Kid Power: Part II

Two-part One-shot

Thea and Oliver made their way across the parking lot of Roosevelt Park. It was filling up and families were meeting at the entrance to make their way with potluck side dishes and desserts to the pavilion Queen Consolidated rented. "I don't understand why we had to park so far away when there are plenty of good spots up near the entrance to the park." Thea huffed as she lugged the huge insulated container of cold cuts, cheese slices, and other sandwich fillers.

"Because we're just doing what's right. Let someone else have the better spot," he replied, carrying two identical containers, one in each hand.

Roy spotted them across the parking lot and came running over to help Thea, his shoes crunching on the gravel. "Hey, ya know there are a few parking spots left up toward the entrance."

"Do tell," Thea said, rolling her eyes toward her brother.

Screeching tires sounded behind them, and Roy and Oliver turned ready to spring into action. Isabel came roaring past in her red Lexus and wheeled into the spot nearest the entrance. Dust clouds rose up around the trio, and Thea coughed as she fanned it away from her face. Isabel slammed her car door shut and glared at Oliver.

"I guess your partner didn't get your memo to park in Siberia," Thea muttered.

"I'm here," Isabel said, tossing her head and turning toward the entrance. Her heel caught in a few pebbles as she crossed onto the pathway from the parking lot. Her black dress hiked up above her knees as she fell. A couple of kids walking by with soccer balls pointed and giggled.

"A black dress and heels at a park in 85-degree weather? You did tell her it's a picnic, not a funeral." Thea looked up at Oliver. "Right?"

Oliver sighed. "She knows." And he made his way over to help her get up. Although he could sense the company picnic would be a success, Oliver didn't need a crystal ball to see that Isabel would find a way to make herself look bad.

Roosevelt Park was a great location for Queen Consolidated's picnic. A relatively small park, it had gentle rolling hills, lots of trees to provide shade, and paved walkways interspersed with benches for office workers to sit and enjoy an outdoor lunch in good weather. Named after Theodore Roosevelt, it was Starling City's humble nod to the former president's achievement with the country's National Park System. QC had rented a huge pavilion near the children's playground that had recently been installed.

Felicity stood by a table in the middle of pavilion greeting people and helping to organize the food as people arrived.

"Hi," Oliver smiled at her as he and Thea walked over. He noticed she wore her blonde hair pulled back in a looser, lower ponytail today. "Where would you like these?" he asked, holding out the food they brought.

"Over here," she said and moved the bottles of mayo and mustard out of the way to make room.

Oliver came around the table and his eyes immediately flickered to her legs. He'd seen them countless times with the dresses and skirts she always wore. Why his eyes felt the need to check them out when seeing her in shorts for the first time, he didn't know. He cleared his throat and set the dishes down, running his hands down the sides of his own shorts.

"Nice turnout," he said looking around as a frisbee sailed into the pavilion straight toward the drinks that had been poured.

Without thinking, he stepped up on the bench and lunged over the table intercepting the frisbee in midair. He landed in a fluid movement bouncing right back up into the air and executed a searing bullet pass back to its owner. The teen caught it and held on to it earning a nod from Oliver. Several people were there, clapping and cheering at the display.

"Hey, Mr. Queen, I want you on my team. C'mon," the teenager said, shaking his hand out from the force of the frisbee he just caught.

"You got it," Oliver replied, giving him a thumbs up.

"Um, good save, Oliver," Felicity laughed. " And I'm glad to see so many people bringing their kids, too" she added as a little girl in pigtails walked by them and snuck a potato chip from a bowl at the edge of the table.

"I'm not," Isabel said, walking up to them. "One word, Oliver. Liability."

"I would've gone with fun," Oliver countered and walked off to join a quick round of frisbee.

Felicity bent down to offer the little girl more chips in an effort to hide her laughter over Oliver's comeback. "Here ya go, sweetie."

"Thank you," said the little girl, smiling up at Felicity. She lost her smile, though, as she glanced over at Isabel, her crack about kids not going unnoticed. She may not have understood what liability meant, but she picked up on Isabel's body language just fine.

Thea and Roy came up to the table holding hands, and he raised up the insulated bag. Roy looked at Isabel. "Hey, where would you like this?"

"Do I look like I care?"

"No, you look like a -"

Thea squeezed his hand and Felicity reached over to take the bag. He returned Isabel's glare in kind until he caught the sweet scent of sugar in the air. Looking down he saw he was standing in the midst enough cakes, pies, brownies and other delectable goodies of sweetness to open a bakery.

"What are these?" He asked as he picked up something slender and covered in white chocolate.

"Oh, I brought those," Felicity perked up that somebody noticed her contribution. "They're chocolate-covered pretzel sticks. Try one." Roy grabbed a handful. "Or more."

"Day-uuuum, Blondie," Roy said, munching the treat, "these are so freakin' gooood!" Two older boys walked by with a hacky sack. "Hey, I haven't played that in, like, forever. Can I join in?" he asked, grabbing one more handful of the pretzels and following them toward the playground.

Kids have an infallible radar for the best sweets to eat, and they picked up on the chocolate-covered pretzels the second Roy entered the playground area with them.

"See that nice lady over there?" Roy asked.

"The one in black?" a boy asked.

"God, no. She's mean as a snake. The one with the blonde ponytail," he told the small group that gathered around him as he pointed toward Felicity. "Her name is Ms. Felicity, and she made them. They're at the end of the table on the right."

One of the older kids yelled, "Let's go!" and they swarmed the table like bees on spring flowers.

A few minutes Oliver came back, sweat glistening on his skin from playing frisbee with the teens. "Hey, where are those pretzels you brought? I wanted to try your 'cooking'." He beamed at Felicity expectantly as he grabbed a cup of iced tea from the table.

"Oh, they're right . . . here," she looked at the empty bowl she had brought. Two little girls giggled as they put the last remaining pretzels into their mouths.

"Ms. Felicity, these are so good!"

"Yeah," the other girl said. "They make me smile all over my face!" Oliver and Felicity broke into laughter.

Isabel wasn't amused. "They'll be on a sugar high all afternoon," she said, peering down at them. The girls stuck their tongue out at Isabel and ran back to the playground.

Thea had all she could take of Isabel for the moment and followed the girls to the playground, resisting the urge to stick her own tongue out at Oliver's CEO partner. She saw Roy from a distance and smiled. He was swinging effortlessly across the monkey bars as he showed kids what to do. When he finished, he helped those brave enough to try it and guided them along.

"You're a natural," she said walking up to him when he took a break. She wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"I've learned a lot from volunteering at the YMCA," Roy said. "Kids are innocent but so smart at the same time. They can really figure things out." He nodded toward the kids now traversing the monkey bars with ease.

"They've sure figured Isabel out," Thea said. "I haven't met a one who's had anything nice to say about her yet."

"Hell would have to freeze over first," he said. "But not for you. They've all been telling me how 'cute' you are," he covered her hands with his. "Like I don't know." He laughed and turned around to plant a kiss on her lips.

A chorus of "aaaaaah, woooo wooooooos" filled the playground as the kids witnessed Roy's affection.

Thea blushed and headed back to the pavilion just as Diggle and his nephew A. J. walked by. He waved at Oliver and the others and headed to the playground to help out. Like Roy, he enjoyed working with kids.

After mingling with staff, playing another round of frisbee, and showing off a little for the kids on the playground, Oliver gathered everyone's attention and gave a short speech.

". . . and," Oliver said in summation, "I appreciate what each and every one of you do every day at Queen Consolidated. No one person can run a company by him . . ." Oliver looked at Isabel, ". . .or her self. It takes a united front. And speaking of teamwork, let's tackle this mountain of food we all pitched in to bring today." Polite laughter broke out and people started lining up at the buffet table.

Oliver and the rest of the gang stood to the side until the line dwindled.

"This has been a huge success, Oliver," Diggle said.

"Yeah," Felicity agreed, "and I noticed that people are sitting with others from different departments. That is always the mark of a good social function."

Roy handed a plastic plate back to Isabel. She yanked it out of his hand and started fanning herself with it. "Damn bitch," he whispered to Thea and Felicity. "Her face would crack like glass if she ever tried to smile."

A little boy who was coming up to Roy to ask if he would be at the playground again after lunch saw Isabel's display of rudeness. "You need to take a time out," he said, tilting his head way back to he could look her straight in the eyes.

"A what?" she glared down at him.

Undaunted, the boy continued. "Or at least a nap. That always helps when I'm grumpy."

The boy was rather vocal and everyone around snickered into their napkins or pretended to cough. Things settled down and everyone chatted anything non-work related. The staff and families of Queen Consolidated were having a great time. Just like the staff members did, Oliver and the others decided to sit separately to make new connections.

As most people finished, they helped clean up. While the adults did the boring clean up work, the kids all rushed back to the playground. Several of them huddled together like a team on a football field going over their next play. One kid even had a stick and was drawing a diagram in the dirt. They broke apart and two of the girls that had been in the group and walked toward Isabel.

". . . and be sure to have a report itemizing all the expenditures for this . . . picnic on my desk by lunch tomorrow," Isabel growled at Felicity.

The little girls exchanged a look, each standing on either side of Isabel and grabbing her hands. "Come with us," they said as though they'd rehearsed it.

"What? Why?" Isabel protested, shaking her head.

Oliver leaned over. "No, you should go," nodding in the direction, glad that the kids were showing interest in doing anything with her.

Roy came behind Felicity having heard the exchange about the report and put his hands her shoulders. "She reeeeally doesn't like you very much."

"The feeling's mutual."

A wail came from the playground and Team Arrow, as well as a few parents, made their way to check on the kids. The group of teenagers that had played hacky sack with Roy earlier stood to the side, their shoulders shaking from laughter. Somehow Isabel had fallen in her ill-chosen stiletto heels and was covered in dirt and wood chips. Diggle made his way to help her up, but she wildly waved him away. No sooner had she stood and straightened out her dress than a young boy's drink fell out of his hand with such force that the trajectory equation of the liquid spewing out of the red solo cup was equal to that of an M16 assault rifle, and not an ounce landed anywhere but on Isabel's dress.

"Welp," breathed Roy, eyes wide, " that oughta cool the bitch down."

As sheer luck would have it, another boy sailed around on the playground swing rope like Tarzan swinging on a vine through the jungle. He jumped off landing in the sand pit right in front of Isabel. Sand sprayed all over her wet dress sticking like glue.

It was like watching a train wreck. People were frozen, not particularly wanting to help. Whether it was because of the ferocity she displayed to Diggle just now or the rudeness she to displayed to everyone throughout the afternoon, it was hard to tell. But they were unable to turn away, standing in disbelief at the orchestration of the unfolding drama.

Four boys dropped down from the monkey bars, like paratroopers. Wood chips shot up as they landed pelting her legs in rapid-fire succession.

Isabel stood, fists and jaws clenched tight as clams, and veins popped out on her neck like train tracks on a map. Her body shook slowly at first and then crescendoed into a violent shaking. Holding her head back and her mouth wide open, she unleashed a massive roar fit for a lion on an African savanna. She held her head low, and stormed up the path on her toes so her heels wouldn't sink into the dirt pathway, disappearing over a hill. Moments later the unmistakable sound of tires spinning on gravel reached their ears, and everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Damn," muttered one of the teens close to Oliver and the group. "I wish I was young enough to do this and get away with it." His friends double over with laughter.

"Impressive," Diggle said, cupping his hand over his mouth so only Roy, Oliver, and Felicity heard him. "Sign them up for Team Arrow."

"Hell," Roy cocked his head, "we could retire and let them keep the city safe."

"Yeah," Felicity nodded, clearly impressed with their plan. "Who needs a vigilante when you have a playground full of kids to dole out justice?"

Oliver walked into his office the next morning wondering what the day would hold. Mondays were, well, Mondays, after all. Felicity had texted him that she and Diggle were out and about distributing the cookbooks of the staff recipes.

As he rounded his desk, something in his office chair caught his eye. It was too much to hope it would be Isabel's resignation letter. Instead he discovered a small gift bag. He reached in brushing past the tissue paper and pulled out . . . a Ziploc baggie of chocolate-covered pretzels. An immediate smile played across his lips as he sat in his chair. Felicity's thoughtfulness, as an employee, partner, and friend, never ceased to amaze him. He pulled apart the baggie, and the sweet smell of chocolate wafted into the air. One bite was enough to understand why these pretzels disappeared like magic at the picnic. He munched on the unexpected treat knowing the bag would be completely empty by the time she came back for him to thank her.

A/N: Y'all continue to floor me with all the reviews/feedback! Thank you so much! Letting me know what y'all like helps so much!

Oh, and a kind guest just left a review asking for the chocolate-covered pretzel recipe - I'll post a pic collage on my Instagram account (stepstate) around 12:00EST today (7/6/14). Thanks for asking - it's simple to do, and they really are *very* good and quite the crowd pleaser!

I juuuuuuust posted a *brand* new multi-chapter story called "Worth the Trouble" yesterday. If you like my writing style, you might wanna check it out. There is a bit of Felicity battling with Isabel in it as well. :D