Okay, so… couple things. I got inspired to write this alternate universe version of Arrow because of few reasons. I have been reading several AU versions of stories which Tommy lived but the ones that intrigued me were the ones where Tommy ending up on the island with Oliver. Specifically one called 'Off the Island' by a new friend on this site named rasweas. Please look them up, they're writing a good story. But what really got me going was the more recent appearance of "Tommy Merlyn" on episode 21 of season six of Arrow. Even if it wasn't really him, it inspired me to write this story. This is an very ambitious task I am undertaking (no pun intended) and I REALLY hope you guys like it!

This story in an alternate universe in which I am calling Earth 29. In this universe, Tommy Merlyn ended up on the island instead of Oliver and over time becomes this Earth's version of Green Arrow. I know it is a HUGE suspension of disbelief but I wanted to try something different and I hope it doesn't disappoint.

Plus, it won't just be Tommy as Oliver as the Green Arrow. Tommy is a different person than Oliver and will make some decisions that deviate from the main universe. Also, no Diggle or Felicity in Tommy's version of Team Arrow. They will be featured in some capacity but they won't be a part of Tommy's team. Bet you're curious who will replace them? Well, that's a bit of a secret, my friends. Stay tuned ;)

And since this a different universe, some events will change as well as having some characters in the main universe showing up in places never thought possible. As well as comic book characters that haven't been used in the TV shows or are being used by the DCEU. This is my story, right? Thought I would have some fun with it.

I will be adding my own head canon into this story. Tommy is going to be an EXTREMELY different version of Green Arrow from both the show and in the comics. How different? *Evil laugh* Read on to find out.

All that said, Welcome to Earth 29

•••

•••

A man with a large, dark, shaggy beard and matted shoulder-length black hair panted heavily as he ran through the foliage of the jungle that made up the island he was on. He'd caught sight of a fishing boat just off shore. He wore a black hood, a tattered old dress shirt, and a just as tattered pair of gray shorts.

Reaching the cliff side he was searching for, the man pulled out a quiver and set of wooden arrows with a stone heads. Igniting one on a nearby rock, the man took aim for a small pile of gasoline soaked wood. Taking a deep breath, the man fired the burning arrow and landed a direct hit on the wood pile, causing it to explode.

Casting a glance out towards the fishing boat, the man breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was turning towards the island.

Finally, at long, long last… he was found. He was going home.

The island they found me on was Lian Yu. It's Mandarin for purgatory. I've been stranded here for five years. I've dreamed of my rescue every single cold black night since. And now, at long last, I'm going home, but not as the spoiled playboy who'd never had an ounce of responsibility in his life, but instead as the man who will bring justice to those who have used their power and influence to poison my city.

My name is Tommy Merlyn.

•••

Several days later, Tommy, now clean-shaven and short-haired, stood in his hospital room gazing out his window at the Starling City skyline, while outside his room, a family doctor talked to someone in the room with him. His gaze seemed focused on the city. On what he had to do.

"Twenty percent of his body is covered in scar tissue, and X-Rays show at least twelve fractures that never properly healed," the doctor told very different looking Oliver Queen.

Oliver was wearing a white dress shirt with no tie and black slacks. His hair was shaven but he was wasn't as grizzled as we know him. He was clean shaven and hope hadn't been extinguished from his eyes. He stares at his best friend, regret and shame wash over him.

"Has he said anything about what happened to him?" Oliver asked the doctor.

"He's barely said anything. Mr Queen." The doctor told him. "I think it's best that you should prepare yourself. The Tommy you lost might not be the one they found."

Oliver nods before taking a deep breath and entering the hospital room. He walks into the room as Tommy continues staring out the window. "Tommy?" He asked, a slight quiver in his voice.

Tommy slowly turned to face his best friend. After a moment, a small smile appeared on his face as he recognized other young man standing across from him. "Hey, Ollie." he said.

Oliver couldn't hold himself back and he walks over to Tommy. He placed his hand on Tommy's shoulder which caused the younger Merlyn to shiver at his touch. It was confirmation that this was real. This was Tommy. He studied him for a moment as a tear of joy began to run down his cheek. "I'm sorry, Tommy. I am so sorry." Oliver said before he embraced his best friend.

Tommy was caught off guard by Oliver's show of affection but that didn't matter as he wraps his arm around Oliver's shoulder.

His shoulders drop, finally able to relax for the first time in in five years.

•••

It had been a day after and a long black limousine pulls up to the parking lot in back of the hospital. The driver's side door opens and a tall and imposing African American man with shaven hair in a dark suit gets out of the driver's seat. The driver slams the door shut as Oliver walks out of the back entrance with a large black duffel bag in his hands.

"Is everything all right, Mr Queen?" The man asked.

Oliver nods, he seems a bit shaken up but he tries to play it off. "Just fine, John. Everything ready?"

"Yes, I was informed by Mrs Queen that his room is ready. She says she has everything under control." John Diggle told his boss.

"And that scares me." Oliver said in a good natured manner which got a small chuckle from John.

From out of the back entrance, Tommy Merlyn exits the hospital with a long wooden box in his right hand. The box had Chinese writing on the side as well as strange runic letting etched on it. He was in a white button up shirt and a dark coat over it with dark pants. He stares out at the sky, feeling the cool breeze against his face. He seemed to be in a trance like state as Oliver and Diggle look back to see Tommy standing there.

"You okay, buddy?" Oliver asked as he walked over to him.

Tommy snaps out of his stupor and shakes his head to loosen the cobwebs. "Yeah, I'm just… taking it all in. That's all." He looks over at John and seems puzzled. "Who's your friend? Did it take you five years to replace me and this is who you find?"

Oliver laughs at this. "Glad your sense of humor is still intact." Oliver turns and motions to the other man in their presence. "Tommy, I want you to meet my bodyguard, John Diggle."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Merlyn. Mr Queen has told me a lot about you." Diggle said.

"Well I certainly hope not." Tommy gives Diggle the once over and nods. "Good to meet you, Diggle. I mean, would it be okay if I called you Diggle? It's been five years, my social cues aren't up to par yet."

Diggle manages a small smile and nods. "Diggle sounds fine, Mr Merlyn."

"Please, call me Tommy. Unless you're arresting me or serving me a subpoena, you don't need to be so formal." Tommy said politely.

"Yes, Mr…" Diggle sees Tommy raise an eyebrow then he nods. "Tommy."

Diggle takes the duffel bag from Oliver and opens the trunk to load it in the back. Oliver glances back at Tommy who stares down at the ground. "You sure you're okay?"

"I was shipwrecked for five years, not really sure what defines 'okay', Ollie." Tommy said somberly. He notices a gold band around Oliver's left ring finger but doesn't acknowledge it. "So, am I staying with you?"

"Actually my mom volunteered to let you stay at the Manor until you are back on your feet." Oliver informed him.

Tommy seems perplexed by the news. "What would possess her to do that? I mean, I like your mom but she doesn't seem like the sort to offer her home to a head case like me."

"You're joking. Tommy, you're practically family. You basically lived with us until we were in college." Oliver stated emphatically. "Besides, a lot has changed since you've been… away. She thought it would be better to catch you up that way."

Tommy shrugs his shoulders as Diggle goes to take the wooden box from Tommy who quickly pulls it from his grasp. "It's all right. I've got it."

Oliver and Diggle watch as Tommy walks over to the trunk and places the wooden box in the trunk with the duffel bag. They seem curious about what was in the box but don't ask questions. "It's going to be a bit of drive. We have a lot to catch up on." Oliver said.

Tommy slams the trunk shut and notices Oliver's nervousness, he smiles to alleviate the tension. "We obviously do."

Diggle leads the two men into the car and they both get inside. John goes to the driver's side and starts the car.

The car begins going down a road and the two friends sat in silence for a while until Oliver broke the silence. "You my friend have a lot of much needed sexual conquests you need to catch up on. Bet you have the worst case of blue balls."

Tommy manages a weak laugh as Diggle could be heard groaning. "Bet you didn't. Unless there's something you want to tell me?"

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked sounding puzzled.

Tommy smiles then lifts up Oliver's left arm, pointing out the ring on his finger. "Unless this became a fashion trend in the five years I was gone, I'm going to assume you and Laurel got married."

A stunned Oliver looks back at Tommy. "Listen... yes. We did get married but we didn't do it straight away. We waited for two years after you… We thought you were dead, man."

"Oliver, I'm not saying it was wrong for you two to move on but… Does she know? About Sara?" Tommy asked, some indignation in his voice.

Oliver becomes silent for a while until he says. "I'm not that guy anymore, Tommy. I've changed and we moved past that. I promise."

Tommy exhales, closing his eyes to center himself then he speaks. "I wasn't trying to push. I spent five years living with… Sara's gone. I couldn't save her. I tried but-"

"Dude, it's okay. I didn't mean to push you. I just wanted to be honest, I wasn't sure." Tommy chuckles at this. "Tommy, I feel awful for condemning you to that. If I could've traded places with you, I would've done it in a heartbeat-"

"Ollie… it's okay. It's just- it's gonna take some time. I have stuff to figure out, okay?" Tommy told his friend.

Oliver nods. "Okay."

Tommy faces forward and notices Diggle was silent so he decides to break the ice. "So, army or Marines?" Diggle seems surprised by the question. "Sorry to make the assumption. Your demeanor and posture reads like you've seen military duty. Am I correct to assume that?"

Diggle didn't know how to answer that for a second then he says. "Yes, sir. 105th airborne out of Kandahar, retired. You have a good eye. Been in the private sector a little more than a year now. Worked for Mr Queen for two years or so."

Tommy nods, he didn't elaborate further and stared out the window. He stares out at the scenery passing by. At the city he called home.

•••

At the Queen Manor, one of the large front doors opens and Oliver leads Tommy inside with Diggle close behind. "Mom, we're here!" Oliver called out.

Tommy winces at this as Diggle shuts the door behind them. "You really don't have to make a big deal about this."

"Are you kidding? Tommy Merlyn is not deserving a grand entrance?" Oliver stated.

"I don't think it's really necessary." Tommy told him as Moira Queen enters the main foyer with a bald headed man with a dark complexion close to her.

"And that is absolutely not true, Tommy." Moira said as she goes to hug him. "We are glad to have you back."

Tommy is caught by surprise by the show of motherly affection from his best friend's mother but he decides to hug back. He looks at the man and quickly recognized him. "Mr Steele, sir."

"Tommy, it is damn good to see you." Walter Steele said to the younger man.

"You remember Walter, he was my dad's friend from the company." Oliver told Tommy.

Walter offers a hand for a shake and Tommy nods, accepting the handshake. Tommy senses a bit of tension between Oliver and Walter.

Tommy looks quietly around the room and notices the Queen family's caretaker, Raisa, standing in the room. He walks over to her which makes her a bit nervous. "It's good to see you, Raisa."

"It is wonderful to see you again, Mr Tommy." Raisa said the best she could which made Tommy grin a bit. She looks over at Moira and Walter. "Mr Merlyn called. He said he'll be joining you for dinner tonight."

"Wonderful." Moira said, not sounding to enthused.

Tommy winces, he dreaded the thought of his father being there to spoil this. However a noise from up the main staircase gets his attention. He looks up as everyone else notices his focus being taken.

"Guess you heard that." Oliver replied.

A small smile came on Tommy's face as he walks towards it. On the top of the staircase he finds seventeen year old Thea Queen stopping short once she saw Tommy. A feeling of pure joy appeared on her face.

"Hey." Tommy said softly.

Thea's smile widened as she ran down the stairs. "I knew it! I knew you were alive!" She reaches the bottom and hugs Tommy tightly. "I missed you so much."

A few tears well up in his eyes as he hugs Thea. He missed her more than anyone, even Oliver. His surrogate little sister. "You were with me the whole time."

Thea smiles brightly as the two continued to embrace.

•••

"Come on, Laurel. We're lawyers, not miracle workers. We can't win this."

At CNRI, her place of employment, Laurel was looking through her office mail as her friend and fellow lawyer Joanna speaks to her. More like pleading with her.

"If we can't win a class action suit against a man who swindled hundreds of people out of their homes and life's savings, then we aren't fit to call ourselves a legal aid office." Laurel insisted as she walks forward with Joanna in hot pursuit.

"And if we go bankrupt in the process, we won't BE a legal aid office." Joanna replied as they continue walking. "Hunt has an army of lawyers and ready to bury us."

"You and I against an army?" Laurel retorts with a confident smirk. "I love those odds."

Joanna seems exasperated by trying to convince her friend to back down to no avail. "Why do you hate me?"

Joanna simply walks off as Laurel makes her way back to her desk. Laurel sits down and focused on a photo of Adam Hunt, the subject of her lawsuit, and sighs. She was exhausted by the case but she was going to do what it takes to win this case.

Laurel turns to her desk and glances of a photo of herself and Oliver, their wedding photo. A smile came upon her face. She hadn't heard from her husband since that morning. Since…

The sound of a news report on the television breaks her concentration as she hears them talk about Tommy's miraculous return. She turns to face the direction of the TV.

"…details of the castaway story you've all heard of. The son of a very wealthy billionaire will soon become a legendary story."

Laurel sees the broadcast as they are indeed talking about Tommy Merlyn. She sees a stock photo of Tommy on the TV and glares at it as she made her way closer.

"The Queen's Gambit was last heard from more than five years ago, Mr Merlyn has reportedly confirmed he was the only survivor of the accident that took the lives of seven people. Including local resident Sara Lance who is survived by her sister Laurel-"

Laurel quickly grabs the remote and shuts off the television before the story could continue. Her co-workers gathered around the TV look back at Laurel and seem genuinely sorry for her.

Laurel sets down the remote and calmly walks away.

•••

Tommy walks out of the personal bathroom in the guest room, shirtless and a towel wrapped around his waist. After being away from home for so long, he felt a measure of satisfaction enjoying the comforts of home.

Tommy then sees that the door was open a crack. He assumed it was Raisa checking up on him on Mrs Queen's behalf. He noticed how strange Moira had been behaving since he arrived. She was always kind and cordial with him, especially after his mother died.

However, something seemed off. Like she was trying to hard to apologize for something she had done. Or was about to do.

After five years, everything that was once familiar is now unrecognizable.

Tommy stands in front of a window in the room, his scarred back showing how much hell he had been through. What wasn't typical for someone stranded on an island was the dragon tattoo on his left shoulder blade. He walks over to the full length mirror that was placed in the room and stares at his reflection.

The face I see in the mirror is a stranger.

Tommy takes a breath and exhales but it wasn't to take in his moment of meditation. He was unleashing something that he was concentrating to keep hidden. He watches as other markings appear on his body.

Besides the dragon tattoo, Tommy sported other ink on certain parts of his body: a runic text on his right wrist that seemed like it was branded on and a lion's head in black ink over his heart. He stares at his reflection and stares at the scars covering his torso. Before he left on the Gambit, no one was going to necessarily say he was out of shape but now, he was a specimen of peak physical condition.

A flash of lightning causes Tommy to see a hooded figure with his face where his reflection was but quickly flashes back to normal. A loud sound of thunder causes him to flinch. Causing a memory to play out in his head.

•••

Five years ago

A storm raged in the ocean as a large opulent yacht sailed through the choppy waters. Thunder and lightning are ever present in the sky. The Queen's Gambit was heading for a terrible storm.

Inside of the ship, Robert Queen stares anxiously at the satellite radar. The storm looked very serious and he was concerned for the well-being of his passengers. As well as himself.

A ship hand made his way inside, rain soaked and frantic. "Storm's a category two. Captain's recommending we head back." He told Robert.

Robert sighs and nods. "All right. Inform the crew."

At that moment, a younger looking Tommy Merlyn walks out into the hallway where Robert was. He seemed to have heard a bit of what was said. "Are we in trouble?" The younger man asked.

"One of us is." Robert said in a playful tone.

"Tommy." A female voice called out as he turns around and sees a young woman who was a bit younger than him step out into the hallway. She was almost half naked wearing a light silk robe to cover herself. She sees Robert and quickly tries to cover herself up. "Where do you keep the bottle opener on this thing?"

"I'll be there in a minute, Sara." Tommy tells her as she turns to the room she was in.

Robert shakes his head and walks over to Tommy, putting a fatherly hand on the younger man's shoulder. "You know, son… That is not gonna finish well. For either of them or for you."

Tommy hangs his head guiltily. He knew that this was true.

•••

A now neatly dressed Tommy was in the main hall of the Queen Manor and was intently staring at a photo of Robert Queen and Oliver when Oliver was a child. Tommy takes a breath and sets the photograph back on the fireplace mantle as Oliver walks into the room. Tommy turns around and faces Oliver.

"You doing okay?" Oliver asked his friend.

"Yea, yeah, just… Something just occurred to me. Something I should've remembered a long time ago." Tommy said sounding serious.

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"

A mischievous smile creeps on Tommy's face and he said. "Yachts suck."

Oliver laughs a bit as the two man give each other a warm hug. "Good to have you back, buddy."

Tommy pats Oliver on the back. He let himself relax for a half second only for a harsh wind from the storm outside blows the front door open. This catches the two by surprise as Raisa enters the room and closes the door.

"It's really coming down out there." Oliver said as he goes to help Raisa.

"In my country, a storm like this was a sign. A bad omen." Raisa stated as Oliver finishes closing the door.

Tommy stares down at his hands which were shaking a bit. He exhales and balls his fists to control himself until he is successful. He rubs his right wrist with his left hand as Moira walks into the room.

"Is everything all right?" Moira asked.

"Yeah, Mom. Just a little hiccup with the front doors." Oliver told his mother.

Moira looks over at Tommy and notices the man's anxiety. "Tommy?"

"I'm fine, Mrs Queen. Really." Tommy tries to reassure her. More so himself. "I'm fine…"

Moira nods and looks over at Raisa. "Dinner is ready?"

"Yes, Mrs Queen." Raisa informed her.

"Excellent. We should head to the dining room." Moira said as she lead the two men off.

Tommy clears his throat as they walk. "Have you heard from my father, Mrs Queen?"

"He said he would be a bit late but he assured me he would be here as soon as possible." Moira told him.

Tommy sighs. "With all due respect, Mrs Queen, my father has a tendency to make promises he can't keep."

•••

The storm outside continued but it was a bit stronger now. Rain poured down hard on the windows.

In the dining room, Oliver was in the middle of a conversation as the rest of his family, Walter and the guest of honor sat having dinner. "See, what else did you miss? Super Bowl winners, Giants, Steelers, Saints, Packers… Giants again. A black president, that's new. Oh and 'Lost', they were all dead, I think."

Tommy listened to the explanation with some amusement. He may have some adjustments to do but this felt good. He watches Moira and Walter be close to one another. He suspected something was going on there but kept it to himself. It wasn't his place to point out.

Thea decides to come into the conversation by asking "What was it like there?"

The room fell silent, so much so that you could hear a pin drop. No one would have thought to ask that question which sends the adults into a panic.

Tommy blinks to recover from the question and answers with a small smile. "Cold."

Thea stares back at him. She knew better than to trust that answer.

"Okay, tomorrow, you and I, we're doing the city." Oliver told his best friend. "You've got a lot to catch up on."

"That sounds like a great idea." Moira stated enthusiastically.

"I was actually hoping to speak to my father about business but I think I can hold off on that for now." Tommy stated, surprising Moira and Oliver.

"I'm certain you and your father could discuss that when he arrives." Walter told him. "Merlyn Global isn't going anywhere."

Suddenly, Raisa trips on the run and nearly drops a bowl of food only for Tommy to instinctively catch it and prevent her from falling. She breathes a sigh of relief and looks at Tommy. "I am so sorry, Mr Tommy."

What came out of Tommy's mouth shocked everyone at the table: he spoke to the woman in perfect Russian, seemingly reassuring her.

Oliver's jaw almost hit the floor but he quickly recovers by asking "Dude, you speak Russian?"

"I didn't realize you took Russian in college, Tommy." Walter comments.

"I didn't realize you wanted to sleep Oliver's mom, Walter." Tommy remarked.

The long awkward silence came upon the room again as they stare at each other in a long pause. Moira and Walter shot looks at Oliver and Thea who both seem defective over the silent accusation.

"I didn't say anything." Thea retorts in her own defense.

"No one told me. Nobody had to." Tommy replied, protective of the young girl. "I mean, it isn't any of my business but I assume you remarried, Mrs Queen."

Oliver shakes his head. "Guess he figured you two out, Mom."

Moira nods and holds Walter's hand. "Yes, Walter and I are married and you assume correctly. It isn't your business."

"What she means is, like you, we thought Robert was… gone." Walter cut in.

"I meant that with no disrespect. I have been trying to come to terms with a lot of things. I figured it would be best to be honest about certain things." Tommy said. "Like how I know that Oliver and Laurel were married while I was… gone. I prefer to keep things out in the open. That's all."

The people at the table stare at each other in silence.

"That's quite commendable, son."

Everyone turns to the entrance to the dining room to find Malcolm Merlyn standing there. He was in a finely tailored dark suit and Diggle was standing next to him. He had obviously been the one who allowed him to enter.

Tommy stands up from the table and turns to face his father. "Hi, dad." He said, trying to hide some anger.

Thunder rumbled outside but the real storm was in that room.

Malcolm walks over to his son and goes to hug him. Tommy seemed halfway tempted to shove him away and simply walk off but he didn't have the strength to fight it and allows it to happen. "Oh Tommy. My brave boy. I never thought I'd see you again."

Tommy pulls away from the hug and says. "Well you did show it when I was in the hospital. Oh wait, that wasn't you." He seemed bitter about this.

"I couldn't visit you when you were in the hospital." Malcolm replied. "I had a lot of things to do at the office-"

Tommy laughs but it dripped with venomous rage. "There's always something, isn't it? I mean it shouldn't surprise me, you have always done this since-" He stops and collects himself then looks around the table at the Queen family and Raisa. "I don't want to disrespect anyone at this table but I am afraid I have suddenly lost my appetite."

Tommy goes to try to leave but Malcolm stops him by grabbing his arm.

"You really want to do this, act like a petulant child?" Malcolm scolded.

"Considering what I've been through, think I'm afforded that luxury." Tommy said through gritted teeth.

Malcolm looks to Moira who stares down at the floor and holds Walter's hand. "Well, seeing as how you want things out in the open, I figured you would like to know something."

"I don't think this is the best way to tell him, sir." Oliver replied as Thea looks a bit embarrassed by this. About what was going to be revealed to Tommy.

"No, no, Ollie. It's fine. He wants to air things out, let's hear it. What do you have to tell me, dad?" Tommy asked angrily.

"Very well, this actually has something to do with a past dalliance I had years ago." Malcolm said as he looks over at Moira then at Thea. "Seventeen years ago to be precise."

Tommy blinks then glances at Thea then at Moira. "What is he talking about?"

Moira sighs and looks at Tommy. "Your father and I had a brief affair… Thea is your sister."

Tommy turns back to Thea who turns a bit pink from embarrassment. He looks at Malcolm and glares at him. "This was obviously after mom died, right? You couldn't be that heartless to cheat on mom with-"

"I would never cheat on your mother!" Malcolm shouted at him. He regains his composure and stares at his son. "I was still grieving and-"

"I'm done listening to this." Tommy said as he tries to leave again.

"Thought you wanted honesty?" Malcolm asked coldly.

"Honesty isn't the problem here, dad! YOU ARE!" Tommy shouted.

Suddenly a loud roar of thunder is heard and the lights in the Manor flicker but quickly come back on.

"Geez that was loud." Thea exclaimed.

Malcolm stares at his son who seems to be shaking with fury but had regained some of his emotional control.

Without saying another word, Tommy calmly walks out of the room and up the stairs.

Malcolm looks to the family then back at his daughter. "I am sorry that happened."

Thea clears her throat and gets up from the table. "Not sure I'm the one who needs the apology." She tries to leave but Oliver stops her. "What are you-"

"Leave him alone. He needs time to think this over." Oliver told his sister.

Thea looks down at the floor then sits back down.

•••

A little while later, Oliver returns to his penthouse apartment. One he shared with his wife. It was a large well decorated home which was lived in by the young couple. Oliver removes his coat and looks around the room. "Laurel, you home?"

Laurel enters the room in her pajamas as she sees her husband was home. "Hey." She gives him a quick kiss on the cheek. "How was dinner?"

"Good. Really… interesting. You should've come." Oliver stated as he patted away the rain from his head.

"Sorry, I had to work on the Hunt case. Had more to sift through." Laurel said as she embraces her husband.

Oliver raises an eyebrow. "Sure that wasn't the only reason?"

Laurel bites her lip and takes a breath. "I'm not ready to face him."

Oliver leads her into their living room and sits her down on their couch. "You're gonna have to face him sooner or later."

"And I prefer later, if that's all right with you." She emphatically stated.

"Laurel…"

"I wouldn't know what to say to him. He has this clandestine affair with my sister and then-" Laurel couldn't find the words. "I just wish they had told me. She didn't have a good reason to keep a relationship with Tommy a secret. Neither did he."

Oliver sighs and looks regretful. He obviously knew the truth but kept quiet for good reasons. He strokes her face and smiles. "Think they both had their reasons. You would know his if you asked him."

Laurel sighs. "Let me think about it. Give me time, okay?"

Oliver smiles and kisses his wife on the lips.

•••

Several hours later after the Manor had fallen silent and everyone had gone to bed, Tommy was asleep in his guest bedroom. Only he wasn't asleep on the bed, Tommy was lying on the floor. The window was open and the raging storm was blowing into the open window. Tommy was surprisingly in deep slumber as a memory played in his mind.

"One, two, three."

Five years ago

Tommy was in a cabin of the Gambit with Sara as she counted how far apart the thunder and lightning was. He was struggling to open a bottle of champagne as lightning flashed. She seems worried. "It's getting closer."

Tommy manages a weak smile as he finally gets the bottle open. "That's not very scientific."

"Sure, rub in the fact that you actually finished college." Sara teased as Tommy hands her a glass of champagne.

"Certainly makes me smarter than you." Tommy teased right back.

"And by me, you mean Oliver, right?" Sara points out as she drinks from the glass.

Tommy sighs. "I'm not the one cheating on his fiancée with her sister so that makes me a genius by comparison."

Sara looks guiltily at Tommy. "I- You must think I'm awful, don't you?"

Tommy shakes his head. "No, you were just seduced by the Queen charm. Happens to you double Xs. Besides, I'm still the idiot playing up this charade, so…"

Sara exhales. "I'm going to end it with him. When we get there, I'm gonna tell him it's over."

Tommy takes in a breath. "And we let the two of them pretend to be in wedded bliss?" He shrugs as he drinks from his glass. "That'll end well."

"Don't be such a downer." Sara joked as she playfully nudged him. "I'm sure it'll-"

Suddenly the boat rocks a bit and it causes Tommy to stumble and land on the bed. More importantly, on top of Sara. He stares down at her and smiles sheepishly. "Sorry."

Sara manages a laugh at their predicament as lightning flashed again. "Okay, that one was REALLY close!"

Tommy seems concerned about the weather as well but he tries to calm the young woman's nerves. "Sara, we're gonna be fine."

Sara bites her bottom lip, tempted to do something she didn't think she would do. She goes up to kiss Tommy on the lips but the boat tips violently and the bed goes forward with both of them still on it. She screams as the ship shakes and rocks back and forth.

Both of them like prone for a moment as Tommy starts to come to and sees where Sara was. He sees Sara lying on the floor groggily trying to get up but she was next to the broken window of the ship.

"Sara?" Tommy tries to get up to go help her. However he could only watch helplessly as Sara gets pulled away from him. "Sara!"

The last thing he heard from her was her blood curdling scream for help.

Unexpectedly a rush of ocean water filled the cabin and sucked them both out of the boat. Tommy found himself in the middle of the open ocean. He struggles to swim in the violent and stormy sea. He gets his bearings to try to stay afloat as he calls out for the girl. "Sara! Sara!"

"Tommy!"

Tommy turns his head to see a life boat with Robert Queen and the captain were calling for him. He manages to swim over to he life boat as the other two men pulled him in.

Tommy coughs and catches his breath when he remembers Sara. "No! She's still out there! We have to- "

"She's not there." Robert told him adamantly.

"SARA!" Tommy screamed out at the open water only to watch the Queen's Gambit sink into the maw of the sea.

"She's gone." Robert told a devastated Tommy.

"Tommy?"

Moira was next to Tommy trying to rouse him from his deep sleep after hearing the sounds of the storm from the open window. "Tommy, wake up. Tommy?"

Suddenly, Tommy springs into action and without warning flips Moira and places his hand on her neck to strike her. He would have if Walter hadn't called his name. Tommy registered that it Moira and Walter in the room does he remove his hand away from Moira's neck then backs away into the corner of the room in a panic. Afraid he would do much worse if he lost control.

Walter helps Moira up off the floor as an apologetic Tommy tries to regain control. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Oh, it's okay, Tommy." Moira managed to choke out from her sore throat. She crouched down a bit with Walter tentatively staying close by. "It's all right, sweetheart. You're home."

Tommy stares back at the two, an unsure expression on his face. Not certain if that was a good thing.

Thea watches from the open door but does not enter. She sees the pain he was in but also knew she couldn't help him.

•••

The following morning, Tommy was on the floor in the lotus position in mid meditation. He stood in front of the window where he was asleep as he opens and closes his fists as a way to center himself. The sky was clear from the storm the night before. It was strange… but not to him. A gentle breeze swirls around him which makes him smile a bit he closes his fists then pounds on the floor which makes the wind suddenly stop. Had he done that on his own?

Tommy gets up from the floor and starts to get dressed. Having chosen to wear clothes Oliver had bought for him and put inside the black duffel bag. He chose a long sleeved white undershirt and a pair of dark jeans then some dark boots. He also found a dark brown leather jacket amongst the clothing items and smiles.

Once e was fully prepared, Tommy walks over to the bed and grabs the long wooden box he had placed under the bed. He unlocked the box by undoing the combination lock on it. He opens it and pulls back one layer of cloth to reveal an old beaten up looking book. He gingerly sets it to one side and grabs something else from the box.

"Are you sure?"

•••

In the living room of the Queen Manor, Moira and Walter were explaining to Oliver what transpired after he had gone home. He seems surprised and concerned over it.

"I think he might need more time to adjust to everything that's happened to him." Moira replied.

"Your mother's right, Oliver. He might need some counseling to recover from his traumatic experience." Walter stated.

"He doesn't need counseling. He just… he needs to know that we're there for him." Oliver adamantly stated.

"Sweetheart, I agree but sometimes, trauma that he endured might not be that easy to overcome." Moira told her son.

Oliver looks down. "Sure as hell hasn't been easy for him since his mother died. He- I'll talk to him, get him to open up." Oliver replied.

"And if it doesn't?" Walter asked.

Oliver glares at his stepfather but calms down. "I'll try to convince Laurel to let him stay with us. I'm sure it won't have to come to that."

"I simply wish Malcolm hadn't told him about Thea. I wanted to wait for him to readjust back into society before dropping that kind of news on the boy." Moira admitted.

"I'll talk to him. Sure that everything will be fine." Oliver stated.

"Where's Mr Diggle? Thought he would be here?" Walter asked.

"I gave him the day off. I want some solo quality time with Tommy." Oliver replied.

"I'm not certain that's wise, son. Especially considering your position in the company-"

"My position is none of your concern, Walter." Oliver bitterly answered. "It's just one day. What could go wrong?"

"Oliver's right. I'm sure that's what Tommy needs." Moira said as she defuses the tension. "We'll have to let the boys be boys. Especially since-"

"She gave me her blessing, Mom. She knows that I'm spending the day with him." He told his mother. "Everything will be great."

Moira nods and smiles.

•••

Meanwhile in Thea's bedroom, Thea and her friend from school were in the room. What they were doing however wasn't exactly something typical teenagers do. Her friend was grinding up pills with a credit card and forming lines on Thea's desk.

"Where did you get these?" Thea asked with mischievous glee.

"Roxy's. Thank you daddy's ACL tear." Her female friend said holding up a prescription bottle.

A knock at the door interrupts their less than stellar activities. Thea gets up to go answer the door while her friend hides the drugs. However before Thea could open the door, the door opens and Tommy steps inside. He was now wearing the leather jacket Oliver had given him.

"Tommy, hey." Thea greeted nervously.

Tommy smiles but does sense something was up. "Up to trouble, Speedy?"

Thea cringes at the nickname. "Worst nickname ever."

"What, Oliver and me always chasing after you as a kid? We both thought it fit pretty well." Tommy playfully teased then a seriousness came in his tone. "Maybe it still does."

Thea winces at this, had he seen the drugs?

"See you at school, Speedy." Her female friend teased her and left the room.

Thea sighs then said "Sorry about her."

Tommy holds up the mystery item he pulled out from the box. It was a spear shaped stone with some words in a foreign language craved on it. "I have something for you."

Thea scoffs a bit. "You did not come back from a deserted island with a souvenir."

"It's a hozen. And in Buddhism, it symbolizes reconnecting." Tommy explained to her. "I used to think it was silly for me to keep it. Guess finding out about… our mutual paternity, it might not have been as silly as I thought. Maybe I kept it in hopes that one day it would reconnect me with you."

Thea manages a small smile. "Thought you would be disappointed I was… well, you know."

"I always considered both you and Ollie as my siblings. Guess this makes it official." Tommy said with a smile.

Thea blushes and takes the hozen from Tommy's hands. She notices other writing on the back but she sets that thought aside as she stares at her brother.

"A rock. That is sweet." Tommy and Thea turn to see Oliver enter the room. He joyfully enters as he sees the present Tommy had given Thea. Oliver pats his best friend on the shoulder. "Where's my present?"

"Sorry but the island gift shop was out of T-shirts that say 'My Friend Was A Castaway And All I Got Was This Crappy Shirt'." Tommy teased back.

Thea looks at the two men. "Try to not to get yourselves into too much trouble. You just got back. Take it slow." Tommy nods as she gives him a warm sisterly hug.

"The city awaits." Oliver said as Oliver leads his friend out of their sister's bedroom.

•••

Inside of Oliver's Porsche, Oliver drives Tommy down the streets of Starling City. "Your funeral blew."

Tommy turns his head and says. "Bet there was a lot very sad young ladies there, I'm guessing?"

"If I weren't a married man and if it weren't your funeral…"

"We would've gotten lucky?" Tommy asked.

"Fish in a barrel." Oliver remarked which made Tommy laugh. "They were so sad and huggy-"

"No." Tommy pleaded with amusement.

"And I am counting on another target rich environment for your welcome home bash." Oliver stated.

Tommy looks at his friend puzzled. "At my what?"

"You came back from the dead!" Oliver reminds his best friend. "This calls for a party. You tell me where and when. I'll take care of everything."

Tommy wasn't looking for a celebration but he knew he couldn't fight the insistence of Oliver Queen.

Oliver rounds the corner on the street and stops at a stop sign. While in the intersection, the two men see a group of homeless people on the street huddled by a flaming barrel. "You know, the city's gone to crap. I still wish my father hadn't sold the factory. Maybe this side of town wouldn't be like this. And why'd you wanna drive through this neighborhood anyway?"

Tommy had a good reason because he knew where they really were, they were in the Glades. The poorest part of town. Also the place where his mother had her clinic. "No reason."

"So what'd you miss the most? Steaks at the palm, drinks at the station?" Oliver asked then raised an eyebrow. "Meaningless sex?"

"Pump the brakes for a sec, Ollie." Tommy jovially said. "There will be plenty of time for some of that. But there's something I need to do first."

"Yeah, what's that?" Oliver asked, half expecting the answer.

Tommy exhales sharply and stated. "I need to talk to her."

Oliver looks down, hating that he was right. "Everyone is happy you're alive. I don't think wife is one of those people."

Tommy glares at him, his expression reading 'You owe me' without saying a word.

•••

At CNRI, the office was hard at work as Joanna rushes over to Laurel with a file folder in her hands. "Laurel, I just got this from Hunt's lawyers." Laurel stares at the file. "They filed a change of venue. We are now in front of Judge Grell."

"Hunt funded Grell's re-election campaign. He's got Grell in his back pocket." Laurel stated and Joanna nodded in agreement.

"You know, it's fun being your friend." Joanna replied smugly. "I get to say I told you so a lot."

"No. Adam Hunt is not smarter than we are." Laurel stated confidently.

"No, he's just richer and willing to commit multiple felonies." Joanna replied. "Why don't you ask Oli-"

"I am not asking my husband for help and we don't need to go outside the law to-"

"To find justice." Joanna finished. "Your dad's favorite jingle."

Oliver stood in front of the investigation board Laurel set up for the Hunt case and got her attention. "I couldn't agree more."

Laurel smiles and kisses him on the lips. "This is a nice surprise. What are you doing here? I thought you were with-" Oliver sighs and guiltily glances at her. She knew what he was hiding. "Is he-"

Oliver looks behind him as Laurel turns around to find Tommy standing in the room inches behind Joanna who was startled by the suddenness of his appearance.

"Guess sooner came a lot faster than you hoped." Oliver replied.

Laurel glares at him as Tommy shyly stares at her.

"Hi, Laurel." Tommy said softly.

Laurel clears her throat, this was going to be awkward for all involved

•••

Tommy and Laurel were walking down the street corner next to her office. The two try to remain as civil as possible as Tommy goes to make small talk. "So, you went to law school. You said you would."

"Yeah. Everyone's proud." Laurel said in a curt manner.

Tommy sighs. "Adam Hunt's a heavy hitter. You sure you wanna get in the ring with him?"

Laurel swallows back her frustration but finally jumps to what she wanted to say. "Five years and you wanna talk about Adam Hunt?"

Tommy shakes his head, he knew beating around the bush wasn't going to work with Laurel. "No. Not really."

Laurel stops walking which gets Tommy's attention and he turns to face her. "Why are you here, Tommy?" she asked bluntly.

"To apologize." The young Merlyn told her. "It was my fault. I wanted to ask you not to blame her."

"For what? Falling under your spell?" Laurel asked as Tommy knowingly nods. "For hiding some secret love affair with you? How could I possibly blame her for that?"

Tommy sighs, juggling the truth as best as possible. "I wanted to tell you. We both did. It's just… I don't think your dad would've too keen on his youngest daughter dating another billionaire playboy. He was already dealing with you and Oliver being together."

"And that secrecy got her killed." Laurel said frankly.

"I didn't mean to-"

"She was my sister, Tommy. I never got a chance to say goodbye." Laurel replied sadly.

Tommy swallowed hard, Oliver's lies had extremely deep roots. And he let those roots become subterranean.

"I couldn't grieve for without thinking of how she had been lying to me. How you lied to me." Laurel said angrily. She composed herself. "We buried an empty coffin… because her body was at the bottom of the ocean where you left her." She swallows back her fury and says. "It should've been you. And I know how horrible that sounds considering I'm married to your best friend."

Tommy exhales, taking all his will power not to tell the truth. It was literally tearing him up internally. "I know that it's too late to say this, but I'm sorry."

Laurel bites her bottom lip. "Yeah, I'm sorry too. I'd hoped that you'd rot in hell a whole lot longer than five years."

With that, Laurel walks back to her office. Tommy nods in mutual agreement as she walks away.

Laurel passes by Oliver who had been listening in on most the exchange. "I will see you at home."

Oliver nods as he goes over to his friend who stands thunderstruck. "How did you think that was going to go, Tommy?"

After snapping out of a trance, Tommy shrugs and states. "About like that."

The two of them head back to Oliver's car in long silence until Oliver broke the ice. "Okay, so we took care of that. Good call."

"Not like you faced any consequences." Tommy chided. It took his strength to resist the urge to punch Oliver in the face. All of his strength.

The two walk into the alley way Oliver parked his car as Oliver suggests their next destination. "Well, now we can make up for lost time. If you're not too sick of fish, I suggest we find some leggy models and eat sushi all day."

Suddenly a loud screech of tires is heard behind them. They turn around in a panic and see a van heading towards them.

"What the hell?" Oliver exclaimed as the van stops in front of them.

Unbeknownst to the two, two men in red skull masks walk up behind them. One of them points a gun at Oliver and shoots him only it was a tranquilizer dart that causes Oliver to fall unconscious. Tommy tries to prepare for what was coming but a dart hits him in the neck before he could react. He falls to his knees and struggles to fight the effects of the sedative in the dart.

The driver of the van steps out of the van, wearing a similar mask and holding an assault rifle strapped to his back.

A groggy Tommy could only watch in horror as a innocent bystander steps out into the alley from the back entrance of a restaurant. The man yells to get their attention only for the driver to shoot the man dead with his gun.

Tommy falls to the ground and stares at the driver as he slipped out of consciousness as they slip a black sack over his head.

•••

Five Years Ago

On the life boat, Tommy sits next to Robert as the captain tries to adjust the emergency light on the craft. Robert pulls out a bottle of water and hands it to Tommy. "Here, son. Drink."

Tommy had become weak from fatigue and dehydration and starts to drink from the bottle of water.

The captain sees this and seems quite angry at Robert for his actions. "What hell are you doing? That's all we got!"

Robert stares at the man and yells. "If anybody's making it out of here, it's gonna be him." He looks over at Tommy. "I'm so sorry. I thought I'd have more time. I'm not the man you think I am. And neither is your father. We didn't build our city. We failed it. And we weren't the only ones."

Tommy was still shaken by hearing that. What did Robert mean by that?

•••

"Mr Merlyn. Mr Merlyn!"

The black sack that was covering Tommy's head was swiftly pulled off his head. Tommy had come to and found himself sitting on a chair, his wrists zip tied behind him as the three masked men stood in front of him. One of them brandished a taser and zapped it inches in front of Tommy's face.

"We got us a few questions." The man closest to him said. "Did Robert Queen survive that accident?"

Tommy looks past him and sees Oliver lying on his stomach. He was still out cold but his wrists were also zip tied together. He seemed to be alive. Tommy assesses the situation as the men continue to stare at him.

"I ask the questions. You give the answers." The man in front of him demanded.

Tommy tightens his fists as the zip ties on his hands began to smoke. Were the binds melting?

Tommy remains silent as the men look to each other for what to do to get Tommy to comply. The man with the taser zaps Tommy in the chest and he screams in pain. After a few seconds, the man stops and Tommy groans and tries to regain his composure.

The man got in his face. "Did he make it to the island? Did he tell you anything?"

Tommy musters a laugh despite the pain he was in which only made the man even more frustrated. The man zaps him in opposite side of where he had hit him earlier and Tommy screams again. This time it was while gritting his teeth.

Tommy had had enough of dealing with these people and tries to manage an answer out of his body. "Yes, he did."

The man nods, now they seemed to be getting somewhere. "What did he tell you, Mr Merlyn?"

Tommy breathed in and out as a cold breath left his mouth. This wasn't due to the cold weather. This was different. He looks over at Oliver to make sure he was out cold. He didn't want his best friend to see what he was going to do next.

Tommy stares down at the man and a look of murderous rage filled his eyes. "He told me I'm gonna kill you." The expression told a smart man that he was serious.

The kidnappers laugh at what seemed to be an empty threat. The man gets up in his face again. "You're delusional. You're zip-cuffed to that chair."

A devilish grin appears on Tommy's face as he brings his now free hands in front of him. Almost seeming like he was performing a magic trick. "Not anymore."

The man goes to closeline Tommy only for the young man to duck out of the way, grab the chair to lift it up and use it as a shield to block the man's attack. His buddies go to make for their weapons only for Tommy to use the remainder of the chair to smack one in the face and take a broken piece of the chair to stab the one with the taser in the chest then disarms him. He goes for the third kidnapper and zaps him in the neck with the taser to stun him.

The man with the assault rifle tries to shoot at Tommy but he uses the third kidnapper as a human shield to take all the bullets. The last remaining kidnapper panics and starts to make a break for it.

Tommy goes over to Oliver and checks his pulse to see if he was correct about him being alive but unconscious. He realizes he is correct and goes to make chase on the surviving kidnapper as Oliver slowly began to come to and tries to get his bearings.

The kidnapper continues running only to ear Tommy heading his way. He points the weapon at where Tommy was entering and opens fire only for Tommy to dodge out of the way and climb on to the upper landing of the warehouse they were in.

Tommy catches his breath as he waves his arms over his chest, saying, "Ytiliga Ekil Tac Em Evig." He uses the arm motions to cast an unseen energy into his body. He breathes in quickly then continues his pursuit.

The kidnapper runs onto the roof of the warehouse to make his escape. He runs down some stairs but he sees that he wasn't getting far.

Tommy runs along a different rooftop then jumps on top of a different rooftop using almost uncanny cat like grace. Balancing Parkour skills and… something else. The man shoots at Tommy only for the Merlyn heir to slide across the metal roof and effortlessly avoid the gunfire.

The man goes to make another attempt at an escape but Tommy repels down from the roof and catches up to him. The man was frustrated and terrified he couldn't shake Tommy. How is he keeping up?

The man runs into a different warehouse and finally ditches the mask to at least get a better shot at Tommy who was still in hot pursuit. Tommy agilely jumps on top of piece of machinery as the man opens fire again only for Tommy to swiftly avoid the gunfire again. He leaps into the air and grabs on to a hanging chain in mid jump.

Tommy uses the chain to swing over to the man to gracefully land in front of the kidnapper. The man is too late to react as Tommy puts him in an elaborate chokehold. Tommy tightens his grip on the man's neck as the man pleads for his life. "You killed that man."

"You don't have to do this." The man pleaded.

"Yes, I do." Tommy replied as he continues to tighten his grip. "Nobody can know my secret."

With one quick jerk by Tommy, a loud crack is heard and the kidnapper limply slumps to the floor. He was dead.

Tommy seemed both physically and mentally drained by what happened but he knew what he did was necessary. It needed to be done.

•••

The following day, Tommy and Oliver were being questioned by the police due to their ordeal with their masked kidnappers. Detective Quentin Lance and his partner Lucas Hilton were in charge of that interview with Quentin holding an artist rendering of a hooded figure in his hands. "So, that's your story, a guy in a green hood flew in and single-handedly took out three armed kidnappers."

Oliver sits next to Tommy who was very calm throughout the questioning. Moira, Walter and Malcolm sat in the room whilst the interview took place.

"Who is he? Why, why, why would he do that?" The grizzled detective asked Tommy.

"I don't know." Tommy said frankly. "Find him and you can ask."

Quentin did not take kindly to Tommy's cavalier attitude over the situation. "Yeah." He glances over at Oliver. "What about you?" He held up the rendering so Oliver could get a look at it. "You see the hood guy?"

"I saw…" Oliver began as Tommy glanced over at him. "Just movement. Everything blurry. I was kind of out of it."

"Yeah." Quentin said, glancing at his son in law with some doubt. He then stares at Tommy who he didn't seem to have much regard for. "It's funny, isn't it? One day back and already somebody's gunning for you. Aren't you popular?"

Tommy swallows back a lump in his throat as he rubs the back of his right hand with his left hand. A large faded scar on the center of his hand. The pain he seemed to be inflicting was a hell of a lot better than this conversation.

Malcolm turns to Moira and both parents seem rater perturbed at the detective's attitude towards their children. Moira nods and goes to take charge of the tense exchange. "Were you able to identify the men?"

"Scrubbed identities, untraceable weapons." Hilton explained in a professional manner, more cordial than Quentin was being. "These were pros."

"Well, they probably figured you both would pay a king's ransom to get your boys back." Quentin said to Malcolm and Moira. He looks back at Tommy and scoffs. "After all, a parent would do anything to keep their child safe."

Malcolm clears his throat to get Quentin's focus off his son. "I don't particularly find your tone appropriate, detective. Much less your spitefulness."

Moira nudges Walter who quickly goes into action. "If Tommy and Oliver can think of anything else, we'll be in touch." He and Malcolm exchange expressions of understanding as Walter tries to get the detectives to leave. "Thank you, gentlemen for coming."

Quentin scoffs at this but gets up from his seat and grabs the artist rendering to put it in his bag. Tommy starts to get up and faces the man eye to eye. "Your luck never seems to run out, does it?"

Tommy glares at Sara's father as Quentin and Lucas are lead out by Raisa. He turns and looks at Oliver seems puzzled by his friend's demeanor.

Malcolm walks over to his son and puts his hand on his shoulder. "You are both incredibly lucky, you know that?"

"Lucky didn't have much to with it, to be honest." Tommy replied.

"If you want, I could take you home. Your room is exactly the way you left-"

"I'll be fine. Thank you. I just… I need some time alone." Tommy said as he moves his father's arm away and quietly walks upstairs.

Malcolm looks at Moira who sits up and reassures him. "Give him some space. He is still adjusting and this didn't help things."

The elder Merlyn gave her a knowing glance and he shows himself out.

John Diggle enters the room and goes over to Oliver. "You really shouldn't have given me the day off, Mr Queen."

Oliver shakes off the tension and sits up, he smiles at his bodyguard. "Well, as they say, hindsight is 20/20."

"I think that with what's happened, Tommy could use some much needed protection." Moira suggested.

"That I can agree with." Oliver replied as he looks over at John. "You think you might know anybody who could use the work?"

Diggle thinks for a moment then he smiles. "I have an old friend from my army days. Think they'd be able to fit the bill, I'll give em a call."

•••

An hour later, Tommy was in the middle of his room in the lotus position in the another round of meditation. Only instead there was a little white candle in front of him. As he was in his meditative states, a computer was running some files and data at rapid fire speed. The sound of beeping breaks Tommy out of his trance and he sits up off the floor. He walks over to the desk where the computer was. He opens the door to his room a crack as he looks back at the candle, waving his right hand and an invisible wisp of air snuffs out the flame.

Tommy starts sifting through files that have information on the man who was a part of Laurel's case: Adam Hunt. As if out of the ether, newspaper clipping appears in his left hand that read 'Adam Hunt cleared by D.A. of wrongdoing; cites lack of evidence'.

The weathered book that was in the wooden box was open and face down on the desk. Tommy grabs it and turns it up to find a list of names on one page. One of those names was Adam Hunt.

"You are different." Tommy looks up and finds Raisa standing at the door frame with a tray of food in her hands. "Not like you to read a book."

Tommy couldn't help smiling as he sets the book down and pushes a button to put the computer on standby. "To be fair, I did read more books than Oliver did." He said in a jovially tone.

"That is true but most of them did have a lot of colorful pictures." Raisa teased back. "Men with capes and masks."

Tommy smiles as he glances at the housekeeper. "I missed you, Raisa."

"No kitchen on the island." Raisa retorts.

"No." Tommy told her. A somberness in his posture formed. "No friends either." He gets up off the chair and goes over to Raisa. He smiles and takes the tray from her. "Thank you." The housekeeper nods as he puts the tray down at the end of his bed. "Do I really seem different?"

Raisa smiles and shakes her head. "No, you're still a good boy."

Tommy laughs in spite of himself. "Oh, I think we both know I wasn't."

"But a good heart." Raisa assures him.

"I hope so." Tommy replied. "I wanna be the person my mom told me I could be."

Raisa smiles at him and leaves the room.

All of a sudden, Tommy hears the sound of a vehicle pulling up to the front of the house. He sees a small figure in a black leather jacket get off a motorcycle as John Diggle walks over to the figure in black who pulls her bike out of Tommy's line of sight with Diggle close behind them.

Tommy seems puzzled by this as he decides he needed some fresh air.

•••

Tommy heads downstairs and goes to make his way out when Tommy's name is called. He hears that it came from the living room and steps inside where he finds Oliver, Moira and Walter in the room. "I'm heading out. Probably be gone till dark."

"Hang on." Oliver said as he walks over to his friend. "Listen, we know you want to head out on your own but that might not be the best idea to go alone."

"What? Do you want me under adult supervision? I'm not eight years old, man." Tommy insisted.

"Yes, but in light of the kidnapping, we might be concerned it'll happen again." Moira told him. "Oliver and I have decided you need a bodyguard."

Tommy scoffs. "I don't need a babysitter. I'm fine."

"Darling, Tommy's a grown man." Walter spoke up. "And if doesn't feel he needs armed protection-"

"I understand that, but this is something I need." Oliver said, spiting his stepfather.

Tommy looks back at Oliver then at Moira. "Guess it's pointless to fight the iron will of the Queen family. Who is he and when do I meet him?"

"He's a friend of John's from the army. Said his name was Cole Cash." Oliver informed him.

Tommy raised an eyebrow. "Cole Cash? That can't be a real name."

"It is real name, I can assure you."

The group turns to face the entrance of the living room where Raisa had let Diggle inside. However standing next to Diggle was a woman who was around his age with long red hair brushed into a half tail. She was wearing a black suit jacket over a white button up blouse with black dress pants, the shoes she wore were black pumps.

Tommy and Oliver look dumbfounded at the sight of the woman standing next to Diggle. Her naturally light complexion complements her stunning blue eyes. She was diminutive compared to John but her posture reads otherwise.

"I would like to introduce you all to Cole Cash. Cole, this is Moira Queen, her husband Walter Steele and her son as well as my boss Oliver Queen." Diggle formally introduced the woman to the people in the room.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Cole said warmly. She looks over at Tommy and smiles at him. "And I take it this is Mr Merlyn?"

Tommy nods and offers a handshake. "That would be me, yes. And call me Tommy."

Cole nods and accepts the gesture. "Okay… Tommy." Oliver stares at Cole who could feel him staring at her. "Is there a problem, Mr Queen?"

Oliver clears the lump in his throat then said. "You're a girl."

Cole looks down to seemingly look at her ample breasts, possibly her lady parts. "Last time I checked." She joked. "The name's Colette, friends call me Cole."

"I'm sorry. I just-"

"Assumed my gender?" Cole teased which Tommy and Diggle found amusing and the other adults were shocked by. "Or was it because John never specified it?"

"Along those lines, yeah." Oliver said bluntly which made Cole scoff. "You seem… tiny by comparison."

"So that means I can't protect your friend?" Cole questioned. Oliver stammers a bit, finding himself intimidated by this woman half his size. She starts to giggle to put him at ease. "Relax, Queenie. I'm just ribbing, that's all."

"Well, you have a colorful sense of humor." Moira replied.

"Not always a bad thing, Mrs Queen." Cole said confidently. She didn't seem afraid of Moira, not one bit. She looks over at Tommy. "Shall we go? I got the car waiting outside."

Tommy goes to leave but Oliver stops him. "Ollie, what are you-"

"Just a sec, Tommy." Oliver walks up to Cole who seems curious to what the Queen heir was after. "I feel like I should test your skills. Make sure you can provide the proper amount of protection for my best friend."

Cole smacks her lips as Diggle nudges her. She exhales and nods. "No skin off my nose." She motions for Oliver to go to a part of the living room that didn't have any furniture. She begins to remove her black suit jacket and take off her shoes as Oliver braces to teach her a lesson. "So, what do you want to test me on?" She seems dismissive as she glances at Tommy who seems intrigued by this.

"Well, hypothetically speaking, what if some drunken lowlife came at Tommy and tried to punch-"

Oliver tries to punch Cole only for Cole to swiftly grab his fist with her left hand and bends the arm Oliver tried to uses, bends it down to pull him to her height level. She uses momentum to grab him by the neck with her legs and does a headscissor to pull him to the floor.

"Oh good Lord!" Moira exclaimed in a panic.

Tommy was surprised at how Cole had Oliver in a sleeper hold using her legs. Once she's seen he's had enough, Cole lets Oliver go and gets up off the floor. Oliver coughs and tries to get up as Diggle proceeds to help him off the floor.

"Does that satisfy your concerns, Mr Queen?" Cole asked as she put her shoes back on.

Oliver nods his head in approval, a twinge of angry in his pained voice. "More than satisfies."

"Good." Cole said as she adjusts her blouse to ensure she didn't get any wrinkles. She puts on the suit jacket then glances over at Tommy. "Shall we?"

Tommy grins at this. Seeing Oliver get some much deserved comeuppance by proxy was cathartic. "I'll see you all later." He pats a still sore Oliver in the back and follows Cole out.

Oliver rubs his neck and looks to Diggle. "Could've warned me."

Diggle smirks. "Where's the fun in that?"

Oliver glares at his amused bodyguard.

•••

Tommy was riding in the backseat of the fancy town car that Cole was driving him in. As they drove down the city streets, he plotting out how he would escape from his appointed bodyguard but he realized that Cole might not be that easy to shake. He decides to make small talk with her. "That was very impressive what you did back there." He stated in a friendly tone.

Cole scoffs. "Not much effort really. Taken out guys twice as big as your friend using that move."

Tommy manages a small smile. "So, what do I call you? You said your friends call you 'Cole', not sure I've earned that right."

"Cole's fine. Cash if you want to formal." Cole informed him.

"You're ex military?" Tommy questioned.

Cole nods. "Special Forces, did Black ops stuff mostly. I'm retired like Dig."

"How long have you been in the private sector?" Tommy asked as he looks for the right opportunity to get out.

"About three years or so. I have been looking after a family member in Starling since then." Cole explained. "Listen, despite coming from what seems to be similar backgrounds, I'm nothing like John. I also don't appreciate you internally plotting some kind of escape plan."

Tommy's eyes widen in surprise. "I wasn't-"

"If you want to go somewhere, honesty is the best policy. I'll take you, no questions asked." Cole replied. "Mr Merlyn-"

"Tommy."

Cole inhales sharply. "Tommy, I understand what it's like to carry some serious psychological damage. We all have demons, best thing to do is be straight with me, okay?"

Tommy grins with some amusement on his face. "Seems fair."

"Where to first then?" Cole asked.

Tommy bites his lip then exhales. "Do you know where Merlyn Global is?"

Cole stares at him through the rear view mirror. "Wanna talk to your dad?"

Tommy nods slowly. "Feel it's time."

Cole smiles. "You got it, boss."

Tommy grins. Maybe being paired up with Cole wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Inside a high rise office building, an elevator doors open and Tommy steps out with Cole close behind him. Tommy didn't like having a shadow following all that much but Cole wasn't too bad of a shadow.

"The old man expecting you?" Cole asked as they walked towards the desk of his father's personal assistant.

"Nope." Tommy answers bluntly.

Cole grins at his defiance. "Got a pair on ya, I'll ya that."

Tommy ignores the comment as they make it to the assistant's desk. A young professional looking woman sat at the desk who was shuffling through some paperwork. Tommy smiles and waves to get the woman's attention. The woman looks up from her work and sees Tommy standing in front of her. "Hey." He flashes his charming smile at her as he tries to remember her name. "Maya, right?"

The woman, Maya, gasps at the sight of Tommy. "Oh my God, Tommy Merlyn. Heard on the news that you were alive. I couldn't believe it." Maya exclaimed joyfully.

Cole couldn't help but chuckle as Tommy blushes. He wasn't used to getting this kind of attention since he came back. Especially from people who weren't close friends and family.

"It's good to see you too, Maya." Tommy said, feigning a level of smarm.

Maya then looks at Cole with curiosity. "Who's your friend? Already got a girl on your arm?"

Tommy laughs uncomfortably as Cole rolls her eyes. She was used to the preconceived notions. "This is Colette Cash, she's my bodyguard."

Maya gave Cole a once-over which made Cole exhale sharply. "Seriously?"

"Not the first time I've heard that, sweet pea." Cole said dismissively. Her icy glare made Maya nervous.

"Maya, is my father here?" Tommy asked, breaking the tension.

Maya snaps out of it and puts a friendly smile on her face. "He's at a meeting upstairs but you and your friend can wait in his office if you'd like. I'll let him know you're waiting for him."

Tommy smiles. "That'd be great. Thanks."

With that, Tommy goes into the office with Cole close behind. Once they enter the room, Cole closes the door behind her as Tommy paces in front of his father's desk. She notices the décor of the office, it seems to resembles what most would think an office of corporate titan would look like. However the one thing that stood out to her were the mounted weapon decorations on the wall.

"Your father seems to have an... interesting taste in décor." Cole said as she walks up to the wall with a old looking sword mounted on it.

"My dad's has always been a bit of an eccentric." Tommy told her.

"That's putting it mildly." Cole remarked.

Tommy raised an eyebrow. "You aren't good at making a good first impression, are you?"

Cole glances at him with her head cocked sideways. "My job is protecting you. Whether you like me or not is on low on the list of priorities. Keeping you alive is at the top."

"What's second?" Tommy asked playfully.

"Finding out what you're really up to." Cole teased.

Tommy smiles at her. "I'm not up to anything."

"Whatever you say." Cole said in a condescending manner.

Before more words were exchanged, Malcolm Merlyn enters the office and shuts the door. He was in another finely tailored dark suit and seems surprised to find his son in the office. "This is definitely a nice surprise." He stated as Tommy turns to face him.

"Couldn't be helped. I was delaying the inevitable." Tommy replied.

Malcolm turns to Cole and was genuinely intrigued by her presence. "Who's this gorgeous creature? Have you-"

"I'm not his girlfriend." Cole said bluntly.

Malcolm chuckles. "I wasn't thinking that. I thought my son might have hired a personal assistant."

"Dad, this is Cole Cash and she's actually my bodyguard." Tommy informed his father.

Malcolm glances at Cole who had folded her arms over her chest. "Is that so?"

Cole sighs. "Go ahead. Make the snap assumptions because I'm a woman. Everybody else-"

"Actually I was going to ask if my son has given you any trouble. You seem to know what you're doing and if you're going to safeguard my only son, I have to trust in your instincts." Malcolm told her.

Cole was caught off guard by the answer and grins. "That's definitely a new one. Thank you."

Tommy scoffs at this. He knew his father was just trying to get in the woman's head.

Cole leans over to Tommy, saying "I'll let you have the father/son chat. It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr Merlyn."

"Likewise, Ms Cash."

The Merlyn men stood in the office as Cole makes her way out, looking back at Tommy before she exits and closes the door.

"Ms Cash is an interesting choice for a bodyguard." Malcolm began which made Tommy clear his throat. "If you were in need of a bodyguard, I could've had one of my security detail-"

"It wasn't my idea. Oliver and Mrs Queen hired her under the recommendation of Mr Diggle." Tommy told his father. "But I didn't come here to introduce Cole."

Malcolm stares back at his son and sees he was gravely serious. "Very well." He motions to a chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat."

Tommy breathes out and does as instructed. "I wanted to discuss a few things with you."

"Well, you do seem like you have a lot on your mind." Malcolm said as he sat in his chair. "What do you wish to discuss?"

Tommy suspired and stares at Malcolm. "About Thea-"

"I wish I hadn't told you the way I did. I planned for the right time to tell you-"

"When would it have been the right time? I mean it would've helped if you were there the day I returned to the main land so we didn't have to have it out in front Oliver and his family." Tommy stated. "I didn't feel like airing out our dirty laundry like that but-"

"I did have some particular business to attend to. It was concerning you and I made that more of a priority, I do apologize for not being there for you."

"Sort of used to it by now." Tommy said softly then he clears his throat to allow himself to speak up. "I pray you're better with Thea than you were with me."

Malcolm hangs his head. "Moira told me a month after you-"

"Died?" Tommy said in a matter of fact manner.

Malcolm shakes his head with some delight. "Yes. She saw how I was spiraling afterwards, how I spiraled after-"

"I get it." Tommy answered. He understood what his father was talking about.

"It wasn't easy. I lost your mother then to lose you… It killed me. I would've taken my own life if she hadn't told me about Thea." Malcolm admits.

"Make no mistake, I don't hate the idea of Thea being my sister. I certainly don't blame you for seeking comfort in the arms of another woman." Tommy replied. "I just- I honestly don't expect much of anything anymore."

"The pain you endured couldn't have been easy." Malcolm remarked.

Tommy scoffs and, with a smirk, answers with. "At this point, pain's an old friend."

Malcolm swallows, seeing the internal turmoil going on in his son's mind. "Is there anything else you wished to discuss with me?"

Tommy remembered why he was really there and nods. "I was wondering… what happened to mom's clinic? It was still open when I went on the Gambit. Is it still-"

"No." Malcolm said frankly. "After I lost you, I didn't have the heart to keep it open. Since I had complete legal authority over the property, I shut down."

Tommy shuts his eyes and his left hand grips the chair, trying desperately to contain way seemed to be his rage. Or was it something else? He takes a breath then speaks. "I want the property back. Not just my share. I want the deed."

Malcolm nods and opens a drawer. He pulls out a file and a set of keys, slides them across the table to his son. "After they found you, I had a thought you might want the building as a memento, a keepsake of sorts."

"Twenty years later and you're still trying to buy my love?" Tommy said in a teasing manner.

"That wasn't my intention. I just wanted you to have something to hold on to. To remind you of your mother." Malcolm told him. "I think Rebecca would've wanted you to have it."

Tommy smiles, remembering his mother fondly. He takes the file and the keys from the desk and slips them into his jacket pocket. "Thanks, Dad." He gets up from his seat. "I would love to stay and chat but I have other things to attend to."

"Well, feel free to drop by anytime. Just… a phone call as heads up would be appreciated." Malcolm stated in a professional sounding tone.

Tommy couldn't hide his devilish grin as he makes his way out. He steps out of the office and a breath of relief escaped him as he leans against the door for a second.

"So, that must've been fun."

Tommy winces, recalled his red haired shadow was still nearby. He turns and finds Cole standing in front of him. "Were you listening through the door?"

"Nope. You seem… like you got kicked in the head repeatedly. You okay?" Cole asked, seeming to be genuinely interested.

"I'm fine." Tommy said quickly, doing his best to change the subject.

Cole smacks her lips and follows Tommy as he walks to the elevator. "Where to next? You must have a major mental to-do list."

Tommy thinks and asked. "You said no questions asked, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Cole asked.

Tommy smiles as he pushes a button to call up the elevator. "Know a good place to safely hide that car? Need to go to the Glades."

Cole looks at him, Tommy was dead serious. She smiles at this. "I know a place."

•••

An hour later, Cole pulls into a garage of an apartment building in the Glades and gets out of the car while Tommy lets himself out with a large brown duffel bag and back pack draped over his arm. "Lucky my apartment complex as its own parking garage. Never use it but hopefully it should be fine." She said as she parks the car.

"And if the car is taken, I'll take the fall. I'm in the grace period of people feeling sorry for me." Tommy informed her.

"Yeah, last thing I want is to get fired on my first day." Cole said as she locks the door.

"Do you plan on tagging along because I could come back and you wait here-"

"Nuh-uh. It's my job to protect you, Tommy. Where you go, I go." Cole said firmly.

Tommy shakes his head. He knew he was going not going to get rid of her easily. "Fine. Follow me. Just try not to-" He turns and sees Cole wasn't wearing her suit jacket but a black leather jacket over her button up blouse which she zips up. "Stand out."

Cole scoffs. "Not my first rodeo, boss man."

Tommy couldn't help smiling but he had to hide his true intentions.

•••

In the back alley of a street corner in the Glades, Tommy and Cole walks side by side. The pair pass by two homeless people who were huddled in front of flaming barrel. Tommy tries to go unnoticed as Cole seems confused about that. "You trying to blend in?" she teased.

Tommy stops which makes Cole stop. "Hang back here. I'll be back in a few hours."

"Where exactly are you going?" Cole inquired.

Tommy gives her a smirk. "Thought you said no questions asked."

Cole chuckles. "Guessing that's gonna bite me in the ass. Fine, go. I'll grab you a coffee a while I wait." She walks off down the alley as she passes the homeless people.

Tommy continues down the alley way until he reaches an old looking building. It seemed to resemble a clinic of some sort. He finds the front door boarded up but he swiftly tugs the wood off the door and walks inside. He pulls the wood back into place as he heads deeper into the building.

Tommy walks inside of a main lobby area and sees a sign on the floor. He bends down and flips it over to reveal that it said 'Merlyn Health Clinic'. He stares at the sign for moment in intense thought.

The abduction was unexpected. It forced me to move up my plans. But what I told the police was true. The man in the green hood was there in that warehouse and he's just beginning.

A pick ax goes through a wooden door to the basement of the clinic and Tommy was holding the tool in his hands. He was hard at work and wasn't going to be deterred. He uses a rope to repel down into the basement where he lands on the ground effortlessly.

Tommy looks around the basement and sees potential in the empty space. He uses a sledgehammer to take down an unessential wall to make space for something. He starts to set up lighting equipment that had a green tints as well as some gear and some… interesting paraphernalia.

He starts to set up shop as he puts together shelves, a state of the art computer system, and had a few things that seem out of the ordinary. Some glass bottles with several granulated herbs and some mystical objects.

One of the more notable things on display were a rack of arrows places on a table. Sharpened and ready to do some damage. However Tommy starts to use a metal grinder to sharpen a new arrowhead and once he is finished, he place a fingertip on the side of the arrowhead. As he runs across it with his finger, strange runic writing appears on it then vanishes from sight.

Later, Tommy is shirtless and is doing exercises on an odd device that he repels up and down on. The device is of course a salmon ladder. He goes up each rivet in quick secession until he reaches near the top of the ladder.

After done with his work out, a clothed Tommy pulls out the large wooden box he had been careful to keep hidden and puts it on a table. He opens the box and pulls out something important, a compound bow, eying it with a look that he meant to do dark intentions with it.

Tommy had the bow in hand and a quiver strapped to his back as a machine released several tennis balls. He takes aim and starts shooting at each one in rapid fire speed until he had hit all the tennis balls with an arrow and stuck them to the wall. He stares at his handiwork, satisfied.

•••

In the meantime, Cole was still in the alley where Tommy had left her with two cups of coffee in front of her. She pulls out a metal flask from her jacket pocket and pours a clear brown liquor into her coffee. She puts the flask away then looks at her wristwatch to check the time when her phone vibrates. She pulls out her phone and sees a text message from a person named K. She smiles and reads the message that said. 'How's your first day?'

Cole shakes her head as she looks back at the way Tommy went and answers back. 'Bizarre'.

A message comes back from K reading 'U winning them over w/ ur sparkling personality?'

Cole rolls her eyes and answers 'Something like that'.

"Hey!"

Cole looks up and sees a scummy looking man walking over to her. She sighs and texts to K, saying 'BRB'. She tilts her head to one side and asks. "Can I help you?"

"What's a pretty lady doing out here by yourself?" The man asked, sounding like he was a bit inebriated.

Cole scoffs. "Looking to NOT get hit on so have a nice day." She tries to walk over to where Tommy had gone up, only for the man to grab her by the arm. "Back off, Jackass!"

"You think you're too good for me?" The man asked, half angry but all drunk.

"You know what I think?" Cole stares at him intensely, her eyes getting his focus. Like a snake cornering their prey. "I think you're going to walk around the corner and punch yourself in the face until you knock yourself out. When you come to, you won't remember this conversation. Understand?"

The drunken man seems dazed but he nods. "I will comply."

"Good boy. Now, go." Cole said with a faux perky sounding voice.

The man does as instructed and starts to walk down the alley then she hears the sound of punching and groans from the man.

Cole exhales and she notices blood trickling from her left nostril. "Not again." She nonchalantly wipes off the blood then sips on her coffee. She had obviously done this before.

•••

Meanwhile back in Tommy's hideout, Tommy is watching news report on the Adam Hunt indictment on the computer. He hears the reporter speak: "The suit alleges that Hunt committed multiple acts of fraud and theft against the city's underprivileged. Laurel Lance, an attorney for the city necessary.."

Tommy looks back at the weathered looking book with the list of names. Specifically the page with Adam Hunt's name on it.

Adam Hunt

His crimes go deeper than fraud and theft but he's been able to bully, bribe or kill anyone who's gotten into his way.

Tommy walks over to a table full of sharp implements and sets down a large hunting knife on the table. He calmly walks over to the wooden box again to reach for another object: a green hood.

He hasn't met me yet.

Tommy takes the hood and goes to do what he does best.

•••

Inside of parking garage downtown, a bald imposing but diminutive looking man was being flanked by his security detail. This man is Adam Hunt. "You remind Grell I put him on the bench, I can take him off. I will turn him into a cautionary tale." Hunt instructed one of his flunkies.

"Yes, Mr Hunt." The main flunky responded.

"And this attorney, Laurel Lance. You said she wasn't gonna be a problem anymore." Hunt growled. "I told you to fix that situation." He turns and faces his flunky. "Why are you still here?"

The flunky then walks off, clearly very anxious at Hunt's presence.

Hunt and his security detail continue to walk to his car when the whoosh of an arrow hitting the ceiling is heard. Once the arrow connects, the florescent lights spark in a burst of energy. Soon, most of the lights turn off except for an off green lighting in the garage.

Suddenly, an arrow hits one of the security detail in the chest and he falls over.

The remaining goon instructed Adam Hunt to get into his car. As Hunt does so, the goon shoots up into the direction where he thinks the arrow came from.

"Hey." A voice echoes in the garage. "You missed."

All Hunt heard was his only protection get shot with two arrows. Another arrow hits the window next to where Hunt was and he cowers in fear as he sees an arrow sticking in the seat and had barely missed him. Or was that intentional?

Out of nowhere, Hunt is pulled out of the car and he lays on the floor of the garage. He looks up and sees a man in a green hood and costume, pointing an arrow at his face. It was Tommy in his alternate persona.

"What? What?" Hunt exclaimed as he held up his hands in defense. "Just- just tell me what you want."

The hooded Tommy jumps off the car and grabs Hunt by the shirt collar. "You're gonna transfer forty million into Starling City bank account 1141 by 10:00pm tomorrow night."

"Or what?" Hunt asked defiantly.

"Or I'm gonna take it." Tommy threatened. "And you won't like how."

Hunt pushes the hooded man back but it doesn't do anything and the hooded man walks off down the garage.

"If I see you again, you're dead!" Hunt shouted.

The hooded Tommy couldn't hide his smirk as he fires an arrow at Hunt's back window. He looks at the damage then back as Tommy leaves but when the lights in the garage flicker again, Tommy was gone.

•••

Night had fallen, Tommy exits from the clinic and places the board back on the door as it was before. He runs his fingers against the edges of the board then he moves his hand and the board stays in place. He rounds the corner of the alley only to find the man who hassled Cole unconscious on the floor. Tommy bends down to check on him…

"He'll be fine. He's just a little hammered."

Tommy turns around and sees Cole standing against a chain link fence holding one coffee in her hands and sipping her own coffee in with the other. "um, how long have you-"

"Six hours, Merlyn." Cole said, putting emphasis on his name. "Six FRICKING hours. Where did you go because I know you weren't in that… wherever you were that whole time."

Tommy sighs. "Truth?"

"That'd be nice." Cole said whilst sipping her coffee.

"I was… That building back there was where my mom's clinic was. It was also where she was murdered." Tommy frankly stated.

Cole swallows back the coffee she drank then exhales. "I am so sorry. I didn't know."

"It's okay. I don't really like talking about my mom." Tommy said somberly. "My dad gave me the building and I wanted to see if the place was still standing, it is. Sort of."

Cole looks at the floor then at her client. "If you needed space to mourn, I would've understood. Believe me, I would have."

Tommy nods. "Thank you."

"Take it the stuff in the bags were mementos, weren't they?" Cole surmised.

"You could say that." Tommy replied with a small smile.

"Look, if you're building some kind of shrine, I'm cool with it. I mean, you have enough money to own the building and do what you want so who am I to judge." Cole said as she hands Tommy the coffee in her hands. "I don't know how you take it so I went with black with two sugars."

Tommy smiles. "Thanks." He notices the coffee is still warm. "Did you just buy this?"

"Nope, that's coffee number six." Cole stated. "I WAS waiting for six hours. First cup, gave it to a homeless person. Second, second verse same as the first. Third, chugged with myself. Fourth…" points at the downed man and Tommy sees a cup of coffee next to him. "Think you can guess the rest."

Tommy laughs in spite of himself and drinks from the cup. "How much do I owe y-"

"24.78." Cole said matter of fact like as she extends her hands for payment.

Tommy rolls his eyes and pulls out his wallet. "Think this should come out of your pay."

"Unless you DON'T want me to be your alibi, wouldn't think about it." Cole retorts as Tommy gave her the money. "Thank you. Now I am going to drive you home and you are gonna be a good boy. Got it?"

Tommy groans at this.

•••

"He was wearing a hood, a green hood."

The following afternoon, Adam Hunt was speaking to Detectives Quentin Lance and Lucas Hilton in his high rise office. He seems frustrated and terrified at the ordeal he went through.

"And he had a bow and arrow." Hunt stated.

Lance and Hilton look incredulous at the man who had just told them his story.

Hunt scoffs. "What, you don't believe me?" He picks up the arrow that was used in the crimes. "That maniac put two of my men in the hospital."

"Well, thanks for your statement." Quentin said as Hunt gives Hilton the arrow who then hands it to Quentin. "We'll put out an APB on… Robin Hood."

"Hey, pal." Hunt got in Quentin's face. "I'm not some groceries who got taken for his register. I go to the front of the line." The two detectives don't seem very amused by this. "Now he said he would be back here by 10pm. Make sure you're here first." He points at one of his men. "You can coordinate with Mr Drakon, my new head of security."

Lance and Hilton look at Mr Drakon who looks like the stereotypical bad guy in an action movie which makes them do a bit of a double take.

Quentin spoke up. "All right. Well, thanks for your time."

Mr Drakon leads the two detectives out of the office and he shuts the door behind them.

"It looks like Merlyn was telling the truth." Lucas replied.

"Yeah. Well, there's a first time for everything." Quentin said as he and Lucas head into the elevator. "This hooded guy comes looking for trouble, he'll find it."

•••

Back at the Queen Manor that night, Tommy finishing up getting ready for what seemed to be a night on the town. After getting home from his encounter with Adam Hunt, Tommy had spoken to Oliver and asked him to prepare his welcome home party. He gave Oliver a location to where he wanted the party and when, that night. Tommy wore a dark blue button shirt with a black vest over it and dress pants and shoes. He wanted to create the illusion he was going to this party to have a good time.

Tommy notices that the tattoo on his wrist was exposed as he tries to adjust the sleeves. He takes in a deep breath and focuses until the tattoo fades away. It was almost as if the marking was hiding underneath his skin. He places a wristwatch where the tattoo was and goes to make his way out of the room. He wasn't sure how this plan would go, would this mission be his last? All he knew is that this had to happen.

Tommy walks down the stairs of the Manor where he is greeted by Cole who was standing at the front door. Cole wore short black coat over a blue long sleeved party dress with a hem that reached her knees and matching heels. Her red hair was down in soft curls. He seems surprised today find her dressed that way. "You look nice." He replied as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Thank you." Cole said politely.

"Shouldn't you be in a more… professional looking attire?" Tommy asked.

Cole scoffs. "I learned from my years in convert ops that the best way to blend in is to stand out. If I were at this party dressed like the secret service, I'd-"

"Stick out like a sore thumb?" Tommy finished.

Cole nods. "It's best to look like I was one of the many attractive women who are going to try to get a piece of you."

Tommy rolls his eyes. "Not exactly what I'm looking for, Cash."

"Right, I'm the Queen of Sheba." Cole said with a smirk. "Shall we go? Wouldn't want you to miss your party."

Tommy shakes his head in amusement as he follows her out the door. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Cole smiles and says nothing as she shuts the door.

•••

At Tommy's welcome home party which was in full swing with dancing people and incredibly attractive women, Oliver was in the middle of the party trying to increase the liveliness of the event.

Tommy enters the room from the top of a stairway trying his best to remain undetected. He pulls out a phone from his pocket and the screen displayed the time, it was 9:07pm and it seems that it was counting down to 10pm. He quickly puts the phone away as he finally makes it down the stairs.

Oliver turns around and sees his best and beams. He signals for the DJ to cut the music as he goes over to Tommy and gets the crowd's attention. "Man of the hour!" The throng cheers at Tommy's presence. "And, ladies. Please give this man a proper homecoming."

At that moment, Cole had made it down the stairs only she wasn't wearing her coat and seemed like one of the many attractive women at the party. She sneaks a champagne from a tray and starts to play the part.

The music started to play again as Tommy tries to take in the sights and sounds. This was a far cry from where he was five years ago. It felt comforting but also unfamiliar.

Tommy heads up to a stage of sorts to address the crowd as Oliver hands him a shot. He smiles and takes it from his friend. Time to put on a show. He drinks from glass and states "I missed tequila!" The response got the crowd excited.

Cole seems to rolls her eyes at this. She knew a con job when we saw one.

•••

Meanwhile back at Adam Hunt's office, Hunt's crew was preparing for the arrival of the man in the hood as they prepare assault weaponry and other sorts of things to cause pain and suffering.

Hunt walks over to Drakon who was looking at the commotion outside the building. ""What the hell's going on out there?"

"It's across the street." Drakon told Hunt. "Party for the guy that got rescued off that island. Tommy Merlyn."

Indeed, Tommy's party was across the street from Hunt's office. Just as he planned.

•••

Back at the party, Tommy was chatting up with a pretty girl as Oliver got his attention and the girl walks off. "Having fun so far?" Oliver asked.

"Like I never left." Tommy said with a faux jovial tone. Tommy looks over at Diggle who was patrolling the party like a hawk. "Does he wipe for you too?"

Oliver laughs at this. "Where's yours?"

"Right behind you." Cole said as she semi whispers in Oliver's ear, making him jump. This makes Tommy chuckle. "Simmer down, Queenie. I don't bite."

"My sore neck says otherwise." Oliver said as he adjusts his neck.

"Have fun, Tommy. I'll be around." Cole said as she walks into the crowd.

Oliver stares back at the female bodyguard. "Man, where was she when they were handing out bodyguards?"

Tommy hides his indignation at the lack of respect for Laurel but plays it off. "I'm sure John looks better in that dress then she does." He teased.

Oliver shudders at the thought then focuses on the task at hand. "Now, by my rough estimate, you have not had sex in 1839 days.," Tommy laughs at this, if he only knew. "As your newly appointed wingman, I highly recommend Carmen Golden." He motions over to a trio of dancing ladies as they both look at Tommy's options.

"Which one is she?" Tommy asked.

"The one who looks like the chick from 'Twilight'." Oliver stated.

Tommy seems puzzled by the response. "What's 'Twilight'?"

"You're so better off not knowing." Oliver said as Tommy nods in agreement.

Tommy turns to look at the crowd where he finds little sister Thea in the crowd. Unfortunately she was doing something very unsavory: buying drugs from a dealer. A vial of granulated powder that she casually puts in her purse. He nudges to get Oliver's attention as they both saw this.

"You've got to be kidding me." Oliver said. "Not again."

"Again- She's done this before?" Tommy exclaimed which got Cole's attention.

"I would tell her what to do but she doesn't listen." Oliver replied.

"Then maybe she'll listen to me." Tommy said as he goes over to Thea.

Oliver tries to go after him and Cole follows in tow.

Tommy reaches Thea and pulls her to one side. He was not happy with what was going on.

"Tommy, hey!" Thea said happily. "This party is sick!"

"Who let you in here?" Tommy asked.

"I-I believe it was somebody who said 'Right this way, Ms Queen'." Thea said sarcastically.

"Well, you shouldn't be here." Tommy said firmly.

"Tommy, I'm not twelve anymore." Thea said defensively.

"No, you're seventeen." Tommy reminds her. "Which is why you shouldn't try to grow up to fast."

Thea sneers at this. "Tommy, I love you. But you can't come back here and judge me. Especially for being just like you and Oliver."

"I know that it couldn't have been easy for you after your dad died-"

Thea laughs at this and glares at him. "Robert Queen wasn't my dad. And right now, neither are you. You're barely even a brother."

Tommy winces, the words hurt him. "I'm sorry-"

"You don't need to apologize. I'm sorry if I turned out such a major disappointment but this me is the best I could do with what I had to work with." She looks over at her friends. "Let's bounce."

The trio of teenagers began to leave when one of her friends asks. "You have the fun dip?"

"Yeah, it's right here." Thea said as she opens her purse but is stunned by what she discovers. It wasn't there anymore. "No, I-I must have dropped it."

Tommy walks off through the club and walks over to a trashcan as the drugs Thea bought were magically in his hands. He calmly throws away the drugs.

Tommy turns around and sees Cole standing there, she seems to have seen what he had done but said nothing.

Oliver walks over to him. "I'm sorry she-"

"We'll talk about this later, okay?" Tommy said angrily. Half mad Oliver let this happen, half mad at himself for not being there to stop it. He walks only to bump into Laurel who was in the crowd. "You're here."

"Oliver invited me to come along. I-I just got here." Laurel told him. "He made the point that we have too many years between us to leave things the way we left them."

Oliver gets between them and said. "Think you two should go someplace quieter that you could go to. Just to hash it."

Laurel nods. "That sounds like a good idea."

Tommy sighs as he leads Laurel out of the club.

Oliver watches them leave as Diggle and Cole walk up to him. "Are you all right, sir?"

"I really screwed things up." Oliver stated sadly.

"Could be worse, she could be trying to get into his pants." Cole teased.

Oliver glares at her. "You know I'M paying you, right?"

"And I could put you in an armbar to negotiate matters?" Cole teased.

Oliver swallows hard some booze as he sees off to the direction Tommy and Laurel left

•••

Tommy and Laurel were walking on the top floor of the night club, she seems anxious standing near him. Especially after the things she said to him before the abduction. "I'm sorry about saying that you should have been the one who died." Laurel began. "That was wrong."

Tommy swallows hard, he had to balance honesty with more embellishments of the truth. "If I could trade places with her, I would."

Laurel reacts with surprise at what he said as a thought came to mind. "About Sara... There's something I've been afraid to ask but I need to know."

Tommy bite his lip and nods. "Okay."

Laurel exhales. "When she died… did she suffer?"

Tommy remains stoic even though on the inside he could only play back Sara's last moments on the Queen's Gambit. "No." He said calmly.

Laurel got a bit of relief from knowing that fact. "I think about her every day."

"Me too." The Merlyn heir replied. "I… We both wanted to tell you the truth. I was scared, terrified- guess being on that island made me realize there were worse things to be afraid of."

Laurel sighs. "I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but… if you need someone to talk to about what happened to you, I'm here."

Tommy nods. "Thank you."

Laurel stares into his eyes. "Can I say one more thing?"

Tommy shrugs. "Sure."

"You seem different." Laurel points out. "I think the island changed you."

"For better or worse?" Tommy asked. Half asking himself.

"Guess we'll find out." Laurel replied.

The two of them share a quiet moment until the click of high heels is heard. Cole was walking up behind them. "I'm sorry to interrupt but… Mrs Queen, your husband is looking for you." Cole told her.

Laurel was surprised by the woman's presence. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Right, sorry. Laurel, this is Colette Cash. She's the bodyguard Oliver and his mom hired to protect me." Tommy informed her.

Cole extends her hand to shake hands with Laurel. "You can call me Cole."

Laurel stares at the woman again, puzzled, then she shakes Cole's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Cole said with a nod.

"I should go. Enjoy the rest of your party." Laurel said as she casually walks off.

As this goes on, Tommy heard his cellphone vibrate and he sees that it was 10pm. Adam Hunt's time was up as he sees the money wasn't deposited as instructed.

"Really didn't want to ruin that moment but Prom Queen was getting a little antsy." Cole said as she sees him check his phone. "Something wrong?"

"I asked somebody to do something." Tommy replied honestly. "They didn't do it."

"Vague and cryptic, is that like your go-to?" Cole teased.

"I'll be back." Tommy said as he walks away.

"Where exactly are you going?" Cole called back.

"As you said, no questions asked." Tommy said he walks.

Cole rushes over, surprisingly quickly in the heels she wore, and grabs him by the arm. "This little 'man of mystery' crap is really getting old. You're gonna tell me where you're going or so help me I'll-"

Tommy shakes his head, he wishes it hadn't come to this. "I'm really sorry."

"For what?" Cole asked confused as Tommy quickly places his hand on the back of her neck. "What are you-"

"Peels." Tommy simply said.

With those words, Cole's eyes close and she falls limply into his arms. Tommy grabs her and hoists her up in his arms as Cole was now sound asleep. Tommy walks over to a sofa on the top floor and gently sets her down. He wasn't sure what see was going to make of that but at least she was out of his hair.

Tommy tries to leave but sees two female partygoers passed out on the stairs. He realized it wasn't because they were drunk. "Okay… need to work on the radius of my spells."

Tommy checks to see if there was any more damage and once he knew there wasn't, he calmly walks away.

It was time to go to work.

•••

Back at Hunt's office, Mr Drakon was giving marching orders to the rest of the security team. "You two cover the elevator." He said, motioning to two guards then points to two more. "Hang back, be ready." He looks at the rest of the team. "Stay in corners and stay alert."

The security team, does as told as Drakon goes back into Hunt's main office and shuts the doors behind him, activating get security system. He looks back at a worried looking Hunt. "It's past ten. He's never getting in here."

Unbeknownst to Hunt, a grappling hook arrow stabs into the wall of the building and secures itself.

On the ground, several police vehicles and a SWAT team are setting up for attack by the man in the hood. Detective Quentin Lance and Lucas Hilton converse over text situation.

"All's clear." Hilton stated.

"Yeah." Quentin replied, obviously was in doubt about that.

Back in the office, the power goes out which puts everyone on high alert. A ding from the elevator told them he had arrived but when the doors open, an arrow flies out and hits one of the guards in the chest. He aimlessly fires his assault weaponry and falls to the floor.

Tommy, in his Hood outfit, exits the elevator and goes to work. He punches the one on the left side with his fist and hits the one on the right with his bow. He repeatedly switches from each man until they were out cold and he flips one of them over his shoulder.

Tommy throws his bow at one of the guards and knocks him for a loop as he leaps into the air and uses the wall to grip a landing and does a headscissor takedown on the other. He sees his bow out of his reach and yells "Nruter!" Runes appear on the bow, glowing and it flies into his hands.

Another guard opens fire and Tommy hides behind a pillar which offers him enough time to plan his next move.

Hunt anxiously waited for his men to finish the job but they were taking too long for his liking.

Suddenly an object taps on one of the doors and the glass starts to frost over. Then a loud crash is heard and a form is thrown through the glass doors. The men open free but are too late to realize they were shooting one of their men.

Tommy hides behind a piece of the door and aims the man who opened fire, shooting him with an arrow. The man falls backwards to the floor. He goes into the room and bashes one of the men with the bow then punches him repeatedly in the throat until e falls over. Tommy aims at Hunt and shoots an arrow but hits the wall a few feet behind Hunt.

Hunt jeers at this. "You missed."

"Did I?" Tommy remarked. Trying hard to hide his smirk.

Out of nowhere, Mr Drakon grabs Tommy's bow and engages in a fight with the Archer. Tommy and Drakon exchange blows as Hunt manages to make his escape.

Hunt pulls out his phone and speaks. "He's here."

Quentin and the rest of the SCPD start to move in once they got Hunt's calls. "All units, converge. All units, converge!"

•••

Back in the office, Tommy and Drakon were still going at it as Tommy flips him through a glass coffee table and applies a submission hold on Drakon who struggles but gets out of it. They roll on the ground and get to their feet only for Drakon to be met with a spinning heel kick to the face which knocks him for a loop.

Drakon tries to attack only for Tommy to jump up and grab him by the legs and headscissor takedown him to the floor. Drakon gets to his feet and pulls out a knife, going to stab the Hood however Tommy uses his momentum against him and throws him into a pillar.

The two continue to throw hard strikes as Quentin and his men made their way to the top floor via the stairs.

Tommy lands a hard punch to his jaw and Drakon falls over.

Drakon gets to his feet as he laughs. "That all you got?"

Tommy smiles as he looks past Drakon. "No."

Drakon looks behind him and sees a portal with a green ring of aura around it. "What the hell-"

Tommy uses the distraction and drop kicks Drakon into the portal. He breathes a little sigh of relief as he snaps his fingers and the portal closes. "Enjoy the ride."

Tommy falls to his knees from fatigue, what he had done had drained him and he falls to the ground.

Outside the building where the cop cars were, a portal opens thirty feet off the ground. From out of the portal, Drakon flies out and lets out a final panicked scream before slamming hard on to a cop car as the crowd of people around the area witness.

•••

Back inside the club, Cole snaps awake as she looks around the room and remembers what happened. She gritted her teeth in pure rage. "Oh, you Motherf-"

•••

Inside the stairwell where Quentin and his men were climbing to get to Hunt's office.

In the meantime, Tommy tries to get up as the SWAT team made their way up where the office elevator entrance was. They were pointing their guns in anticipation of his attack.

"LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE!" A cop yells as Tommy grabs his bow and gets off the floor. "I REPEAT, LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS!"

Tommy fires an arrow towards the cops as a diversion. Quentin fires at the fleeing man in the hood as the glass windows shatter and Tommy runs to them to make an exit.

Lance and Hilton walk over to the window and see the hooded man repelling down using a wire from the grappling hook arrow. They see the man headed towards the club below.

"Tell you saw that." Hilton asked his partner for confirmation of what they had seen.

Quentin stares back at this but goes down to business. "Lets move."

•••

Inside of the night club which was still in full party mode… until the police burst in and stop all festivities. Quentin and his men start to scope out the area looking for the man in the hood. "Search the building. Roof to basement." He ordered. "FIND HIM! Starling City Police! Party's over, kids."

Quentin sees Oliver and Laurel talking and are surprised to see the detective there. "What's going on?" Oliver asked.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Laurel asked her father.

"There was a situation across the street. We have to canvas the area." Quentin told her.

"What kind of situation?" Oliver asked.

"That's a police matter, son." Quentin chided his son in law.

"Detective, this is a private party."

The three turn to see Tommy making his way over to them, now dressed in the clothes he came in.

"Oh, Mr Merlyn. Imagine my shock at finding you here." Quentin said sarcastically.

"Dad, what IS going on?" Laurel demanded.

"As Tommy said, this is a private party." Oliver reminded him.

"Yeah, well, there was an incident at Adam Hunt's building tonight. Do you know anything about that?" Quentin asked.

Tommy raised an eyebrow and grins. "Who? Sorry, I'm foggy on names. Five years on an island will do that to you."

"Hunt's a millionaire bottom-feeder, and I'm kind of surprised you aren't friends." Quentin goaded Tommy. "He just got attacked by the guy with the hood. The guy that saved your ass the other day."

Cole creeps around the corner with Diggle right behind her. She grabs the back of her neck in frustration.

"The hood guy." Tommy replied with some manufactured surprise. "You find him? I'm gonna offer a reward." He yells to the crowd. "Hey, everybody. Two million dollars to anybody that can find a nut job in a green hood!"

The crowd cheered in celebration, obviously not taking any of this seriously.

Cole breathes heavily, she knew something was up. She didn't like not knowing what was going on.

Tommy turns to face Quentin and stares him down.

"Did you even try to save her?" Quentin asked in a hushed tone.

"Okay, let's go, partner." Hilton warned as he takes Quentin out of the club.

"Did even try to save my daughter?" Quentin demanded.

"Sara wouldn't want this." Hilton reminded him.

Cole approached as Hilton pulls Lance out of the club. She and Tommy exchange glances, hers read of anger and his read of mild panic. Did she remember what he did to her?

Tommy walks over to the stage as Laurel motions to Oliver to find out what's going on with his friend. "It's way too quiet in here! This is a party!"

The crowd cheers and the music starts up as he steps off the stage and walks over to the bar. Oliver follows his friend as Cole keeps her distance. Trying to get a read on Tommy.

"Some coincidence. You ask me to have your party here and Hunt getting robbed right next door and by the same guy that rescued us at the warehouse." Oliver questioned his friend.

Tommy smiles, his grin hiding seemingly dark intent. "If I were you, Ollie, I'd just be glad you're alive."

Oliver seems something different in his friend. A darkness that he didn't notice until that moment. "What happened to you on that island?"

Tommy sucks in air and states "A lot."

Oliver watches Tommy walk away as Laurel goes to see if Oliver was okay.

Tommy goes through the crowd but ends up in front of his bodyguard. "Oh, hey-"

"I enjoyed my little power nap." Cole said bluntly.

Tommy laughs weakly. "I don't know-"

Cole gets in his face. "You may have everyone fooled, sweetie, but not me. I don't know how you did that or, hell, if you are responsible for what happened next door, but deception isn't gonna work on me." She starts to walk away then turns to face her client. "Call me when you need a ride home."

Tommy seems shaken by that. What was he going to do about her?

•••

The following morning, Adam Hunt was screaming into his cellphone to someone as they seek to repair the windows that were damaged in the assault.

"What the hell are you talking about? Forty million dollars doesn't just up and vanish!" Hunt shouted as he paces angrily. "Untraceable? It is forty million! Find it!" He hangs up and agonizes over his dilemma. "How did he do it?"

Unaware that the arrow still stuck to his wall was blinking with a green light and a rune glowing a faint light.

•••

Back in his secret lair, Tommy watches from a computer monitor as money is transferred from Adam Hunt's account to the trust he set up to get the money. One an opposite monitor, he watches at the money is transferred to different separate accounts of different individuals, Hunt's victims.

Tommy grabs the old weathered book and goes over to the page with Hunt's name. He takes a name and crosses Adam Hunt's name off the list.

Tommy remembers the reason why he was doing this for. To honor Robert Queen, to honor the promise he made to him. He would do what he had to.

•••

Five Years Ago

Tommy, Robert Queen and the captain were on the raft for what seemed to be days. The three men looked exhausted and their emotions were frayed at the edges.

Thunder was heard rumbling in the distance.

The captain had fallen asleep as Robert watches closely. Tommy had also fallen asleep next to Robert who cradled the poor boy as if he were his son. "There's not enough for all of us." Robert whispers to Tommy who rouses awake but was still out of it.

"Save your strength." Tommy said softly.

"You can survive this." Robert told him. "Make it home, make it better. Right my wrongs." Tommy was puzzled by this, might have been the exhaustion talking. "But you got to live through this first." Tommy starts nodding off again. "You hear me? You hear me, boy?"

Tommy wakes again as Robert tries to get his attention. "Save your strength. Get some rest, sir."

Robert felt guilty for putting this child through this. For what the boy's father has put him through. But he knew how special Tommy was, he could be the one he needed to stop him.

Robert gently moves Tommy to one sides as he reaches for a gun in his life vest and the captain comes to. Robert points the gun at the captain and shoots him in cold blood.

The gunshot snaps Tommy out of his stupor as he watches the captain fall into the ocean.

Tommy was horrified by this as Robert turns to face him. "What did you-"

"Survive." Robert said as he pointed the gun at his own head.

"NO!" Tommy screamed out as Robert pulls the trigger…

Except, the gun misfired.

Robert was still alive as he attempts it again and again and again… but nothing happened. He looks back at Tommy who was still surprised by what had happened. Robert goes for one more attempt only for Tommy to knock the gun out of his hands and knock him out with a lucky punch.

Robert was out cold as Tommy tries to process what was going on.

Tommy was going to survive but needed help.

•••

Tommy stares at the monitors and leans back in the chair. Satisfied at what he had done.

He was just getting started.

•••

At CNRI, Laurel was on the phone with one of her clients with some interesting information to pass along. "If hypothetically fifty thousand dollars magically appeared in your bank account, it might be best for you not to speak about… to anyone… ever." She seems genuinely happy at passing on this news. She hangs up and Joanna walks over to her. "God bless you too."

"I just got a very grateful phone call from one of our clients against Adam Hunt.". Joanna said as Laurel hangs up.

"Me too." Laurel said happily.

"Looks likes Starling City has a guardian angel." Joanna remarked then she leans in. "By the way, your handsome husband is here."

Laurel turns to see Oliver standing at the door with a bouquet of roses in his hands. She beams at this, her day was getting better and better.

•••

"So all the money was returned to your clients?" Oliver asked Laurel as they walked to his car.

"Yeah, I still can't believe it." Laurel exclaimed joyfully. "Wish I knew who to thank."

"Why don't you thank me and save the trouble." Oliver teased.

Laurel nudges him playfully. "Don't think you should be taking credit."

"Well, since this mysterious hero shows himself, I will take the credit for it." Oliver joked. "So, how did it go with Tommy? You guys okay?"

Laurel nods. "We're in a much better place than we were before. Think he still feels responsible for what happened, you should have seen his face. I felt awful."

Oliver sighs. Knowing how he was the reason Tommy and Sara ended up there in the first place. "Tommy's been through a lot. Can't fault him for being so-"

"Melancholy?" Laurel finished.

Oliver smiles and kisses her on the cheek. "That's why I married you."

"Because I'm your thesaurus?" Laurel teased.

"No, because you're the other half of my brain. Should've realized that sooner." Oliver said sweetly.

"Took you long enough." Laurel said as she smells the flowers.

"So, let's get out of here. I'll take you to dinner.. then we can do other things…"

"Oooo, tempting but I can't. Have to finish some paperwork before I can even think about going home." Laurel told him.

"Can't it wait till morning?" Oliver asked, almost like a child.

"I would but I have to review things with my other clients." Laurel replied as she kisses him on the lips. "I'll see you at home." She begins to walk off back into the office.

"Dinah Laurel Lance-Queen." Oliver said with some amusement. "Always trying to save the world."

Laurel turns to face her husband. "If I don't try and save it, who will?"

Laurel walks off as Oliver watches leave, a smile on his face as he heads back to his car.

As Laurel leaves, unbeknownst to her, she is being watched as Tommy in his Hood getup looks on from a fire escape with a smile on his face. Grateful to have helped a friend.

She says the island changed me.

Five Years Ago

What was in fact an hour after Robert's attempted suicide, Tommy was still struggling over what happened and what Robert tried to do. The older man was still out cold as Tommy tries to get his bearings over what was going on.

She has no idea how much.

There are many more names on the list. Those who rule my city through intimidation and fear.

Tommy looks out and sees something in the near distance. An island. His new home. Lian Yu.

Every last one of them will wish I had died on that island.

•••

Outside the Queen Manor, a man in a leather jacket walks into the front yard over to someone standing in the shadows.

"The police failed to identify the men who kidnaped Tommy." The man told the figure. "They never will. Should we arrange another abduction?"

"No." A woman's voice answered. The voice came from Moira Queen. "There are other ways of finding out what he knows."

•••

•••

So, that was… Okay, look, I know I am repeating the dialogue but I am literally writing word for word as I watch. Seems silly I know but this is something I wanted to try.

I hope you guys like it and if you do. Thank you. If not, that's okay. I know I suck.

Also, to help you guys imagine what this version of Cole Cash (yes, she is a gender bent version of an established comic book character), she resembles the actress Melissa Archer who was Natalie Buchanan on the soap opera 'One Life to Live'. She's one of my favorite people and I wanted to use her.

If you want me to continue and you liked what I did with it, let me know.

See ya soon :)