When the Queen Jet touched down in Star City, Oliver could not be more relieved, since he already hated that it had taken him this long to come home after he'd gotten that call from Abby, since he never should've left during the middle of Laurel's big case, but now he knew who his next target was going to be. Martin Somers was going down and Oliver was very tempted to not let Somers walk away from that, hell, he was tempted to carve Somers' heart out of his chest, but then he remembered his talk with Bruce. If he crossed that line and gave into that darkness, then he'd just be as bad as the people he was taking down. He had to be better than that.
"Damn, this city is a lot nicer than Gotham was. It doesn't feel quite as dead." Luke Fox said, bringing Oliver's attention back to the person who'd come with him, Luke Fox, the head of Queen Consolidated's new Applied Sciences Division, since after Oliver had sent his mother Luke's resume, Moira had immediately agreed to hire Luke as long as Bruce Wayne was willing to let him go, since she didn't want to be accused of stealing his employees and Luke had made it clear that he wanted to get out of his father's shadow, so it worked out for everyone.
"Yeah, the rot isn't visible yet, but it's there. Though hopefully we can keep it there. I'm just curious about what kind of arrangements you've made until you've found a place here?" Oliver asked him.
"Your mom's putting me up in a hotel until I can find my own place, she really wants me to stay." Luke said and Oliver chuckled.
"Well, since Felicity Smoak left us to go and work at Argo Enterprises in National City, mom is trying to make sure that we don't lose anymore bright talented minds and you're probably one of the brightest minds in the country that hasn't been scooped up by Kara Danvers." Oliver said.
"Actually, she did try to recruit me once, but I was too set on following in my dad's footsteps at Wayne, before now." Luke said.
"Let me guess, you got tired of just being known as Lucius Fox's son?" Oliver asked.
"Yep. It was nice at first, but now it feels like at Wayne, everyone will just see me as second best to my father, whereas here, I won't be in his shadow." Luke said.
"I get it, it's part of why I'm not working for my family's company. I don't just want to be known as Robert Queen's son. I want to be my own man. Besides, I still don't know how Bruce manages to balance being Batman with being the CEO and chairman of Wayne Enterprises." Oliver said.
"It helped when he recruited Dick and then the others. You know, build a team. But anyways, where are we going? Are we heading to your place?" Luke asked, since even though they were in the car, Oliver hadn't told Luke their destination.
"No, she's meeting us at my community center with our daughter Jasmine and her friend Abby." Oliver said, since he'd talked to Laurel over the phone regarding her powers and the fact that Abby had agreed to keep them a secret had been enough to get Oliver to agree to bring her into the fold, since he'd need a doctor to patch him up after certain missions. And while Laurel hadn't said anything yet, Oliver had a feeling that the discovery of her power would lead to her wanting to become more involved in his mission, but that was an argument they'd have once they were face to face.
"Why?" Luke asked.
"Because that's where my base is and now that it's finally done, it's time to bring the team together. Or at least the beginnings of it." Oliver said, since he wasn't going to bring John to the lair until after he'd convinced him to sign on, since Oliver did agree with Bruce that he couldn't protect Star City alone and if there was one person Oliver trusted to have his back on the battlefield, it was John Diggle and this would become a battlefield.
"Your Batcave is ready?" Luke asked.
"I was thinking of calling it the Barracks actually, since for one thing, arrows don't live in caves and calling it the Quiver feels stupid. Besides I'm a military man, so calling it the Barracks makes sense and it also doesn't feel quite as much like it's something out of a comic book." Oliver said.
"I get that, especially since I'm a veteran myself." Luke said.
"Really." Oliver said, giving Luke an impressed look.
"Yeah, while I knew that I was destined for life in a lab, I wanted to get some action first. Now I have a life that gives me both and it also means that I'm not the weak link of your team." Luke said.
"Considering you've worked with Batman, I never considered you to be. If anything, that's our medic, Abby Sawyer, since she has no combat training at all, since not only does Laurel have her cry, but her father did teach her basic self defense while she was growing up." Oliver said and Luke nodded as the car came to a stop outside the center where Laurel and Abby were waiting, Jasmine in Laurel's arms.
"Daddy." Jasmine said happily after her mother put her down as she ran into her father's arms.
"Hey sweetie. Were you good for Mommy while I was gone?" Oliver asked her and Jasmine nodded as Laurel chuckled.
"Yep, she was on her best behavior while you were gone. Mainly because she knows that she can't charm her way out of trouble with me like she can with you, since you haven't developed an immunity to her pouty face yet." Laurel said amused as Oliver walked up and kissed her cheek.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Oliver asked.
"Still need to be cautious not to tear my stitches, but otherwise, I'm fine. Trust me, Abby would not let me out of bed if she thought it would cause more harm." Laurel assured him.
"It's true. She just needs to take it easy for a few more days while her stitches heal and stay on the regiment of pain meds." Abby assured him.
"Good. Now then, time to show you why you're here. But first, Laurel, Abby, meet Luke Fox, the head of the new Applied Sciences Division of Queen Consolidated. And more importantly, our latest recruit." Oliver said.
"Wait, what do you mean recruit?" Abby asked, before she realized what Oliver meant.
"Oh my god, you're the Green Arrow." Abby said.
"Yeah and I'm not even going to ask how you put that together based on the words I just said." Oliver said.
"Let's just say that you're not the only one with a secret past. Especially since we have a mutual acquaintance." Abby said.
"Who?" Oliver asked.
"A British bastard who drinks too much and literally pisses off everyone he meets within 5 minutes." Abby said.
"John Constantine. You're like him aren't you. A sorcerer." Oliver asked.
"The correct term for me is witch, since there is a difference, but yeah. And I can tell by your magical aura that you have some powerful magical protection around you and the only other person in this city I can see having that kind of protection is the Green Arrow." Abby said and Oliver chuckled.
"Wait, Ollie told me that magic exists, but you never mentioned that you had it and you could've used it to heal me?" Laurel asked her friend.
"Sorry, but one of the main rules of being a witch is not advertising it. That tends to draw unwanted attention. But if you want me too, I'll patch you up right now." Abby said.
"Please do." Laurel said and Abby nodded as she took a deep breath.
"Wen sa doog reh ekam, EcnaL LeruaL laeh. (Heal Laurel Lance, make her good as new.)" Abby said as there was a brief red glow around Laurel as she felt stitches dissolve and all her remaining injuries heal instantly.
"That's better." Laurel said, since she'd never felt better in her life.
"Don't get too used to it. Magic is draining and I still prefer to heal people the old fashioned way, since otherwise, I draw unwanted attention to myself." Abby said.
"Got it. But anyways, I asked you to meet us here so that I could show you our base, which I've named the Barracks." Oliver said as he led them into the computer lab.
"You put the entrance in the computer lab?" Laurel asked.
"It's hidden in plain sight and this computer won't work for anyone but someone who's authorized by me. Right now it's only got my scan in there, but when we get downstairs, I'll add each of you." Oliver said.
"Okay, so why don't you show us how to open the place up." Luke said and Oliver nodded as he walked up to the computer, causing the monitor to scan him.
"Identity confirmed. Oliver Queen. Please enter passcode." the computer said.
"Passcode?" Laurel asked.
"Just in case someone discovers our operation, this will keep them out, since the passcode is something that no one but me would guess." Oliver said.
"So what is it?" Abby asked.
"07-27-07." Oliver said as he typed the numbers in.
"The date the Queen's Gambit went down." Laurel said and Oliver nodded as he pressed enter, causing the wall the computer was up against to slide to the side, revealing the hidden elevator.
"Let's head down." Oliver said as they all got in, a look of wonder on Jasmine's face as they did before he pressed a button to take them down.