Summary: Two unlikely souls find each other. One looking for love, the other revenge. Can an innocent Felicity change the mind of a certain dark Mercenary?

Disclaimer: I don't own any DC characters.

Chapter 9

I'm Celebrating

Slade attempted to keep the small smirk off his face as he cruised along the streets of Starling City with a pretty blonde beside him in the passenger seat. Tonight couldn't have gone much better. Oliver showed at his Party. Slade was able to gloat here and there while playing more mind games with Queen. And to top everything off Felicity was extremely irritated with the green hooded hero.

I should have taught her how to throw a good punch earlier. Slade mused. It might have come in handy when she looked ready to smack Oliver. Lade raked his dark eye over to Felicity.

She seemed to still be cooling off from her heated discussion with Queen. She rested her head on one hand looking out the window into the Moonlit Starling city. Her elbow was braced on the car sideboard and her blonde hair, slightly curled for the night's event, tangled in her hand and framed her right cheek as she looked out. It was raining lightly. The raindrops beat gently on Slade's vehicle. Felicity's eyes seem to stare out at nothing in particular as the city flashed by. She was still upset, telling from her tense posture.

Slade found it a little troubling, focusing on the road and Felicity. Especially when he had only one eye to do everything. Looking up in the rear view mirror Slade was slightly startled to see a strong disapproving glare from Shado in its reflection.

"The light is green." Felicty's matter-of-fact voice brought Slade back to reality.

"My apologies." Slade hit the gas but not before glancing at the mirror once more, finding Shado's apparition gone.

"I need a drink." Slade locked the door to wherever his secret hideout was. Felicity should have attempted to see where he place his key, however Slade also had a pad code lock entering in digits so quickly Felicity had no clue what the code could possibly be. Besides she didn't have the technology to try and hack the system or override it.

Slade carelessly tossed his black dress coat in the hallway. Felicity cautiously followed behind him. Was Slade upset? She had never really seen a side of him like this before. But hey! One learns something new every day. Exiting out of one of the entrances from the hallway Slade made his way to a large open kitchen area with black granite counters and stainless steel appliances.

Slade didn't bother with any formalities and let Felicity just wander around his vast hideout. "Drink?" Slade asked hoarsely. Felicity, still uncertain, set her clutch purse gently down on an island table taking a seat in the bar stool.

"No thanks. I think I had enough at the party." Felicity answered honestly. She was a little buzzed.

"Suit yourself." Slade continued to rummage in the cabinet with his back turned toward her. His strange turn of attitude was really confusing her. Felicity lifted a hand to put a stray hair behind her ear while doing so, she turned on her ear com Oliver had slipped to her. Little did Slade know that while she appeared to be staring out the window in his car with her hand supporting her head she was able to slip the com in her ear without suspicion. Now Oliver and anyone else in team Arrows hideout could hear into everything she did. "I'm celebrating!" Slade turned around and leaned against the counter with his drink in hand. "To pissing off Queen!" Slade took a swig of alcohol.

"Alright, so since you're in such a cheerful wonderful mood. There is something that has been nagging me."

"What would that be?" Felicity was cautious as to how she would start her question.

"On the island, what drove you to believe Ivo over Oliver about Shado's death? I would have thought Oliver and you would have built a trusted friendship over time." Slade was silent for a while. Felicity hoped her transmission was coming through clearly to team Arrow. If she maybe found a reason as to why Slade harbored this need for revenge against Oliver, they could convince him otherwise.

"I didn't trust Ivo over that kid at all. The evidence was right before me. Picture this." Slade set down his almost now empty glass of vodka down his voice took on a dark and more serious tone. "You see a man holding in his arms a bloody dead body of a girl." Felicity shifted in the bar chair. This was proving to be a bit more difficulty than she thought.

"But Oliver had a choice. He tried to save both Sahdo and-"

"He didn't even try! He went straight for the other girl." Slade snarled interrupting Felicity who twisted her hands uneasy.

"Put yourself in his situation. Ivo has a gun. You have to choose between saving Shado or Oliver." Slade's wheezing dark laughter filled the dim lit kitchen. He shook his head amused.

"Right. That was a stupid scenario." Felicity breathed feeling like an idiot. Really Oliver vs. Shado! That's all she could think of? "New scenario, Ivo has a gun. What would you do if it were Shado and…me?" Slade cut his eye up to Felicity's baby blue ones.

Without realizing Slade's knuckles began to turn white as he gripped the underside of the dark granite counter he leaned against. The image that was forever branded in Slade's mind of Oliver holding the limp and lifeless body of Shado filled Slade's head. Oliver and Shado were then replaced with Slade and a young woman with blonde hair and perfect creamy skin covered in blood. Soft blue eye's glazed over stared at nothing and a bullet hole was clearly seen, a hole in Felicity's skull.

Felicity waited for something. Any reaction from Slade but he seemed to be in a small trance. Wait. Was he really debating what to do about Shado or her? Felicity felt a small pride of victory settle in her. She didn't think that would actually work.

Out of nowhere a sharp noise that sounded scarily like glass being broken made Felicity jump. Slade broke out of his trance. Someone was breaking in. More glass shattered around various places. Some sounded farther away deeper in the dwelling of the mercenary's hideout and others sounded much closer.

"Hide!" Slade ordered pulling out a katana from who the heck knows where! Felicity slid off the barstool seat. Hide where!? She doesn't even know his house or whatever it is that well except for that tiny room she was always locked in. A window in the kitchen shattered into glass shards. Two dark figures snuck in through the window with amazing agility.

Was this a rescue! It had to be Oliver and Sara. Felicity hesitated. These two figures weren't dressed like team Arrow.

"I said Hide. Get down!" Slade roughly shoved Felicity's head down under the table. The first dark figure pulled out a weapon that glinted in the moonlit room. A sword. The first clang of metal from the two swords meeting rang loudly. Slade delivered a swift kick to the first figure. Catching the invader square in the chest sending him down to the ground before clashing with the other.

Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Felicity was mentally panicking as she crawled on her hands and knees under the bar table she had previously been sitting at. That was NOT team Arrow! Crawling in a formal dress to hide was so not her thing! I hope Oliver is getting all this Felicity thought. A squeak escaped Felicity as the tabled visibly shook with a loud thud as a body was slammed atop it.

Slade recovered himself from the second assailants attack. After deflecting the first few blows with his on sword he reached behind himself and threw the rest of the vodka in the assailants mask. Surprisingly it must have worked. While the attacker was distracted Slade sweep kicked his legs out from under him and then slit his throat pushing the attacker's dead body away onto the table.

More dark figures seemed to pour out from every entrance in the kitchen. Felicity only remembered the assailants pouring in. Slade defending himself and within a few minutes that felt like hours to her all was silent.

Felicity slid a bar chair to let herself out from beneath the table. At least six dead bodies were littered around the kitchen with weapons. All attackers wore the same dark clothing and masks which made them appear like ninja's.

"Who sent you here?" Slade's accented voice sounded just down the hall from the kitchen. Very dark and dangerous. Felicity cautiously made her way to his voice, tiptoeing over the bodies.

Slade wanted to figure out where all these trained soldiers had come from. Somehow someway they had found his hideout. And while it wasn't difficult to fend them off Slade could tell they were trained and possessed weapons that were expertly crafted to suit them. The last invader Slade gave a minor wound. He would bleed out soon but it would give Slade enough time to ask those few very important questions.

"League of Shadows…." The assailant breathed in pain but determined to deliver his Master's message. "He told me…t- to tell you… Shado." Slade had to strain his ear's to hear the last bit of the message but nonetheless, the last word was enough to make his blood freeze. The messenger had taken a suicide pill and foam oozed out the sides of his mouth and through his mask.

Felicity's heels clicked lightly on the tile floor as she approached Slade who released the now dead body of the messenger. She nonchalantly straightened her hair and turned off her ear com. I hope Oliver caught that last part. Felicity thought. The league of Shadows.

Author Notes:

First, I want to apologize to all my followers. These past couple of months have been the busiest ever. I recently moved and I cannot begin to explain all the trouble with the house. A friend close to me passed away. And I was out of town visiting my grandmother. So here is chapter 9. Thank you for being patient. I will try to update again very soon. Please R and R.

~StotusElite558