Disclaimer: I do not own the arrow or any other series I might use for inspiration.

Author Notes:

The story begins in Star City but will crossover with the Flash, Constantine, and Supergirl. Later it might crossover with DC based movies such as Suicide Squad, Man of Steel, Superman vs Batman, Green Lantern, etc etc.

The main character is Oliver Queen. Pairing is not decided yet, but Susan Williams, Earth 2 Laurel, and Talia Al Ghul are possibilities. And Nyssa of course, she is his wife after all.

Mr. Terric and Ragman will be important characters in the story.

Wild Dog and Artemis fans, they'll appear in the story, but am not sure yawl will like what I have planned for them.

Fans of my other stories. I usuall work on two stories at a time. Currently I'm working on this one and Gravitational Forces (Naruto). So fans of that one expect a new chapter in a week or two.

Curtis/Mr Terrific is not gay in this story. Probably some of you will complain about me changing his sexuality, in which case I will have to call you out on your hypocricy, as many of you write and read slash fics about characters that are supposed to be straight all the time. To then complain when the tables are turned is the definition of hypocricy.

Oliver will be ruthless and cruel to his enemies, and might appear to be moraliy ambiguous at times.

There will be no gay characters in this fic. Lesbian is give or take, but gay is totally out, no compromises.

Hope you enjoy the story.

Painfull Resolution

My name is Oliver Queen, former billionaire play boy, and now mayor of Star City, and secretly a vigilante assassin. Recently, I lost a very important person in my life, a woman named Laurel Lance, a woman whom I loved dearly. She was killed by Damian Darhk, who I could have killed many times, but didn't, because I was trying to be someone that I'm not, and the cost of that was an amazing person's premature death.

The aftermath of the whole Darhk ordeal has made me learn two fundamental lesssons. One, not killing an evil enemy when you have the chance is the worst decision a hero can make, and two, in this age of magic and metahumans, being a well trained assassin is no longer enough to make a real difference. A person needs a lot more than that, which is why I have taken the step that I took recently, exactly one month ago.

When I was Al Sah Him, Ra's Al Ghul had me wed to his daughter Nyssa Al Ghul, and then went on to reveal certain secrets to me, secrets he thought I would need to know in order to become his successor. Apparently, Ra's had secretly used the league's sizeable riches, skilled human resources, and connections to inspire the creation of the mirakuru super soldier drug by the Japanese in World War 2, with the intention to betray the Japanese Government and use the Mirakuru for himself and the league.

He succeeded too, as the sub-marine carrying the mirakuru serum never made it back to Japan. However, he would later learn that he had made a grave mistake as it turned out that the serum was defective, killing those who took it in horrible and painful ways and driving those who survived out of their minds. At that point it had been too late because he had already had all the Japanese scientists who made the drug killed, so it wasn't like he could easily continue the work to improve the drug.

It had taken a long time, and wasn't until just a year before he and I met that his league of scientists had finally managed to perfect the serum. However, once again Ra's had suffered a terrible setback, finding out that the effects of the Lazarus Pit on him had reached a point where his body was rejecting the serum completely, meaning that he would never be able to wield within himself the power of Mirakuru 2.0. I can't imagine how devastated he must have been when he found out that he would never become the perfect 21st century Ra's Al Ghul that he wanted to become, however, in me, partly because I survived a number of stab wounds from his sword, and also because he saw a lot of himself in me, Ra's saw a chance at redemption, a chance to forge and create something greater than himself.

He wanted me to become his successor, to adopt me as an heir to his thrown, and so when I agreed to join him and went through all the right of passage rituals without fail, he gave the serum to me for safe keeping, with instructions for me to take it once I became Ra's Al Ghul, so that I would never have to use the Lazarus Pit, and also so that I can have the power to combat magic and super powers, as Ra's had come to the same realisation that I had recently come to, that being an elitely trained human was no longer enough to defend humanity anymore.

I kept the serum to keep up with the ruse and we eventually defeated Ra's and the league. Malcolm took over the league but he never learned about the serum because Ra's had killed everyone that had been involved in its development, leaving only he and I as the only two people who knew about it. I never told anyone about the serum even to this day, and after we defeated Darhk, I went to the place where I hid it, which was the location of Ra's secret lab in Star City and retrieved the serum.

I was grieving at the time so I wouldn't say I was in the right frame of mind to make such a big decision, but having experienced the power boost and not having had any sign at all of any sort of negative side effects from the serum, I can safely say that I have absolutely no regrets at all about taking the serum.

Naturally, I've had to upgrade my training regiment, it's kind of difficult to keep fit by normal means when you can bench press a whole ton with no difficulty. I had to clean the old lab and extend it to fit my new customized gym equipment, and I go there to secretly train myself. So far it's been only Felicity and I on the job since the others all quit and left us to do this on our own, so it isn't like I had to try hard to hide my new superhuman speed, reflexes, agility, and strength, because Felicity is not there to see me in action for herself, she can only listen. Though I imagine it's only a matter of time before she hacks into some security camera and sees me do the impossible things that I've been doing lately, but it doesn't matter, it's not that I'm afraid of her finding out the truth, I just don't know how to start that conversation, and let's be honest, what I do with my body is my business and my business alone.

It would be different if I was suffering from either the mental or physical side effects of mirakuru, then she would deserve to know as my instability would potentially place her own life at risk, but right now, whether I tell anyone or not is my business and my business alone, in fact, I'm even considering lying completely about the changes that I have undergone, not because I'm a liar, and not just for the sake of it, but because I believe that it is highly likely that some very bad people will covert my blood and even my body itself in order to study and possibly replicate the serum if they knew how I got my powers.

By simply claiming that I was affected by a particle accelerator, thereby becoming a metahuman myself, then I can avoid a whole lot of potential problems in the future. I'll have to get my story straight of course, cover a number of holes in my story, but I think I already have a concrete plot to cover all the holes, or rather, to erase them completely.

"You've been spacing out a lot recently, is there something bothering you? Is everything okay?" Thea asked her older brother with a curious and concerned facial expression.

"Yes, everything is perfectly fine, and no, I'm not depressed over Felicity breaking up with me." Oliver rolled his eyes at that last part, unable to count the number of times that his beloved little sister had asked him that one single question.

"Then maybe it's because Laurel, our Laurel, my sister in everything but blood and your childhood love, possibly soul mate, was recently killed by an evil guy who wanted to destroy the entire world?" Thea asked rhetorically, Oliver this time not rolling his eyes at her, largely because he knew that Laurel's death had depressed him to no end, almost as much as Shado's death, and even more than Sarah's death prior to her resurrection.

"I've been doing a lot of soul searching since Laurel passed away, and yes, I have been extremely depressed because of her death. However, her death has been a revelation to me. All this time I thought that I was a monster for killing the bad guys, because I thought so, because Diggle, Tommy, and Felicity all thought it was bad for me to kill...but when I realised that Laurel and whole suburbs and towns could have been saved had I killed Damian Darhk like I wanted to...well..." Oliver trailed off with an angry expression on his facial features, angry at all the people that tried to change him, but most of all angry at himself for buying and drinking that cool aid.

"So that's why you've started killing again." Thea said matter of factly, a look of sudden realisation morphing into her facial features.

"You know about that?" Oliver asked with a slightly surprised tone.

"Ummm..yes! Along with everyone in Star City who watches the news." Thea retorted.

"Oh..." Was all Oliver could master, suddenly realising that he couldn't remember the last time that he had watched any tv or listened to the radio, not counting the number of times he and Felicity have intercepted the police radio frequency of course. What surprised him the most however was not the fact that he'd barely watched any tv in over six months now, but rather the fact that there hadn't been any backlash from the Justice and Law Enforcement Department or the media, after all, bad guys or not, he was killing a lot of people in cold blood since Laurel Lance's death.

'Maybe it's because of Laurel's death. Now that everyone knows that she was the Black Canary, then they also know that she was close to the Green Arrow, therefore it is not entirely inconceivable that they would be sympathetic to my cause, and since Damian Darhk, Deathstroke and Malcolm all took the city to the brink of extinction at one point or another, then it isn't entirely inconceivable that they would even condone the execution of dangerous criminals on site, even if it is only by their silence that they condone it.' Oliver theorised internally, hoping that, because most likely almost, if not in fact every Star City citizen had lost something or someone because of the notorious criminals that plague Star City, they would not speak out or protest against his ruthless assassination of hardcore criminals.

"Aaaah yeah, I'd say you're pretty darn lucky that no one has complained yet. I personally don't like that you're killing again, let's get that clear very quickly. I absolutely do not agree with your methods, no matter how hypocritical that sounds coming from me. I'm fairly certain that my disaproval won't change your mind because you're the most stubborn person that I know, so I will leave you with one simple warning. Make sure you are certain of the guilt and identities of the people that you kill. The last thing you or the city needs is for the Green Arrow to kill an innocent man or woman." Thea warned with a grave tone.

"I know, don't worry about me. I'll do what needs to be done, and yes, I'll be careful about who it is exactly that I kill." Oliver said with a dark undertone, causing shivers to run up and down his sister's spine, Thea having never seen that kind of expression on her brother before, and certainly not liking it one bit at all.

'Maybe I should try and get Felicity to talk to him. If anyone can get through to him then it is most certainly her.'

Later that Night: At 22:00

"Drinking on your own and then on top of that walking home on your own in this dangerous part of town? That's not something I'd recomend, Mr. Regan."Oliver said with his Green Arrow voice, a very deep, gruff, and menacing version of his voice that was honestly enough to give any sane person the urge to run for their life.

He was wearing his standard, long sleeved green arrow outfit, except this time it had one modification made on it, that being the the menacing facemask that Al Sah Him used to wear. The reason for this modification was symbolic in nature, as Oliver had come to accept himself whole heartedly instead of trying to constantly fight against his natural insticts, meaning that he had accepted Al Sah Him, Lian Yu Oliver, Argus agent Oliver, and Bratva Oliver as important parts of the whole.

"Oh my God! G-green A-arrow...!" The man, now identified as Mr. Regan, stuttered nervously, the last thing he expected being to run across the Green Arrow of all people in a dark alley. He is a young man in his early twenties with black hair and dark eyes, with a moderate sized frame and straight facial features, wearing a black jacket along with blue jeans and black footwear, just a normal young man, or so it would seem.

"You seem surprised to see me, one Rory Regan, but why? Surely you didn't think you could go on a killing spree in my city and expect not to run into me at some point?" The Green Arrow asked with what appeared to be genuine curiosity.

"W-what? I...I don't know what you're talking about! You must have me confused with someone else!" Rory sputtered, unable to believe how terrified he was feeling right now, the only other time he ever felt this scared before being when his hometown was about to be hit by a nuclear missile.

"Do you have any idea how many times I've heard that line? You better start speaking the truth before I start shooting arrows Mr. Regan, otherwise I'm afraid you'll be joining the people of Havenrock very soon." The Green Arrow said menacingly, at this point Rory on the verge of having a panic attack, unable to believe that the one time he went out without his rags was the time that the Green Arrow would approach him.

"Okay! Okay! I'll talk! But you can't kill me, not until I get my revenge! You don't understand! I haven't killed any innocent people! The people I killed work for AmerTek, they are the same people who built and sold those nuclear weapons to Damian Darhk! They are the reason I no longer have a home!" Rory pleaded his case, hoping that, if anyone could understand his vigilante activities at all, then it would have to be the Green Arrow.

However, his hopes were dashed just a second later as the Green Arrow loaded up his bow and pointed his arrow at him, Rory's life flashing right before his very own eyes before relief, followed by confusion settled in as The Green Arrow pointed his bow upwards and towards the top of the adjacent building, The Green Arrow shooting an arrow that had a zip line attached to it, the retractable zip line pulling back the arrow once it hit its target and dragging back what appeared to be a duffel bag.

The bag was one that Rory recognised all too well, because after all, it was the bag that contained his mystical rags of Davarim. He just couldn't fathom how the Green Arrow had gotten his hands on it, or just how exactly his identity had been discovered.

"You really need to find a safer place to keep these rags Rory. Finding your place, and these rags was just way too easy. Although, it does seem like the rags can't be worn just by anyone, because I literally got my ass whipped when I tried to put them on, and I mean literally, a tendril just shot out of these things and tried to whip the stuffing out of me." The Green Arrow said as he pulled the rags out of the duffel bag.

"Ummm...yes well, I am bonded to them, there's like a mystical connection between me and the rags, so I guess I'm the only one who can use them." Rory retorted.

"I see..." Green Arrow trailed off as he threw the rags at the un-asuming Rory Regan, the most amazing, weird, and terrifying thing happening, the rags seemingly taking on a life of their own as they viciously attacked Rory, except they weren't really attacking him but rather were wrapping themselves around him and bonding themselves to him, a process that started and concluded in a matter of seconds.

"I take it this means that you no longer have the intention to dispose of me?" Rory asked rhetorically.

'He seems far more confident and intimidating, and I don't think it's entirely by force of will. The rags seem to alter not only his voice and appearance, but also his personality, making him more confident and agressive in his combat prowess. How interesting...I wouldn't be surprised if the rags even make it an easier decision for him to take a life when neccessary.' Oliver thought analytically.

'Still, I'd like to see just what he can do before I decide to take him in...' Oliver thought just before he answered Rory's question.

"No, I have no intention of killing you...not anymore. I do however have a proposition for you, but that all depends on how well you do in your audition."

"Audition...?" Rory trailed off as the Green Arrow inexplicably shot six arrows almost at the same time, Rory, despite having no combat training whatsoever, instinctively realising that no normal person or trained assassin for that matter should have been capable of producing such an amazing feat unless he had some sort of super human abilities, more specifically, super human reflexes, agility, power, and speed.

Still, Rory, with his rags on, was the furtherst thing away from normal himself, and therefore, despite the ridiculous speed at which the arrows were travelling, he was able to catch all of them with his rag tendrils. However, as he was about to ask if that was all the famed Green Arrow could produce, he was suddenly blasted away by the explosive devices attached just behind the tips of all of the arrows that were shot at him, sending him flying away uncontrollably, although the rags were able to protect him from the blast force and he was soon able to regain his footing thanks to the rag tendrils stopping his momentum.

"That was very sneaky of you Green Arrow. I thought you said you weren't trying to kill me anymore?" Rory asked angrily.

"Your rags helped you to survive a nuclear blast, so there is no way a little C2 was going to be enough to kill you." The green arrow retorted.

"You know you're going to have to tell me how you know so much about me sooner or later."

"I know, and I will tell you everything, including my real identity as soon as you agree to join my team." Oliver said dramatically.

"W-what...?" Ragman stuttered uncharacteristically.

"You don't seem to need much help when you're in this form, but you do overly rely on the sentience of those rags. I believe it would be wiser to put in some proper training with them and to test and discover all of their strengths, limits, and weaknesses. You may seem invincible now, but that is only until a bigger and badder guy comes around. It would be wise to be prepared for everything, and no warrior should go to battle without knowing all of his or her own strengths, weaknesses, limits, and trump cards..." The Green Arrow trailed off as he allowed that piece of information to sink in.

"Furthermore, you seem totally defenseless without your rags. You won't always be able to carry them with you wherever you go and you don't want to be left completely defenseless without them. So what I want to do is to train both Ragman and Rory Regan, Ragman to control his powers, and Rory to learn how to defend himself and maybe even protect others when the rags are not readily available. My former team is gone, The Black Canary passed away, Speedy and Spartan retired. There's only two of us left now, and the other one is not a field Agent. Star City can never replace Havenrock, and we can never replace your family that you lost, but life moves on and you have to find a new home and just maybe, in time, you and I can become brothers." The Green Arrow said with the utmost sincerity.

"You want me to fight crime with you? In Star City?" A bewildered Ragman asked disbelievingly.

"Yes. I'll help you get justice for your home and your family whether you join us or not, but I could really use someone like you. There are many more dangerous people out there and fate has had it that you have the power to make a difference, to prevent the tragedy that happened to your home from happening to others. The nuclear missile that hit your home marked an ending to your home and your family, but for you it was a rebirth, you came out of it with a new inner strength and determination, and with new powers. You can't change the past, but you can decide how you live your life in the present, and how you live your life in the present can shape a better future for you and leave an honorable legacy behind for others to follow." Oliver said, pausing momentarily to give Ragman a chance to digest the info before carrying on where he left off.

"I didn't know your father, but my own father sacrificed himself so that I can live, and he told me with his dying breathe that he had high hopes for me, that he knew I would do great things with my life, and that I would honor him, myself, and my family name. He believed in me wholeheartedly. I'd like to think your dad felt the same way about you, which is why he gave the rags to you." The Green Arrow spoke from his heart words that totally changed Ragman's perspective on the event of his hometown's demise and his father's death.

"So what do you say? Will you join me?" The Green Arrow asked as he walked closer until he was just a foot away from the dangerous and terrifying Ragman, extending his hand out for a handshake with the hope that he had found a new person he could trust, one who fit his new criteria for a super hero to the latter.

"Is it even possible to say no after a speech like that?" Ragman retorted as he shook the Green Arrow's hand.

"No, I don't suppose it is..."

One month later: 09:00pm at the Green Arrow Headquarters

"So...I've been monitoring recent vigilante activities and I think I may have found some suitable candidates to add as new members to our team, especially since you've suspiciously been inactive over the last 30 days or so..." Felicity trailed off with an inviting undertone, as in, inviting Oliver to fill in the gaps regarding his whereabouts in the last month or so.

"And who are these potential recruits that you speak of?" Oliver asked curiously, completely ignoring, of course, Felicity's jab about his recent lack of activity.

"I guess I should have known better than to expect an explanation..." Felicity muttered under her breathe.

"Excuse me?"

"Umm...nothing! I was just thinking out loud. Anyway...first on the list, Rene Ramirez, or otherwise known as Wild Dog. He's been fighting a lot of crime in the shadier parts of Star City and quite honestly, he's very good all things considered..."

"No! Next..."

"W-what? Just like that? You haven't even..."

"On the contrary, I have vetted him out already. He was released from the army for blatant insubordination and recklessness, and he has a history of bad run ins with the cops. He has a short temper and just generally is not someone I would feel comfortable to have watching my back. Who else do you have on your list?" Oliver moved on without even waiting to hear Felicity's side of the story.

"Well, there's this guy that we both know and trust, a guy who has worked with us before, and has not revealed your identity..."

"If you're talking about Curtis then I have no problem with him working with us, as I have already made clear. Just not on the field. His strengths, despite his olympic medal, do not lie in operations but in the technical side of things. I'm willing to use my position as mayor to open opportunities for him in the business sector and get him the resources and funds that he needs in order to invent and develop weapons for us, and I'm willing to teach him basic self defense and counter offense in order for him to protect himself. But I'm not taking him into the field, end of story." Oliver retorted.

"Okay...that's good enough. I'm sure he'll have mixed feelings about it but it's a better deal than I expected really. I think he'll take a liking to it...eventually." Felicity stuttered, silence the only response she was able to evoke from Oliver.

"Well...anyway, there's this girl..."

"If you're talking about Evelyn Sharp then the answer is no. If she chooses to endanger herself everyday then it is her choice and there is nothing I can do about it, but I will not help her do it." Oliver retorted.

"Okay you know what! I'm sick of this! Laurel's death is not an excuse for you to turn into a selfish and self centred p...penis! History has already proven that you cannot do this alone Oliver! If you could then you never would have dragged me and John into this world and Laurel, Thea, and Roy also helped you to fight crime. When are you going to face the music and realise that you're no island! No one is! Not even you!" Felicity exclaimed furiously.

"Even if you're right, you don't get to decide when I recruit a new team, and you don't get to decide who it is exactly that I recruit. That is my choice and my choice alone. You can make recomendations yes, and you may assist where it is neccessary, but ultimately, I, The Green Arrow, make the final decision. Do we understand each other?" Oliver said with a calm and dangerous intensity in his eyes, in his facial expression, and in his tone, Felicity taking a beat as she hadn't seen Oliver act like this towards her since the time when he was Al Sah Him, a version of Oliver that terrified her to no end.

"Y-you do not get to talk down to me like that! I don't work for you..!"

"No one is holding you hostage Felicity. If you don't want to be here then you're free to leave. But if you're going to stay, then you're going to have to accept that there is a hierarchial order here, and you are not at the top of that food chain." Oliver delivered bluntly.

He knew that this may have come as a shock to Felicity, and he knew that she was probably hurting from not only the words that he had spoken to her but also because of the way that he had said them. However, he wasn't about to pussy out again, not like he had done so many times in the past. If a guy like Ragman could obey his orders without question, if a badass guy like that could respect him and obey his orders the way that he had shown to do over the last plus minus 30 days, then what gave Felicity and co the right to question and even overide his authority at times.

Also, badassery and combat abilities aside, when has listening to Felicity or any of his friends and family ever yielded any positive results for him or them for that matter, when has listening to them done anything good for the City? Because as he recalled, not killing Darhk sooner had led to Laurel's and thousands of other people's deaths, same goes for Malcolm. Also, stopping his asssinations of the bad guys had lead to those same guys escaping during the undertaking and killing many other innocent lives, lives that would have been saved had he just killed those bastards from the start.

So no, he was not about to recruit some pertulant and entitled kids that would rebel and undermine his authority at every turn, and he was also not gonna be responsible for shattering their illusions of what the real world was like. That was not his responsibility. His only responsibility as the Arrow was getting rid of the vermin in Star City, and his responsibility as Mayor Queen was inspiring the good people of Star City and creating a prosperous, safe, and healthy environment for them.

"I did not sign up to be dictated to!"

"Like I said, the door is open. But if you walk out of that door, then don't bother to come back. You either fall in line or step out. There is no middleground." Oliver said much to the utter shock and confusion of Felicity.

"Oliver what has happened to you?"

"This happened a long time ago Felicity. The only difference is that I am not running away from it anymore. If you're going to stay then you need to know that this is the kill or be killed business, and there's no room for doubt or insubordination in that kind of business. Otherwise tragedies like Laurel's death will continue..."

"Do not!...use Laurel as an excuse..."

"She's not an excuse! She is just confirmation of what I already knew, but was too naïve and cowardly to accept. This is the way things are gonna be! No more flip flopping, no more hypocrisy, and no more double standards. You have two days to think it over, in two days I want your response, and if you don't respond in that timeframe, then I will assume that you're out and act accordingly."

2 Hours Later: Undisclovsed Location.

"So, this is it then? Everything works automatically? Just a couple more tattoes on my body and I can protect myself from time travellers now?" Oliver asked as he looked himself over on a mirror inside his home office.

"Just a couple of tattoes? Do you have any idea how much digging and hard work I had to do to first find these spells in the first place, and then to actually get the ingredients required to cast them?" A man, Oliver's guest, replied with a thick British accent. The man had blonde hair and blue eyes, was average of height, and had a relatively average beard in terms of size. He was wearing formal clothing in the form of black pants and shoes, a white long sleeved shirt without a tie and a brownish-beige trench coat.

"I honestly don't care how long it took or how hard you had to work. I paid you good money for it and we both know that it was neccessary. Besides, not all of us have a guardian angel actively watching over our destiny. You don't have to worry about time travel because your guardian angel protects your past from being altered. It's a little different for us normal people." Oliver retorted.

"Well I suppose you got a bit of point there mate." The man conceded with his hands raised in the air as if to surrender.

"..."

"Regardless...I'm really grateful to you John. Now I can really focus on my job without worrying about evil speedsters and time masters screwing my life over and by extention, screwing up everyone's life in Star City." Oliver said sincerely.

"Well as much as I appreciate the sentiment, I wouldn't thank me so soon if I was you mate. Remember that the spell doesn't exactly teleport you back in time in the same way that time masters and speedsters do. The spell only teleports your current consciousness into the body of your past self whenever your past self's life is endangered or is at risk of being severely affected by a time abbaration..."

"What!" Oliver said indignantly.

"That's not good enough! What if the past self that is in danger is a toddler, or what if I'm still a baby when the enemy targets me. How am I gonna protect myself if I'm just a baby!" Oliver exclaimed as he threw his hands in the air dramatically.

"Wow! Hold your horses mate! I made a few modifications to the spell ayt! Look, if your past self is five years or younger, you will be able to jump into the body of the closest member of your bloodline who is also above the age of five. That means your mother, father, uncles, aunts, and first cousins. Understandably your combat capacity will be limited accordingly, but your mind won't so at least you'll have a fighting chance." The man, now identified as John, replied with a bit of an arrogant smirk, clearly proud of himself and his enginuity when it comes to magic.

"Okay, I suppose it's better than nothing. Though I am curious, what happens to my past self and/or relative when my consciousness returns to the present?" Oliver asked curiously.

"They won't remember a thing about what happened while you inhabited their body, it will be like they had a blackout of some sort. However, it is important that you leave no evidence of the activities that you were involved in while inhabiting the body, no soveniers and certainly no secret messages for them to find, otherwise you could end up becoming your own enemy as far as protecting your timeline." John explained patiently.

"I understand. I won't make the same mistakes as Barry did. I understand now that no matter how much good you think you're doing, changing the past always makes things worse." Oliver retorted.

"Well alright then mate. John Constantine is a busy man, you know, demons, fallen angels, monsters and evil wizards to stop from destroying the very fabric of our reality. This is good bye for now my friend." John said as he chanted a spell that literally opened a teleportation portal inside Oliver's home office, Oliver wondering to himself if he should try and study magic as soon as he got a chance, silently wishing that he turns out to have quite a bit of a gift for the dark arts.

Six Months Later:

"Ummm...Oliver sir..." Curtis trailed off hesitantly, Rory casting a sideways glance at the hesitance in his teammate's tone, not that it was anything new mind you, because he would freely admit that even he was terrified of Oliver, all the time. It was just that there was a little bit...okay a lot more hesitance and fear in Curtis's tone than usual, which meant that he was probably about to suggest or ask something that he thought would piss Oliver off.

Curtis himself had improved quite a lot over the last six months since he started training with Oliver. What was surprising was how much time, effort, and dedication Oliver had put into both of their training, to the point that he'd even forced them to quit their jobs for the last six months and hadn't allowed them to leave the training room in the new and state of the art bunker except to go to their rooms to sleep or to go to the toilet and the kitchen.

Their training had been harsh and unforgiving, and they had felt things that they never thought that they would ever feel in their lives. The worst part was the torture training that Oliver had put them through to build their pain resistance and so that they would never betray their comrades under any circumstances. If someone could give steroids or super powers to special forces training, only then would they get the training that Oliver had put them through.

Oliver had a vast knowledge of medical and mystical herbs though, so that helped them advance a lot quicker than normal in their training because of the insane recovery time and energy they got from the herbs. They could therefore train for longer stretches of time than would be normally possible and the quality and intensity of the training helped them to maximise the results from their efforts.

Rory had wondered throughout their training what Oliver's plans for Curtis were given that he had made it clear that the only heroes that he was willing to go into the field with had to have some sort of special inhuman ability. Rory had his rags for missions and he had had to endure extra training sessions to master his rags, during which time Curtis had been cooked up in his private lab in the bunker. However, as recently as the two weeks ago, Curtis had finally revealed what he had been working on, six spheres in total that Curtis refers to as T-spheres.

The cyber-mechanical spheres were more than a little impressive Rory had to say, and they certainly elevated Mr Terrific from a 'normal' vigilante with special forces/assassination training to a real super heroe with powers. For one, the t-spheres were linked to a chip inside of Curtis's brain that had had to be impanted by Rory and Oliver with specific instructions by Curtis of the procedure, meaning that Curtis controlled the spheres with nothing but mental commands. The spheres were also hack proof because Curtis had imbued a mini AI into them that is constantly changing and evolving to counter against hacking.

The spheres had gyroscopic technology installed into them, enabling them to float and defy gravity with ease and had all manner of gimmicks installed into them, such as shooting electricity, fire, laser beams and even forming laser grids between the spheres, said laser grids used both to trap enemies and to protect Curtis from attacks. The gadjets also contained their own muti-functional data base, including facial recognition amongst all manner of information. They also could scan and provide x-ray vision, heat signature sensing, etc etc and release explosive outward force, leaving the sphere itself undamaged after the explosion, and those were just a few of the things that Rory could remember about the T-spheres. One thing was for certain now though, and that was that Curtis was more than qualified to join the Green Arrow's team of super heroes.

"Yes what is it Curtis?" Oliver asked curiously.

"Ummm...so...I mean, are we actually heroes now or what? I mean, Prometheus has been terrorizing the City for months and there is this new guy Vigilante that has been around for two weeks and you've done nothing about it. I don't even want to talk about the damage that Tobias Church has done. Are we just going to let Star City go to the dogs?" Curtis asked, gaining more and more confidence as he spoke, and more anger and irritation too as he couldn't understand what the hell the boss was thinking, Rory bracing himself for a brawl that Curtis would no doubt lose to break out.

"Of course we're not just going to let things slide like that Curtis. What you think I've just been sitting on my ass the whole time?"

"Well...it kinda looks like it." Curtis replied much to Oliver's chagrin, Oliver fixing Curtis with one of his death stares.

"..."

"W-what I mean to say is...I just don't know what's on your mind right now." Curtis corrected himself hastily.

"Over the last two days I've been deliberating over the results of your training, both of you, and I've also thought about all the simulations we've done with your T-spheres and the sparring I've done with both you and Ragman at full strength..."

"Yes and...?" Curtis asked anxiously.

"Well, I honestly think that at this point, you're both ready to go out into the field with me. In fact, at your current level, I'm sure there are some missions that the two of you can pull off on your own, without my assistance and leadership. Our teamwork drills have been fantastic as well, the chemistry is really good. So I think it's time for us to sweep up this whole mess." Oliver said words of praise that made both Rory and Curtis wonder if this was either a dream or some sick, twisted prank, because there was no way Oliver would say such deep and sincere words of praise to them...right?

"Ummm...who are you and what have you done with the real Oliver Queen?" Curtis retorted, eliciting another death stare from his leader and master.

"S...sorry..." Curtis muttered nervously.

"Ahem! Contrary to what Curtis may think, this whole time I've been conducting my own private investigations into Tobias Church, Vigilante, and Prometheus, and I've come up with a number of actions and ommissions we can make to resolve these issues." Oliver said with a serious tone.

"Wait a minute. What do you mean by omissions?" Rory asked curiously.

"What I mean is that I don't think we should do anything about Prometheus for the time being..."

"What!" Both Rory and Curtis exclaimed indignantly.

"I understand your shock, but I have solid evidence that none of these people that he has killed are the good samaritans that you and the rest of Star City think that they are. If you knew the truth about them, then you wouldn't feel sorry for them. Trust me." Oliver said with a grave undertone.

"In fact, you would probably kill them yourself." Oliver added darkly.

"I...I don't understand..."

"The people Prometheus is killing are in this little book right here, a hit list that was given to me by my father before he shot himself in the head right in front of me. Before he shot himself, he explained that this list was the reason our ship was sabotaged and that these people, himself included, and as much as it pains me to say, my mom included, were the filth that are responsible for the suffering of millions of Star City citizens. When I returned from the Lian Yu, I did a full investigation into each and everyone of their backgrounds and once I knew the truth, I went on a crusade and started assassinating every single one of them...or was supposed to assassinate every single one of them."

"Wait a minute! I know some of these names...oh my God! You and the Hood are the same person?" Curtis thought out loud.

"Exactly. I was the one that assassinated all of those people. I stopped because certain people who were close to me convinced me that not killing the bad guys was the better way to go about things, which was all garbage of course in hindsight. The Hood's methods were efficient and ensured that the threat was permanently eliminated. Bad guys can be broken out of prison and they can still run their organisations even from behind bars. Cops and prison guards are corrupt and work hand in hand with the bad guys and even Judicial Officials can be bought, intimidated, and threatened. Some people are just too dangerous to be left alive." Oliver explained his reasoning.

"Okay I get all of that, but still, how did this Prometheus guy get this list to begin with?" Rory asked curiously.

"There are only two people who had copies of my list. One of them is dead and the other one is kind of immortal, and therefore unlikely to be dead. Also, she was also one of my mentors and taught me how to fight and to shoot arrows. She also wore a hood just like me and Prometheus." Oliver explained.

"So you think that Prometheus is another student of hers. Does that mean he is continuing the work that you were doing? Maybe he's an admirer of his sibling student."

"Or maybe he is trying to draw me out. Your scenerio is not impossible, but is less likely than the latter. My gut tells me that this is some sort of challenge to me, or he is sending some kind of message. Whatever game he is playing, I have resisted to engage so far, partly because I refuse to be manipulated but also because, well, he's kind of doing me a favor." Oliver retorted.

"I see...well, you've been training us this whole time to assassinate the bad guys so if this guy is doing the job for us, without innocent people getting caught in the crossfire, then oh well." Curtis shrugged nonchalantly, a reaction that was to the contrary to how Curtis would have viewed this whole situation before he was subjected to Oliver's training/conditioning.

"The longer I ignore him the greater the lengths he will go to get my attention. So we're gonna have to deal with him sooner or later. But for now I want us to focus on Tobias Church, in fact, I want the two of you to focus on Tobias Church while I go and deal with Vigilante." Oliver said authoratively.

"But what about Armetek? You promised to help me get rid of the scum that sold nukes to Damian Darhk."

"Yes but those same pieces of scum have traded Damian Darhk for Tobias Church, hence the reason why we have to deal with Tobias first. Once Tobias is taken care off, we will eliminate the Armetek CEO and Vice Chancellor, and then I will use the instability that follows and the massive drops in stocks to assimilate Armetek into Queen Tech Consolidated." Oliver explained thoroughly.

There had been an initial outcry when Oliver had bought back Palmer Tech six months ago, many accusing him of using state/city resources to fund his own personal ambitions. However, Oliver had explained that his father had left him a number of offshore accounts with Billions of Dollars in them in case something happened to Queen Consolidated, so that Oliver would be able to rebuild his life. Of course that was a total lie as Ra's Al Ghul had given him access to those accounts as Oliver was meant to be his adopted heir, and only Oliver knew about them and how to access them. Not even his trusted team knew about the true origins of the accounts and both of them still thought that Oliver got his super human abilities because he was a meta-human.

The media, in particular, Susan Williams, had driven a campaign against Oliver, or tried to as they insinuated that Oliver was power hungry and wanted to use his office to make laws and get access to information that would benefit his company. Much to their surprise, Oliver had embraced the power hungry angle and explained that he wanted the power of being mayor so that he can make Star City a better place through politics, law, and public policy, and that he wanted the power of owning a multi billion dollar company in order to make Star City a better place through private policy, job creation, and charity.

Needless to say the populace was mightily impressed with Mayor Handsome's noble cause and more importantly, his honesty, intergrity, and transparency, and Susan Williams's hate for Oliver seemed to have tripled over that time, much to Oliver's dismay as he didn't understand what the hell was the woman's problem with him. Thea had theorised that the woman wanted to get his attention no matter how she went about doing it, that or she was serving the agenda of one of Oliver's competitors. She also said it was possible that Susan Williams was trying to use him to make a name for herself. Either way, Oliver was going to have to deal with her sooner or later.

"Wow...! That's such a cool idea. We could totally use those Armetek resources to develop better weapons technology for us to use on the field."

"And we can ensure that shady people like Church and Darhk don't get access to that kind of weapons technology anymore." Oliver added onto what Curtis said.

"Okay, it sounds like a very good plan. So where do we start?" Rory asked curiously.

"We start by sending the two of you to a number of different cities. In this drive is pinpoint accurate information about all of Tobias Church's agents in three cities where Tobias Church's men operate." Oliver said as he handed a flash drive over to Curtis.

"I have also detailed a plan A, B, and C, and instructions for actions you should take should a number of different scenarios play out. There's a set of plans and instructions for each city that you will work in. I have also listed the cities from 1 to 3, with Detroit being number 3. Detroit is Church's stronghold, and it will be the last city you invade. His best men are there and he has the largest number of resources there. However, I have a superheroe friend who lives there. She has super powers too and she is good at what she does. I've already talked to her and she will be awaiting the two of you to make contact with her once you're done with the other two cities." Oliver explained, taking a short breathe before continuing where he left off.

"You will share your intel with her and, as it is her city and she therefore knows it better than any of us, you will let her take point in the mission. You will slaughter every single individual in Church's organisation and that will leave Church with only the manpower and resources that he has in Star City. You will then return here and we will finish the job together." Oliver instructed authoratively.

"Y-you're not coming with us?" Curtis asked with a little bit of fear in his tone.

"No. I'm the mayor, so I can't just leave. Plus, you've been personally trained by me on top of the fact that you're a genius with powerful technology and Rory has the power of the Rags of Davarim. You're gonna succeed in your mission, of that I have not even a shadow of doubt in my mind." Oliver said sincerely, evoking a determination and passion in his students that was as solid as steel, as hearing those kind of words from their master, with that kind of belief and sincerity in them, was like getting a new super power altogether.

"We won't fail you sir!" Rory said with an edge to his tone.

"I know." Oliver said as he got up and prepared to leave.

"Where are you going?" Curtis asked anxiously, unable to understand Oliver's sudden departure.

"It's late, and I got an early council meeting tommorrow morning. You guys have all the info you need in that drive, and you can take anything you want from the bunker before you depart. You have one day to prepare, and then I want you gone. Not that you'll need it with the kind of skill that you have, but goodluck." Oliver said as he turned and walked away.

Three Days Later:

"Mr Mayor, you have a visitor, it's the devil's spawn Susan Williams. I can get rid of her if you like Ollie, and no, I'm not talking about killing her...unless you want me to."

"Absolutely not Thea. She doesn't fit the profile, and if she did, I'd do it myself." Oliver retorted.

"Yeah I'm not so sure about that given how inactive you've been in the last six months give or take."

"I have my reasons for that. Everything will become clear soon enough. You'll see." Oliver said with steel in his eyes, Thea, seeing the look in his eyes realising immediately that Oliver had something big planned for the Green Arrow and she certainly did not want to know about it otherwise she wouldn't be able to stop stressing about it.

"Okay, I believe you." Thea withdrawed.

"..."

"Ahem. So anyway, what does Ms Williams want with me?" Oliver asked curiously.

"She says that she has stumbled onto a big scoup involving you and she umm...wanted to give you a chance to defend yourself before she goes public with it." Thea said, causing Oliver's blue eyes to darken considerably at those news.

"Like I said, I can kill her for you if you..."

"No. Let her in, I'm curious to hear what exactly she thinks she has on me." Oliver said with a sinister glint in his eyes, a small smirk plastered on his facial features.

"Okay you've officially reached your freak your baby sister out quota for the day, so I'm gonna get out of here. If you happen to end up killing the witch accidentally just call me and I'll clean the whole mess u..."

"Thea!"Oliver said with a stern tone of voice.

"Okay okay geez loosen up a bit." Thea laughed as she exited the office, Oliver shaking his head dismally at his sister's actics, Oliver only having a few seconds to compose himself as Thea ushered in the woman that has been the bane of Oliver's mayoral existence thus far.

"Good morning Mayor Queen."

"Good morning Ms Williams." Oliver greeted politely, internally noting for the first time just how beautiful this woman actually was, perhaps unable to notice before because of how much he loathed her, and also because he hadn't seen her up close before.

"I umm...I'm not going to ask how you are doing as I can see judging by the look on your face that my presence in your office is...not appreciated, and I'm also sure that even if you were okay, that you won't be after you hear what I have to say to you." Susan started off with an arrogant smirk smacked onto her facial features, a glint of mischief dancing in her eyes as if she was enjoying this perceived position of power that she seemed to think she had over him, Oliver just calmly watching her body language and analysing her tone of voice, gathering all the information he could from the limited resources that he had.

"I see. In that case please, sit down Ms Williams and tell me...well, everything and anything that you want to tell me." Oliver said with a poise and confidence that Susan was just dying to strip away from him.

"Okay, I know you're a busy man Mayor Queen, so I'll get straight to the point. I know that you're the Green Arrow and I've got near irrefutable proof of it. I also know that you lied about spending all five years that you were missing on an island because I have a picture of you in a Bratva meeting during the time that you were supposed to be stuck in some mysterious island. I only came here to give you notice that this is what will be on the front page news tommorrow morning, and of course, to give you a chance to defend yourself before I go public." Susan said with an accomplished and arrogant smile on her facial features, a smile that soon disappeared when Oliver broke into a fit of laughter right in front of her, making it that she was unsure whether she felt like the mayor had lost his mind, or that she had lost her mind because of what she said.

"You think this is funny?" Susan asked with a scowl on her face.

"Hehe! Oh no, I don't think it's funny at all. In fact I think it will be quite an interesting and compelling story. It will definitely get the people's attention, it will give you the attention and recognition that you've alway wanted and it will probably be the biggest story of the year, perhaps of the last five years." Oliver said with a predatory smile, Susan fidgeting uncomfortably in her chair as she couldn't read the Mayor at all, not knowing what the hell was on his mind or what on earth he had to smile about.

"You think I'm crazy? I've got a Bratva picture of you, and I have picture of The Arrow and witnesses confirming that the arrow was operating in Russia at the same time period that you were there. Isn't it a coincidence that the appearance of the Arrow in Star City coincides with your return to Star City."

"So you have pictures huh? Interesting. This really does sound like a good story. Now I really can't wait to read the whole article. No doubt it will be top quality as usual from you Ms Williams." Oliver said with a surprising amount of sincerity in his tone, at least as far as Susan was concerned.

"Okay...you're either totally crazy or incredibly stupid. Either way I don't think you realise the full implications of what's about to happen. Do you honestly think there will be a future for either of the Green Arrow or Mayor Handsome when that article hits the shelves tommorrow morning?"

"Is that what you want Susan? To destroy the image of the two people that are doing their best to protect and inspire the people of this City? Is that your true goal? To destroy the will and hope of this City? Is it why you've been writting all those horrible articles about me?" Oliver asked with a grave undertone.

"W-what? That's...Mayor Quee...that's not true! I'm just doing my job like any good journalist should do, and the people deserve to know the truth!" Susan argued vehemently.

"So you're just doing your job? No ulterior motive whatsoever? No secret agenda?" Oliver asked with one of his trademark death stares, Susan unable to fully contain the discomfort, fear, and intimidation she felt now that she only had a desk between her and Mayor Queen, quite certain that, despite her suspicions about him being the Green Arrow, that she had underestimated just how much respect this man's mere presence commanded out of the people around him.

"Of course not!" Susan replied indignantly.

"And you're not serving the agenda of any of my competitors and/or the criminals of Star City who have no doubt been unable to prosper since my appointment?" Oliver asked again.

"No...!" Susan said with disgust audible in her tone and visble in her facial expression.

"In that case..." Oliver trailed off as he left his chair and walked around the desk towards Susan, who, still seated, had a panicked look on her facial features, thoughts about Oliver's bratva conncections permeating her mind as she wondered if he would have some of his gangster buddies pay her a visit now that she was so close to exposing him, or if he would try to silence her himself.

"I'll have you know that I've already set it up that this information gets released if you have me killed or have me disappear between now and tommorrow morning." Susan said hastily, Oliver, even though surprised by the words coming out of her mouth, unable to help but to admire her for her courage and derermination.

"I wish you all the best of luck Ms Williams." Oliver said finally.

"That is what I was going to say before apologising for cutting off our meeting prematurely. I have a press conference to attend in five minutes right outside. You can choose to leave or you can accompany me downstairs." Oliver added much to Susan's shock.

"You're being uncharacteristically nice to me, if you think that will be enough to dissuade me..."

"I wouldn't dream of it. I'm looking forward to the release of your article just as much as you are. Trust me." Oliver said with a mischievious glint in his eyes, Susan for the life of her unable to decipher what kind of cryptic game the mayor was playing.

"Inviting me to accompany you for an important press conference, what's next? You're going to ask me out on a date?" Susan retorted as she rolled her eyes at the mayor.

"Well, since you asked, Friday 7pm sounds just about fine with me. What about you? Will you be available?"

"W-wha...hey I wasn't ask...I...fine! But I'm still releasing that article tommorrow morning!" Susan stammered, a red hue spreading across her facial features as her heart rate accelerated.

'Oh my God Thea was right. She totally has a thing for me.' Oliver thought with surprise, though he did well not to show it, besides, even though he hadn't expected her to agree to go on a date with him, he couldn't deny that he too had discovered a new found respect and admiration for her, and if he really thought about it, this woman was definitely his type considering who his ex girlfriends were and even who his wife was.

"I wouldn't have it any other way Ms Williams."

Four hours later: Mayor Queen's Office

"Are you sure you should be hanging around my office so much? People might start to think that there's something going on between the two of us." Oliver said with a playful tone, Susan unable to resist rolling her eyes at Oliver's witty remark, not really sure right now whether she hated him, admired him, or if she was starting to fall for him.

The reason for this dilemma...well, if she were honest with herself, she would admit that she had been having this dilemma for quite some time now, long before she met him in person, and long before he asked her out on a date. However, the nail on the coffin was what transpired in the press conference that theyjust came from, a press conference that she had been present in, but had ended up on the other side of the fence as she had been seen accompanying Mayor Queen for some reason that nobody except she and Oliver knew, and no doubt speculation would be all over the media soon enough.

That wasn't an issue however as she and Oliver were not an item yet and there was no guarantee that things would progress that far, so she still had every intention of exposing him for the Bratva thug and Vigilante that he was, as per her professional duty. That all went out of the window though as soon as the Green Arrow joined Mayor Queen at the press conference, the Green Arrow making a grand entrance as he zip arrowed his way into the press conference, standing right next to Mayor Queen as Mayor Queen acknowledged and congratulated him for his efforts in the past to protect and save Star City, and also asked the Green Arrow to collaborate with the ACU (Anti Crime Unit) as they put their efforts together in stopping the infection that was Tobais Church and his men.

Naturally, there was a split in opinions regarding Mayor Queen's announcent, however, Oliver had been very quick to defuse the situation, or rather, as Susan acutely noted, to distract the people and the media from the issue, as he announced that he would be joining the Green Arrow, the ACU, and the SCPD on the front lines as they persued Tobais and his gang with a shoot on site order. Mayor Queen controversially labelled Church's gang as a terrorist syndicate due to the fact that they were persuading, intimidating, and forcing police officers, FBI, government officials, judicial officers, and private corporate powerhouses into working with and/or for them, thereby systematically taking over three cities already, with Star City being the fourth one on the agenda.

As a result, Mayor Queen controversially issued a state of martial law order for the next seven days and declared that in that period, they, they as an in him personally, along with the Green Arrow, ACU, and SCPD would be hunting down the 'terrorists' and eliminating them before they continue to infect Star City. Perhaps the most surprising announcement however, yes, even more surprising than everything else thus far, at least as far as Susan Williams was concerned, was the fact that Oliver had offered the Throwing Star Killer and Vigilante immunity deals.

There had naturally been an outrage at the announcement, however, Oliver had explained that the victims of the Throwing Star Killer were nowhere near as innocent as people believed and that they were in fact almost, if not just as bad as Tobais Church. He had explained that evidence that the ACU collected would be made available to the public soon enough in relation to said matter.

As far as Vigilante was concerned, Mayor Queen acknowledged that Vigilante was a criminal, and was guilty of the crimes of murder and malicious endangerment of innocent Star City citizens, as he had been willing to shoot through innocent people to get to the bad guys. However Oliver, to justify his decision, emphasized that the United States Government offers immunity deals all the time to criminals in exchange for information and court testimony, but that instead of information/testifying in court, the exchange with Vigilante would be that Vigilante help them take down Tobais Church and his men, that he does it without killing or endangering innocent people, and that he never intentionally or negligently kills innocent people again. According to Oliver, Vigilante had 24 hours to meet with him and accept the deal, failure of which to accept the deal in that time frame or to break the terms of the agreement after acceptance would result in a manhunt with shoot on site order issued against him.

"We both know that that is the least of my problems right now, and don't think I'm not going to broadcast that article tommorrow just because you're not the Green Arrow. In fact, I'm now more certain than ever that there is a connection between the two of you, and I still have proof that you were not in that island for five years and that you were a member of the Bratva." Susan retorted with a little bit of spite in her tone.

"I have no problem with you doing your job Susan, but like I said, as long as it is not a personal vendetta. I wasn't being sarcastic or trying to come off as condescending when I said that I admire your work ethic, determination, will, talent, and tenacity. I find you very attractive, both in personality and in physical appearance. You may release that article tommorrow morning, but when the war of words and evidence begins...don't expect me to pull any of my punches." Oliver trailed off with a grave undertone, again Susan having to remind herself that she was dealing with a lion, and that the bite of a lion is more often than not fatal, hell, even just a claw from a lion could most likely have fatal consequences.

"I seriously hope that those are metaphorical punches that you're talking about." Susan wiitingly retorted, although Oliver could clearly see the fear and concern that she was trying so hard to supress.

"Of course I'm being metephorical. Susan, I don't hurt innocent people."

"But you hurt...bad people, just like the Green Arrow?"

"W-what...Ms Williams, I really do hope this is not going to be the nature of our conversation on friday night, or everytime you and I get together."

"Wow hold your horses there big guy. Everytime we get together? We haven't even had our first date yet" Susan said with mock indignity, Oliver holding his hands up in the air in surrender.

"Okay...you're right. Maybe I got a little too carried away." Oliver surrender as Thea barged into the office.

"Ollie...ummm...Mr Mayor sir." Thea quickly corrected herself when she saw that he had company, her entire aura darkening when she realised who was in her brother's office.

"Sir if she is bothering you I can get rid of her before you can say the words..."

"It's okay Thea. That won't be neccessary. More importantly, am I correct in assuming that the reason you broke in here is because everyone is already in position?" Oliver asked curiously.

"Yes sir. It's about to go down. Everyone is awaiting your orders, after all, you called for a state of Martial Law, that means that you get to overule both the District Attorney and the SCPD captain as Supreme Commander. This is your mission sir." Thea replied professionally, Susan scrunching up her otherwise flawless facial features as she tried to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Tell everyone to proceed as previously instructed. Captain Pike is the man in charge until the end of the mission, after which he will compile and present a full mission report. Also, tell District Attorney Chase to meet me in my office asap." Oliver ordered authoratively.

"Roger that Supreme Commander sir!" Thea saluted theotrically, causing Oliver to roll his eyes at her antics as she quickly excused herself, Susan immediately bombarding him with a ton of questions as the she couldn't stand the suspense anymore.

"If you must know, the ACU conducted an internal investigation of all Star City government sectors, including the judiciary and the SCPD itself. Now some of this evidence, under normal circumstances, would be inadmissible. However..."

"Certain rights and priviledges can be limited or even withheld during a state of Martial Law." Susan said with realisation, her eyes widening considerably, unable to believe how devious and...and brilliant the man in front of her was turning out to be.

"Exactly. In that respect, and only in that respect, one could say that Tobais Church's invasion has been a blessing in disguise, as it has allowed us the opportunity to not just make a statement to future would be invaders and criminals, but also to correct some of our own internal problems. Also, getting rid of this infestation will make it near impossible for Church to predict our future movements, because now he no longer has any spies to leak information to him from within the system." Oliver explained concisely.

"Can I quote you on any of this stuff?" Susan asked with barely contained excitement.

"Certainly, but only if you agree to only release this information not a second earlier than tommorrow's press release is due." Oliver replied with mental smirk, knowing damn well that this would mean that Susan would no longer be releasing an article about his Bratva thug history or his connections to the Green Arrow, well, at least not tommorrow.

"Of course! That would jeaopardise the mission if I released it now. Despite what you may think of me, I'm not trying to destroy Star City, and I'm not serving anyone's agenda." Susan said defensively, Oliver supressing a sigh of relief when he realised that she hadn't seen through his manipulation, at least not yet, and hopefully never.

"I know. Otherwise I wouldn't have told you this information. In any case, and this is off the record, the Green Arrow has informed me that his apprentices, the ones who you might have heard on the national news channel have systematically destroyed Church's stranglehold and connection in all three of his cities, including Detroit, with the help of the super heroine known as Vixen, will be returning to Star City very soon. Therefore, we hope to have eradicated Tobais Church and his scoundrels by the end of tommorrow. Hopefully The Throwing Star Killer and Vigilante will be a part of the team by then." Oliver explained to what was not so long ago been his arch nemesis as Star City Mayor, and arguably still was.

"Oliv...ummm...Mayor Queen are you sure that it will be such a good idea to involve those two?" Susan asked warily, internally cursing herself for that slip of the toungue, as she didn't want Oliver to think that she was starting to warm up to him, which of course, is exactly what was happening.

"It's a gamble yes, but I'd much rather not waste their obvious talents and skill. I believe they could prove to be valuable assets to the City, and more importantly, to the good people of Star City. I'm giving them a chance to be just that, but if they betray the people..." Oliver trailed off, and there it was, that terrible, infinite, and suffocating darkness that Susan kept getting a glimpse of, a mere glimpse alone almost enough to make her want to run with her tail between her legs, to run as far away as possible from this monster of a man, and yet, at the same time, there was that light, that bright light that was embodied by his principles, his work ethic, and selfless dedication when it came to the welfare and prosperity of his people, that protective warmnth that made her just want to jump into his arms and be wrapped up in that warm blanket of love, comfort, and protectiveness.

Susan was about to ask some more questions when, again, her alone time with Mayor Queen was interupted, this time by a knock on the door, a knock that Oliver recognised all too well, as it belonged to District Attorney Chase, the man who Oliver believed to be the true face of Prometheus, unable to believe how long the guy had conned him, and begrudgingly unable to hold back the respect he had for the man's skill and talents for having been able to get so close to him without him noticing until recently.

Oliver had known of course, for a while now, that the man was trained by his former mentor Talia, he knew that without question. He had also known that the guy's real name was Simon Morrison, but had found out that Simon Morrison had erased all traces of his existence, which meant that he had taken on a fake identity. Finding the fake identity had proved to be extremely difficult, and borderline impossible, but yet again, Oliver had to grudgingly acknowledge that the Tobais Church mess had proved to be more useful than he ever could have imagined as it was the reason Oliver had been hell bent on ridding all government sectors of corrupt officials, and in doing so, had dug up, with the help of the ACU and in secret, his tech genius Mr. Terrific, everything there was to know about every agent in the Star City government and public service hierarchy, including the District Attorney himself.

Other than a number of random inconsistencies, there had been nothing that really jumped out about Adrian Chase's life, not if you didn't know what you were looking for, which is why the ACU had cleared him of all suspicion. However, Oliver, because of who he was and what he knew, was able to conclude that there was a 75 percent chance that Adrian Chase was the man he was looking for, and that even if he was wrong, that Adrian was someone he needed to be wary of, which is why he was planning to keep him as close as possible to him from now on.

"Come in!" Oliver called out, Adrian walking in with a stern and serious facial expression.

"You called for me sir?" Adrian asked curiously, giving Susan a very distrustful glance before facing the big man himself.

"Yes I did. There will be a huge shake up going on in Star City over the next...approximately three hours, maybe more, due to a mission being undertaken by the ACU and the SCPD, under the delegated command of Captain Pike. Until the mission is over, you and I are gonna sit here, where it's nice and safe, and play chess together." Oliver said as he pulled out a chess set piece, images flashing in both his and Adrian's mind of all the times Talia forced them to play chess with her, beating into them, literally, that a game of chess was the best way to measure the vessel of a man...or woman.

"You want to play chess...right now?" Adrian asked with a tone and expression that was a combination of confusing and perplexity.

"I'll have you know that I happen to be a brilliant chess player. Besides, there is no need to worry about the mission. Captain Pike is more than capable of handling everything, and I've asked the Green Arrow to keep an eye on things. Everything will be fine." Oliver said reassuringly, causing Adrian to narrow his eyes slightly, starting to get a chilling vibe from the mayor, a vibe that he very much did not like one bit.

To say he was worried and confused right now would probably amount to the biggest understatement in existence. For one thing, the Green Arrow showing up, and standing right next to him and Oliver during earlier's press conference was the most confusing and frustrating scenario he could ever remember being involved in. Up until recently, he had been one hundred percent sure that the Green Arrow and Mayor Queen were one and the same person. You could have woken him up at three in the morning and he would have told you without a shadow of doubt that he knew the secret identity of the Green Arrow.

But now? Now he had no idea what to think. There had been no doubt in his mind that he was standing next to Oliver Queen at the press conference, but there had also been no doubt in his mind that the man in the Hood, who was also standing not too far away from him, was the real Green Arrow. But unless Oliver had figured out a way to clone himself, then it didn't make sense whatsoever, and not being able to make sense of a situation meant that you didn't have any power or control over the situation, and Adrian Chase did not like that very much. In fact, there was nothing he loathed more than powerlessness.

He hated asking for help from anyone, but he knew that he would have to go and see his mentor and get her to clarify everything for him. He absolutely could not continue to operate like this, and although he would never admit it, even to himself, he was quite honestly terrified right now because he didn't know what the hell was coming. What made matters worse was that Oliver had offered him, well, Prometheus, which was him, an immunity deal as long as he 'continued' to 'protect' the city from the monsters and the filth that were destroying Star City.

There was no doubt in his mind that Oliv...the Green Arrow at this point had already figured out that he was sending a message to him, a challenge even. In which case, did it mean that Oliver was trying to keep him in check, and perhaps even control him by making him that offer? And if Oliver really wasn't the Green Arrow, was it possible that Oliver got the idea from the Green Arrow? After all, if today's press conference was anything to go by, then it was safe to say that Oliver, even if it turned out that he wasn't the Green Arrow, certainly had some sort of connection to him, and at the very least, knew how to communicate with him and vice versa.

"With all due respect Mayor Queen sir, I don't have time for games right now. You declared war on Tobais Church, and that means that everyone in this office, along with their family, are potential target..." Adrian said only to be cut off mid sentence by the mayor.

"Don't worry about your wife, I personally organised for her to be taken into protective custody, along with Captain Pike's family and Deputy Mayor Lance's ex wife. If I and my generals are going to be fighting a war on the frontlines, then we're all going to need to be free of any emotional burdens, especially that of worry and fear for the lives of our loved ones." Oliver declared with an all too innocent smile, Adrian, once again, not liking the vibes he was getting from the whole situation, and definitely not liking that Oliver/Green Arrow had now not only removed the control that Adrian had worked so hard to have over him, but had taken things further by reversing the whole thing on Adrian, as Oliver had now taken control over Adrian's life.

'This is a kidnapping...a legal kidnapping of my wife...no, he doesn't know that I am Prometheus, he couldn't possibly.' Adrian argued with himself, this time not even going to try and deny to himself that he was terrified and needed to go to his mentor to get advice, maybe even more than that. Maybe he would need to get her directly involved as well, after all, this was as much her crusade as it was his.

"Adrian...Adrian!" Oliver said loudly, snapping the District Attorney out of his diabolical musings.

"Sir...?" Adrian asked with a fake innocence in his tone and facial expression.

"You really need to relax. I only just recently made the State Of Martial Law announcement, Church will need time to organise his men in order to retaliate. In the meantime, the ACU and SCPD are gathering every single spie/corrupt official as we speak, and I mean every single one of them. That means that Church won't have any inside information when we go after him tommorrow. Add the fact that your wife is in a safe and secure location with adequate protection, you have to realise that there is no need to be this worried. Everything is going according to plan." Oliver said with a little bit of exasperation, Adrian visibly relaxing on the outside whilst a storm was brewing on the inside as he wondered whether he was one of the breaches that were about to be collected by the ACU and SCPD.

End Chapter

Title of Chapter 2: Gift or Abomination

Preview:

End of Tobais Church

Talia's plan

The Hero Society Of Star City

Conflict in Central City