms around her waist, and sighed. His wife has successfully distanced herself from everything to do with heroes and villains for the sake of their children. He admired her for it. It was easy for her. Easier for her than it was for him.
"I'm willing to do anything that needs to be done to end this." she said.
She closes her eyes. She promised herself a long time ago she was done with the fighting and for a while she thought she could. But it seemed that at every turn, it seemed to be trying to pull her back. She remembered her mother's words about a destiny. She wasn't ready for that, or this, but she would push through it to finally end this.
He placed his hands on the sides of her face, and she blinked her eyes open to see him looking back to her.
"You do not have to be involved in this." he said knowing this was hard for her. "There are more than enough people in costumes here that can take on this fight, and you do not have to be one of them if you don't want."
They heard the sound of the door behind them slide open.
"Oh hey, sorry," it was Curtis who looked from Oliver and Katie to the doppelganger who was sitting over on the med bed. "Wait, are you-" he pointed to the woman before turning his finger toward Katie. "That's—that's-" he turned to the look of annoyance on Oliver's face. "That's not why I'm here, there's news. We think there may be a bigger problem than evil Nazis." he looked from Oliver to Katie. "We can explain it back in the lab when you're uh, done with whatever is happening in here." With that, Curtis just backed out of the room.
"That sounds like my cue." the General said, and Oliver and Katie turned to her. "I think I would also like to remove myself from this front row seat of your sickeningly romantic moment."
"Your shoulder-" Katie turned to the woman.
"Is fine. I've had worse injuries than an arrow hole in my arm." she said as she stood from the table. "I'll give you two some privacy." the woman moved to leave the room, but stopped and turned to Katie. "You know I really am jealous of you. And not just because you got the guy." a small smile pulled at her lips. "You also got the choice. To be in this fight or to not be in this fight. Some of us didn't have the luxury. You really are a lucky girl." the woman nods before walking from the room.
Outside of the room, the General glanced back when the door slid closed behind her. She turned and lifted her hand and a smile curled at her lips at the slight glow. She'd felt it the moment she was conscious. It was back. The light was back. She clenched her hand into a fist before continuing down the hall to find someone to tell her what the hell was going on.
Back inside of the medical Bay, Oliver watched as Katie moved about the medical bay.
"You know it was easier when I didn't know." she turned to Oliver. "It's why I decided to leave the mask behind, and I didn't want you to tell me about your cases, or the bad guys." she sighed as she turned away. "It's easier to turn your back on a fight when you don't even know it's there."
That was it, Oliver thought. That was his justification for stepping in as the Green Arrow for John. It was easier when he didn't know what was happening with the team. It was easier to turn a blind eye to it all. But then John has his accident, and Oliver realized the true threat Cayden really was and he couldn't bury his head in the sand anymore.
He wonders if this was another opportunity for him to come clean. He thinks a part of her would understand why he did it.
"But life is all about choices, right?" Katie said turning to Oliver. "I made a promise to our kids that I never voluntarily put myself in a position that could take me away from them." she placed her hands on his chest. "And like you said, there are more than enough people in costumes for this fight, that they wouldn't even need us, right?"
Us, Oliver thought, but didn't say anything.
Katie placed a hand on his cheek and sighed, because she knew this couldn't be an "us" moment. Not when the villain of the week had his face and was hurting people.
"Right, this guy is running around with your face. You want to help stop him." she said. Oliver brought his arms around her. "Which you can't do if you're hiding away with me."
Oliver leaned forward to press a kiss to her lips. It really was hard for him to pull away from her and just walk away. Not after almost losing her.
They pulled from the kiss when they felt the need for air, their arms still wrapped around each other.
"I love you." Oliver pressed another kiss to her forehead.
"Yeah, yeah, just not enough to remember the milk." she replied and Oliver cracked a smile. She lifted her eyes to his. "I love you too. Don't forget to come back to me."
"Never." he replied placing another kiss to her lips. "I'll remember the milk too."
Back in Star City, Ari walked into the kitchen, her ear buds blaring as she walked over to the refrigerator. She grabbed a yogurt before turning to see Will walking into the kitchen.
"What do you want to eat for dinner?" she asked, pulling out one of the ear buds. Will just shrugged before he walked over to the back door to look outside to see Harry lying in the backyard.
"What if she has the puppies before they come back?" Will asked turning to Ari.
"I've watched enough Grey's Anatomy to deliver those puppies." she laughed going to grab a spoon.
"I'm serious." Will said and Ari turned to him. "Maybe we should call them and tell them to come back."
"Chill, if the dog has the puppies, the number for the vet is on the fridge. We will handle it." Ari noticed Will once again turn to look outside. "This isn't about Harry, is it?" Will didn't say anything. "You know—you know they're coming back. It's just a weekend."
"I texted and neither one of them responded." Will said, his eyes out the window still watching the dog. "Something could be wrong."
"Or they're partying like old people and just haven't looked at their phones." Ari walked around the counter to stand beside him. "Look, I've been with Katie and Oliver for almost two years, and one thing has always been true." Will turned to her. "They always come back." she nudged his shoulder. "Seriously, what do you want for dinner, or I'm just going to-" Ari's phone buzzed and she pulled it from her pocket. It was a text from the intern coordinator. One of the interns working tonight called in sick and they needed someone to cover. Ari lifted her eyes over to Will. "How would you feel about getting out of here for a little while?"
Katie found herself once again aimlessly walking the halls of Star Labs as a large group of heroes all gathered to stop a dangerous enemy. She'd gotten word that Stein had succumbed to his injuries and had died. She still wasn't alright with people close to them dying, especially not since the island. She decided to keep her distance, hoping that not knowing the plans would help her not get tugged into wanting to help, but it wasn't working.
Her hand mindlessly moved over her wrist. The bracelet was gone, and there was nothing hindering her powers. She could help. She could be a big help in stopping the bad guys and yet a part of her can't find it in herself to give up this fantasy that she could live a life without fighting.
Even with all the time she'd been in this building, Katie barely knew where anything was. So her aimless walking that was supposed to distance herself from the heroes seemed to lead her right to where they were. She stopped at the entrance, her eyes looking upon the group who were now changed into their hero gear.
She spotted Oliver among them, blending in perfectly in the group like he was meant to be there. Her doppelganger stood near the monitors beside Felicity, with a look of determination as Felicity was explaining something. That look seemed to be shared amongst the group of people in front of her.
Katie felt the tug of the fight inside of her and it told her she was meant to be there too, but her stubbornness to the voice in her head made her turn around to leave.
"Failure is not an option!"
Katie stopped and turned at Oliver's voice. His back was to her, as he spoke to group surrounding him.
"Losing is not an option! And we are going to show these people that this earth belongs to us."
Katie doesn't know how he gave this up. This person he was right now, with the hood and the mask, and the conviction. She doesn't see how he just walked away, even though she's glad he did. She once again turned to leave, and this time she nearly bumped into kevlar.
"Son of a-" she swat Bruce's arm, the man now dawned as Batman. "Make a sound, why don't you."
A small smiled pulled at his lips as he looked down to her.
"Going somewhere, Robins?" he asked, and she folded her arms over her chest. "The party seems to be in this room."
"Yeah, well, I've been to enough of these parties to last a lifetime." she replied. "And there are enough weirdos in suits in this room, and I don't need to be one of them."
"Weirdos in suits?" Barry's voice spoke from behind her.
Katie nearly jumped out of her skin before she turned around to look at the man, now realizing he along with every other person was standing there looking at her.
"I think I'm offended." Barry said and Katie just shook her head. "I also remember telling you earlier, this fight, we do it together. That includes you. We could use your help."
This was the moment Katie was afraid of. Someone actually asking her to step into this fight. That fight within herself just got a whole lot harder. Her hand once again slipped over her wrist. A part of her wonders if she missed the damn bracelet. Because it was an excuse. Something she could hide behind and they would just understand.
She didn't have that anymore. Nothing to hide behind. So, as she stands here, being asked to help, she can't help but feel as if her decision was obvious.
She'd been standing there wordless for too long, and she could see them all waiting for her to say something. She felt like a coward. No, she felt like an impostor. They all had this idea of who she was, and the truth was she couldn't live up to that person anymore. She watched her father die in front of her. With all these powers inside of her, and he just died right in front of her. And it changed her entire outlook on who she was and what she wanted.
She didn't want to say no. She thinks it's coded somewhere inside of her to say yes whenever someone asked for her and yet she couldn't say that either. She was suddenly pulled into those emotions she was trying to avoid. She knows she has to say something...anything. And yet she feels at any moment she's just going to burst into tears.
"She is helping." Oliver suddenly spoke up. He walked over to stand beside her, and slid a hand around her, and felt her shift her weight on to him a bit. "From Star Labs with Felicity."
"Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Queen" Gideon's voice spoke. "We're being hailed by another time ship."
"Put it on." Oliver replied. They all started to move toward the communication hub.
Katie trailed behind them, still feeling out of place in the room of heroes. But she stood behind Oliver as the hologram appeared revealing Earth-X Oliver.
"What do you want?" Sara asked first.
"To offer a truce." he replied.
Katie wished she knew what button would end this communication, because she knew whatever he said next was going to be total, utter, bullshit.
"In exchange for what?" Barry asked.
"We will return to our earth peacefully if you meet my one demand." the man said. "Supergirl and your General comes with us."
The team looked over to Supergirl before turning back to the hologram.
"General?" Curtis said.
"He means Katie." Felicity replied looking over to her friend who kept her eyes on the hologram.
"Here's another difference between you and me." Oliver took a step forward. "I don't abandon my friends! And I will kill you if you ever come near my wife again!" Oliver reached forward and pressed a button to end the transmission.
Oliver turned to Katie whose eyes met his. Sara stepped forward to stand beside him, both looking over to the team.
"Alright. Everybody ready to go?" she asked.
Katie glanced around to the team of extraordinary individuals who all nods.
"Never been more." Nate adds.
"We can't bring Marty back," Palmer said, "But we can definitely protect the city he loved and the family he left behind."
"For the professor." Sara said and they all once again nod before filing out of the room.
Oliver stayed behind, hoping to talk to Katie before he left, but she didn't seem to share that hope as she filed out as well. He moved through everyone to see her walk into the hall, going to opposite way of everyone else. He made to follow her, but Sara caught his arm, and he turned back to her.
"Everything alright?" she asked and Oliver nods.
"I just need to talk to her before I leave." Oliver replies before heading off to follow after Katie.
He ran a bit down the hall when he saw her turn a corner out of view.
"Twinkie!" he called, but she just kept walking.
Once he turned the same corner, her saw her step into a room. He hurried into the room, stopping when he noticed her frozen in place. This apparently was the room they held Barry and the rest of their teams hero gear in a row of display cases that looks like the door they're usually locked behind was open.
Katie stood frozen, as her eyes zeroed in on one of the hero suits that looked very familiar.
"Hey," Cisco hurried into the room slightly out of breath. "Hi, I uh just got a notification someone was in here and just wanted to make sure it wasn't a straggler Nazis or something." He kind of chuckled before lifting his eyes to what held the woman's attention. "Oh—that-you're not supposed see that."
"You made a new Guardian suit?" Oliver asked looking over to the man who nods.
"Suits actually." he turned to Katie. "This is just one, there are-" he typed a few keys on his tablet and the doors expanded revealing a section that seemed to be different variations of the Guardian suit. "Quite a few. I think I told you once that I liked designing suits for the Guardian." Katie turned to face him. "You're a hero whether you wear them or not." he smiled over to her. "You're a hero whether you out there with us or staying here. You're the Guardian. In the end, you always end up where you need to be." he nods. "I'll should go, but uh-" he turned to Katie. "I'll leave it open, just in case." with that the man turns and hurries from the room.
Katie turns, and lets her eyes look over to the Guardian suits lined up in front of her. Oliver walks over to stand beside her as he looked on as well.
"You do not have to do anything you do not want to do." he said before turning to her. He felt the need to remind of her that. He knew she must've felt this pressure to choose what everyone else thought she should do. "This is your choice, no one else's." he places a hand on her arms before he placed a kiss to her cheek and rested his head against hers. "This part, walking away from you, never gets easy."
"I don't think it's supposed to be easy." she replied closing her eyes. "I think the harder it is, the harder we fight to get to the moment that we're together again." she pulled back to meet his eyes, and she let out a deep breath as she looked upon him dressed as the Green Arrow. She turned away, suddenly struck with a pang of emotion.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, and she turned back to him with glassy eyes.
She wanted to be honest. To tell him that looking at him dressed as the Green Arrow, dressed as the hero that could get him put in prison, just stirred that fear inside of her once again. She knows right now that's not what he needed when he was about to go out a fight. So, she placed a hand on his cheek and pulled a smile across her lips.
"Nothing, it's just I think I hate this moment more than you do." she replied.
Oliver slid his arms around her waist, pulled her closer to him before he leaned in to press a kiss to her lips.
William thought coming to City Hall with Ari would be fun at first. But she became bossy and put him to work. He was currently setting up conference room snacks for a meeting that was going to be in here later. Once he was done, he grabbed the cart and headed from the room to find Ari. He headed off to the elevator and pressed the button before pulling his game boy from his pocket. As he waited for the elevator, he played around on the game, not even realizing when the doors finally opened.
"Hmph, the interns are getting younger and younger."
Will looked up from his game, to see a man standing in the elevator. It was the fact that he knew this man. He'd seen him a couple times in the past when he would come to City Hall with Katie.
"You're Adam Becker." Will said as he took a step back from the man, which Adam noticed and sighed.
"Yeah, I am and I'm-" the man glanced over Will's head and lost his words.
"Will!" Ari came running over, and brought an arm around the boy, pulling him away from the man. "Get the hell away from him!"
"I didn't do anything. I was just on the elevator; you know which will happen since I work here." Adam said.
"Yeah, whatever," Ari grabbed the cart and brought an arm around Will for them to walk away.
"You know what's ironic?" Adam stepped off of the elevator, and Ari turned with a quirked brow. "For some reason, I'm the one everyone is treating like the bad guy. I get the veiled threats and the dirty looks, when you're the one who attacked me." The man took another step and was surprised when Will was the one who stepped between, he and the girl.
"You need to get away from her!" Will snapped angrily. "You are the bad guy, you loser! You cornered a teenage girl in a parking garage and you're doing to same thing now. This time I won't let you anywhere near her."
Adam didn't say anything as he looked from the boy, back up to Ari and just shook his head.
"I'm sorry." he said before he headed back to the elevator. He pressed the button and waited for the doors to open. His face paled when they finally did, and there standing was Quentin Lance.
Quentin looked up from his phone to Adam, before his gaze traveled down the hall to Ari and Will. The man turned his dark gaze to Adam before he simply moved to the side to let him into the elevator. Adam let out a sigh before finally stepping into the elevator and he just knew it was going to be a long ride.
Once the elevator doors closed, Will turned to Ari who dropped her eyes to the boy.
"Did you just defend me, Wilbur?" she cracked a smile. "You know you didn't have to do that."
"I know." Will shrugged. "But you're—you're like, a sister like person to me I guess, and I wasn't going to let him talk to you like that."
"Sister like person, huh?" she asked with a smile. She brought and arm around him. "Well, you're like a brother like person to me too, so thanks." she grabbed the cart with her other hand. "Let's go see your set up. If you messed it up, you're eating cereal for dinner."
"Whatever, Armpit." Will replied playfully shoving her arm.
Katie remembers adamantly refusing to be in the position she was in now. Hanging back, while others went to fight. And yet here she was standing in front of the monitor with Felicity and Iris, as the team heads out to stop Dark Arrow. With Oliver's refusal of the truce, the doppelganger decided to call his bluff by attacking the city.
"You ok?" Felicity asked walking over to Katie. "You're quiet."
"I guess I don't have much to say." Katie replied as she turned to stretch her muscles.
She thought she could do this. She wanted to do this. Stay behind and out of the line of danger. She wanted out of the fight, and yet a part of her was telling her to run to that room, put on a suit and head out there with them.
They all turned at the sound of the sliding door, to see Laurel who was put in a room by her sister when they arrived and told to take a nap. After not hearing anything, Laurel figured the coast was clear of her overprotective sister. Her eyes turned to Katie with a smile. This was the first time she'd seen the woman since coming to Star Labs.
"Another face I haven't seen in what feels like forever." Laurel walked over to Katie with a smile.
Katie returned the smile, her eyes looking over Laurel, her eyes going to the woman's pregnant belly.
"Look at you." Katie replied stepping forward and bringing the woman into a hug. "Congratulations." she pulled back. "Were you able to get in touch with Ethan?"
"I called the hospital, and I guess they're swamped." Laurel sighed. "And I feel like if I called him, he'd turn his back on a hospital full of people who need him to rush here." Laurel shook her head. "I think once everything settles down, and the evil doppelgangers have been stopped, I'll give him a call." she looked over to Felicity and Iris who were staring at the monitor. "Have they gotten there yet?"
"They have." Felicity looked over to Katie and Laurel. "And it's bad."
The two hurry over to see what going on. Their eyes go wide at the sight of the Earth-x soldiers shooting citizens who are trying to flee to safety.
And then it happened. Katie could no longer pretend. She could no longer turn away. She could see innocent people caught in the middle of a fight they knew nothing about. Despite what she wanted; she couldn't pretend this wasn't happening. She couldn't pretend that she couldn't help. And so, she turned around and headed for the door.
"Katie?!" Felicity called after her, but Katie didn't say anything.
Katie found herself back in that room, her eyes once again staring at the display of Guardian suits. She realized that at least one more time, she'd have to put on the mask. She pulled off her jacket and hurried to get changed.
It was like a scene from a movie. The streets of Central City looked like something out of sci-fi movie as a team of heroes fought endlessly to stop an army of evil soldiers. The main priority was getting people to safety which was tough.
Oliver was currently engaged in a fight, with him and General Robins, against the Dark Arrow. Dark Arrow, sent a kick into Oliver's chest, sending the man stumbling backwards, before he focused his attention on the General.
"I guess you've finally given up this ridiculous idea that I need to be saved."
He threw a punch, but she dodged before grabbing his arm. She darted forward, grabbing his arm and swinging herself around his back, tightening her arm around his neck. She'd spent most of the fight actually resisting the urge to use her powers. This fight, she wanted it to be fair, and honest. She had the sinking feeling it would be the final fight between her and her nemesis. And if this was how it would end, she wanted it to end right.
"When you take your last breath, I want you to think about your mother, and your sister. I want you to think about how you failed both of them by becoming just like your father." she growled.
Dark Arrow growled before spinning around, and dropping back to the ground, making sure he pushed his weight on her. She grimaced in pain, her grasp around him loosened before he turned to face her.
"When you take your last breath, I want you to think about your father as he screamed in pain while I killed him."
The Dark Arrow looked up just as Oliver ran toward him and he quickly rolled and jumped to his feet, before sending a kick to the woman's stomach to keep her down as he turned his attention to Oliver.
"And when I kill you, I want you to know, I plan on making sure your wife suffers a long and painful death."
Dark Arrow attempted to take a step forward, but his foot didn't move. Actually, no part of his body would move no matter how hard he tried. His eyes went to Oliver who didn't seem to have the problem, and he growled at the smile on the man's face.
"I have the feeling my wife won't give you the chance." Oliver said before looking around.
He spots a portal opening, and out walks Constantine who waves with a smile, before gesturing for the a few citizens to step through to safety.
"Where is she?!" Oliver called over to Constantine, and the brit turned to Oliver and just spun a finger.
"She's everywhere, mate." Constantine stepped through the portal, to get more people off these streets.
Oliver turned, seeing more and more people stepping through portals and he watched as Earth-x soldiers suddenly fell to the ground, and gasp for air that wasn't making it to their lungs.
"What's happening?!" Sara called over to him and he turned to her.
"Guardian is here." Oliver replied as he looked around watching the shift of balance in this fight in their favor. "She's getting civilians off the streets!" Oliver said to the team.
And when it seemed that all the civilians had gotten to safety, Oliver heard the footsteps. He turned to see Dark Arrow running toward him, only for the man to stop and look up to the sky to see Kara flying his wife up into the sky. He drops to his knees when his wife literally explodes above him.
"No!" he screams. He was supposed to stop this. He was supposed to save her. When he hears the sound of the bow string, and the click of glock, he growls. "I'm going to kill you." he's only able to grab an arrow and turn before he's shot with both a bullet and an arrow to the chest.
Oliver stands there and watches the man with his face as he falls to his knees and dies in front of him. He'd be lying if he said the sight didn't stir up emotions inside of him. To see himself dying, a moment he'd always feared for himself. He shook his head before looking over to the General who hadn't dropped her gun. He walked over and placed a hand on her arm.
"Hey, it's over." he says, but she can't tear her eyes away from the man lying on the ground.
She walks over and drops down beside him and looks down to his face, his eyes still open, even though they're lifeless.
Leo and Ray Terrill appear behind her, and she lifts her eyes to them and decides to push down her emotions and put on the hat of the tough, strong General. And so, she stands to her feet and walks over to them as she looks between the two men.
"You know I read about this food called pizza. We should get that before we go." Leo walked over to her, with open arms. "Don't hug me Snart, I will-" he hugged her anyway and she just groaned.
The team searched the area to make sure all the evil soldiers were gone and to see if any of the civilians needed help. They all came together in the middle of the street, as they scanned the area. Oliver was headed over, when he heard a chirp from his commlink, before he heard her voice.
"Are you ok?" Katie asked, and Oliver stopped.
"I'm fine." Oliver once again let his eyes move over the area, hoping to see her face. "Where are you?"
Soon a portal opens up ahead, and out steps Zatanna, followed by his wife and he thinks he forgot how to breathe the moment he sees her. She's wearing the Guardian suit, and he realizes how long it's been since he's seen her wearing it. She walked over to stand in front of him and lets out a deep breath.
"It's kind of tight." she says pulling at her collar.
Oliver can't help but to smile as he takes a step forward, fully prepared to kiss her, but soon the others start to gather around.
"Guardian," Barry says walking over with a smile as he looks at Katie. "As always, cool suit. Thanks for your help out there. I know coming out here wasn't easy."
"It wasn't." she said, once again tugging at the collar of the suit, before turning to Oliver and taking a step back. "I have to—I have to get out of this. I feel like I can't breathe." he takes a step forward, but she doesn't wait and turns and hurries off toward Zatanna who opens another portal that they both step through.
Katie and Zatanna end up back at Star Labs, the portal closing behind them. Zatanna watches as Katie pulls off the mask and begins pulling off the suit as her breathing seems labored.
"I shouldn't have gone there." she says, trying to catch her breath.
"And because you did, you saved so many people." Zatanna walked over to the woman, who didn't stop. "Honestly, you had the ability to stop that entire fight on your own. If you only would-"
"Stop!" Katie snapped turning to the woman. "Just stop telling me who I am and who I could be. Stop telling me what I was meant to do."
"You don't think you were meant to do what you just did?" Zatanna moved to stand in front of the woman. "Whether you like it or not, these powers are inside of you and you can't just pretend as if they are not."
"I can't." Katie said turning away for a moment as she got a sudden thought. She turned back to Zatanna. "So maybe they don't have to be. Maybe they can be inside of someone who actually wants them."
Zatanna looked over to the woman in confusion before she suddenly realized what she was saying.
"You want to give your powers to your doppelganger?"
"She's me, right? Logically speaking, she could take them and there wouldn't be a problem because we're basically the same person."
"But you can't." Zatanna shook her head. "You can't just push them off on someone else like some ugly sweater. This is your heritage. This is your only link to your magi lineage. To your mother. You can't just give away something that has been passed down through generations upon generations of your family." the woman took a step back. "Plus, I doubt it would even work. Everyone who tries to remove your powers always fails" the woman turns and mutters a spell to open another portal before turning back to Katie. "Faust, though powerful isn't the worst that's out there. You may not be ready for it, but it's coming. When you're ready to learn how to fight it, call me." and with those words, the woman turned and stepped through the portal.
Oliver returned back to Star Labs, only looking for Katie. When he found her, she was changed out of the Guardian suit, back in that office as she sat with her eyes closed. When he walked inside, she looked over to him and smiled at the sight of the carton of milk in his hand.
"You remembered the milk." she stood to her feet and walking over to stand in front of him.
He sat the milk down on a nearby table before bringing his arms around her. He wanted to talk about what happened back there and she knew it.
"Are you ok?" he asked first and she simply dropped her head to his chest in response.
"Right now, this moment, I am on cloud nine." That was the truth. She didn't miss the uncertainty of these fights with bad guys. She didn't like not knowing if they were going to make it to the other side of the fight. He placed a kiss to the top of her head because in this moment, he felt the same.
Soon it was time for General Robins, Leo and Terrill to head back home. Katie and Oliver, stood with Barry and Cisco to bid them goodbye.
"I can't tell you how much we appreciate everything the three of you have done." Barry said shaking the General's hand and then Terrill. He turned to Leo to shake his hand, but the man held open his arms.
"Barry, I need a hug," the man said pulling Barry into a hug. Barry just chuckled but hugged the man back.
The General walked over to Oliver and Katie to shake their hands.
"It has been my absolute pleasure to meet the two of you." General Robins said with a smile. "I think know you two are out there, living the life you do may dull some of the emotions from the day." she turned to Katie. "I'm also thinking of dying my hair."
Katie just laughed. "I kind of was thinking the same thing." she held the woman's hand and felt a tickle. Katie looked at the woman with a furrowed brow. "Is that-"
"It is." the General replied with a smile. " Whatever you did to Faust, helped return the power he stole from me."
"You had your powers?" Oliver asked and she turned to him. "Why didn't you use them?"
The woman shook her head. "Because the last fight between me and him had to be level." she turned back to Katie. "Have I told you how lucky you are to have gotten the good one." Katie just laughed.
"You actually can't leave yet." the general looked back to the woman with a furrowed brow. "There's just one more-" the doors to the room behind them slid open, and General Robins lifted her eyes to the woman who stepped inside.
"Mom?" she said as Eleanor seemed to beam at the sight of her daughter. The woman seemed to rush forward to bring her arms around her daughter in a hug.
Oliver slipped a hand around Katie, pulling her close to him as they watched the mother and daughter reunion.
"I guess it's my turn to be jealous." she whispered as she dropped her head to Oliver's shoulder. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
"We should be getting ready." Barry said turning to Oliver and Katie who nod as well. They say their final goodbyes before leaving.
Laurel didn't know how much she took things like showers and soft beds for granted until she spent just a few hours in her hotel. With a smile she stepped out of the bathroom, sliding her fingers across the fluffy robe. She was about to head over to order a quick snack from room service, before she heard a knock at her door. She sighed, figuring it was Sara, and so she headed over.
"Sara, I told you I was heading over with-" Laurel pulled open the door, but it wasn't Sara standing there. "Ethan?" she was surprised to see him. She'd called him again, and he finally answered. She told him she was in Central City and would more than likely grab a ride back with Oliver and Katie, or Felicity and Bruce. She forgot the man wasn't patient.
Ethan stood there speechless. He just looked at her, not even sure he believes this moment was happening. So many nights he dreamed that he'd get her back and yet right in this moment it doesn't even seem real.
"Pinch me." he suddenly says and Laurel smiles before stepping forward and pinching his arm and the smile just spreads even wider on his face. "Laur, you're—you're really here, aren't you?"
"I'm really here." she smiles, because she's happy to see him as well. She'd imagined this moment countless times. She lets out a deep breath when she figures she should mention the news she didn't reveal in her phone call. "Actually, we're really here."
She places a hand on her stomach, and he drops his eyes only now noticing the prominent bulge of her belly. Ethan's eyes go wide as he looks back up to meet her eyes.
"You remember that hospital fundraiser we went to? Where we had a few too many and decided to sneak away up to the roof."
"I do." he replied. "Those were some of my best moves that night." he shook his head, once again looking down to her stomach. "We're having a baby?"
"We're having a baby." Laurel replied. She'd imagined this moment as well. She knew Ethan wanted kids and even though they never actually talked about when they would, she knew that when he found out, he'd be happy.
"I have the sudden urge to knock on every door on this floor to announce that I'm having a baby with my wife who is no longer trapped on another earth." Ethan said taking a step back as if to actually give into the intrusive thoughts, and Laurel laughed before grabbing his jacket because she knew he would really do it.
"How about before you do that, you come inside, and I'll show you how much I've missed you after all these months."
The man smiled as he brought his arms around her and leaned in to press a kiss to her lips as they slipped into the room, closing the door behind them.
There was going to be a funeral for the professor later today. Apparently, Stein's family didn't want to drag it out.
Oliver and Katie returned to their room and found something in their suitcase that would be suitable for a funeral. Katie had a pair of dark jeans and a nice blouse she covered with her brown leather jacket. Surprisingly she was the first one ready. Oliver was still in the bathroom, while she sat on the bed, returning text messages from Ari and Will. When he stepped from the bathroom, he stopped and looked over to her and she lifted her eyes to him.
"Don't worry, I'm just returning texts. We went radio silent for longer than normal, and they got worried." she slipped her phone into her pocket and let out a deep sigh.
Oliver walked over to sit on the bed beside her, and he brought an arm around her.
"Talk to me." he said, and she turned to him. "Tell me what's going on in your head."
"When I was unconscious, I had this dream." she turned away, a light smile coming to her face. "I was sitting at the pond with my mom and dad." the smile dropped from her lips. "And then I keep thinking about how they died." she turned back to Oliver. "I think about how your parents died." she shook her head. "Parents are supposed to grow old and die after living a full life. They're not supposed to be murdered, and we're not supposed to watch them get killed." she stood to her feet and walked over to the window. "There is a fight out there, and I know that." she turned to Oliver. "And I know that we could help, but I don't want us to end up like our parents. I don't want our kids to have to live with the pain and sadness we carry because of what we went through."
"I don't want that either." Oliver stood to his feet and walked over to take Katie's hands. "Twinkie, what I told you before hasn't changed. You choose the path you want for your life. You don't have to let anyone decide that for you. Because in the end, it's like Cisco said, you always end up where you supposed to be."
Katie let out a relieved sigh, because she needed to be reminded of those words. People telling her what she was destined to do just put too much pressure on her to step back into a world she wasn't ready for. Right now, she just wanted to give the whole wife and mother thing a good go of it.
She smiled as she dropped her head to his chest and closed her eyes.
"Thank you." she said bringing her arms around him. "It really is hard to step away, but we can do it. We can leave the Guardian and the Green Arrow behind and just focus on being a family."
Oliver didn't say anything. Once again, he was reminded of this secret hanging over his head and it created a pit in his gut. He didn't want to lie, but he knew for certain he couldn't tell her the truth after the words she just said. And so, he simply pressed a kiss to her head.
"We should be heading over." he said avoiding a response all together.
Katie nods, before grabbing her purse, and taking his hand as they leave the room.
What they thought would be a sad ending to the day, turned out to be a happy one. Not too long after Stein's burial, though most of the team had left, Barry and Iris decided to get married with Oliver, Katie, Felicity and Bruce as their witnesses. Barry hoped since Oliver was a mayor, he could marry them, but since they were outside of Star City, it wouldn't work. But there was an alternative. Barry sped off and returned with a confused John Diggle.
"A little warning next time." John said letting out a couple of deep breaths as he looked around to everyone before turning back to Barry.
"You were ordained to marry your brother and Carly, right?" Barry asked.
"Yeah," John replied in confusion.
"We were hoping you could give us the same treatment." Barry said and John smiled as he looked between the couple.
"Wow, really?" John said and the couple nods. "I'm honored."
"Alright, let's do this." Barry smiles turning to Iris.
And so, they all stand and watched the union of their friends. Katie stands beside Oliver, her head on his shoulder as she watches their friends become man and wife.
"We should do this." Katie whispers over to Oliver.
"Do what?" Oliver replies keeping his attention on the ceremony.
"We should stand across from each other and say romantic things in front of our friends." she says, and Oliver turned to her with a smile.
"Is this your awkward way of agreeing to renewing our vowels?" he asked, and she smiled a nod.
"It is." she replied, and he just smiled before pressing a kiss to her lips before they turned back to Barry and Iris.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife." John announced looking between the smiling faces of the happy couple. "You may now kiss the bride."
They all cheered as Barry and Iris kissed. Katie's cell phone suddenly rang, and she took a step away. Oliver turned, his eyes on her as she brought the phone to her ear, and saw a smile come to her face which always seemed to bring a smile to his face. He was sure it was one of the kids calling her.
"You're smiling." Bruce said nudging the man's arm. "You may not have too many of those if you decided to keep this up."
"I'm really not in the mood, Bruce." Oliver said about to walk away.
"You know why they call her?" Bruce suddenly asked and Oliver stopped and turned to him. "It's because she's always there. She has always been there for them. There's been no late nights in the office or missed meals. She's the one thing in this world that they know they can depend on. If you're choosing to do this, you have to acknowledge the sacrifices that come with it, and you have to acknowledge the consequences."
Katie hung up the phone and hurried over to Oliver, with a big smile on her face. He stepped away from Bruce and the truth he was spewing to step into whatever happy moment his wife was in.
"That was Ari, the puppies are coming, we got to go!" she grabbed his arm and began pulling him toward the car.
"You guys are leaving!" Barry called.
"We're about to be grandparents!" Katie called back and Oliver laughed as he followed behind her.
"Twinkie, you got to stop saying that." he laughed.
Author's note:
Oliver has never been one to heed anyone's warning.
Sorry for the delay. I appreciate everyone for sticking in there with me for this story!
Sneak Peek
"We really are going to miss it." she dropped her eyes. "Maybe that's what she wants."
"What? To miss the wedding?" Felicity asked and Thea looked over to her and nods. "Why would she want to miss to the wedding?"
"Maybe she found out a very big secret I somehow got pulled into and asked to promise to keep." Thea shook her head. "I knew that was a bad idea. It's going to break her heart and she probably hates me and you and have replaced us with Claire and Tamera." she looked over to Felicity who just sat silently with wide eyes. "Felicity?"