R and D

"So, are you gonna ask or are you going to kill us with the awkward silence?" Oliver asked as they arrived back in Starling City, causing Hermione to gulp nervously. "Please don't say you have no idea what I'm talking about, you're not dumb."

Hermione sighed, and nodded, clutching the book tightly in her arms. "What, what happened while I went to the library?"

"Dumbledore told me something I didn't want to hear. He's been planning something for a very long time, and now that it's no longer viable, he regrets ever contemplating going through with it."

It surprised Hermione to hear Oliver say something like that about Dumbledore. What could he have been planning that he regretted ever considering? "That's it?" she asked, softly.

"I wanted to hurt him," Oliver stated coldly, sending chills down the witch's spine as he stopped in his tracks just outside of Verdant's doors. The club was coming along nicely, another month and they'd be ready for the grand opening, hopefully if everything went right. It'd be so much easier if the club's owner was going to be around for the opening, but if Oliver had to, he'd run the club and work at the company. What would a few less hours of sleep hurt, right?

"Maybe."

"Oliver, I'm being serious. You've changed a bit since I started helping you. I'm actually relieved to be honest, you're kind of an arse sometimes." Hermione chuckled, her British accent shining brightly, which caused Oliver to smile faintly. Her accent was faint sometimes, so hearing her natural dialect was always welcome.

"Wow, don't hold back on my account, Hermione." Oliver laughed. "An arse, really? That hurts, you know?"

"I said sometimes," Hermione shook her head, smiling as Oliver opened the door to Verdant. "I swear, you're just as daft as..." she stopped, not bringing up Harry and Ron.

"as who?" Oliver asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A couple of people I know from Hogwarts."

Hermione didn't elaborate any further, keeping a smile on her face as they walked down through the wine cellar and into the hidden stairwell connected to the Lair. "Honestly, I do like that you're trying to be better, Oliver."

"I wouldn't say I'm trying to be better... just that I'm trying to make sure I don't cause us any unnecessary problems."

To her though, it didn't matter how Oliver tried to describe it. Oliver had calmed down quite a bit in the past few weeks since they took down Jason Brodeur, he was quite a bit easier to be around. Before he was always short and serious in conversations, like he was always mad and never lightened up very much unless it was with Harry, but now he seemed to be loosening up and everyone could see it.

Who knew what the reason behind this sudden change in Oliver was... maybe even Oliver himself didn't know. Hermione just knew that if it meant Oliver would be smiling more and not being a douchebag, then she was fine with it.

"It doesn't matter what you say, Oliver... after all, it's your actions that say everything."

He stopped for a moment, something in his head clicking together, before walking after Hermione into the Lair. "I'm gonna go study for a bit. You got the time turner on you?"

"Yes."

Hermione pulled the locket from around her neck and handed it to Oliver, who gave a thankful smile. He walked into an adjoining room which he used to study. Ever since Oliver had decided to handle both his vigilante and work life he'd been studying in his off time regarding the Wizarding World, and to make sure he had plenty of time to spend with his family and be where he needed to be, Hermione had given him permission to use the time turner she used during her third year at Hogwarts when she had far too many classes to attend and not enough time.

Honestly, it was a miracle Hermione was able to use it now, but thanks to McGongagall, she was able to use it as part of her nursing studies. It was true Hermione was studying to become a nurse, but now it was more so that it would help Oliver and the team.

Hermione just sighed, wondering how she ever managed to get herself into this position, but it didn't matter, she was happy.

It's your actions that say everything. Laurel told him that a long time ago, back when he was still the notorious drunk playboy. He was still a drunk half the time, but at least he wasn't on the news anymore. Now though, being on the island Oliver knew that actions and words were very different. Yao Fei's actions so far had dictated he was in a neutral position. From the arrow that they were shot with to them being nursed back to health in the cave, to even saving Harry from Fyer's camp, Fei's actions were hard to develop a good picture of who the man was.

Now though, the one thing that had Oliver questioning his own sanity was why he was still slapping a god damn bowl of water. Oh, builds strength... he said, Oliver wasn't sure anymore. Yao Fei clearly was insane. Oliver had to be insane too, because he was still slapping that bowl for the tenth day in a row.

Harry was in the background chuckling at his frustration, which only made Oliver more frustrated if anything. "Will you stop laughing?!" Oliver hissed, gaining a shrug from Harry. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Will you stop being funny?"

"F-funNY?!" his voice cracked as he got to his feet, gaining a look of mild surprise from the thirteen year old. "YOU THINK THAT THIS IS FUNNY?!"

Harry held his fingers up to show he thought it was a little bit funny, making Oliver throw his arms up in the air and walk off into the cave. Harry shrugged once more, taking a bite of the rabbit leg he was eating for lunch. Climbing to his feet, Harry walked over to the bowl and merely kicked it over, as Yao Fei walked into sight with a man with a bag over his face...

The look Harry received from Yao Fei as the unidentified man fell to his knees was one that sent chills down his back. It was a startling experience, something about the malice in Yao Fei's eyes that told him whoever was underneath that bag was someone that was not only a murderer, but someone that Harry had seen before.

"Oliver!" Harry called out, gaining an elongated groan from the billionaire as he came into view of the entrance of the cave.

"What?" Oliver asked with frustration, before his eyes fell on the archer and his hostage. "What's going on?"

Yao Fei removed the bag and the two gasped at the sight of who it was. Edward Fyers… the one who tortured Harry.

"Bloody hell!" Harry couldn't believe it as every wound he had gained in that camp screamed in pain, as he nearly launched at the man.

"You want off the island? He has your way home."

As Oliver came out of that room, a course of action was now underway as he immediately stepped over to his suit and thought about modifications he would have to make, not just to his uniform but to even his weapons.

Silver is a poison to werewolves, but in terms of killing them, it would have to stay inside the body. Adding aconite, or wolvesbayne/wolf's bane depending on the spelling, would make any weapon deadlier to use against them. Oliver hadn't planned on using Queen Consolidated's R and D division just yet for the mission, but he did recall that during his time with Curtis Holt, there was a exoskeleton they'd been working on. With the proper modification Oliver could make a proper defense against a werewolf, Arrow style.

"You get what you need?" Hermione asked, as Oliver merely gave a smirk. "I'm taking that as a yes."

Oliver pulled his phone out and dialed his mother's number. "Hey Mom, I'm gonna be at the office late tonight so you don't need to wait up for me."

-Three Hours Later-

"Mr. Queen, what a surprise to see you in this late," Curtis Holt greeted as Oliver came in with a bag hiding the Arrow's suit. "What can I do for you?"

"Been meaning to look into a tangent of the prosthetic arm we abandoned. I think we can find another use for it."

"A tangent? Which one are you talking about?" Oliver set his bag down and glanced at the table full of half-baked inventions Curtis had a tendency of leaving out. Of course, this was because Oliver advised him to leave the project out as Oliver liked to be able to come right back and not have to reset everything back to where they left off. Walking over to the table Oliver lifted up the robotic exoskeleton.

"I was thinking about this."

Didn't expect Curtis to still be here, but oh well. I'm sure I can come up with some explanation.

"What exactly were you thinking about?"

"Well, when I was on the island, I was often faced with certain situations where I didn't have the strength to be able to perform a task. Whether it was because of an injury or simply because I wasn't capable of handling it alone, I always thought that there had to be a way to make things easier. Recently what with those archers running around, especially the one in red, it's becoming clear that the police can't handle them. We could use this as a way to make the police be capable of absorbing the damage and allowing augmentation of the muscle by adding on force."

Curtis looked interested by this, but wasn't too sure of what Oliver meant by it. "I'm sorry, might just be a lack of sleep but can you explain what you mean by augmenting the user's muscles by adding on force."

"Okay, so it wouldn't necessarily be an actual augmentation. Think about it this way. The average man can carry 275 pounds without being over encumbered and liable to falling over. Add on something that could lessen the load for them while being able to hold more at one time, and the weight limit of 275 goes to 375. It would lessen the strain, increase the overall load, but maintain the dexterity of the original weight."

"So a support item, essentially?"

"Yeah, basically."

"How would that fall into the police work?"

"It's not hard to figure out. How many times has someone been stuck in a vehicle with the doors crushed and they have to cut the door off or make a new exit way? Add the augmentation and the door can pulled free of the vehicle, speeding up rescues. Give the augmentation to the legs, and you could increase the speed and traction of a runner. The possibilities are as endless as we can imagine."

"Wow, you've got more of an imagination than I credited you for Mr. Queen." Curtis chuckled with excitement as Oliver crossed his arms.

"Hey, I told you just to call me Oliver."

"I'm sorry, Oliver. I'm totally for the idea, but it's just an idea, currently. We're still a bit away from that ever becoming reality. At least, for a full body exoskeleton. We could, however, find something to use for specific body parts, like an arm."

Come on Curtis, tell me you're moving in the route I want you to...

Curtis looked at the exoskeleton's arm and Oliver could see the lightbulb turn on inside the man's head. "Okay... Mr, umm, Oliver, come with me."

Oliver set his bag down and followed into the other room where they began the daunting task.

Moira stepped into the doorway of Thea's room and found her laying in bed, curled up in a ball facing the window. She barely could even get out of bed without being afraid of going near the windows. She had heard all about the attack those assassins launched on Harry that night. They came through the windows, so now whenever Thea was laying down, she'd have to face the windows. Moira couldn't help but frown at the thought.

She had been at the office with Walter, so they hadn't been here when the attack happened. The details terrified Moira, mostly because Harry had been shot protecting Thea.

Moira blamed herself, partially for her involvement with Malcolm's scheme, but she was in too deep to get out. It wasn't a choice anymore. Malcolm would do whatever he wanted to do, regardless of his involvement or not. The Red Arrow was a threat in both of their eyes, and Malcolm truly believed Harry was that monster. How could they have thought Harry and the Red Arrow were the same people?

Harry was always trying to help people, while the Red Arrow only hurt them. Moira stopped thinking about it, and walked over to the bed, sitting down beside Thea. "You just going to stay in bed for the rest of your life?"

"Go away, Mom." Thea murmured under her breath just loud enough for Moira to hear it, gaining a disappointed smirk from her.

"I think I've stayed away long enough, as have you been in this bed longer than desired."

Thea rolled her eyes, rolling over to look at her mother. She could see the redness in her eyes, the lifelessness behind them, how her body seemed so stiff. "What do you want?"

"What do I want? I want you to get out of bed and join the rest of the world. I've heard from Margot that you haven't talked to her in a week, and considering she's your best friend that's hard to believe."

"Mom, can we just skip this?"

Crossing her arms, Moira shook her head. "No, we're not going to ignore this any longer, Thea. Yes, you and Harry were nearly killed by assassins. Harry left after the two of you kissed. You've laid in your room for two weeks, you can't even walk downstairs without actively trying to avoid the windows. It's why I've had Mr. Diggle step away from Oliver and stay with you when you go to school."

"I didn't ask for Diggle to babysit me."

"I never said you did. I want you to feel safe. While I understand you are hurting, I can't just sit here and let you wallow."

Thea sat up and sighed. "I'm not wallowing, I'm just... I don't want to do anything. I keep feeling like I'm in a dream that's not ending, and I'm just waiting to wake up. It doesn't feel real, Mom. It doesn't feel real that those men broke into the Mansion and tried to kill us. It doesn't feel real that I watched Harry almost die in jail because those men thought he was the Red Arrow. You know, for a while there I was afraid that Harry left because we kissed. Truth is, I know that's not the reason. He's afraid we'll get hurt because of him. I mean, I can't blame him, as much as I may want to. From the moment he moved in with us he's had so much trouble. He and Oliver were kidnapped, he was kidnapped again and tortured... then was nearly assassinated. I can see why he'd want to leave, if only to keep us safe."

"Then, what's the problem?"

"What I can't get is the total silence. Why he'd completely disappear, not tell us he was okay. It feels like the Gambit all over again."

She's actually thought about this, I'm surprised.

Thea hugged her Mom, glad she was able to get those thoughts out at long last. "There's also one more thing... " she reached beside her pillow and turned her phone screen on to show the one notification.

One Missed Call: Harry.

The night was longer than anticipated, but they managed to get ninety percent done with the augmented exo-arms that Oliver needed. Oliver had fallen asleep for about the last two hours of work but Curtis had kept on it all night. Caffeine was most certainly his best friend, as when Oliver woke up he found that Curtis was wired and still going strong.

They had a press conference to go to in an hour to reveal the new prosthesis they'd spent the last month working on together. Overall the prosthesis had been years in the making but they had made so much progress in the last month it was hard to even believe.

Oliver had gotten cleaned up and ready for the conference when he got a visit from Tommy as he stepped out of the building. "There you are! Moira told me you were at the office all night, but I didn't believe her."

"Why wouldn't you believe her?"

"Oliver, you spent all night in the office! It's like the anti-Oliver Queen move. I'd have expected you to be partying all night or in bed with some hot Puerto-Rican chick, not to be working. I think you're finally growing up!" Tommy feigned a fake cry, making Oliver chuckle in response.

"One of us has to grow up, Tommy. I mean, you party enough for the both of us, right?"

"Oh no, I cannot party even close enough to match the intensity of the Queen's Bachelor Bash."

The Queen's Bachelor Bash. I haven't heard him use that line in years. Oliver thought to himself, patting Tommy on the shoulder. "So how are you and Laurel?"

"Huh?" Tommy sputtered at the strange question. "Me and Laurel?"

"Tommy, don't play dumb with me. I already made it perfectly clear that I was aware you and Laurel had a history. Are you two together now, or what?" Oliver asked with a smile. Part of him wished Tommy's answer was a no, but the other part of him desperately wanted him to say yes so Laurel could be happy.

"No, we are not together. Actually, we haven't spoken all that much recently, believe me or not."

Oliver raised an eyebrow at this. "Why not? I figured you two would have been thrilled to have been able to be open about your relationship and not act like forbidden lovers."

"Hehe, okay, one... you've been watching a lot of Romeo and Juliet type movies, haven't you? And two, we were afraid that you would have been mad about it, seeing as you two were still together when you disappeared."

"Tommy, how could I be mad, after all... I was cheating on Laurel when I disappeared. It was also five years, and she had every reason to move on. If you guys do get together, I won't be upset. I'm actually rooting for you."

It was a lot to have said that, as Oliver did still love Laurel, and hoped that perhaps just one day he might be able to rekindle that relationship, but he knew that with him being the Arrow/Hood, however you wanted to call the vigilante, the chances of them ever getting back together was unlikely.

"Well, thanks for that, but I don't know if anything will happen. I'll keep you updated though."

"Tommy, why'd you come all the way to the office?"

"Right, well, I wanted to talk to you. Tried calling your phone last night but you had it on silent so, this was my only choice. I got a strange phone call last night. It was from Harry."

Oliver froze in his spot, and blinked with surprise. "Harry? What, what'd he have to say?"

"He said he couldn't talk much, but he said that he wants me to take his place as the manager of that night club you two were gonna open."

Take his place as the manager? What the hell, does he really not plan on coming back to town? He's certainly been around, Electrocutioner didn't just hang himself on the police station. I'm gonna kick his ass if I see him again.

"R-really?" Oliver asked, gulping heavily at the response. "I'm glad you were able to talk to him. He certainly hasn't contacted me or anyone else for that matter." He could see Tommy scratch the back of his head nervously. "I'm not gonna argue with Harry's wishes though. If you want to be the club's manager, the job's yours. It'd give you a chance to hit on a bunch of girls too."

Tommy chuckled at this, but Oliver could tell he wasn't too fond of the idea. "I suppose I could take it. Then at least I wouldn't have to hear my Dad saying I'm being lazy and abusing my trust fund, which, ahem," his voice deepened slightly, "which is compromised of his money, as he would say."

"We'll be opening up really soon, so get ready, Merlyn. You're about to be your own man," Oliver clapped his hands together, and proceeded to walk towards the sidewalk. "So, did Harry have anything else to say besides that?"

"Mostly just asked how you and the family were. Said he does miss you guys, but he can't come back, not right now anyway," Tommy explained. It seemed like Harry regretted leaving, but apparently there were more important things he had to deal with. "Oh, and he asked if Thea was okay."

"What'd you tell him?"

"I told him the truth. Thea's been in the dumps ever since that crap happened. It's one thing to be nearly killed at the hands of assassins, but to see someone you care about get nearly beaten to death behind bars, and then kiss, only for them to disappear without a trace the next night, I can't even imagine what she's gone through."

"That we can agree on."

"I also told him I wanna kick his ass for what he did; he didn't seem too phased by it honestly, but hey, he didn't laugh when I said it so I think the message got through to him."

Oliver shrugged. "I know I'd be afraid if you threatened to kick my ass."

"Damn straight," Tommy beamed at him. "So, you have that press conference here in a little bit right?"

"Yeah, you coming to see it?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, buddy."

"Great. I know you'll love it, you wanna get a ride with me?"

"Nah, I got my own ride, plus I think I'll get there faster than you anyway." Tommy shook his head. "I'll see you there though."

They parted paths as Oliver got to the car where Diggle was waiting for him, and sighed. Harry had thought to contact Tommy, but not him... what did Oliver ever do to Harry to cause this kind of silence? Even when they were on their rough patches off the island, they still stayed in contact when they could. Oliver hated to admit it, but, it hurt like hell.

"Everything alright, Oliver?" Diggle asked, gaining Oliver's attention. For a moment, Oliver thought about telling Diggle that Tommy had heard from Harry, but ultimately chose against it. If Harry didn't want to be in Starling City, that was his choice. They didn't need him.

"Yeah, Dig. I'm good."

Sorry bout the long wait for a chapter. Jesus christ, it's been nearly two months since the last update. I FEEL TERRIBLE. not even joking. This chapter is meant to be longer, but I'm just gonna split it in two so that way I don't wait even longer. Let me know what you guys thought, and I will be back very very soon, I promise, this time, with another chapter.