Gotham City

The trio of assassins didn't land in Gotham International, because that would've been too easy. Instead, they landed in a private airfield in New Jersey, approximately twenty miles or so away from Gotham proper. Waiting for them was a car — non-descript, perfectly normal, a match for the normal clothing they had changed into on the plane. Al-Owal took the driver's seat and they were off to Gotham, like a father driving his two daughters to the mall or something. It was a strange picture in Laurel's head, but her mind had been going to strange places ever since she learned she would be returning to America.

About a half-hour or so of driving, they arrived at a large estate on the outskirts of the city, where a large mansion stood, with sprawling gardens and even a fountain. "A safehouse we have maintained over the years," Al-Owal explained as they exited the car, parking it in a far-off corner. Laurel had no doubt it would be gone within the hour, the plates and maybe even the paint job changed, so nobody would ever know it was the same car they used. Another way to cover their tracks.

He input a code into a keypad next to the gate, and not long after they were allowed inside. Once the entered the mansion, they found it already abuzz with activity. Assassins, both those participating in the more critical activities for the mission and those simply doing the grunt work, were scurrying around, either moving to set up their rooms or to complete some errands that had been delegated to them. Al-Owal ignored all the chaos and marched the three of them to the center of the foyer, where a desk manned by one of the mid-tier assassins was waiting. He barely peered up at Al-Owal before passing on three new dossiers.

One of those dossiers was passed to Laurel, and the other to Shado. "Your identities for this mission," was the explanation. A key soon followed, attached to a keychain with a tag, emblazoned with a number and letter. "The key to your room. The number is the floor."

With that, they were dismissed. Laurel and Shado quickly rushed out of the foyer and towards the direction of the stairs. When they made it to their room, they closed the door behind them and collapsed onto their respective beds. Not even the League's training could quite prepare for them for the horror known as jet lag.

Laurel closed her eyes for a moment and allowed herself a brief power nap before Shado woke her up to take her own. Once Shado was settled into her bed, sleeping, the American chanced a glance at the small table where the dossiers were sitting. One of them was open — Shado's. Laurel, knowing that they were required to memorize both files, had no issues taking it from the table and doing a brief read-through herself. They could compare notes together and figure out their public dynamic later. It wouldn't be hard, considering they were already so close already.

The first thing she saw was a digitally-altered picture of Shado, with brunette hair not unlike the color used to dye her own hair and brown eyes — ones that were a slightly lighter shade than her usual ones, enough to look brown instead of almost black. Overall Shado didn't look too different, but it was still a bit jarring to see, and Laurel wondered when they would get the dye and contacts and what her disguise was supposed to look like.

She then flickered down to Shado's 'personal information'. Her friend was suddenly a year or two older, her birthday no longer in June but in May, and her name wasn't Gulong Shado but rather Peng Deilan, or Deilan Peng as it would be said in the western fashion. Yao-Fei was suddenly a businessman, she was an overseas student from China, and she had no siblings. Just about the only thing that was the same was the fact she was a pre-med student. Couldn't differ too much from the truth, after all.

Laurel closed the file and set it down on her side of the table before picking up the other one. Once again she was greeted by a familiar face, except it was her own and it wasn't all that familiar at all. She had never thought of what she would like with wine-red hair, and yet here she was, with wine-red hair and blue eyes. It completely transformed her appearance, and she barely recognized herself.

Her name was not Dinah Laurel Lance, but Myra Kallen. Like Shado, she was now a year or two older, her birthday was in November instead of April, and she was a transfer student from Coast City, which was not too far from Starling. Her father was a private eye, her mother a kindergarten teacher. She didn't have a sister. And of course, she was pre-law.

It was a solid enough background, and it should hold up against Oracle's cursory scrutiny. But only cursory. If Barbara really was as good as the dossier said she was, then they couldn't afford to let her become suspicious of them and start digging. Then the entire thing would be blown wide open and she'd figure out they were League in short order. Laurel really didn't want her friends and family to find out she was alive because she was thrown in jail. And that's only if she survived long enough to be thrown in jail at all — Ra's was not tolerant of failure. Not for low-level grunts like Shado and her, at least.

Before Laurel could think any more on the matter, there was a sharp rap on the door. "Taer Al-Aswad, Qalnaswa. Come downstairs. Now that everyone is here, the master wants to have another group meeting," came Al-Owal's voice.

Laurel sighed. Back to the grind it was.

They were given the supplies for their disguises and a week or so to familiarize themselves with Gotham before finally making contact with Barbara Gordon. Laurel settled her mind using the meditative techniques taught to her by Shado and the League as she and her friend plastered on smiles and talked about some inane thing that Laurel couldn't bring herself to quite remember as they entered the Gotham City Library. They stopped speaking as they fell in line for the main desk where Barbara was working. When they finally got to her, she looked up at them with a small smile of her own, and Laurel felt the guilt pile in her gut.

"Hi!" Laurel started off cheerfully. It was agreed that she'd be the more outgoing of the two since she was the American and Shado was the foreign exchange student. "We're here to check out text books for our classes. We're studying at Gotham University this Spring and the admissions office told us to come here to pick up our books."

"Sure. Do you have your schedules?"

"We do," Shado answered, drawing out her 'schedule' from her purse as Laurel did the same with 'hers'. They handed off the papers to Barbara, waiting patiently, and once she had verified they were on the roster (lies, lies), she gave them directions to where the textbooks were.

Laurel knew better than to push for more than that, like ask for Barbara's name or whatever. That would've set off warning bells immediately. No, instead, they made first contact, and had been directed towards the books that they actually weren't going to read. Once the semester started in a week, they could start visiting the library regularly during her shift; if Barbara didn't reach out to them herself after the first few weeks, then they could reach out to her instead. By that point they would be familiar enough fixtures to allow her to let her guard down.

Weeks. They would be at this for weeks if not months, and another concern made itself known to Laurel — just how exactly was Ra's going to convince Batman to join the League? As newbies, Shado and her hadn't been made privy to the main plan, the plot that was supposed to send Batman begging to finally join Ra's' side. And the thought of that made her stomach roil.

If there was anything Laurel had learned during her time in the League thus far, it was how far Ra's was willing to go to achieve his goals. She had heard enough rumors and stories to paint a very clear picture of what kind of man her master was: a man that stopped at nothing to ensure his vision of the League came to fruition. And his vision saw Bruce Wayne permanently discarding the mantle of Batman to become the next Ra's al Ghul, and that was something that Laurel was sure he'd be willing to burn Gotham for.

After all, if those very same rumors were true, then the effects of the Lazarus were beginning to wane on the master. He had only decades left, if that. If he was to properly secure the League and ensure a civil war did not break out when he was finally gone for good, then that meant he needed to secure his successor soon. And with only one man currently pegged as worthy enough for the role, well… whatever Ra's had in store for this city was anything but good.

The weeks passed. The spring semester at Gotham University started, and "Myra" and "Deilan" started attending classes, for a given value of "attendance". Laurel wasn't entirely sure how they did it, but the League's spies managed to acquire actual assignments and notes from the classes their false identities were supposedly attending. Shado and her had things to actually work on together, even if their actual workload didn't overlap all that much. It was actually refreshing, working on college classwork again — Laurel found herself remembering knowledge and concepts that she had long since put out of her mind for the sake of survival. It made her heart ache, her mind flashing back to that half-forgotten dream of hers, where she was dressed all smartly while standing in front of a judge, arguing for justice. What could have been, indeed.

They did their "homework" at the library of course, always careful to say hello to Barbara whenever they entered the building and keep themselves in her line of sight while they did "homework" together. The "homework" wasn't all that hard to fake, really — Shado and her were just living out the lives they could have had, had it not been for sabotaged yachts and corrupt governments and what not. A part of Laurel even wished they had met this way, for all that she would never trade her sisterhood with Shado for anything.

Finally, about a month into their ruse, their hard work paid off.

"So did your dad force you to get shooting lessons too?" Laurel laughed over a burger and shake. Barbara had invited them out to lunch.

Barbara hummed in confirmation. "First thing he put on the calendar after I started puberty," she complained fondly. "He called it an early birthday present."

"Same here." It wasn't even a lie, yet it still tasted like ash on her lips. "Put me in self-defense and first aid too. 'Can never be too careful' is what he said to me when I asked."

"Must be a detective thing," her target mused. "What about you, Deilan? Did your dad make you learn anything to beat off the boys with like our dads did?"

Shado shrugged. "Martial arts. He wanted a son, and thought this was the best compromise."

Barbara blinked, while Laurel sighed. She had come to care deeply for Yao Fei in the brief time she'd known him before he was killed by Fyers, but while he had clearly loved Shado and Mei, he hadn't always been the best father if Shado's accounts of her childhood were anything to go by. It was times like these that made her want to go back to Lian Yu, dig up his grave, dump him in the Lazarus Pit, and shake him senseless about how he had treated his girls.

They kept on talking after that, Laurel and Shado both sprinkling in bits of truth with all the lies the League had given them to spew, until eventually the meal neared its end. "You can come to my place on Friday if you want," Barbara offered, not a hint of suspicion. "I'm a librarian — I'm practically a walking encyclopedia when it comes to referencing stuff."

"Thanks, Barbara," Laurel said, guilt churning away inside even as she smiled. "We'll take you up on that." "Myra" and "Deilan", after all, needed help with their upcoming midterm papers. The technical work of adding references to papers was always the most difficult part.

Barbara smiled back and gave them her address, as if they didn't know it already and had been keeping watch over it for the past month. Then she said goodbye and returned to the library, and neither herself nor Shado could watch her go without feeling sick. Under the table, her partner grasped her hand and squeezed it tight, and Laurel couldn't help but squeeze back.

Starling City

"WOOHOO!"

Oliver and Sara shared fond, exasperated looks as they watched their best friend, the birthday boy himself, crowd surf with a two glasses of tequila in hand. Tommy pumped his fists into the air as the mosh pit grew rowdier, bopping his head against the beat of the song. He continued surfing all the way to the front of the crowd, where a throng of women were waiting for him. Putting his arm around one, he gave her a sloppy kiss that was eagerly returned.

"He's going to hate himself in the morning," Oliver noted.

Next to him, Sara shrugged. "Yeah, but he already knew that. And you know how he is — he'll be vomiting his guts into the toilet tomorrow and still say it was worth it."

She got a hum of agreement in response. "You know, I think I really don't mind having to be the designated driver anymore, you know?" he mused. "Sure, having to keep an eye on everyone and make sure things don't get rowdy enough for the cops to be called is a bit tiring, but…"

"This looks tiring too," Sara finished for him. "I know what you mean." She'd been abstaining from the alcohol too, and couldn't find it in herself to really regret it. Tommy could have his fun, but she had worked too hard to throw away her chances at medical school for some cheap thrills. Sara just wasn't that girl anymore, and found herself glad for it.

About an hour later, they found themselves with Tommy again, visibly disheveled but with a massive grin on his face. He was tugging along with him a familiar face that they were both surprised to see. "McKenna Hall?" Sara said, lighting up. "How you've been? It's been forever since we saw you!"

McKenna, taller and a bit more muscular than Sara remembered her to be, gave them a sheepish smile. "Yeah, I guess so. The police academy tends to eat up a lot of your time."

"You're joining the police?" Oliver blinked in surprise, and Sara couldn't quite hide her shock either. Their friend was as much as a party girl as Sara had been in her heyday; she had once gotten them banned from a club for stripping on the premises.

She shrugged. "Hey, you two can't be the only ones ready to settle down," McKenna teased them both.

True enough. It seemed all of them were growing up. They continued chatting a bit more, with McKenna complimenting them for doing such a great job at hosting the party, before a horn sounded. Tommy's face lit up. "Come on," he told McKenna, tugging at her hand again. "They're starting the keg stand!"

They were gone before McKenna could even say goodbye. Oliver and Sara exchanged another amused look. "Mission accomplished?" Oliver asked.

Sara mocked a thinking pose. "Let's see: Tommy is having the time of his life and has completely forgotten what happened with his dad earlier, and the mansion is on the fast track to being completely wrecked by tomorrow morning." She smirked. "I agree: mission accomplished."

They exchanged a fist bump. "Let's get some food then…" Oliver suddenly trailed off, his eyes widening as he caught sight of something.

Frowning, his fellow host followed his line of sight, only to freeze when she saw what — or rather, who — it was.

"Ollie, why the hell Speedy here?"

"I told you I could get us in," Thea bragged to her friends as they headed directly to the punch bowl.

"Sorry for doubting you Thea," her friend Margot said offhandedly, glancing around the room in obvious glee. "And thanks for doing this."

"Yeah, Thea!" Emily cheered, picking up a few cups and ladeling punch into them. "This party is sick!"

She handed off the cups to her friends, and the girls giggled before taking their first ever sips of alcohol. It tasted a bit weird, but Thea swallowed it down, already feeling her head growing slightly lighter and buzzier. She wasn't sure if she liked it yet, but it made her feel so much like an adult she didn't care.

They started walking around, picking out some of the more famous guests. Thea in particular kept an eye out for her brother and his friends, knowing that none of them would be happy to see her here. Ollie would pitch a fit, like he had two years ago during the last party she snuck in.

"There he is!" Emily whisper-shouted to them suddenly, pointing discreetly at a sleazy-looking man hanging out in one of the dark corners of the mansion.

Thea immediately felt her good mood falter a bit. "Who's he?"

Next to her, Margot smirked. "Someone with the means to make tonight even better for us," she declared.

Before Thea could even protest, her two friends dragged her away towards the man, with Emily taking the lead. She opened her purse and took out a wad of cash, before speaking to him in low tones. The man smirked and took the cash, handing her a small bag. When Emily came back, Thea got a better look at it — it was filled with a white, powdery substance that made her stomach turn.

"What's that?" she asked quietly, feeling her heart beating faster.

"Like Margot said, something to liven up our night," Emily told her as she opened the bag and took out a pinch of the powder. "Come on, Thea. You'll like it."

Thea swallowed. "I'm not sure about that."

Margot rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a party pooper, Queen. Get over here."

They weren't going to accept no for an answer. Thea swallowed again before stepping forward, and begin reaching out with her hand. Just as she was to dip it into the bag, a familiar, furious voice interrupted them.

"Just what is going on here?" Oliver Queen thundered, an equally angry Sara next to him as they were flanked by two burly looking security guys.

Thea whirled around immediately, and upon seeing her brother and his friend, paled dramatically.

An hour later, Oliver found himself standing outside in the cold, Sara next to him along with a glum Thea. Her friends were no longer with them, having been picked up by their infuriated parents after a prompt call from Oliver informing them of the situation. They probably wouldn't be talking to Thea at school come Monday, but Oliver couldn't find it in himself to feel much guilt about that.

Next to the group, being restrained by two of their security, was the drug dealer that had tried to sell drugs to his sister and her friends. The man had tried to flee once he realized he'd been made, but the security guys, a pair of brothers just discharged from the army, took him down easily and managed to disarm him. Now they were just waiting for the police to arrive and arrest him.

It was a complete disaster, and the only silver lining Oliver could find in the situation is that Tommy was still blissfully unaware of what was going on, and that he had managed to find Thea before she tried her first line of coke. They would need tell Tommy tomorrow, of course, once the hangover was over and he had time to think rationally, but for now his best friend's birthday hadn't been completely spoiled. And he had thought what had happened with Mr. Merlyn earlier today had been terrible.

Finally, one of the SCPD's cruisers rolled up to the curb. The familiar form of Sara's father exited the passenger side, followed by Detective Lance's partner, Detective Lucas Hilton. Quentin took one look at the group before grunting. "This the guy?" he asked, nodding towards the sleaze.

"Yeah, Dad," Sara confirmed for them all. "That's him."

"Right. Hilt?"

"On it," Hilton said, before going over with a pair of cuffs in hand.

Quentin went ahead and took their statements, occasionally asking questions for clarification. When he was done with both of them, he asked about the girls that had been with Thea. "They've already been picked up by their parents. If you want their statements as well, I can give them a call," Oliver offered.

The older man waved him off. "It's fine. I'll call them myself tomorrow. We'll need their statements in order to charge this guy, but something tells me they'll be a lot more cooperative tomorrow than during the middle of the night." He glanced at Thea, before looking back at Oliver. "You call your mom?"

"I did. In fact," he said, looking up the road to see another car arriving, "I'm pretty sure that's her right now."

"Good. Well, I think I'll let her handle the rest. Night, Oliver, Thea," he nodded towards the glum teenager. He then went over to Sara. "Night, honey."

"Night, Dad. Don't stay up for too long at the station."

Quentin gave his daughter an exasperated look before sliding back into the cruiser, closing the door behind him. The cruiser pulled out of the curb just as Oliver and Thea's mother arrived, looking harried and worried. She stepped out of her car and headed directly to Thea, giving her a fierce hug. "Are you alright?" Moira asked quietly.

Thea nodded. "I'm fine, Mom."

"Good." And just like that, Moira turned stern. "What were you thinking, Thea? Oliver and I both told you that you were not allowed to attend this party!"

The teenager looked down. "I know. It's just… things have been hard at school," she admitted. "I'm a Queen, so everyone puts me up on this pedestal. I haven't been making a lot of friends. So when Margot and Emily came to me and asked me if I could get them into the party…" Thea trailed off, before shrugging helplessly.

Oliver saw his mother's face fall, as the three adults exchanged sad looks. He sighed. "Thea, I wish you came to me about this," he told his sister. "You're not the only one who struggled with being a Queen at school. I did too. I was just lucky enough to befriend two people who didn't care about that."

He was referring to Laurel and Sara, of course. Neither of the Lance sisters had put much stock into him being a Queen. Nor had they put much stock into Tommy being a Merlyn. "Margot and Emily aren't like that. They were just using you to get into the party," Oliver continued. "They didn't really care about you or being your friend. Just the fact that you were a Queen, and you could open doors with your name that they couldn't."

Thea's eyes turned shiny, and she crossed her arms, curling into herself. "I know that now," she said, her voice so quiet that one could barely hear her speak.

Before Oliver could say anything to comfort her, Sara saddled up to his sister and wrapped her arm around the younger girl in a side-hug. "Hey, we get it. Starting at a new school is hard. But just stick it out for now and be yourself. Eventually, people are going to appear that are going to like the person you ar now and befriend you for real," she said, rubbing Thea's arm in a comforting manner.

His little sister looked up, looking hopeful. "Really?"

Sara smiled. "Really. I promise."

The younger girl's lip trembled, before a sob escaped her and she wrapped her arms around Sara's middle. Sara returned the embrace, murmuring soothing words and noises into Thea's ear. After a few minutes the fit subsided and Thea pulled away, her eyes red, but overall looking much better. She went to her mother, her gathered her up in her arms before giving Oliver and Sara a grateful smile.

"Thank you," she told them both. "Now, I better take her home."

"Agreed," Oliver nodded, before glancing back at the doors to the Mansion. "And we be better get back to the party before someone decides to start swinging from chandeliers and breaks their head on the floor."

"Indeed," Moira agreed, before glancing down at her daughter. "And don't think you're completely off the hook, young lady. I know you know what you did was wrong and that you don't plan on doing that again, but just to make sure, you're grounded for the week."

Thea let out an audible groan as she followed her mother to the car, while Oliver and Sara exchanged smiles behind them. Everything had turned out alright, after all.

"Myra Kallen" was an alias Dinah Drake Lance used in Detective Comics. If I remember correctly, she used it when interacting with her future husband, Larry Lance. "Peng Deilan", meanwhile, is the name used by the Wonder-Woman of China, in the Justice League of China comics. I couldn't find a comics-based alias for Shado, so this was the next best thing.

Thea, meanwhile, has not been able to get into the party girl lifestyle (or drugs) since Oliver is here and keeping a sharp eye on her. The fact that Moira isn't as hands-off as she was in canon helps. So, while she's have some teenage rebellion, it isn't to the same extent as canon and she's growing up relatively well-adjusted, if a bit lonely thanks to her status as a Queen separating her from the crowd a bit.

Things are going to beginning ramping up soon, especially in Gotham. I hope you like what we have going on next.

Next Chapter: Laurel and Shado's mission in Gotham continues, where they learn more about Ra's al Ghul's plan for Batman.