After Nate had explained what he knew about the League of Assassin's, which was not that much outside what Shado, Talia and the old man had told him, he decided to train both Helena and Lyla in the basics of League training over the last 6 weeks. They had not yet completed their training in the League of Assassins Basics, but they were about 3/4 of the way there. This way, if they encountered the Dark Archer again, because they almost certainly would, Nate would be safe in the knowledge that they could help him handle the DA.
More about the League, Shado had told him and Slade about it between the time after they had killed Fryers and when Ivo had found the Island. Most of what she knew were just rumors. Talia and the old man had confirmed some of these rumors, debunked other ones. They never spoke about the inner workings of the League, probably because he wasn't a member and was technically an outsider. Talia and the old man had still trained him in the basics but never went farther than that. And he had been trying to reach Talia to see if she might know the identity of the rogue Leaguer, but the problem was her own organization was located in the mountain ranges of Tibet, which meant there was no cell reception there, so that was a dead end until he could travel there himself.
It's true that he could have easily killed the rogue Leaguer, but he didn't like using his powers unless it was necessary , like using it against a superhuman/metahuman was totally fine in his mind, but using it against a human made him feel cheap, as he enjoyed testing his skills against worthy opponents, and using his superpowers cheapens the experience. Its way more enjoyable to fight a guy with hand to hand and actually have to try to win than it is to punch a hole through a guys chest like it's nothing. Plus, he might one day end up being cured of the mirakuru and he didn't want to be overly reliant on his superpowers if that ever happened.
Since he had mostly focused the last 6 weeks on training Lyla and Helena, they hadn't done much vigilante work, only crossing off a couple more names in the last six weeks, most of them being the heads of drug manufacturing operations, and targeting drug dealers. He had heard rumors about this new drug called Vertigo. Having heard some of the nasty stuff this crap could do, he needed to know who the hell was manufacturing the stuff, but he couldn't even get that, because whoever the hell he or she was, they didn't meet directly.
Right now, however, he was letting Helena rest and recover after a brutal training session, while Lyla was out playing bodyguard to his clone. He didn't hurt them too bad when he trained them, but it was League training, and you can't undergo that without a few bruises. He tossed three tennis balls into the air and quickly nocked and fired 3 arrows in rapid succession, all of them pinning the balls into the wall in front of him. Satisfied, he pulled the arrows out of the wall.
After setting his bow down, he looked over to Helena and noticed her black yoga pants with royal purple branch designs and black sports bra, complete with a loose purple shirt, as she stretched. Her beautiful light brown hair was tied in ponytail and she turned to look at him with her light blue eyes and her succulent, kissable lips. She was purposely stretching in sexy poses. And it was turning him on. Seeing as his clone was handling his responsibilities for the day, he decided a decision.
Helena on the other hand was watching Nate as he tested his archery skills and noticed his lean ripped muscles, six pack abs, and the fact he was only wearing shorts right now. She and him hadn't had sex since the night she found out who he was. Them sleeping together had been a spur of the moment decision where their emotions were all over the place and they had wanted to develop their relationship more before they had sex again. It had been 7 weeks and she was horny. She wanted him.
Lemon Time
Nathan walked over to Helena as she stood up and slipped his hands under her loose shirt and began to massage her breasts through her sports bra, while kissing her neck. This caused her to elicit a sexy moan. "Ah, and here I was thinking you had forgotten me." She teased.
"Never." Nathan whispered huskily as he nibbled on her ear. Helena turned around and French kissed him, which he returned with equal lust and passion. Nathan kicked off his shoes while Helena took off her shirt and bra, her luscious C-cup breasts bouncing as she did. Nate could feel her erect nipples against his chest as they continued to kiss. Helena reached down into Nathan's shorts and began stroking his throbbing cock.
"Do you like what I'm doing?" Helena asked sexily whilst she stroked his cock up and down, while Nate's hands groped her ass.
"Yes, I like it a lot," Nathan breathed as she pumped his cock with her hand.
She smiled, before she stroked him and slowly kneeled before him. "Just wait, because if you liked that, you're going to love this."
Helena dove down between Nathan's legs, pulled down his shorts, and gave his nutsac a little lick, dragging her tongue against it. That caused Nathan to twitch in pleasure.
"Damn it, keep doing that," Nathan stated after she licked him around his balls.
Helena licked her tongue up and down his cock, feeling every throb, every twitch, as it grew more in her hand.
"Damn," Nathan breathed after Helena stuck his cock in her mouth, her tight mouth wrapped around his member. Her lips placed around him as she bobbed up and down on him, rocking back and forth on his cock went deep into her throat.
"She's good," Nathan breathed to himself, when he grabbed her hair in his hands and pushed her down, so her lips pressed against the base of his cock as she took the entire piece of meat down her throat, causing her to gag, before she began to breath through her nose, and rocked back and forth, going down on him like a pro.
Helena kept her tempo steady. She pumped his cock into her mouth for many more minutes, looking up at him.
Nathan felt his balls seize up at the sensation of her mouth wrapped around his flesh pole, along with Helena 's hand squeezing and cupping his balls in her hand. She went down on him, making lewd sounds with her mouth. The woman rocked back and forth, taking him deep into her throat, and his cock sank down her throat, with her muscles working him over.
His balls tightened and he sprayed a hot load of his cum down Helena's throat when she worked him over. He pumped into her mouth over and over again.
"Nathan...fuck me, please," Helena stated, he laid her down on the exercise mat before pulling her yoga pants and panties off.
Nathan looked at her smooth sex appraising, with juicy lips that beckoned out for his cock. He could hardly hold himself back, but he had to taste her first.
Helena breathed heavily when his hands were on her thighs, and then his right hand moved up, teasing her. She felt a coursing pleasure move through her body and her heart beat more heavily.
His mouth found and sucked on her clit, which caused her to throw her head back and moan. He stimulated her in such a way that she never thought possible, but the fun began, when he licked and sucked on her. His tongue buried itself deep in her core.
Nathan tasted the lemony taste inside Helena and heard the moans of pleasure. He continued to work her over with his tongue, paying close attention to what spots made her moan the loudest. These tastes made him rock hard once again; actually he got hard mere seconds after Helena was done giving him her blowjob.
Helena 's pussy clenched when Nathan worked her over, driving his tongue in and out of her, his moist organ scrapping against her.
"Oh, so wet," Helena breathed whilst she played with her breast, squeezing the flesh and playing with her erect nipple.
Nathan did not slow down, not even for a second, rather he dove in and out of her, licking her insides. The brunette vigilante grabbed Nathan's hair and pushed him in further as he devoured her womanhood, using his tongue to cut a nice and steady pace through her. He picked up the pace and worked her over, heavily moving inside her.
She soaked his face when her thighs closed together and Helena's body gave a shuddering orgasm. The woman felt herself rocked from head to toe when she shuddered again and again.
"Time for the main course," Nathan stated, as he pulled Helena onto his lap, his massive pole rubbing the outer lips of her cunt, teasing her opening.
She smiled, knowing what was next. The woman straddled his hips, her legs tightly around him. He cupped her ass in his hands, before she rose up.
"Oh God," Helena breathed heavily whilst she impaled down on his thick rod, feeling it stretch her to her limits. It had been too long since their first time and toys did not cut it. They did not push her to her boundaries as much as this piece of male perfection did.
"Yes, so good," Nathan grunted as she rose up and sank down on him, riding him. The tight walls caressed his manhood quite nicely, as she worked up a bit of a tempo riding him. "You're so tight, so wet."
"This pussy belongs to you, Nate," Helena stated in a lustful moan; she pushed herself up and sank back down, and continued her bouncing. She breathed in and out, when Nathan thrust into her, hitting her and causing her to throw her head back with a scream.
Nathan was in heaven when his member was enveloped in her warm tightness, wrapped around him, and squeezed around his cock. She rocked up and down, back and forth, and really picked up a steady and heavy pace. She rode him, gyrating her hips around him. His thick cock jammed into her hot box when she rode him until she began screaming
"Yes," Helena panted, feeling another orgasm wash through her body when Nathan rocked her with his cock. She got far more than she could ever hope from this lesson and she loved it. "More! Pound me harder!"
Nathan pounded her already, thrusting his cock into her, and causing her to bend back. He used the leverage to cut a path, slamming his thick member into her pussy, driving it into her sopping wet core with each pass into her. Each thrust buried deeper into her. Helena wrapped her hands around him and sank her nails into his back.
"Oh, yes, so good," Nathan breathed as he cupped his hands around her
"You're the best," Helena panted as his cock slid in and out of her, when she felt another earth shattering orgasm rock her body. She was not sure how much she could take and Nathan gained a lot of momentum, pounding into her, reducing her to putty in his hands.
Nathan smiled, and pulled out of her and Helena whined at the loss but not for long, when she found her back lying on the workout mat with her legs spread.
She tingled with anticipation, when Nathan's very hard member lined up with her pussy and slammed into her. The woman clutched his back when he pushed in and out of her, thrusting into her, rapidly hammering her and bringing her pleasure that she never experienced with anyone else.
"You're tight, Helena," Nathan breathed; he felt her hot ass in his hands.
"Yeah, fuck this pussy," Helena panted whilst she wrapped her legs around his waist, trying to push him even deeper into her.
Helena felt her eyes roll; she felt this perfect male sheathe himself inside of her, rubbing against her cunt lips and pushing her apart. She panted heavily when she felt everything, his thrusts into her, and she rocked back on him, pushing his cock with her inner muscles, determined to have him cum.
"Oh yes Nathan!" Helena screamed as he thrust in and out of her, using her pussy muscles on him. "Cum inside me. I need it."
"I'm not sure if you're ready for it," Nathan teased, in response she bit down on his shoulder, while he bottomed out inside of her with every thrust.
"Yes, please, cum for me," Helena panted heavily, when she continued to speared by the thick cock of this powerful man.
She had another orgasm where she saw stars and then soon after Nathan finally exploded. Helena screamed when his cock thrust into her, spurting his thick, juicy cum into her, painting her insides milky white. She screamed out loud.
"Wow," Helena breathed as Nathan flipped them over so now his back was on the mattress and Helena laid on top of his chest, "You're still holding back on me, Nate."
"Well, our first time was kinda spur of the moment/ very emotional for the both of us. I didn't want to scare you away." He said sincerely while staring lovingly into her light blue eyes.
"Nate, I never thought I would be able to love again after Michael was taken from me. But you showed me that it was possible to love again. I love you, Nate." Helena said with passion and Nathan kissed her response.
"I love you as well, Helena." Nathan said.
They kissed again and she said, "Nathan, I want to be with you, in every way. Don't hold back this time."
Nate closed his eyes as he turned his Mirakuru powers back on, gaining his Kyuubi eyes, claws, wilder hair, and thick whisker marks, "Get ready, my love. 'Cause if you thought I had a huge cock before," as if on cue, his cock grew bigger while still inside of her, cause Helena to gasp in delight, "You've seen nothing yet."
Arrow Lair
Later
They spent the next five hours continuing to have sex, with Helena passing out several times due to his Mirakuru enhanced size. An interesting thing Mirakuru does, besides the obvious physical enhancement, is make a males cock bigger, both in passive and active states. He hoped now that Helena had experienced his full size, she would be more open to being part of a harem with Chien, Talia, and any other woman who falls for him, though he figured he should wait until she said something about it.
Thankfully for him, he had learned an ability that was not part of the Mirakuru abilities(AN: I will tell you all about this other set of abilities at a later date) that proved beneficial for him in the long run. He could control the fertility of his sperm, making it go from infertile all the way to 100% fertility, practically guaranteeing his female partner would get pregnant with one shot. Without this ability, especially considering he only did raw unprotected sex (a habit who's roots stretch back to his pre-island days), he would have at least 2 dozen children from all the women he has fucked the last 3 years.
Anyway, his one clone was out taking care of business with the club with Tommy and Lyla, while also organizing a benefit for the fire department through his pull with QC, since the Robert Queen Foundation and Oliver Queen Foundation didn't include throwing benefits.
Meanwhile, he had been talking with Laurel as The Arrow for the past 3 days. Apparently, somebody was going around and killing firefighters, which is what prompted him to have his clone organize a benefit for the fire department. Anyway, at first he couldn't find a connection between murders, other than the fact that each one murdered had been sprayed with Turpentine, a volatile and highly flammable chemical. That part made sense since the clothing the firefighters wear can withstand temperatures excess of 500 degrees Fahrenheit, and it was only getting up to about 300 degrees in the recent fires, and somehow the ignition temperatures where several times hotter.
Digging into it more, he researched anything that connected these murders together. He found something. The firefighters being murdered were all part of a unit in the SCFD(Starling City Fire Department) called The Fireflies, due to the fact they all had a firefly tattooed on their wrists. Looking into when members of this unit started dying, he came across the Nodell Towers fire, back in 2009. One members body, Garfield Lynns, was never found and a John Doe was admitted to the burn ward. He had a hunch that Garfield, who from the looks of the info had survived the fire was the one killing off his old unit, probably for revenge. Which meant he would be at the benefit he was throwing upstairs later, since a former member of the unit, Raynes, was now fire chief. It looks like The Arrow and The Huntress will be making an appearance later tonight.
Verdant Benefit
Later
The fireman's benefit was in full swing as Laurel arrived. She walked through the club. Seeing her boyfriend, she walked up to him with a smile and gave him a kiss.
"You know," Tommy said, "ironically, if we get any more people in here, we're going to violate the fire code."
Laurel laughed, but pulled away slightly and looked at Tommy seriously. "We're good on drawer-gate, right?" she asked hesitantly.
"All good." He assured her giving her another kiss.
Nathan walked over to Helena, who was decked out in a tight purple dress and black high heels, "Hey babe." He greeted, kissing her full on the lips.
"Hey to yourself, handsome," she said.
"It's really nice, this benefit that you're throwing for them." Helena commented.
"Well, you got to give back to the community every once in a while. It's my good deed for the week." He said.
"Are you positive Lynns will show up?" She asked.
"Positive. We practically served up Raynes on a silver platter. He won't pass up such an easy target." Nate said, before noticing Helena's far away look, "Hey, you ok?"
Helena came out of her inner thoughts and quickly assured him, "Yeah, I'm fine" Nate knew she was fibbing but didn't comment. He knew she would tell him when she was ready. Nate led Helena to the bar where the fire chief was nursing a drink.
"Chief Raynes." Nathan called out. Raynes turned around. "Hi." He said.
"Mr. Queen, this is spectacular." Raynes said. "The Starling City Firemen's Relief Association can't thank you enough."
"You guys are the real heroes." Nathan said. "Like at the Nodell Tower fire, which I've been reading up on."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Garfield Lynns was the first man to die in your unit." Nathan continued. "Now, I read that they recovered his coat in the wreckage, but they never found his body?".
"You always interrogate your club's guests, Mr. Queen? Raynes asked stiffly.
"Why? Do you feel like you're being interrogated?" Nathan asked with an easy smile.
"You could see it on your face at the fire station." Helena said. "There's more to the Nodell Tower fire than people know about, isn't there?"
"I've been doing this a long time and I've never seen a fire like that." Raynes said in a haunted voice and tone filled with regret. "It's like some monster out of a science fiction movie. I radioed for my men to get the hell out of there. But Lynns, he wouldn't go. Begged me to send the unit back in. But I wouldn't do it. I couldn't. God help me, I left him to burn." He took a long drink of his scotch. "But I can't bring him back."
"You don't have to." Nathan replied. "He is back."
"What the hell you talkin' about?" Raynes demanded.
"Garfield Lynns killed Danny." Helena said, "And the other men on your unit."
"There's no way he could have survived that fire." Raynes denied.
"You'd be surprised the power that revenge can give you." Nathan noted, remembering Fryers, Slade Wilson betraying him, and Shrieve deceiving him.
In the club, a lone fire fighter in full turn out gear was walking slowly across the dance floor towards the bar. One of the patrons laid a gentle hand on his arm, stopping him.
"Thank you so much." The woman said sincerely. "The people in the city appreciate everything you—" she trailed off as the man turned to look at her. Half of his face was just- melted, covered in scar tissue.
Horrified, the woman backed off, and Garfield Lynns resumed his lonely march.
"You're insane." Raynes told Nathan. "Gar did not make it out of that building."
"Just like you won't make it out of this one."
Olive and Helena spun around to see Lynns standing there. The deranged and horribly scarred fireman threw several devices, one after the other, which exploded, sending fire racing through the club. Nathan put himself in front of Helena and Raynes stared in shock as Lynns took off his helmet and glared hatefully at the fire chief.
As the fire began to spread, Tommy and Lyla started ushering people out of the building. At the bar, Lynns stared down Raynes while Nathan protected Helena.
"Gar, what the hell are you doing?" Raynes demanded. Lynns unhooked his spray nozzle from his jacket and pointed it at Nathan.
"Run." He told them simply.
"Go!" he urged Helena.
Nathan and Helena headed deeper into the club, arriving at his secret entrance to the lair. He flipped the switches to open the door, then they both scrambled down the stairs and quickly put their gear on.
Upstairs, Tommy was searching frantically for his girlfriend. "Laurel?! Laurel?" finally he spotted her running towards him. She leapt into his arms. "Laurel!" he said happily, then looking around asked, "Where's Nathan and Helena?"
"They're still inside!"
"We can't leave them." Tommy declared, He turned to run back in, but suddenly a ceiling beam came down. "Tommy!" Laurel exclaimed as the couple fell to the floor, dazed.
At the bar, Lynn's had finished hosing down Raynes with turpentine. "You know how long it takes for your skin to melt?" he asked. "I do. From experience."
"I told you to get out of there!" Raynes shouted.
"And I told you that we could save the building." Lynns retorted. "But you got scared. You lost your nerve. You left me in there to die."
"How did you get out?" Raynes asked.
"I was pulled from the wreckage. Listed as a John Doe in the burn unit, in a coma for months." His voice was quivering with rage. "When I woke up and saw what was left of who I was, I only had one thought. To leave you as alone as you left me." He pulled out a zippo and flipped the lid open. He lit the lighter and held it up in a shaking hand as Raynes stared in horror. "Now it's your turn."
Across the room, The Arrow and The Huntress appeared. Nate ran towards the men and, as Lynn's tossed the lighter at Raynes, fired an arrow. The arrow struck true, knocking the lighter away from the fire chief and into the flames beyond. Both men turned to stare at the vigilantes as Nathan and Helena circled Lynns, their weapons trained on him.
"Go!" Helena growled to Raynes, who took off. To Lynns, she said "It's over."
"I'm not afraid to die." Lynns said honestly.
"I know." Nate lowered his bow. "You're afraid of living. Let me get you out of here." He looked at the man, looking past the burns to see the broken man underneath. "Lynns. Let me get you help."
Lynns looked back, and for a moment Nathan thought he might accept his help. "Thanks." Lynns said before saying, "But I'm already burned." He turned and walked towards the fire. "Lynns, don't do it!" The Arrow exclaimed, but Lynns calmly held his arm out into the fire. His coat caught at once, and soon his entire body was engulfed in flames. Without a scream, without a sound, Lynns fell to his knees, and then toppled over onto his face, dead as the flames finally consumed his body.
"That's so sad." Helena muttered.
"Sometimes, when people break…they can't be put back together. No matter how hard you try." Nathan explained. They watched sadly, and then moved off to escape the flames themselves.
Queen Mansion
Next morning
Nathan and Thea were watching a news broadcast covering the events at the fund raiser the previous night.
'Eyewitnesses contend that numerous lives would have been lost if not for the timely intervention of the Vigilante's.' The female anchor was saying. 'But these were not the actions of vigilante's. What's been described are the actions of hero's.'
Nathan smiled as he muted the TV. Thea noted the smile, puzzled.
"What's got you all smiley? Your new club's a briquette." She stated.
"It was under construction before. Now it's more under construction." Nathan replied glibly. "One of the benefits of having concrete and steel construction."
"Good morning." Both kids looked up to see Moira stride into the sitting room, fully dressed and carrying a bag.
"Sharp suit, Mom! Not used to seeing you without your bedroom wrapped around you." Thea noted.
"Well, I could hardly go to the office in my pajamas." She explained. "I'm taking Walter's position at the office."
"What changed your mind?" Nathan asked.
"Not what. Who." Moira looked at Thea. "My daughter." She looked back to Nathan. "My family. And I promise you, Walter will get back to us. I will keep looking for him and I will find him." She closed up her bag. And looked at Nathan. "And I'll see you for dinner." She said, walking out of the room.
Thea stared at where her mother had been, disbelief etched on her face. "Mm-hmm." She mumbled.
"What?" Nathan asked, turning to look at her.
Thea shook her head. "Just feeling the whiplash. She went from shut-in to chairman pretty fast."
"Sounds like you got through to her." Nathan noted. He wasn't truly sure he believed that.
"Yeah, I guess." Thea said, unconvinced.
3 days later
An armored truck as it drove down a darkened road. The two men in the front, one older and one younger, were fighting over what kind of music to listen to.
"Whatever you're listening to, it ain't music." The older driver said, turning off the rap and turning on Jazz. "There ought to be a law."
"Well, there's not." The younger man said, switching it back to rap. The driver turned to glare at the man, but his partner suddenly yelled out "Watch it!"
Out in the middle of the street was a man. He was wearing a black uniform, tactical vest, and a gas mask and was carrying an M-32 grenade launcher. The driver slammed on the brakes and started to back up, but was cut off by a van pulling up right behind them. Two men to out of the van and moved to cover the doors. As soon as they did, the first man fired the launcher. It sent a smoke grenade through the windshield and into the cab, where it starts spilling its noxious contents. The two men inside held out for a few moments, but the smoke finally overtook them and they scrambled to get out of the truck. As soon as they touched the ground the two gunmen shot them; then one of the gunmen reached down and grabbed the keys off the driver's belt. They quickly opened the rear and retrieved the money bags, making a clean getaway in under three minutes.
Queen Mansion
Next Day
Nathan was helping himself to an apple in the sitting room while Thea pestered him about her birthday present.
"Tahitian green or midnight black- what do you think?" she asked innocently.
"I think that you've been dropping hints all week, Thea, and mom still isn't buying you a car for your birthday." Nathan replied.
"I could not have said it better myself." Moira said as she came into the room.
"Nathan got a car when he turned 18." Thea complained.
"Yeah, but I could at least back it out of the driveway without hitting a tree." Nathan said glibly.
"That's true." Tommy said, walking in with blueprints in hand. "But I do remember you taking the paint off the side of your dad's Maserati."
"I remember that. He grounded me for like, two months." Nate commented with a laugh.
"Thea, the party planner's waiting." Moira said distractedly. She gave Tommy a kiss on the cheek. "Sorry to run off like this." She looked at Thea, who joined her.
"Don't we have a convertible to go buy?" she asked innocently.
Nathan smiled at his sister but looked at his mother. "Good luck." He told her as they left.
"How's she holding up?" Tommy asked when they were alone.
"Oh, she's okay." Nathan replied. "Thea thinks she's actually a little bit too okay." He admitted, a bit puzzled.
"What do you mean?" Tommy asked as he helped himself to some breakfast.
"Just behaving erratically. Shut-in one minute, running the company the next."
"Well, her husband is missing and presumed who-knows-what." Tommy pointed out. "If anyone had an excuse to be erratic, it's your mom."
"That's what I told Thea." Nathan said. He caught Detective Lance on the screen and grabbed the remote, turning up the volume.
'The department has got the same comment about this heist as it did the other two. No comment.' Lance said briskly. The anchor appeared on the screen. 'The SCPD may not be willing to go on the record, but traffic cameras got the entire heist in this exclusive. The $2.3 million heist is like a scene out of the movies.'
The two men watched the scene unfold. Tommy scoffed lightly. "That's why you keep all your money offshore." He said.
"Sound advice. It only it were so simple," Nate sighed dramatically, and the two shared a laugh.
2 days Later
Nate had been having a few tough days lately. First, he had been looking into Ted Gaynor, former Marine and an employee at Blackhawk Squad Protection Group, who was on the list. He wasn't particularly sure why at first but then he looked at it his track record. The same kind of heists that were happening right now, happened 6 years ago. Ted Gaynor, along with several other men hired at Blackhawk, were trained in a very specific takedown style and all were trained to use M32 grenade launchers. Ted always worked at Blackhawk when he wasn't on a tour through Afghanistan or Iraq. The same goes for all of his fellow soldiers. When Lyla asked him about it, he told her his suspicions, so the two hatched a plan where he would stage an attack, Lyla would come in and 'save' Ted while he stole their schedule, thus gaining Ted's gratitude, so they could figure out who the next target was and take them down. It helped that Lyla had served with Gaynor in Afghanistan, otherwise this undercover thing wouldn't have worked.
Then came the other issue. Helena had come to him about what was bothering her almost a week ago. She felt that she couldn't handle him in bed anymore and was scared that he would leave her. He assured her that he wouldn't. He finally took the opportunity to introduce her to Chien. He let her explain the whole harem thing, since it was her idea, and then he had to leave to come back here to his house for his sisters party. He left a clone with his two lovers but he was still worried that they would try to kill each other, particularly Helena, do to her delicate emotions. He just hoped Chien would be able to talk her down before Helena did something rash.
Thea's 18 birthday party was in full swing as Nathan walked into the house, with blaring music and seemingly hundreds of glow-stick adorned teens.
"Ahh! Oh, God, check it out! Check it out!" Thea exclaimed happily, running up to Nathan. She held up a car key. "Convertible."
"You must be so surprised." He deadpanned with a smile.
"Oh, isn't everything absolutely perfect? Except for dad's not here." Her face fell at that thought.
Nathan stepped in close so that Thea could hear him clearly. "If dad were here, he'd say you look beautiful." He said, kissing her on the cheek.
Thea smiled at him, and then spotted more friends entering the house. "Oh! Excuse me a sec." she said, running off to greet her new guests.
Nathan looked around and spotted Lyla standing in the corner. He made his way over to the bodyguard.
"I heard the Arrow foiled an armored car heist this evening."' Lyla said in greeting.
"Gaynor wasn't running the rocket launcher." Nathan stated.
"I know. I was with him the whole time it was going down." Lyla replied.
"Listen, if someone at Blackhawk is involved, I'd put my money on Knox." Lyla supplied. "He started right before the heists began, and he has military training."
"Okay." Nathan said. "I injured one with one of my special nano-tech-lined tracer arrows, They parked the van in the garage for Blackhawk. He was also bleeding pretty badly when they made off in their van."
"Okay, so if any of Knox's blood is in one of the motor pool vans, we'll know for sure." Lyla said, turning to leave.
"I'm going with you." Nathan said, but Lyla stopped him.
"No, no, no, listen." She said. "You have this party and your harem issues to sort out tonight. And I told you I can handle this." She reminded him. "If there's any problem, you're just a phone call away." She assured Nathan, she turned to leave, but Nathan stopped her, slipping a tracking bug under the lapel of her jacket.
"Hey. Head on a swivel." Nathan said.
Lyla smirked, knowing he had put the tracer in her jacket.. "That's how I roll, Nate."
Thea was moving through the party talking to all of the kids when her friends Blake and Morgan made their way over.
"Happy Birthday!" Blake said, giving Thea a hug. "I'll miss you!"
"We have a special birthday gift for you." Morgan said, handing over a small baggie with several green and black pills inside. "It's called Vertigo. It's supposed to make you feel all floaty."
Thea took the bag nervously. "Uh, if my mom caught me with this, I wouldn't make it to 19." She told them, slipping into the bust of her dress. "I'm gonna go put it upstairs, and then I'll be right back down." She assured them, and then moved towards the stairs.
On the second floor balcony overlooking the party Moira stood, watching the festivities. Malcolm Merlyn bounded up the stairs and sidled up next to her.
"Moira, I have a little something for you." He told her, pulling out his phone and turning it on. A picture of a disheveled Walter appeared on the screen.
"Walter." Moira said softly, staring at the picture of her husband. Malcolm turned off the phone and put it back in his jacket. "I did as you asked." He said softly, putting a hand on her lower back. "Now it's your turn to do as I asked."
"I'll take care of it." She assured him.
"Thank you, Moira." Malcolm said, removing his hand and walking off. Moira sighed and turned- to see Thea standing there.
"At my party." Thea seethed emotionally. "Right here in front of me?"
"No, Thea, you don't understand." Moira tried to explain.
"Walter hasn't been gone two months and you're already cheating on him." Thea spat, cutting her off. "Just like you did on dad."
"Thea, I never cheated." She denied, reaching out for her daughter.
Thea pulled away sharply. "Like I would believe anything you say." She glared at her mother. "I wish it had been you that was on that boat." She spat, stalking off and leaving a heartbroken Moira behind.
Thea made her way downstairs, trying to put on a happy face for her guests, but failing. Emotional, she reached into the top of her dress and pulled out the baggie of Vertigo and her car key. Making a rash decision, Thea made her way out of the house.
Later that Night
Gaynor, Cavanaugh and Knox sat in the van with the still bound Carly, watching as Lyla walked out into the street. She wore a gas mask and carried the grenade launcher, and as the armored car approached she hesitantly shouldered the weapon. So, Lyla had found the van and got caught by Knox. She found out Gaynor was heading the op, and he had tried to get her to join them. When she refused, he threatened Carly, so she complied to save her ex-sister-in-law. The truck sped towards her, honking, and at the last second-
Lyla stepped aside, letting the truck pass. In the van, Gaynor sighed. The three men got out of the van, dragging Carly with them.
"Well, you shouldn't have done that, Lyla." Knox said. "Now you gotta watch us kill her."
"No!" Carly screamed tearfully. "Please don't!"
"You're forgetting one thing, gentleman." Lyla said calmly.
"Oh, yeah? What's that?" Gaynor asked.
"I'm the one with the grenade launcher!" she exclaimed, bringing the weapon up and firing it at the ground right in front of Knox and Cavanaugh. The smoke round hit and exploded, sending up a cloud of sparks and smoke and sending the two men sprawling to the ground. "Carly, run!" she yelled, and Carly took off running.
Gaynor pulled his pistol and fired, narrowly missing the woman as she rounded a corner. Gaynor took off behind her, and Lyla followed closely behind, pausing to pick up Cavanaugh's gun. She took off after them, ripping off his gas mask.
Knox, meanwhile, had managed to stagger to his feet. He checked Cavanaugh, and then picked up his M4. He shouldered the weapon, sighting it on the running Lyla's back. Just before he pulled the trigger, though, The Arrow came up behind him and using his superstrength, decapitated Knox with a single super slap and took off after Lyla.
Down a side street, Carly had a strong lead on Gaynor, and managed to duck into a side ally. Gaynor rounded a corner and grimaced in frustration at losing the girl. He started making his way down the main street to look when a voice behind him yelled "Freeze!" Gaynor sighed in annoyance.
"Drop it, Ted, or I swear…" Lyla threatened.
"Don't… posture." Gaynor replied, turning to face the woman. "You're not gonna do it." He continued on arrogantly, walking towards Lyla. "You can't. I can see it in your-" He was interrupted when Lyla pulled the trigger, the bullet ripping through Gaynor's throat. Shock was visible in his eyes as he died, having choked on his own blood.
"You're late." She said
"You knew I was coming?" Nathan replied as he came up behind her.
Lyla calmly pulled the bug from behind her lapel. "Next time you plant a bug on someone, be more subtle about it." She said, handing it back to Nathan. "I wish you trusted me, though."
"I do trust you, Lyla." Nathan said quietly, then looked down at body of Ted Gaynor. "It's him I didn't trust."
Lyla heard sirens approaching. "You should get out of here." she told her friend. Nathan ran as the police cruisers approached.
With Thea
A very high Thea was driving her brand new Mercedes poorly down a suburban road. She weaved in and out of her lane, and was fiddling with her radio when she came upon a sharp curve. She took it lazily, not caring which lane she was in, when suddenly another car appeared in front of her, their horn blaring. "Shit!" she exclaimed, cutting hard to the left- straight off the road and into a tree.
Starling City General
A distraught Moira and Nathan made their way to Thea's room. They found her lying in the bed in a hospital gown; a large bruise on her forehead that surrounded a long cut that had been treated and closed, held together by butterfly bandages.
"Oh, Thea." Moira said sadly, coming up to her bed. "Are you okay?"
Thea sighed. "Yeah. Yea, I'm fine. I'm just headachy, really." She assured them, and then asked the question she was dreading. "The car-is-is it—"
"Thea, the car isn't important. You are." Nathan told his sister.
"Do you remember what happened, sweetheart?" Moira asked,
Thea scoffed. "You go away." She told her mother, disgusted.
"Thea, please." Moira pleaded.
"I said I'm fine." Thea snarled, turning away from her mother who looked on helplessly.
Arrow Lair
Later
Lyla walked in as Nathan was working on his computer.
"Cops give you a hard time?" Nathan asked.
" I explained to them that Gaynor and I served together. He tried to rope me in," Lyla sighed. "When I refused, he kidnapped Carly, everything else happened under duress." She turned to look at the Nate. "You know, I knew he might have been in charge but part of me really hoped Gaynor was innocent. Obviously Gaynor wasn't who I thought he was." She admitted sadly.
"Yeah, but we can't always be right." Nathan said, rising. He held up the notebook. "You thought that I don't trust you, but the truth is, after what happened to me these last 5 years… it's difficult for me to trust…anybody. But you do." He smiled at the woman. "And that reminded me why I want you as my partner. It's because you help keep me in check." Nathan held out the notebook to Lyla, who took it. It was already open to the page with Ted Gaynor's name on it. Nathan handed Lyla a pen, and she crossed the name off herself.
"I learned something, too." Lyla said, handing the book back to Nathan. "Until you tell me, I'll never want to know what other names are in this book." She told him, and then walked off.
At the Queen Mansion
Nathan went up to his bedroom to change real quick, only to find Chien and Helena kissing each other. "You know, I honestly expected some hair-pulling or some slapping as well, not…this."
Helena walked over to the man she loved and slapped, "That was for not telling me about your little harem." While he rubbed his cheek, she kissed him full on the lips, "And that, is for being so considerate of my feelings."
They pulled apart and gazed lovingly into each other's eyes. "So you're not mad then?" He asked for clarification.
"Oh, I'm still a little mad. But after Chien explained it and I saw it from both of your points of view, I understood where you both are coming from, and how difficult it was for Chien when she came to that realization. And while it will probably take some time for me to learn how to share the man I love with at least two other women, I think I can handle it. Because what the two of us have, is worth it. You, Nate, are worth it." Helena said passionately, showing how far his fun-loving and passionate side had helped her heal, and just how far she had come since she started dating him, because 2 months ago, she would have flipped out and went on a murderous rampage.
"Well," Nate said taking off his coat, "I still have 3 hours before I need to go pick up my sister from the hospital. What do you say we take a little time to 'get used to it'?" He asked suggestively, to which the three of them threw off their clothes and had a threesome, exploring and building the foundations of their new relationship .
Starling General
Later that day
Nathan was leaving with a recently discharged Thea.
"Look Thea, she's not cheating on Walter." Nathan was saying.
Thea scoffed. "Like I would trust anything that woman says."
'I think I'm gonna have to tell her the truth about dad.' Nathan thought before saying, "Thea, there is something you need to know about our father."
"Miss Queen!" the two Queens turned to see a pair of patrol men at the end of the hall, preventing Nathan from saying what he needed to say. "Thea Queen?" the first officer asked.
"Is there a problem here, officer?" Nathan demanded.
"We received a call from your doctor." He replied, and then looked at Thea. "In the event of a vehicular accident, they're required to report to result of the driver's tox screen." Thea sighed worriedly. "Miss Queen tested positive for a narcotic called Vertigo."
Nathan stared at his sister. "The drug they're using in the Glades?" he asked incredulously. He was also pissed off at himself, because lately, between training Lyla and Helena, the whole harem thing, his club, and his Arrow work, he had neglected monitoring his family.
The second cop moved to handcuff Thea as the first began to read her rights. "Thea Queen, you're under arrest for driving under the influence of narcotics…" Nathan could only look on in dread as he watched his sister get arrested. And he swore to himself, when he got his hands on whoever the hell was producing Vertigo, they were going to wish they had never been born.