Burned

On Earth, in Nanda Parbat

Ra's al Ghul sat quietly on his throne, a drink in his hand forgotten. He was awaiting word from Maseo on both Ta-er and Joey's status on the Watchtower. From the news that had reached him thus far, both of his loyal subjects had successfully infiltrated the space station, but he hadn't heard much else. Just as that thought crossed his mind, Maseo appeared and knelt before him.

"Speak," Ra's al Ghul said, coming to stand before his soldier.

"Joey has successfully placed a recording device in the room," Maseo stated, head lowered respectfully. "Mr. Wilson has been separated from the group, however, due to his attack on Mrs. Queen."

Ra's snarled but otherwise did not stop Maseo's continued report. "And our reports indicate Nyssa is on her way back."

With a dismissive wave, Ra's signaled Maseo to leave him be before he sat back upon his chair – contemplative and wondering where his sudden rage had come from.

Back on the Watchtower

"So," Laurel started, trying to break the ever growing tension, "who was the guy in the green hood?"

"Roy Harper, also known as Arsenal," Artemis responded in a clipped manner. "He will be introduced shortly in the memories." The archer was distracted in part due to her comm flaring to life as both Helena and Laurel reported in from the viewing room and the damage. Nothing permanent but a clea- up process for the automation.

Situating herself back by the door, Artemis took a watchful stance over the group as the memories started again.

The scene opened on a massive fire in the warehouse district of The Glades. Firemen form several companies swarmed trying to get the blaze under control.On the ground outside near the command center, Fire Chief Raynes was coordinating efforts.

Laurel grimaced at the sight, while Tommy couldn't help but add, "That looks bad." With a groan, Laurel agreed at the right on the nose statement of her apparently future boyfriend.

"Get that hose over to the north face or we're liable to lose the whole block!" he yelled at some of his men. He reached to his shoulder and activated his radio. "Danny!"

"Yes, Keith?" the comm responded, flaring to life.

"Getting a little smokey out here, buddy."

"What does this have to do with Oliver?" Laurel asked, glancing towards the ever silent Artemis. The archer paid little mind to the elder Lance sister; instead, she was focused solely on Malcolm and being certain he behaved. After that mishap with Slade, she was unwilling to have another fight break out.

"Just clearing the upper level." Danny replied, from inside the building. He looked around and spotted another fireman. "Hey you, over here," he called out, waving his arm. "I can use some help. I got a hot spot."

The other fireman walked over, then calmly unhooked a spray nozzle from his belt and sprayed… directly onto the other fireman.

Thea stifled a gasp, and tightened her hold on her mother's hand. "Don't tell me what's about to occur is what I think."

"I hope not," Moira responded, but she didn't have much faith in her words. After the words spilt from her lips, she realized how hoarse her voice sounded, and how there was a dull throb in her throat. More than anything, she wanted to ask her older daughter what exactly Slade had to do with her son and his future – especially after her attempted murder. However, she had a feeling the archer wouldn't say a word and would merely indicate to watch the memories again.

Nonetheless, she couldn't help but feel a sense of elation at the treatment of Malcolm Merlyn. She hadn't known about his secret identity, and while in this set of memories, Oliver had no clue about his attacker – Moira wouldn't hesitate when she got home to divulge Merlyn's past-time and hopefully better prepare her son… or warn him away.

"Hey!" Danny exclaimed, sputtering as the liquid hit his face. His eyes widened as he tasted gasoline. "What-oh! Ohh!" he staggered back, his hand accidently brushing up against a flame. Immediately the gasoline ignited, flames spreading over his entire body. He screamed out in agony as he was burned alive as the other fireman calmly turned and walked away.

Laurel turned her face into Tommy's shoulder, unwilling to watch the gruesome scene. Even Quentin grimaced and tried not to imagine the pain that firefight was in. He wasn't sure yet what Queen had to do with any of this, but he would be grateful to any aid in stopping a madman like that.

The scene changed to the lair. Oliver was hard at work, getting himself back in shape. Physically, he was there. But when he tossed up a tennis ball and fired an arrow, the shot went wide; the arrow hit the back wall, while the ball fell to the ground. He stared at the ball, dejected.

"He never misses," Tommy said, breathless. He couldn't believe his eyes as his best friend – someone who he had seen make impossible shots missed something so simple. He couldn't imagine how his father had gotten into his best friend's head like that.

"It seems our fight has shaken more than just his physical well-being," Malcolm commented, coolly. Artemis stepped forward and placed her hand on his shoulder in warning. Her fingers curling into his flesh that was certain to bruise. "I was merely making an observation," he said, specifically to Artemis.

"Doubtful," the archer responded before stepping away.

"Your eye…" Laurel said, just noticing the dark bruise behind the mask.

"It's nothing."

"How you doin'?" Diggle asked, walking in the lair. "Rehab going good?" There was a care-free air about him, but he seemed to understand specifically that Oliver was troubled.

Oliver stared at the older man, an undetermined look on his face. "Any news on Walter?" he asked, finally breaking the silence.

In that moment, it was as though everyone suddenly remembered Walter had been kidnapped, and Moira had had something to do with it. With little effort, Thea snatched her hand away and scooched away from her mother. While she didn't speak, the words unsaid – what did you do – were loud and clear.

"If I hadn't sent Walter away," Moira said, her voice still breaking – tears in her eyes. "If I hadn't helped, we would be burying another family member."

While Thea wanted to hate her mother, after seeing what Mr. Merlyn (god her father) was capable of, it was hard to blame the fear in her mother's face. Thea couldn't forgive her yet, but she didn't entirely blame her actions if it meant Walter would live and this dark archer would stay away.

However, she couldn't help but add in a pained whisper nonetheless, "We still might."

"My contact at the Bureau struck out. Same with my guy at Interpol." Dig shook his head. "They're both saying the same thing."

"Either my stepfather doesn't want to be found or someone doesn't want him to be found." Oliver sighed.

"No one can completely disappear," Quentin added. He looked over to the Queens. "He won't stay gone forever, no matter where Mr. Merlyn thinks he can stuff him."

Both Thea and Moira looked relieved at that and to have the Detective's support. If any of this did come to pass, they needed whatever aid they could get to keep their families together.

Diggle walked over to him. "It's been six weeks, Oliver." He stated. "No contact from the kidnappers, no ransom demand, no proof of life. I hate to sound—"

"Dig," Oliver cut him off. "We both know he's more than likely dead." While stated bluntly, Oliver could be seen obviously affected by his own words.

Thea couldn't help but make a choked sound at the prospect of having to say good-bye to Walter. After her father disappeared with her brother, he had been there for her and had helped her keep her life together… and had helped fix and save her mother at the same time.

"He's alive," Artemis offered, hoping to set everyone at ease. In her ear, she heard Helena pointing out that perhaps she should offer the same help to the Lance's before they received the shock of their lives once year one came to a close.

"What do you want to do?" Diggle asked in response.

"I don't know." Oliver sighed, clearly frustrated. "Even my contacts in the Bratva can't dig up a lead."

"I wasn't talking about Walter." Diggle picked up the notebook from the table. "Back at fighting weight, looks like. And last I checked, there were more than a few names to cross off in this book."

Tommy could see that the last thing Oliver wanted was to address the List; the look was written all over his best friend's face. A few memories back, he would have thought that perhaps losing this fighting spirit would be for the best, but now, Tommy wanted his best friend to get back in the fight and stop his father from whatever terrible plan he had brewing.

"Those people aren't going anywhere." Oliver said. "With Walter missing, my family needs me right now."

Unable to help himself, Malcolm grinned. Perhaps, he thought, all he needed to do to keep Moira's son off his back was to simply knock the boy down a few pegs. He figured Moira couldn't fault him completely if one fight was the cost. It seemed that he might not need to kidnap or seriously injure Oliver if losing a fight was all the convincing that was needed… though he was doubtful that would be enough entirely.

In another room, far from this group, Slade enjoyed watching the kid's disappointment and distrust in himself. Half the plan was for Queen to destroy himself, and watching now, it seemed as though it had already begun.

The scene changed to the present at CNRI. Joanna was talking, animatedly, to Laurel about a recent case. "And, Judge Hinkle is ready to grant them another continuance! So I said, hell, no. This trial starts right now," she recalled happily.

"That a girl," Laurel complimented, with a nod.

"Thanks." Joanna said just as their conversation was interrupted. She looked up to see Detective Lance walk in somberly, and motioned to Laurel who turned around and smiled. It seemed at first both girls thought the visit was for the elder Lance sister.

"Dad," she said happily, albeit confused. "What brings you by?"

"I need to talk to Jo." He said seriously. Joanna looked up.

The room grew somber as they realized more bad news was coming. Laurel tried to think back on what could be the cause, and a memory tickled at her. Something about firefighting and Jo's family, but she couldn't recall exactly what just yet.

"Is everything ok, Mr. Lance?" she asked.

Quentin shook his head, "No." he said. Her worry grew as she saw Chief Raynes walk in behind him in full uniform, saddened and subdued.

"What's happening?" Laurel asked her father – worry etched on her face.

"No," Joanna said, realizing as Chief Raynes came up to her. Tears began to fill Jo's eyes.

"Her brother Danny," Quentin explained softly to his daughter. "He was killed on duty last night."

In the room, Laurel closed her eyes, heartbroken for her friend. She suddenly recalled how excited Jo had been for her brother and how he had always wanted to be a firefighter. It hadn't occurred to Laurel that the man in the first scene had been the same Danny. Seeing this was just another reason that things needed to change; she wouldn't let Jo go through this if it was up to her.

"Jo, I'm so sorry." Raynes said, reaching out to the young woman.

"No. No, no! " Joanna was screaming as Raynes kept trying to comfort her. Finally, Laurel came up and drew her into a hug, calming the distraught woman.

"She was so proud of her brother," Laurel explained to Tommy. "I remember her telling me about the day he passed his exam."

"Laurel, I'm," Tommy started, but ended lamely. He hadn't met Danny and was uncertain how to express how much her sadness affected him.

The scene changed to Queen Manor. Moira sat at her vanity staring at a picture of her and Walter, alone in her darkened room.

"Mom?" a voice timidly called out.

Moira looked over and saw Oliver standing in the doorway. "Hey," she said, her tone betraying nothing of what she was feeling.

Deep inside, Thea wasn't certain if she could handle not knowing what was happening to Walter and what Mr. Merlyn had done to him. It was obvious that Artemis wasn't willing to offer any more on the subject, however.

Quentin, currently, felt concerned for both his daughter and the younger Queen. After the revelations of the last memory and the beating Oliver had taken to seeing that one of Laurel's truly good friends was about to lose her brother, he wasn't certain what he could add to the conversation. He did know, however, that he could respectfully remain silent and not comment on any of Queen's vigilante behavior for the moment.

"Hey," Oliver continued as he came into the room. "I stopped by the Big Belly Burger. I thought maybe you, me and Thea, have some take-out, watch a DVD." The elder Queen looked hopeful in his offer.

She shook her head. "Thank you, sweetheart. I'm not very hungry."

"You can't lock yourself away again," Thea stated. She wasn't certain if she could survive it again, even if this time she did have Oliver.

"This is my fault," Moira whispered, more to herself than anything. She couldn't help but think if it wasn't for her telling Robert to do whatever he needed, to stop the Undertaking, then to helping the Undertaking – she wouldn't have lost her family… and she wouldn't be currently watch herself mourn another husband.

Oliver looked at her sadly. "If you change your mind." He offered, moving off and leaving her alone with her thoughts.

Later downstairs, Oliver and Thea sat in the sitting room. Digging into their fast food, Oliver ate and looked through the movies for an appropriate choice. He held one out to Thea.

"I've seen that one," the younger Queen muttered, only to smile when she heard her on screen voice.

"I've seen the movie before," she said, munching on fries.

"Cut me some slack." He said, looking over the blu-ray, "I've been gone for a while and apparently I missed the cinematic genius that is Zac… Galafinakis?" he drew out the last name, trying to pronounce it correctly. Oliver looked back at Thea, who shook her head.

The moment turned somber quickly when Thea explained, "When you and dad disappeared, she spent more and more time at home." Deeply, she sighed. "Eventually stopped going out altogether."

For that, Malcolm did feel terrible. He hadn't meant to cause one of his long time friend's so much pain, but the Undertaking couldn't be risked. Even watching these memories re-enforced that the Glades needed to go – all the crime, despicable people. It wouldn't be missed. He would grant Oliver the respect that there was some effect the Hood was having, but it wasn't enough. The only cure was to completely wipe the vermin off the map.

"What snapped her out of it that time?" Oliver asked, curiously.

Unable to help herself, Thea smiled at the thought of how Walter had changed everything. In one moment, he had appeared and helped put their lives back into some semblance that made sense.

"I should have been there for you," Tommy stated, looking sadly at both Moira and Thea. "I should have…"

"We were all hurting," Laurel commented, touching the top of Tommy's hand. Between the loss of Oliver, Robert, and Sara, they had all been hurting and too wrapped up in their own grief to truly lean on one another.

"Walter." She smiled at the memory. "One morning, he showed up and, you know, when he gets all British and stern-like." She affected a British accent. "Moira, get dressed. We're going out for lunch." They chuckled. "And, I mean, it worked."

"Hmm." Oliver said, lost in thought.

"You know, I've been thinking." Thea said suddenly. "Maybe Walter wasn't abducted. Maybe he's having some mid-life crisis and he's with some stewardess in Bora Bora, and he's too ashamed to call home and say that he's okay."

"I'd be ok with that," Thea said with a humorless laugh, "over what actually happened to him."

Moira wouldn't say it, but she wished the same. If it had meant he would have been save, Moira could have lived with Walter doing such a thing – it would have hurt but he would have been far away from her and the poison that was her life.

Thea looked hopeful and sad, all at the same time. "Just because we haven't heard from him doesn't mean he's… he's gone, right?" she asked, hopefully.

Oliver gave her a small smile. "Right." Suddenly, something on the TV caught his attention and he turned back to it. On the screen was a panel news show; currently they were talking about the Vigilante.

"So what strikes me is that this Vigilante was actually making a difference." The woman on the screen was saying. Oliver and Thea gave the show their full attention. "In the four months that he was active, assaults were down, muggings down. The murder rate dropped by 16%. So in a very quantifiable way, this man in the hood had been a positive force in this city. So where has he been for the past six weeks?"

Even the Detective found himself silently hoping for Queen to make a recovery. It wasn't that the cops couldn't handle things (of course), but he didn't like that the criminals would feel like that they suddenly had a free pass with the vigilante out of sorts. It was hard to argue with 16%, even if Queen was contributing to the murder rate directly himself.

"Oliver never stays out for long," Tommy said, confidently enough.

Mr. Merlyn, on the other hand, wouldn't have minded if Queen stayed down permanently. It would make this all the easier, but he had a feeling that this one fight wouldn't be enough to keep the Hood out indefinitely, though it did seem to buy him some time.

"Looks like everyone's disappearing." Thea remarked. Oliver just watched on, silent.

"Not if we have anything to say about it," Laurel echoed after Tommy from moments ago. "We'll just have to be there for him."

"Or just make sure my Dad doesn't go all psycho archer on him," Tommy responded, partially in jest but another large part in seriousness. If he had his way, his father would stay far from his best friend.

"Tommy," Malcolm began, in an attempt to close the gap between them, but his son was quick to give him the cold shoulder. He wanted to explain and make his son see that this was the best possible way to obtain justice for his mother's death; he just needed a moment to explain.

The scene changed to Laurel's apartment. Laurel walked in, tired and emotionally drained to find Tommy sitting on her couch. He rose and embraced her, giving her a soft kiss. Both seemed to be content for the moment.

In the room, both Laurel and Tommy seemed happy. They weren't sure what this meant for their current relationship, but it was uplifting to know they had found some happiness in eachother in these memories. However, Tommy couldn't help his thoughts wandering to when it would all come crashing down – between Oliver's nightly excursions and his father's own misdeeds. He felt as though the universe was against him.

"Hey." He said. They sat down on the couch, and only then did Laurel spot something on her coffee table.

"What's this?" she asked, reaching out for the paper.

"It's-it's nothing?" Tommy said weakly, trying to grab it back, Laurel held him off.

"It's nothing?" she said with a smile. "'Reasons I deserve a drawer'." She read.

"I'm liking where this is going," Tommy teased, only for Laurel to clam up and look away. Immediately, he wondered what he had done wrong and worried that he had perhaps crossed some unknown line in the sand. It worried him to think that he potentially had messed up a relationship before it had even truly started.

Tommy deftly took it back from her and set it back on the table. Trying not to be embarrassed, he stated, "Okay, we're going to table this for a less tragedy-filled day."

"Yeah, and besides, I don't think we're there yet," Laurel added. However before she could continue, there was a knock on the door. "I should probably get that," she said, happy for the distraction.

"And that ends that," Tommy muttered, his head in his right hand. Across the way, Artemis watched with a sad, small smile. She had forgotten how much of Tommy she had missed, and seeing him again reminded her to have hope.

"All right," he agreed as she rose to get the door. Opening it, she found Joanna.

"I need your help." Her friend said.

"Jo, come in." Laurel ushered her into the living room and sat her down, then took a seat next to Tommy.

"I wonder what this is about," Thea pondered aloud. Thus far, there hadn't been much to go on in terms of what this memory would be about besides her brother's sudden lack of nerve, and a psycho firefighter picking off others.

"I, um I don't think what happened to Danny was an accident." Joanna began. "I think he might have been murdered."

"Do you think Oliver is going to get involved?" Thea asked, glancing around.

"I'm certain he will do something," Moira said confidently. She had no trouble seeing her son's compassion in wanting to stop a man like that, and how far he'd go to do such a thing. Nonetheless, it didn't stop her from worrying immensely.

Laurel shared a look with Tommy, and then turned back to her friend. "Jo, do you remember when Sara died? I did all this research to try to find an explanation for why the boat went down. I needed to believe that it wasn't just an accident."

Artemis couldn't help but cringe at the mention of Sara, which thankfully no one noticed. She began to think that perhaps her husband was right in letting the family know that things hadn't exactly ended as they thought they had.

Across the station, in another secure wing, Slade couldn't help but lean back and smile as he watched the memory play. He relished knowing he had led to Sara's death (not that he knew otherwise), and the only reason he hadn't relayed that information to her family was due to the fact it was Oliver's life he wanted to crumble around him. Sara, to him, had already paid her price in her fault for Shado's death.

"That is not what I am doing, Laurel." Joanna denied. She reached into her bag and pulled out a manila folder. "I once handled a case for a clerk in the Coroner's Office. He passed me a copy of the incident report." She passed the report to Laurel. "It said that Danny's turnout coat was doused in turpentine. But I checked, and the plant owner said that there wasn't any in the factory." As Laurel looked over the report, Jo pressed her case. "A turnout's supposed to withstand temperatures in excess of 500 degrees. But the coroner said that the fire did not exceed 250. How did my brother burn hotter than the fire that supposedly killed him?" Laurel shared a look with Tommy, and then looked back at Jo, convinced.

"Oh Laurel, not again," Detective Lance groaned. He knew exactly how this was about to play out, and he tried to think of ways to lock his eldest daughter in her apartment to do so. However, the more he thought about that, the more he realized if he tried, the more likely and more time she'd spend with Merlyn… and based on the family's newest discovered hobby, he did not want his daughter near another archer.

The scene changed to the SCPD the next day as Laurel was talking to Quentin, trying to convince him of Joanna's theory.

"Laurel, a fireman died fighting a fire." Quentin said as they walked back to his desk. "I'm not sure I see the crime."

"I did some digging." Laurel pressed on. "Last week, another firefighter, Leo Barnes, was killed in action, same circumstances. Traces of turpentine, and ignition temperatures hotter than the actual fire." They stopped at his desk. "Do you think that you could talk to the fire marshal? You know, encourage him to pursue this?" she asked.

"Well, the fire department has its own investigative unit." Quentin pointed out. "They don't answer to the police."

Which Quentin had to admit could cause some issues at times. Firemen tended to be very protective of their own investigations, and based on the fact he had seen his daughter was right, he worried how he could approach this without stepping on toes. He had no intention of letting this slide, now that he had seen the truth.

Kelton, the CSU tech walked up to Quentin and handed him the burn phone The Hood had sent him. "Sorry it takes so long with the detectives." He said. "CSU's been really backed up."

"Well, did you find anything?" Quentin demanded as Laurel looked on.

Quentin groaned, "Why did he bring that to me then?"

Laurel couldn't hide her smirk as a plan began to form in her head. Next to her, Tommy cringed to think of how Oliver and Laurel would once again be working together – something he was certain she enjoyed. Especially considering he had seen her older self – mask and all.

"The only prints on it are yours, the tech inside is military grade. I can't even trace the manufacturer. Forensics-wise, it's a dead end." Lance sighed as Kelton moved off.

"Another case?" Laurel asked.

"Vigilante." Quentin answered, tossing the phone on his desk. "The phone belongs to him."

"Where'd you get it?" Laurel asked, an idea forming in her mind. "I-does he answer?"

"Laurel," Quentin growled in warning, but she was, of course, not paying attention.

"I say go for it," Thea grinned, much to her older self's amusement. She couldn't help but root for her brother at each turn.

In Artemis's ear, the League members reported back that they had also gotten nothing from Ta-er. Whatever she was planning, she was remaining quite tight-lipped about it. However, not even for one second, did Artemis believe that being captured was anything but part of Ta-er's plan. Her brother's assassin was too well trained otherwise.

"Well, like Kelton said, it's a dead end." Quentin said distractedly. He grabbed up several files from his desk. "Listen, kiddo, I feel for Jo and her family I really do, but, um, there's not a lot I can do this end." He quickly downed the rest of his coffee, then grabbed his keys and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I got to go. I love you." Quentin moved off, grabbing Hilton and walking out of the bullpen. Laurel stared down at the desk, looking at the phone that lay there.

Quentin couldn't believe he'd be so foolish to just leave the phone lying there, and he wondered if he was just that distracted or something else was going on. Laurel, as well, now removed from the situation found it quite odd for her dad to just leave evidence lying out in the open like that.

The scene changed to the Lair, where Oliver's phone began to ring. Hesitantly he picked it up and answered it, not saying a word. "Hello?" He was surprised to hear Laurel's voice on the other end of the line. "I need your help."

Tommy tried to hide his dislike that apparently all it took for Ollie to fix himself was for Laurel to come calling. On one hand, he was happy that his best friend seemed to be responding and getting back out, but another jealous part wanted his best friend far from Laurel.

The scene changed to later that night. Laurel was alone in her apartment when suddenly the lights went out. She looked up to see The Hood standing across the room, his face hidden by his hood.

"I didn't trust that you'd come." She said, a bit breathlessly. "No one's seen you for a while. Where have you been?"

Malcolm couldn't help but feel some pride in what he had accomplished with Laurel's words. The Hood – he had placed off the board with a simple tussle – though it did seem Ms. Lance would be a problem if she was the key to pulling Oliver right back in.

Oliver activated the voice changer. "You said it was important."

Laurel picked up the file Joanna gave her and rose. "My best friend's brother. He died two days ago fighting a fire. The police and fire department say that he died in the line of duty. But my friend, she thinks he was murdered."

"So you're asking one killer to find another." At her pause, The Hood pressed on. "I heard what you said to your father about me; that I'm a killer. That I have no remorse."

Laurel flinched as her own words were being tossed back at her. When she had said that, she figured her own self was being emotional and responding to the situation at hand. Seeing things from the outside had been showing her things weren't exactly black and white. She didn't like that Ollie seemed content with putting people in the morgue, but something was wrong with their city. At least, he was doing something about it.

"Do you?" she asked hopefully. Laurel held out the folder. "Take a look at the file. If Danny de La Vega was murdered, then we have to bring his killer to justice."

The Hood moved up to Laurel, careful to keep his face deep in shadow. He took the file from her. "I'll look into it." He promised, then turned and walked out.

"Mask," Thea reiterated with a sigh, "how hard is it for him to wear a mask?"

"He doesn't start to wear one for a while," Artemis helpfully explained. "He wasn't always great at keeping his identity a secret, but he did keep a large portion of everyone in the dark." She couldn't help but think that perhaps the grease paint had done a better job since a majority of people didn't know who the Arrow was until Oliver had picked up the mask. She shuddered to think of when Ollie had been outed, and the fallout from that.

The scene changed to the Lair, where Diggle was deep into a workout on the training dummy.

"You need to rotate your hips, Diggle." Oliver called out as he came in. Diggle paused to catch his breath as Oliver continued. "That's where the power comes from. It's not just your arms, even if they're the size of bowling balls." He joked, then added, "Laurel reached out to The Hood last night."

"Where did he get his training?" Laurel couldn't help but wonder.

Moira, also, wished to know; though, she was beginning to suspect that their missing member from this watch group had something to do with all that. It terrified to think what that man that had attacked her had to do with all this. She still could feel her throat being crushed, and she found herself teetering on the edge of panic.

With his keen eyes, Malcolm immediately noticed Moira's change in demeanor, but given his current situation – restrained – there was nothing he could do directly. Instead, he nudged Artemis with his leg and indicated quietly with a nod to the hero what was going on.

More than anything, Artemis wanted to do something, but it had been so long – so many years – that the elder Thea wasn't certain what she would do. She didn't want to make her mother uncomfortable, but before she could decide on something, her younger version quietly reached over and enclosed her mother's hand in hers. Then, as though a wave came over her, Moira calmed immediately, much to Artemis's gratitude.

"Really?" Diggle said, surprised. "Thought the Vigilante spooked her pretty well last time."

"She thinks somebody's killing firemen." Oliver said, handing him the folder.

Diggle glanced through the file. "It looks all in the job. Seems pretty thin." He noted.

"Will you look into it?" Oliver asked.

Many people in the room couldn't help their slight joy at seeing Oliver get back on the horse so to speak. The last fight had surprised them and had reminded them abruptly of how human Oliver was. It was encouraging to know he wasn't going to let his injuries keep him down.

"Yeah. I have a friend who has a friend in the fire investigations department. I'll reach out." Dig promised.

"If you get any leads, tip the police." Oliver said, throwing his hood in his munitions case and closing the lid. His hands lingered on the wood.

"Come on Ollie," Thea groaned, much to her mother's amusement. "Go do your bow thing."

"Can't believe I'm actually on Ms. Queen's side on this," Detective Lance muttered. He didn't want the vigilante in his investigations, but he also wanted a killer off the street… he immediately caught himself as he realized he hadn't considered the fact that the Hood would also still be a killer…

"The police?" Dig asked, puzzled.

"They just need something to jump start them."

"Well, isn't the whole idea of being a vigilante, is that you do the police's job?" Diggle looked at his friend seriously. "You know, Oliver, you've been spending a lot of time around here lately. I thought after six weeks, you'd be anxious to hood up. Hell, I even prepared the 'you got to slow down' speech."

"It seems Oliver is physically healed but perhaps, nervous," Malcolm noted, unable to help himself and his ego.

"I'm more than happy to shoot you with an arrow," Artemis stated, without hesitation, much to the rest of the group's appreciation. In her ear, Roy echoed her words and asked to get in line.

Oliver looked at Diggle, but was saved from responding by loud commotion coming from above them. "Let me see what's going on upstairs in the club." He said. Oliver headed up the stairs and slipped out the hidden entrance he had created on the upper floor, flipping a switch on a fake fuse box to lock the door behind him. He walked out into the main area that was cluttered with scaffolding and plywood to find Tommy yelling into his phone. The other man hung up and threw the phone down on a drafting table in disgust.

"You know, I do realize that it's difficult for you to manage my nightclub, what with there not being an actual nightclub here." Oliver noted, alerting Tommy to his presence.

Unable to help herself, Laurel smiled noting how serious Tommy was about his work; she took some joy in seeing him apply himself fully. Thinking back, she realized her older self hadn't mentioned a significant other, but there had been a ring on her left hand. Since Oliver was deceased… she couldn't help but let her thoughts stray to the potentials.

"Yeah, I just took the liberty of yelling at our contractor." Tommy explained. "I told him if we didn't see any real progress, we were going to bring someone else in to finish the job."

"Good." Oliver walked around the construction site aimlessly. "How's Laurel's friend? The one whose brother was a fireman?" he asked innocently.

"How does he keep his secret lair secret with the club under construction?" Tommy wondered, aloud, to which no one had an answer for. Not even Artemis could really explain her brother's dumb luck when it came to Verdant.

"She is hanging in there, thanks." Tommy replied. "I have something I wanted to bring up." He pressed on. "I was thinking that we could throw a fundraiser for the fire department. Raise some money for the families."

Oliver smiled. "That's a great idea."

Laurel grasped Tommy's hand with a whispered thanks. She wanted him to know how appreciative she was of his efforts, especially unprompted ones; those meant something to her. That he was trying and being a better man.

"We could do it here. We could keep the overhead low; make sure we maximize the proceeds to the firemen."

Oliver turned to face Tommy, a sly smile on his face. "Who are you? Where's my friend Tommy Merlyn? The guy who once rented out a pro football stadium so that he could play strip kickball with models."

Another harsh reminder to Malcolm of the disappointment his son could be at times. He was happy to see his son applying himself somewhere, but he wished that he hadn't taken him cutting his own son off to do so.

Tommy chuckled. "That guy needed a swift kick in his lazy ass." He noted, and the two old friends laughed.

"Apparently," Malcolm said, coolly.

The scene changed to CNRI.

"Jo, you really should take some time off and go be with your family." Laurel was telling her friend.

Joanna looked at her. "You know, I seem to recall when Sara died, you hit the books pretty hard."

"I am not exactly the best example for healthy grieving." Laurel noted wryly as her father stormed in. Laurel looked at him in puzzlement. "Hey." She greeted.

"Can I talk to you, please?" he asked shortly. He led Laurel back out into the mostly empty entrance. "Where is it?" he demanded.

Thea snickered and teased Laurel, "Who's in trouble now?"

Laurel didn't rise to the bait, but couldn't hide her smirk. She figured her father should have known better, but she still couldn't shake that perhaps he had.

"Where's what?"

"The phone." He said harshly.

Laurel sighed. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have." She apologized.

Quentin scoffed. "It's stolen evidence! Yeah, you probably shouldn't have! What are you—"

"I had to do something!" she argued quietly.

"You can't expect me to sit quietly by and do nothing when there's a killer on the loose," Laurel argued for her future self's sake.

"Not by stealing evidence," Quentin, in turn, growled. "You gather it, not steal it."

"To get justice? Sometimes you have to do more," Laurel snapped back, only to realize she was beginning to think like the Oliver in these memories.

"You're not putting on a mask," Quentin responded as though he was reading her mind.

"Too late," Artemis said, hoping to break the argument before it erupted worse.

"That man's a killer." Quentin stated.

"Then why did he give you his phone?" Laurel replied.

Quentin let out a short sigh. "Give me the phone." He demanded.

"He took it back." Laurel lied.

Quentin stared at his daughter, stunned. "You were with him?"

"Lying to me?" Quentin groaned, hands up in the air dramatically.

"You weren't doing anything," was all Laurel had to point out to get her father to quiet down. That was the truth; that killer was not even on their radar yet.

"When Sara died, if someone could have done something to give you even just a little bit of closure, don't you wish that they would have done it?" she demanded.

Artemis cringed again, this time Malcolm noticed and wondered what the look was about. For a brief moment, Artemis opened her mouth to say something, but when she glanced up at the viewing room, she saw the Canary was directing the clean-up mechanical crew to fix the glass quietly. Artemis decided then, it would be better for the elder Laurel to speak with her family. The archer would just feel too guilty.

"If it meant breaking the law, lying to the people closest to them? No." Quentin relied, walking off and leaving a dejected Laurel behind.

"You don't have to go outside the law to find justice, Laurel," Quentin reiterated, sadly. He still believed it; even seeing the good the vigilante could do. He had to believe the law was in the right still.

The scene changed to Queen Manor. Oliver walked into the house and heard his mother speaking to someone in the sitting room. Curious, he walked in to see Moira talking with the COO of Queen Consolidated, Ned Foster.

"Surely there are contingencies for these types of situations." She was saying. "Bring someone over from our London office, perhaps."

"It's not solely a matter of the day to day operations." Ned replied. "We have accountants and the vice presidents to do that. It's about perception. Public confidence."

Moira could only imagine how the public was responding to the ever-swinging news – the prodigal son, her husband's disappearance, the vigilante comings and goings.

"Ned, the company will be fine." Moira insisted.

Ned sighed. "I don't mean to be indelicate, but this is the second time in five years that the CEO of Queen Consolidated has vanished under mysterious circumstances."

Thea glanced over to see her mother's eyes – sadness and worry. As much as Thea wanted to throw a tantrum and curse her mother's part in all this, she couldn't help but still feel a rise of concern after Slade had attacked her and now knowing the true danger Mr. Merlyn presented.

"I don't need you to remind me of that." She replied harshly.

Ned had the decency to look somewhat ashamed. "The last thing I want to do is upset you." He said.

"Well, then you should consider this visit doubly disappointing." Moira replied, rising. She stared down at the man. "Good day." Ned rose and walked out of the room, pausing to give Oliver a- almost hopeful look.

Artemis missed Walter, she realized with a pang. After her mother and the fall of Queen consolidated, things had fallen apart. She felt ashamed for rarely speaking to him after the funeral… moreso after the second one – when he finally had known the truth.

After he was gone, Oliver turned back to his mother. "Who was that?"

"Ned Foster." She replied. "The C.O.O. of the company."

"He wants mom to take Walter's place." Thea explained.

"He says that the company's stock price has been damaged by Walter's absence, and my stepping in would help settle the board. But I told him that I needed to be at home, for my family." She stated.

"You would do quite well in that position Moira," Malcolm commented, much to everyone's disappointment. They all much preferred when he sat in silence.

"Mom," Oliver said, looking at his sister briefly before looking back at her. "Thea and I are fine. We can manage here without you." He assured her. "This sounds like something everyone needs you to do."

"Well, maybe I don't care what everyone needs." She shot back harshly, before sighing and stalking out of the room.

Oliver watched her leave, and then turned back to his sister. "She's going to be all right, Thea." He assured her.

"Is Mom alive in this year?" Thea asked, abruptly, taking Artemis off guard.

There was a moment of hesitation while the older version attempted to figure out what to say or if she should lie similarly to Oliver, but it seemed her younger self was smart. Just by reading her older self's face, Thea understood quite well that her mother was long gone, and it made her wonder how long she had held a grudge for. She hoped that it hadn't been on bad terms, and that her mother knew that she still loved her.

"Mr. Queen," Oliver looked back to see Diggle standing in the doorway. "We're going to have to get going if you want to make your dentist appointment. Now, sir." Oliver nodded shortly, sent a comforting looked to Thea, and then walked out, following his bodyman's lead. "Eyewitnesses place a '72 Ford pickup at the scene of Danny de La Vega's fire." Diggle started as they walked through the halls of the manor.

"Okay." Oliver replied, not seeing where this was going.

"Stagg Chemical lit up ten minutes ago. I hacked into Stagg's video security feeds. Parked right on the street running along the plant?"

"Same pickup." Oliver realized.

Slade watching the memories enjoyed the kid's hesitation and fear it seemed the other archer had instilled in him, but he began to see that this Mr. Diggle would be a problem for any of his plans. The man had an inkling of how to get Queen to respond appropriately.

"I got your gear in the car." Dig said. Oliver stopped dead in his tracks. Diggle noticed, and then sighed. "Oliver, by the time I get someone on the phone who will even listen to me, at least one of those fireman are going to be dead." He explained, pleading with the man. "They need the man in the hood."

"Why is he so hesitant?" Thea asked. She refused to believe this was all Mr. Merlyn's doing; that being beaten had wracked his confidence that much.

"It's not entirely for the reason you're thinking," was all Artemis had to offer.

The scene flashed back to the Island. Oliver, now alone, was deep in the forest trying to build a fire. He just managed to get it going when the sound of a twig snapping caught his attention. He hurriedly buried the fire, putting it out and scrambled into the denser brush for cover. A few moments later a Merc appeared, AK-47 in hand. He stopped in the clearing and used his foot to investigate the smoking ruin of the fire. He pulled out his radio.

"I have contact." The Merc said. "Two clicks southwest." He moved on to investigate the area while Oliver hid behind a tree, the K-Bar knife Yao Fei had given him in hand.

Slade shook his head – stupid kid, he couldn't help but think. It truly had been a miracle that Oliver had made it as long as he had on the island without aid.

The scene flashed back to the present. The fire at Stagg Chemicals was raging; inside firemen were searching for workers and struggling to get the fire under control.

"Portable one to Deputy Chief Seven." A fireman spoke into his radio. "All clear of civilians."

"Copy that." Raynes replied over the radio. "Bail out and wait for second-in companies."

The tension in the room rose as everyone waited with baited breath to see what would happen.

The fireman headed for the exit, but was suddenly put upon by another fireman who whacked him had in the face with the butt of his axe. The fireman's helmet was knocked off and he flipped over the railing, but managed to snag the rail with one hand. Instinctively he reached up, and his attacker grabbed his other hand just as the first lost its grip. The firefighter looked up at his attacker in fear.

Everyone, save Malcolm, began to silently root for Oliver to appear. Even Detective Lance. He didn't want to see another person die from this maniac, even if it meant interference from the vigilante was needed.

"Who are you?!" he demanded, even as the man's grip went slack. The firefighter held on tight, but all he managed to do was pull off the attacker's glove as he fell down into the pit of fire below.

Quentin cursed loudly, causing Laurel and Thea to jump in surprise and shocking Tommy all the same. All of them felt the same rage at knowing another person was murdered, and the city had seemingly done nothing – the fire department and the police.

The Hood arrived moments too late to save the firefighter, so instead he moved to attack the murderer. The Hood landed two solid shots before the murder kicked his knee and then swept his legs out with the handle of is axe. The Hood landed hard, and the attacker kicked him once in the ribs for good measure. Stunned, The Hood watched as the man reached into his turn over coat and withdrew a small device. He noted that the man had a tattoo of a firefly on his burned hand right before he attacker activated and threw the device, setting off a small explosion. The Hood pulled himself up and watched as the attacker walked calmly away.

"Bull," Thea said with a snort. "No way, he loses a fight that easy." She refused to believe her brother had basically let the killer walk away unscathed.

"He just needs to get his head back in the game," Tommy said with a nod. "It reminds me of one of our college fraternity parties where there was this keg and girl… and nothing else." He ended lamely as he realized Laurel was glaring holes into him.

The scene changed to the Lair. Oliver was sitting on the ground in the dark, staring at his bow, deep in thought.

Moira longed to be with her son. It hurt her to know he was suffering in silence, and while she might not know exactly how to help him, she wanted to do something. Though she supposed that was why she was in this future, for that reason alone.

Back in the past, Oliver was still behind the tree, waiting for the Merc to pass him. As soon as he did, Oliver ran at the man, trying to stab him. The Merc casually batted the knife away, but dropped the AK in the process. The grappled for a moment, Oliver inching the knife closer to the Merc's face before he was finally forced to drop it. The two men, still jockeying for a position of strength, slipped off the edge of a steep him and rolled down, fighting all the way. They rolled off the edge, and the Merc landed first onto a large rock on the edge of a stream. Oliver landed on top of him with his full weight, before rolling off and into the stream.

For a moment, everyone watched the screen, expecting something more… only to realize that no, up until this point Oliver hadn't taken a human life on the island. He had only taken a bird's life, and it hurt the Queens deeply to know that at some point the son and brother would spill his first blood.

Back in the present, Oliver lowered his hood. Then, making a decision, reached for his phone and dialed.

The scene changed to Laurel's apartment, where she was engrossed in a case file. Suddenly the Hoods' phone began to ring, and she excitedly picked it up.

Quentin groaned as he realized that this would be a constant issue.

"Hello?" she answered.

"I have some information for you." The Hood's distorted voice said. "The killer drives a 1970's Ford pickup. There is a scar on his left wrist from a severe burn and a tattoo of a firefly."

"Well, then you must have gotten pretty close to him." Laurel noted.

Laurel wondered what exactly the Oliver in these memories wanted her to do with this information. She couldn't exactly go to the police and report it again, only to not be believed again. She wished Ollie would get his head on straight, so people – good people – would stop dying.

"All the men in Engine Company 15 had firefly tattoos. Any one of them could be the killer."

"What should I do with this information?" Laurel asked, confused.

"Whatever you would have done before you met me." He replied, and then hung up.

Tommy snorted, "Or he could get his head on straight and do something." He, also, didn't want to see anyone else set on fire. It was distressing to consider that they might have to watch it happen again while Ollie tried to get his legs back underneath him.

Laurel hung up, disappointed. "Who was on the phone?" Tommy asked, coming up behind her.

Without hesitation, she answered with a smile. "Wrong number." She replied, putting the phone in her pocket and joining him for dinner.

Both Laurel and Tommy felt their hearts skip a beat. Lying and being lied too… neither liked where this was going.

Back at the Lair, Oliver was finishing putting his gear in the box. He set his bow down on top of the lid, and then walked away. Diggle watched him, concerned.

"So Laurel's on her own against a murderer who burns people alive?" he demanded.

"I can't right every wrong in this city." Oliver stated bluntly. Diggle frowned.

Though it took a lot, Thea bit her tongue and kept herself from stating the obvious. In this situation, her brother was more than adequate to handling this situation, and it irritated her to see him not. She wished she was there to knock some sense into him.

"No, I get that, Oliver. But maybe you're not back to 100% like you thought." He observed.

"Maybe I'm not." Oliver admitted. Suddenly Diggle attacked him, managing to pin him against the desk. Oliver growled in anger, and then forced himself up, quickly reversing Diggle's attack so that Dig was pinned. He held them there for a moment before letting go, and Diggle hit the desk in frustration.

That practically proved the issue wasn't physical, so to Malcolm, that proved something had unnerved Oliver mentally. He was beginning to wonder, based on Artemis's words and reactions, if this wasn't all his doing – at least not the fight. The memories had shown that on multiple occasions Oliver had lost a fight, then found the will to get back up. After all, without that resolve, he wouldn't have made it off the island.

"What did that prove?" Oliver demanded.

"This is one sturdy desk."

Laurel, Tommy, and Thea shared a smile and quiet laugh. They very much enjoyed what Mr. Diggle brought to the table when it came to Ollie's vigilante night life.

Dig rose and turned to face his friend. "And clearly, your problem isn't physical."

"I never said I had a problem!" Oliver shouted angrily.

"You didn't have to, Oliver." Dig retorted. "But this guy, the other archer, he got in your head, he took something from you."

"You will not touch my son," Moira said, finding her voice, and directing her anger towards Malcolm. "I don't care that you and your enforcer are one in the same. You touch my son, I will bury you."

Thea grinned at her mother's threat, and she privately hoped that Moira would follow through. This world would be better off without Mr. Merlyn running free throughout it – father or not.

"That's enough." Oliver pleaded tiredly.

"He took whatever's in your heart that lets you jump off buildings and take down bad guys." Diggle continued.

"Thank you for the analysis." Oliver said sarcastically.

Artemis listened to Canary relay the clean-up, and Roy and Helena's report on Slade, while keeping her face neutral. She wasn't surprised this had turned into a mess, though she wished it hadn't.

"You can avoid Laurel, Oliver, avoid me, avoid this, as long as you want." Diggle said. "But until you're ready to take a hold of the fear that's in you, you might as well let that archer kill you."

The words reminded everyone blatantly that Oliver was dead in this world, and it again made everyone wonder how he had met his end. Thus far, everything had been very cryptic, and no one was certain how exactly Oliver would die – only that it was doing something vigilante.

Oliver's phone beeped. Gratefully he looked at it. "Text from Tommy." He said. "I need to run an errand for the benefit at the firemen's station." He headed towards the stairs.

"Maybe while you're at it," Diggle called after him, "you can let me know if you still want to be a vigilante or just a nightclub owner."

"Ouch," Thea said with a cringe.

"He needs to get his head back on straight," Laurel said, seriously. She hoped that Diggle would get through to Ollie, and get ahead of whoever was killing the firefighters.

The scene changed to Engine Company 15's firehouse. Laurel was walking up as Oliver was walking out.

"Hey." Oliver said to a surprised Laurel. "What are you doing here?"

"I told Joanna I'd clean out Danny's locker." She explained. "And you?"

Laurel felt a wave of sadness, knowing what faced Jo if they didn't change things. Thus far, all of this had been about Ollie, but she couldn't help but think that this was an opportunity to change it all – including saving Danny.

"Tommy sent me over to make sure the guest list for the firemen's gala was accurate." He said.

"Tommy's been working very hard on that." Laurel said with a smile. "It's very generous of you, Oliver."

Tommy scowled to think that his friend would be getting the credit for his idea, but the anger quickly passed as he realized his jealousy was the source of his discomfort. He had to remind himself that Oliver and Laurel would still be friends, even if they were dating.

"It's truly not." He assured her. The two parted and Laurel headed towards the firehouse. Oliver walked away, then suddenly turned around. "Speaking of Tommy," he said, "he told me that you're being very protective of your drawers." At her surprised, indignant look, he smiled and held up his hands in surrender. "This is not a fancy term for your underwear."

Both Laurel and Tommy were curious to see where this would go. Quietly, more to herself, Thea couldn't help but also be curious. She had seen how much her brother wished he could have reignited his relationship with Laurel, yet here he was, putting aside his happiness for theirs.

"Are you and I seriously having this discussion?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, we're friends." Oliver pointed out.

"Yes." Laurel admitted. "Tommy asked for a drawer."

"Big deal," Thea teased, hoping to break the tension, but not all that well. She was suddenly happy that her brother wasn't currently in the room as she was certain that was the only way things could be anymore awkward.

"And this is bad?" he asked.

"No. It's just I'm an all or nothing type of girl." She pointed out. "First it's a drawer, then it's a closet, half my rent, it's half my life. Am I really ready to do that with Tommy?" she asked rhetorically.

"Is it really that bad of a thought with me?" Tommy asked, curious and a bit sad.

Biting her lip, Laurel considered how to answer, but before she could, it seemed her on screen self had a better explanation about her hesitations then she could in this moment.

"You could take it slow." Oliver advised.

"I don't things slow, remember? I close my eyes and I jump, just like you." She sighed. "I think that's why we spooked each other. Our feelings our fears, they control us, it's not the other way around. You know?"

Looking to Tommy, Laurel said honestly, "Something is always holding me back, and I don't want that with you. Time." She couldn't help but always add that she needed time; especially with this whole future thing.

"Yeah." Oliver replied.

Laurel gave him a tired smile. "I have to get inside." She said, turning and walking in.

Unable to help herself and still hoping to help with the tension, Thea added, "At this point, Tommy and Laurel's relationship has gotten about as much screen time as Ollie's nightly excursions."

Artemis barked out a laugh, much to everyone's surprise, and that effectively led to people relaxing.

A short time later, Laurel was talking with Chief Raynes. She held a picture of Danny's old unit and was showing it to Raynes.

"I did some research. There are eight firemen in this picture." Laurel stated. "You called yourselves the fireflies."

"Yeah, well, that station house was shut down a few years back." Raynes replied. "All the guys went to different companies, so…"

"Four of these men are now dead." Laurel pointed out.

Suddenly, Quentin wished Oliver had stayed on the case. It seemed his daughter had a knack for getting herself into trouble, and he'd rather Queen risk his neck and not hers. He wasn't ready to bury another daughter.

"It's not all getting cats out of trees, Ms. Lance." He shot back.

"But three of them died within the last six weeks, except for that man right there." She pointed on the picture. "Garfield Lynns. He died two years ago in the Nodell Tower tragedy."

It was intriguing to Malcolm to see how Ms. Lance would constantly find a way to get under people's skin – from the mob bosses she took on, to corruption, to now this. He could understand his son's attraction as he could admire her persistence, but it would be a thorn in his side… similar to what these restraints now were.

Raynes was about to respond, but he noticed another figure walking in. "Did you forget something, Mr. Queen?" he asked Oliver.

Oliver gave him a friendly smile. "Just wanted to see if my friend there needed some help." He said pleasantly. "What was the Nodell Tower?" he asked.

Raynes looked at him in disbelief. "How do you not remember that?" he asked.

"I was WiFi-free for a few years." Oliver pointed out.

"Idiot," Thea muttered, to which Moira admonished. However, Mrs. Queen couldn't help but have the same thought. Who wouldn't realize that Oliver had been out of touch for a few years.

Raynes looked slightly taken aback at his faux pas, so he explained. "It was 22 stories of glass and steel. Except it turned out that the construction company who built it used substandard materials to save themselves a few bucks. It was nowhere near the structural code."

"Gas line blew." Laurel said sadly. "There was a fire."

"Yeah." Raynes sighed in remembrance. "Melted right through the stanchions. Whole damn thing came down."

There was a collective cringe when everyone recalled that fire. It had been brutal and terrible. What was worse is that it was just another black mark for Starling City. There was so much bad, that the fire had just been loss in the sea of it. While they each remembered the fire, the details were fuzzy.

"Bad day." Laurel said.

"34 civilians and 6 of my fellow firemen died. Now, do you need anything else, Ms. Lance? Other than reminding me of all the friends I've lost and buried?" Raynes asked harshly, before walking away from the two.

Laurel walked swiftly out of the firehouse, followed just as swiftly by Oliver.

"Hey!" he called to her. "What was that all about?"

"It was nothing, Oliver. I have to go." She blew him off and walked swiftly away, pulling the cellphone from her pocket. She dialed The Hood's number and let it ring. Meanwhile, walking away in the opposite directing, Oliver reached into his pocket and pulled out his own ringing phone. He swiftly crossed the street then, back still to Laurel, answered it.

With a groan, Laurel couldn't believe how dense she had been. Malcolm, on the other hand, couldn't believe how stupid and foolish the Queen scion was being by answering that phone in broad daylight. While the heat had been taken off him for a bit, Oliver could easily come back under scrutiny given Lance's dislike of him. Malcolm wished he would find a better and less conspicuous way to communicate.

"Hello?" Laurel said as the call was connected. "Are you there?" The Hood didn't respond, so she continued. "I spoke to Danny's old chief. I didn't get anywhere. What am I supposed to do now?"

Oliver considered for a moment before answering. "Nothing. It's my turn." He then hung up and walked away.

Thea grinned. She was happy to see her brother was back… or at least mostly. Even Detective Lance let out a deep sigh of relief; to him, the more Queen did, the less risk Laurel was in directly.

The scene flashed back to the Island briefly, where Oliver gasped as he came out of the stream. He looked up at the rock to see the Merc, apparently dead.

"Oh Oliver," Moira muttered, tears in her eyes. Her baby boy had taken his first life – accident or not. There was a moment of silence as they realized they had just seen a profound moment in Oliver's life.

In another part of the Watchtower, Slade merely chuckled.

The scene shifted to Queen Manor. Moira was in her room going through old family photo albums as Thea walked in.

"We have so many of these old photos." Moira said. "I really should have them scanned in."

"Well, that's an incredibly ambitious plan." Thea said. "Which will have to wait."

"Why?" Moira asked.

"Because we're going to go out." Thea stated. "To dinner or to a movie or shopping. Anything to get you out of the house."

Thea was surprised; given how these memories were going, she had accepted that she would always be this self-absorbed girl that constantly got into trouble. For this one moment, she was grateful that her own self was intelligent enough to know when her mother needed help.

Moira sighed. "Ohh. No, Thea. I'm just too tired." She declined.

"Really, that's pretty amazing, considering you've been in bed all day." Thea said snarkily.

"I'd say I'd drag you out no matter what," Thea began, "but I'm not letting Walter go away, in the first place."

Without missing a beat, Moira grasped her daughter's hand. "Agreed," she stated, locking eyes with Malcolm and not once waivering.

Moira didn't look back at her, but there was an edge to her voice. "Please don't presume to think that you know what I'm going through."

"I do know." Thea shot back, her voice shaky with emotion. "I lost dad, too. I'm worried about Walter, too. But I don't get to worry about him, because I'm busy worrying about you."

Laurel chanced a glance towards the Queens, uncertain to the turmoil they were going through. She couldn't imagine discovering Oliver was alive, to Walter going missing, to everything they were discovering in this future timeline.

"I never asked you to do that." Moira said.

"Right. 'Cause you don't ask me to do anything anymore." Thea noted. "You don't ask me to do my homework or to be home at a decent hour. I mean, you basically stopped being my parent."

Artemis, turned to her younger version, and said, "If Moira hadn't done what she did, Walter would be dead. Like Dad."

Thea's rising anger was immediately quashed against her mother. She couldn't imagine what her mother was going through… making that choice. That didn't mean, however, that she couldn't be angry with Malcolm.

"Well, how's this!" Moira exclaimed loudly, anger really showing in her voice. She finally turned to face Thea. "Don't talk to your mother like that."

"Maybe you should start acting like my mother. So I don't have to act like yours." Thea shot back harshly before turning and walking out of the room. Moira watched her go sadly.

"It gets better," Artemis assured the two Queens. Of course, the elder Thea left out the fact that things would once again blow up with the Undertaking and the discovery of her heritage.

"Does everything else?" Tommy asked, to which only Artemis could sadly smile.

The scene changed to the Lair. Oliver was at work on the computer when Diggle came in.

"I thought you were done helping Laurel." He noted.

"The first firefly to die, his name was Garfield Lynns." Oliver stated, staring at the screen.

"Well, being dead kind of rules him out as a murder suspect, right?" Diggle chuckled, then he grabbed a stool and moved to sit next to the younger man. "Oliver I'm sorry I came at you so hard, man. But I've been there. I know what it's like to stare death in the face and be the one who blinks."

Almost with baited breath, everyone – including Malcolm – leaned in to hear what Oliver was thinking. They were curious what was holding him back, and Thea refused to accept it was fear keeping her brother on the sidelines. Everyone else wasn't as certain given just how badly Oliver had been beaten; no one could blame his hesitation given that.

"That's not it." Oliver denied. "I've… I've been close to death." He explained. "On the island- more times than I can remember, and I never feared it. 'Cause I had nothing to lose." He sighed. "But when that archer almost killed me; when I stared death in the face then, I thought about all the people that I've let into my life since I've been back. My family, Laurel, Tommy. And that made me afraid. Afraid of what would happen to those people if they lost me-again. And for the first time in so long, I had something to lose."

When she felt wetness on her cheeks, Moira realized she was crying. Her own son was terrified of what his death would do to them, and she couldn't imagine how they all handled it since he was gone in this timeline.

Across the room, Malcolm understood such a fear. When he had first returned from the League, he had similar concerns about what his loss would do to the City and what sacrifice was truly needed to cleanse it. However, this now gave him his drive, and was no longer holding him back. For a brief second, he considered how he'd be able to use Oliver's fear against him, only to recall that Thea was his daughter… he wondered if he could use his own daughter against her brother, and he found that the answer wasn't perhaps a straight 'no.'

"Well, you got it backwards, Oliver." Diggle said. "You think the people you let in are taking your edge. I think it gives you one. Maybe a stronger one. You can stare down death with something to live for or not. Something to live for is better."

Tommy nodded along with Diggle's words and looked to Laurel. He could understand wanting to live for something, finding someone to strive for, to be better for. That gave him so much every day.

Oliver took his words in considering. The he moved back to business. "All the men in the unit had an alibi for Danny's murder." He started. "The guy that I fought had a firefly tattoo and his arm was severely burned."

"Okay. I don't see where you're going with this." Diggle admitted.

"The Nodell Tower fire." Oliver said. "Some of the bodies were so badly burned, they couldn't even be ID'd off dental records." He looked at Dig. "What if Garfield Lynns didn't die, but was just presumed dead?"

"No way, you don't think?" Tommy asked glancing around the room.

Detective Lance nervously licked his lips. "If Mr. Queen is right, then that man will have quite a vendetta."

"He's killing those he blames," Laurel muttered, putting the pieces in place.

The scene changed to the club upstairs. The fireman's benefit was in full swing as Laurel arrived. She walked through the club. Seeing her boyfriend, she walked up to him with a smile and gave him a kiss.

"You know," Tommy said, "ironically, if we get any more people in here, we're going to violate the fire code."

"Why do I have a feeling this isn't going to go like we want it?" Tommy groaned, not liking how the scene was unfolding in front of them.

Laurel laughed, but pulled away slightly and looked at Tommy seriously. "We're good on drawer-gate, right?" she asked hesitantly.

"All good." He assured her giving her another kiss.

While the relationship drama wasn't what everyone wanted to see, it was a relief and a moment to breath in between the rest of the chaos. For the moment, it was a much needed reprieve.

"Excuse me." The two lovers looked over to see a smiling Oliver standing there. "Can I borrow Laurel for a second?" he asked Tommy.

"Absolutely." His friend replied. Oliver led Laurel to the bar where the fire chief was nursing a drink.

"Chief Raynes." Oliver called out. Raynes turned around. "Hi." He said.

"Mr. Queen, this is spectacular." Raynes said. "The Starling City Firemen's Relief Association can't thank you enough."

"What is he planning?" Quentin asked, leaning forward on his own knees to get closer to the screen.

"You guys are the real heroes." Oliver said. "Like at the Nodell Tower fire, which I've been reading up on."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Garfield Lynns was the first man to die in your unit." Oliver continued. "Now, I read that they recovered his coat in the wreckage, but they never found his body?" Laurel looked at him in confusion.

Laurel groaned in frustration, "How did I not realize?" With the Hood helping her and now Oliver, she wasn't certain how her own self wasn't putting the pieces together.

"He didn't want you to see him," Canary said, stepping back into the room, much to Artemis's relief. With a nod, the elder Laurel indicated that the elder Thea was good to step out for the moment, and that she would handle this group for the moment.

With a quiet thanks, Artemis took her leave and left her older friend to watch over them. She had a date with a certain League of Assassin's member to continue with, and she be damned if she missed it.

"You always interrogate your club's guests, Mr. Queen? Raynes asked stiffly.

"Why? Do you feel like you're being interrogated?" Oliver asked with an easy smile.

"You could see it on your face at the fire station." Laurel said, realization dawning. "There's more to the Nodell Tower fire than people know about, isn't there?"

Quentin didn't mean to be distracted, but the presence of his eldest, older version or not, drew his eyes from the screen. Canary was casually standing next to the seat that Malcolm was restrained in, towering over him, and Quentin had to admit his girl looked quite intimidating.

"Please," Canary said for Malcolm's ears only, "please try it. I wouldn't mind laying you up in the infirmary for a few weeks." She was content to play by Artemis's rules, but she wasn't afraid to bend some either. If it wasn't for him, Sara would still be here; Canary only blamed Malcolm and never Thea.

"I've been doing this a long time and I've never seen a fire like that." Raynes said in a haunted voice. "It's like some monster out of a science fiction movie. I radioed for my men to get the hell out of there. But Lynns, he wouldn't go. Begged me to send the unit back in. But I wouldn't do it. I couldn't. God help me, I left him to burn." He took a long drink of his scotch. "But I can't bring him back."

"You don't have to." Oliver replied. "He is back."

"Ollie's going to blow his cover," Thea stated with a frown. She couldn't believe his gall to speak so bluntly.

"No one's paying attention long enough," Tommy responded. Even the brief moments that Oliver dropped the mask were so infrequent that no one was connecting the dots.

"What the hell you talkin' about?" Raynes demanded.

"Garfield Lynns killed Danny." Laurel said, the pieces finally coming together in her mind. "And the other men on your unit."

"There's no way he could have survived that fire." Raynes denied.

"You'd be surprised the power revenge can give you." Oliver noted.

"Something he's familiar with, then?" Malcolm snidely remarked.

"No more than you," Canary snapped back, immediately quieting the older man.

In the club, a lone fire fighter in full turn out gear was walking slowly across the dance floor towards the bar. One of the patrons laid a gentle hand on his arm, stopping him.

"Thank you so much." The woman said sincerely. "The people in the city appreciate everything you—" she trailed off as the man turned to look at her. Half of his face was just- melted, covered in scar tissue.

Everyone in the room, sans Malcolm, were horrified by what they were seeing.

"How could he survive?" Laurel echoed.

"The human body is remarkable at being able to survive pain and near death," Malcolm said, pushing that line Canary had totted earlier. "Ask Oliver."

Now unable to help herself, Canary kicked the back of the chair Malcolm had been sitting in, sending him sprawling to the floor. With his hands behind his back in restraints, he only barely caught himself and situated himself on one knee, poised in defense. However, he didn't move again, and Canary removed her hand from her baton. With a barely concealed scowl, Canary fixed Malcolm's seat and indicated that he needed to return to it.

As Quentin watched, he muttered under his breath, "Thatta girl."

Horrified, the woman backed off, and Garfield Lynns resumed his lonely march.

"You're insane." Raynes told Oliver. "Gar did not make it out of that building."

"Just like you won't make it out of this one."

Oliver and Laurel spun around to see Lynns standing there. The deranged fireman threw several devices, one after the other, which exploded, sending fire racing through the club. Oliver put himself in front of Laurel and Raynes stared in shock as Lynns took off his helmet and glared at the fire chief.

"All those innocent people," Laurel gasped, turning into Tommy.

While Tommy was concerned for the people, he also cringed at the damage being done to the club.

As the fire began to spread, Tommy and Diggle started ushering people out of the building. At the bar, Lynns stared down Raynes while Oliver protected Laurel.

"Gar, what the hell are you doing?" Raynes demanded. Lynns unhooked his spray nozzle from his jacket and pointed it at Oliver.

"Run," he told them simply.

"Yeah right," Thea scoffed, knowing her brother was going to do everything in his power to stop this maniac.

"Go!" he urged Laurel, pushing her towards the door.

Oliver split off from her and headed deeper into the club, arriving at his secret entrance to the lair. He flipped the switches to open the door, then scrambled down the stairs and slid to a stop in front of his case. He opened it, took out his bow, then reached in for his leathers.

Moira couldn't help but worry again for her son. She didn't like the idea of a deranged firefighter or fire in general being anywhere near Oliver, but she also trusted his skill. Something deep down told her he would be fine.

Upstairs. Tommy was searching frantically for his girlfriend. "Laurel?! Laurel?" finally he spotted her running towards him. She leapt into his arms. "Laurel!" he said happily, then looking around asked, "Where's Oliver?"

"He's still inside!"

"We can't leave him." Tommy declared, He turned to run back in, but suddenly a ceiling beam came down. "Tommy!" Laurel exclaimed as the couple fell to the floor, dazed.

"You would have run back inside for him," Laurel said, a bit breathlessly.

"I still would," Tommy responded. "He's my best friend."

At the bar, Lynn's had finished hosing down Raynes with turpentine. "You know how long it takes for your skin to melt?" he asked. "I do. From experience."

"I told you to get out of there!" Raynes shouted.

"And I told you that we could save the building." Lynns retorted. "But you got scared. You lost your nerve. You left me in there to die."

"How did you get out?" Raynes asked.

"I was pulled from the wreckage. Listed as a John Doe in the burn unit, in a coma for months." His voice was quivering with rage. "When I woke up and saw what was left of who I was I only had one thought. To leave you as alone as you left me." He pulled out a zippo and flipped the lid open. He lit the lighter and held it up in a shaking hand as Raynes stared in horror. "Now it's your turn."

Across the room, The Hood appeared.

Thea couldn't help but let out a whoop. At first, she looked embarrassed, until she saw Laurel and Tommy were in a similar boat as her. Even Moira, looked proud with a smile at the appearance of her son. Quentin was just grateful that perhaps the Hood would keep the body count from growing out of control with the fire.

He saw the two men, the lighter in Lynn's hand, and knew what he had to do. He ran towards the men and, as Lynn's tossed the lighter at Raynes, fired an arrow. The arrow struck true, knocking the lighter away from the fire chief and into the flames beyond. Both men turned to stare at the vigilante as Oliver circled Lynns, another arrow nocked.

"Go!" he growled to Raynes, who took off. To Lynns he said "It's over."

"I'm not afraid to die." Lynns said.

Canary tried not to focus on the concept of death, but she truly had forgotten what these memories were like… and how horrendous some of them could be in how they forged who Oliver was and who'd he eventually become.

"I know." The Hood lowered his bow. "You're afraid to live. Let me get you out of here." He looked at the man, looking past the burns to the man underneath. "Lynns. Let me get you out."

Lynns looked back, and for a moment Oliver thought he might accept his help. "Thanks." Lynns said. "But I'm already burned." He turned and walked towards the fire. "Lynns, don't do it!" The Hood exclaimed, but Lynns calmly held his arm out into the fire. His coat caught at once, and soon his entire body was engulfed in flames. Without a scream, without a sound, Lynns fell to his knees, and then toppled over onto his face, dead as the flames finally consumed his body.

"That was… anti-climatic," Tommy noted, to which Laurel slapped his shoulder. "I'm just saying… Ow."

The Hood watched sadly, and then moved off to escape the flames himself.

The scene changed to the next day at Queen Manor. Oliver and Thea were watching a news broadcast covering the events at the fund raiser the previous night.

'Eyewitnesses contend that numerous lives would have been lost if not for the timely intervention of the Vigilante.' The female anchor was saying. 'But these were not the actions of a vigilante. What's been described are the actions of a hero.'

Vigilante. Hood. Hero. Arrow. Green Arrow. Hand of the Demon to heir… to Ra's al Ghul. Canary recalled all of Oliver's names, and she remembered this truly being one of the first times hero was muttered and what it had meant and now no longer means. She almost wished she could speak with him now to understand what all changed, but she wasn't naïve to think that she'd be speaking to anything but Ra's. Oliver, who he was and what the journey ahead of this group had forged, was gone.

Oliver smiled as he muted the TV. Thea noted the smile, puzzled.

"What's got you all smiley? Your new club's a briquette." She stated.

"It was under construction before. Now it's more under construction." Oliver replied glibly.

Moira muffled her chuckle at her son finding the silver lining in things, but couldn't help but agree with the earlier sentiment of how Oliver had hidden his secret for so long given his act.

"Good morning." Both kids looked up to see Moira stride into the sitting room, fully dressed and carrying a bag.

"Sharp suit, Mom! Not used to seeing you without your bedroom wrapped around you." Thea noted.

"Well, I could hardly go to the office in my pajamas." She explained. "I'm taking Walter's position at the office."

"What changed your mind?" Oliver asked.

"Not what. Who." Moira looked at Thea. "My daughter." She looked back to Oliver. "My family. And I promise you, Walter will get back to us. I will keep looking for him and I will find him." She closed up her bag. And looked at Oliver. "And I'll see you for dinner." She said, walking out of the room.

Even in the viewing room, Thea looked rather proud of herself, and Laurel didn't blame her one bit.

Thea stared at where her mother had been, disbelief etched on her face. "Mm-hmm." She mumbled.

"What?" Oliver asked, turning to look at her.

Thea shook her head. "Just feeling the whiplash. She went from shut-in to chairman pretty fast."

"Sounds like you got through to her." Oliver noted.

"Yeah, I guess." Thea said, unconvinced.

The scene changed to CNRI where Joanna was packing up her things.

Laurel was sad to see her friend leaving, but glad that she at least got some closure. Laurel only hoped that they could change this and Joanna's brother wouldn't need to be an unnecessary casualty.

"It'll just be for a few months." She was telling Laurel. "My mom, she's taking it so hard."

"Whatever you have to do to take care of your family." Laurel assured her.

"Before I forget," Joanna pulled a small case out of her purse and handed it to Laurel. She opened it to find a fireman's badge. "My brother's badge." Joanna explained. "My mom was hoping maybe you could find a way to get it to… you know, him. As a thank you." She took a long breath. "I don't care what anyone has to say. He really is a guardian angel."

Slade scoffed in his own viewing room. He found what the news originally said about Oliver to be far more accurate; to him, the kid wasn't a hero. Heroes didn't let others die in their place, especially not women they claimed to love.

"I'll find a way to get it to him." Laurel promised. Then she engulfed her friend in a hug. "I'm going to miss you."

"Yeah." Joanna said. She grabbed her box and walked off, stopping to say high with the just arrived Quentin Lance.

"Hey." Joanna said.

"Hey." He returned. "You look after yourself, all right?"

"I will." She promised.

"Good." Lance said. Joanna left and Quentin moved to Laurel. "So Joanna's taking a leave of absence, huh?"

"She has to go be with her family." Laurel said shortly, still upset at him.

"Yeah, well, family's important."

Laurel glanced to her father, and he did look embarrassed. This tension brewing on screen between them was unnecessary, and given what her older self had said, Laurel wondered if she needed to take a more proactive approach to her father.

Laurel sighed. "I already apologized."

"It's my turn." Quentin said, catching her attention. "After what happened last night, maybe it's a good thing you got the Hood involved." He looked at his daughter, a small smile on his face. "He didn't take the phone off you, did he?" Laurel sighed, and reached for her purse, and Quentin chuckled as she pulled out the phone. She handed it to him without a word, and he took it with a wry smile. He turned and started to leave, but stopped, fingering the phone. Suddenly he turned back to Laurel.

"Maybe you should hold on to this." He said. Laurel looked at him surprised. "I mean, I may not like the guy's methods, but whoever this guy is, he's got a habit of putting himself between danger and you. And that's not something I can argue with." He handed the phone back to Laurel, who took it wordlessly.

"Dad," Laurel said, in warning. She couldn't imagine it was truly out of the goodness of his heart that he let her keep the phone.

Throwing his hands up innocently, he said, "Maybe I really did believe those words. She," he indicated the older Laurel, "did say I'd come around."

Canary, unsuccessfully, stifled a laugh.

The scene changed to SCPD as Lance walked in the stations IT department.

"Kelton." He called to the computer tech. "We good?"

"I got a strong signal from the crystal vhf transmitter you hid in the speaker, and it can't be backtraced."

"Talk to me like I'm a third grader, please." Lance said, annoyed.

"Next time your daughter calls the Vigilante, we'll be able to listen to every word." He promised the cop.

Quentin cringed as Laurel growled at him, "You're going to use me to get to him." He wanted to defend himself, but the truth was, seeing this from the outside, he couldn't. He was about to put Laurel in danger all for the sake of catching a vigilante that was seemingly doing some good (and bad) for the city.

Lance nodded satisfied. As he turned to leave. Kelton spoke up. "I know you swore to bring this guy down, Detective, but using your own daughter as bait, that's stone cold." Lance paused momentarily, then left the room, satisfied in his course of action.

The scene changed to the Lair, where Oliver was hanging upside down from the salmon ladder and shadow boxing. As he did, he thought back to the Island.

The island came back into view, abruptly. Oliver, now dressed in the dead Merc's uniform, finished hiding the body under some shrubbery. He started looking through the pockets, trying to find a place to put the notebook. In one pocket he found a ring of keys; in the other he found a map of the island, which he studied.

Slade tilted his head, uncertain of where this exactly was going, but he was intrigued to see the map's appearance. He recalled the kid having it on him when they first crossed paths. At least, he had it confirmed how the kid had gotten a hold of it, since he wouldn't have believed the story otherwise. He couldn't think of Oliver, at that point, having a single nerve in his body to kill a human being.

Back in the present, Diggle came into the lair.

"Good thing the fire didn't spread to down here."

Oliver let himself down from the bar. "It's one of the benefits of concrete and steel construction." He exhaled. "Thank you." He said.

"What for?" Diggle asked innocently.

"You know what for!"

"So what's next?" Dig asked. "More training?"

"No." Oliver held up the notebook. "We go hunting." He said with a smile.

Thea grinned, "It seems my brother is back."

Malcolm scowled to realize she was right. It seemed there one fight was not enough to keep Oliver from interfering in his plans. He'd have to think of something else potentially, then. Perhaps simply locking the entire Queen family safely away – it'd keep his daughter safe, Oliver and Moira out of his hair too.

"Where's Artemis?" Tommy asked, now that they had a free moment.

"Busy," is all Canary supplied. "I am hoping that my younger self and my father can step out for a moment. We won't be much beyond the door." That was mostly said to Malcolm as a warning to behave, and for a man restrained, he tried to appear harmless.

Quentin and Laurel were uncertain what this was about, but they stood and headed toward the door. Canary was suddenly grateful that she would be the one to share the news; she was hopeful that the joy and torturous grief wouldn't overwhelm her too.

Author Note: Next episode is 'Trust but Verify' and I'm considering a brief synopsis of the 'view' (once I review the episode) and moving onto Vertigo (since the Count is fun). Otherwise, Sara's life and death up next (Lance. Sara Diggle is explained later)