#maybe anti laurel lance...

[jooeeydee]

Oliver got so much hate for not wanting Laurel to take on Sara’s mantle and join his team. I always felt it was unfair and rubbed me the wrong way. 

I really wish people would try to look at his perspective from time to time. He was under the firm impression that the life he choose, as a vigilante, would eventually lead to his death, just like it had led to Sara’s death. So why would he want Laurel to join that same bleak fate? 

He even told Quentin: „I  didn’t want anyone to be involved in this.“ Because he didn’t want anyone he cared about to share what he felt was his inevitable fate, which is an early, probably very painful death.

Plus also, I imagine having Laurel step into her sister’s footsteps and trying to be like her might have been like pouring salt into an open wound. She was a constant reminder of Sara’s death and in Oliver’s eyes his failure to save her. Even if there was nothing he could’ve done to prevent her from being killed, he’d still feel responsible for it. I can’t even imagine what it must have felt like to him. Having Laurel sort of parade around in Sara’s clothes, taking credit for her accomplishments and acting as if she were Sara. 

It’s actually kinda ironic now that I think about it. Laurel accused Sara of stealing her whole life… flash-forward less than a year and Laurel pretty much stole Sara’s whole life. Wow, the hypocrisy in this show is mind-blowing, and the fandom just going along with it and not realizing how hypocritical they are with some of their claims… sorry, got a little off track here, but I just thought it was important to mention.

Oliver also knew, the last thing Sara would’ve wanted was for Laurel to put on her mask. Sara would’ve never wanted her sister to follow her into the darkness and Oliver knew that. Given the fact that she told him shortly before she was killed that they needed people in their lives that didn’t wear masks.

I could go on forever, honestly, I just feel really strongly about this. And anything really when I feel Oliver had been done wrong and people just hate on him without ever considering his point of view. Even more so if people in the same breath also do Sara wrong. 

[littlemonstert-blog]

Green Arrow Dawn of DC

First issue starts of as generic but I'm kinda intrested

But I can't help to laugh cause everytime this guy get lost on a island no matter what lmao.

I think Green Arrow needs a better Rogue's Gallery because usually he end up with Batman's C-listers villians.

Not really a fan of Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) but there were some cool runs he was in. I think the three times I was ever intrested in him were JLU, Young Justice & Injustice.

I couldn't really care for the main character but side cast I love.

Roy harper ( Red Arrow/Arsenal/Speedy)

But I'm happy for Roy gotten to have his daughter back again. It was amazing journey to see him fight his addiction. Lian Harper is a somewhat new so I need a few more years. Cool to see her work with Catwoman.

Black Canary

I still wonder is it New52/ Rebirth Dinah Drake Lance bc she got it by marriage to Kurt Lance never understood why they made it so confusing. Maybe they went back to Dinah Laruel Lance since the Infinite Frontier/Dark Crisis aka soft reboot happened and that's everyone favorite version she was the one who is the second version of Canary as a metahuman. I'll go with "Laurel" Lance since she the version that knows Roy has a kid. I just hope we explore her side with the JSA & other bonds. Not to be too tied up in Green Arrow lore.

Idk about this knew outfit something feels missing to it.

Connor Hawke

He's okay maybe need to reread his comic runs. Similar to Damian Wayne ( Conner was made first though I'd say Damian is a better character) but difference is, Green Arrow knew about him but was never around aka he was a shitty dad but, I kinda let it go since they reconnected.

Arrowette (Suzanne "Cissie" King-Jones)

She a legacy character her mother Bonnie King was the first Arrowette way way back in old comics "Miss Arrow" a Green arrow fangirl. She never was apart of the Arrow Family. Cissie was just apart of Young Justice & would on/off quit being a hero writers tended to leave her behind. She's pretty intresting hope to see more of her in green arrow. Hopefully she'll be more used in the animated series Young Justice next season. I think this would offically be her first time meeting him in comics.

Speedy (Mia Dearden)

I know bit of a cliche but, Mia is a fun character even if her past is sad. She had a bad childhood and somewhere down the line got Mia her trafficked into a prostitution ring. Mia tested positive for HIV, but still wanted to keep fighting and never gving up the good fight. Hope to see her more they left her behind in the years of comics. Don't know if they still have her with HIV in this countunity. New52 daughter of a crimelord but still she's a good person.

Red Arrow (Emiko Queen)

Another Diamine Wayne but more willing wants to be good. Green Arrow half-sister. I'll be honest I don't care for her. She not all the intresting compared to other characters. I'd say the one time I care for her was in Teen Titans comic runs. Her relationship with Wallace West (Kid Flash) is cute tho.

John Diggle

A character from the arrow show he was pretty cool in there so they added him in the comics.

Red Canary (Sienna)

Not much is known about her but she is a college student a fan of Black canary & took up the Canary mantle when a report said she had died. I have alot riding on her since I like Black Canary to. I also love her design.

the rest in the group picture are anti heroes or villians so there's that.

A character I hope to see: Artemis Crock,I know she's mostly a villian back in somewhat old comics. They added her in New52 ( looks like she was going to switch sides to anit/hero) but it was trash. due to the series Young Justice & Stargirl. I love her character hoping to see her more in the comics with Green Arrow or JSA comics.

[definitely-not-iorveth]

tagged by @vossn!

thank you, dearest! 😘💚

List 5 favourite shows (in no particular order) and answer questions accordingly.

oh boy

i watch shows? idk if i even have 5, but let's try it xD

Arrow

Our Flag Means Death

The Owl House

Spartacus

Legend of Korra

1. Who is your favourite character in 2?

ed teach, hands down

2. Who is your least favourite character in 1?

oh

uh

um

i'm not sure i remember the characters i disliked well enough to pick an un-favorite

i don't think i cared for tommy merlyn very much?

3. What's your favourite episode of 4?

...

fuck

BOLD OF YOU TO ASSUME I REMEMBER WHAT ANY OF THE EPISODES WERE ABOUT

no, sorry, i'm not going to go through each episode's summary to find a favorite ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

4. What is your favourite season of 5?

despite all it's faults, i think the first one. i just really fucking love amon okay

5. What's your favourite relationship in 3?

LUMITY LUMITY LUMITY LUMITYYYYYY

i love. them.

i love how their relationship grows, and how sweet they are with each other!

6. Who is your anti relationship in 2?

ed/izzy

the slimy git can fuck right off

7. How long have you watched 1?

not 100% sure but i think i stopped at season 6 or 7?

i'll need to rewatch it to the end some day.

8. How did you become interested in 3?

don't remember

9. Who is your favourite actor in 4?

eh

i don't particularly care for actors to be honest.

except maybe idris elba but he's not in any of these shows so

10. Which show do you prefer 1, 2 or 5?

out of these three... ofmd i suppose. korra is close behind though.

11. Which show have you seen more episodes of 1 or 3?

arrow has 170

owl house has 43

guess

12. If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?

NO.

13. How would you kill off your favourite character in 5?

WHY THE FUCK WOULD I WANT TO KILL OFF MY FAVORITE CHARACTER

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU

14. Would a 3/4 crossover work?

a bloody, gory series with way too much sex where slavery is the main theme & a beautiful and whimsical children's cartoon about realizing your dreams and accepting yourself the way you are?

no, i don't think so. 😂

15. Pair two characters in 1 that would make an unlikely, but strangely okay couple.

felicity smoak & laurel lance

16. Overall, which show has the better cast, 3 or 5?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

once again, don't care about actors.

but i think the vas of both shows did a good job?

i have no idea who has already done it and who hasn't so i'm just going to tag randomly

@between-thepages @kiriele @loki-is-my-kink-awakening @officerjennie @gimilzor

[laurelwinchester]

i realize everyone has a right to their own fandom experience and their own harmless headcanons and i know this is just me being petty as hell but damn if i don’t die a little inside every time i see someone try to parallel dean winchester and s*ra l*nce.

[larsonbrie]

(insp.)

[draw-back-your-bow]

Upcoming Fics

Masterlist | Request Guidelines | Send a Request

This is the list of future fics I will write. It will be updated whenever I get a request. All requests will be answered in the order they come. 

Current Number of Requests: 34

Oliver Queen x reader: “can you do a story where the reader is part of team flash (you can chose if they have powers or not) and has been secretly dating oliver queen and they find out during elseworlds after Oliver (barry)wakes up next to you and starts freaking out that convinces the reader that he is really Barry then at star labs right after iris lets them go you show up and tell them you believe them (oliver and barry) when cisco ask how the reader would know they says ‘because when oliver wakes up next to me he doesn’t jump out of bed and start freaking out’” | Requested by @shskyem

Killer Frost x reader: “can you do a killer frost x reader? where killer frost gets hurt and when the reader finds out she’s ok the reader kisses killer frost but killer frost thought it was because she was worried about caitlin and the reader reassures her!” | Requested by Anonymous

Kent Family x reader: "Hi hope your doing well! May I request a Kent Family x Fem reader where the reader is from John Henry Irons earth and was Clark daughter. The reader saved them from an attack or something and is explaining how she doesn't know how she got here and that John doesn't know the full story about the eradaticator and she doesn't know edge's hums alias and just her bonding with Lois and the boys but has major ptsd from Clark on her world. Her hero name was Superwoman and her disgues was kinda like raven but a mask and the el symbol honestly whatever familial love for this little orphan reader and maybe bonding with Clark or something pls! I know u have like 21 requests but I honestly love your writing" | Requested by Anonymous

Teen!Earth-1 Laurel Lance x fem teen!reader: "can you do a part 2 to ‘Supposedly Perfect’? Thank u!" | Requested by Anonymous

Kara Danvers x daughter!reader: "Hello! So I'm basically the anon who's request some Jordan Kent fics and the Kent family fic. Super excited BTW. But this one will be different. May I request a Kara Danvers x Daughter reader where the reader is basically like Conner Kent with the back story but thought to be a failed experiment and was put in the Foster system at like 3 or something so when Lena or Alex find another Kryptonian Kara immediately shows love and affection without knowing the r is her daughter. The r is very anti social so when she meets Kara is just like why do I not care that you wanna make convo with me and love me like your own even tho is sort bothers me. Hope u dont mind and since I love ur work and will never stop requesting I think u could just call me flowers or something up to u I won't mind" | Requested by 🌸 Anon

(Platonic) Clark Kent x reader: "hi! can I please get a platonic Clark Kent x reader based on the song Forever Winter by Taylor Swift? Thank you! :D" | Requested by Anonymous

Jordan Kent x teen!reader: "It's me again! I finally went back to school after four weeks! Yay me! So may I ever so kindly request the Arrowverse Fic Queen🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️ a Jordan Kent x Reader fic where r has missed a lot of school due to anxiety and when she comes back he is just the best boyfriend in the universe like getting her chocolates or my favourite red doritos and just being so happy and wholesome cause I need more wholesome Jordan. Lots of love, kisses and positive vibes 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸" | Requested by 🌸 Anon

Clark Kent x reader: "Could you please write a Clark Kent x reader with All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) by Taylor Swift!" | Requested by Anonymous

Jordan Kent x teen!reader: "Loved New Tricks and New Hearts!! A part two would be awesome but I also have another request.I GUESS I'M IN LOVE by Clinton Kane with Jordan and Reader both reflecting on the lyrics as they cuddle. A few kisses here and there, playing with each others hair, cute nicknames like r doing a Lois Lane and calling Jordan Metropolis and he calls her pumpkin cause they met in a pumpkin patch!. Loving the fact I'm re-reading New Trick and New Hearts as I type this on my phone. It's of love and creativity vibes passion go to your genius brain. xoxo🌸🌸🌸" | Requested by 🌸 Anon

John Constantine x reader: "Can u do a john constantine story pls" | Requested by @ LaylaManuel6 (On Wattpad)

Jonathan Kent x reader: "Hi love 💙🧡 I just read your Jon Kent imagine and I loved it so so much. I have a request for you, but it’s kinda long so I’m sorry in advance for how long it really is. I just really love my details I have a little bit of OCD when it comes to details. Anyway here’s my request: (You can tweak it up if you want) can you please make me one where I knew the twins before they moved to smallville (so all my life). I have had a rough home life so as we were growing up at a very young age Jon finds out that I get left home alone when I shouldn’t be. He ends up taking me home one night with him and somehow it comes out that my parents aren’t really around. Lois and Clark decide to make up a room for me to come to whenever I’m being neglected. After this I get close with both Jon and Jordan (little closer with Jon the Jor) until he gets in a relationship with Eliza. Jordan sees what happens because he’s my best friend, he knows when I’m upset and talks to me about it. He comes to the realization that I love Jon and that I am heartbroken after it. Anyway right before they move away me and Jon get into a huge fight that ends with us not talking. After they move, my family situation only gets worse to the point where my father is now abusive and Jordan knows this cause I of course still talk to him again (He is my best friend after Jon…). One night it’s so bad that I quickly packed a bag, leaving for Metropolis to go to smallville. I show up knocking on the door and Jon answers laughing at something from what was said at dinner. He turns to see me all beaten and is shocked. I quickly ask if Jordan is home and he nods before yelling for him. Jordan comes over with a confused look before he sees me and he says something like “oh y/n you promised you’d leave before it got this far…” I shrug then ask if I can talk to their mom and dad. Lois and Clark end up letting me stay with them again. As time passes Jon keeps wondering what it was all about and finally he decides to talk to me about it. I shortly tell him what happened and that it’s nothing. He looks sadly at me saying something like “y/n, it’s not nothing. You should’ve told me. I could have helped you,” and I shake my head denying it. We get into a fight that again ends with us just mad at each other. Jon stays confused so he goes to the one person he knows can make sense of it all; Jordan. Jordan at first keeps the secret, but he gets annoyed with Jon and blurts out “don’t you get it?! She’s in love with you!” Jordan quickly covers his mouth and is all like “oh crap I was supposed to keep that secret… wait Jon where are you going?!” And as Jon runs off he yells back “to get my girl!” He comes all the way home and we have a super angsty moment where we both admit our feelings to each other. We end up cuddled up in our sleep as we have big smiles on our faces." | Requested by @faithie-brock-gillespie01

Iris West x reader: "iris west x fem reader. Reader is insecure about Iris's relationship with Barry" | Requested by Anonymous

Oliver Queen x secret twin!reader: "Okay so I would like to request a fic that you have been dying to write, either you don't have the time or no one has requested it i want you to write it for me so i can read it and enjoy it" | Requested by @fanficwritersworld

Nora West-Allen x reader: "May I request a Nora West-Allen x Reader with the song Wondering by Julia Lester and Olivia Rodgrio - Flower" | Requested by 🌸Anon

Diana Prince x reader: "Would you write about Wonder Woman?" ... "Hi! I'm the anon that asked about Wonder Woman! If it's okay may I request a Diana x Fem! reader where the reader is a reporter who finds out her bestie/crush is wonder woman. Just nice and simple seeing as it's probably your first time writing about her and I do not want to pressure you" | Requested by Anonymous

Jordan Kent x reader, Caitlin Snow x niece! reader, (Platonic) Frost x reader: "It's been a while! Storm Barra has been a wild one here in Ireland! May I request a Jordan Kent x Frost! Reader where the reader was sent to smallville since frost went to prison and is angry cause Auntie Caity won't let her visit when it's really frost and Jordan while in Central with the fan to help out sneaks her in and Reader gets all grate full and kisses his cheek before they see frost who is just like. 'well your definitely not my kid if you pick hi' and r gets all embarrassed and gets the truth out of her" | Requested by 🌸 Anon

(Anti) Oliver Queen x reader, Clark Kent x reader: "Okay so basically here’s the plot. So basically It’s during crisis on infinite earths, and basically during this, it’s also Oliver Queen x reader. And there’s the thing, Oliver and reader are like in a bad relationship, not like physically abusive or anything like that just like in a bad relationship since Oliver had cheated on her with Sara on the Queen’s gambit, and like didn’t tell her about being arrow, but also like had attraction to other woman like Felicity, but not Laurel since reader and her are practically besties. But during this time, Clark has a crush on reader, but reader doesn’t know, but Kara does along with Laurel. Oliver may have like a hint that Clark likes reader, but doesn’t think too much about it. And like Clark wants to you know kind of make a move on reader but doesn’t want to be known as some relationship destroyer or like some home-wrecker so he just stays silent. And it isn’t until Crisis-on-infinite earths that like the teams are trying to come up with some plan and then that’s when a unknown girl shows up who looks like reader and basically the teams assume she’s reader and Oliver’s daughter. Basically, reader is shocked but happy, Oliver is too and Clark is like happy for reader, but I guess you could say hurt. And isn’t until like the arrowverse team is trying to figure out a plan with Oliver and Reader’s daughter that they notice she kind of looks overwhelmed with some guilt and they ask her what’s wrong, and that’s when she confesses something that basically shocks the arrowverse teams. Basically, she confesses that she isn’t Oliver and reader’s daughter, but Clark and reader’s daughter and everyone is basically shocked, confused. Reader and Oliver don’t really believe it until the girl shows them her powers that are like Clark’s and that like confirms everything. So basically, Oliver and reader like go to the side to talk about how this happened and kind of argue. But once they return they find out how reader and Clark’s daughter came to be. After like the whole crisis-on-infinite earths, Oliver had died and reader kind of pushed everyone away, and it wasn’t until Clark got like close to reader and resulted in the conception of their daughter. Clark and reader ended up moving to like Clark and Kara’s earth if that makes any sense, after the birth of their daughter and ended up moving to Smallville. And like, Clark ended up proposing to reader a few years after their daughter’s birth and they ended up getting married and having like two more kids, both boys. And like, reader is excited that you know she was able to have a family but apart of her is still like, “Oh my god I had a daughter and two sons with Superman.” Some reaction like that. Oliver is pissed, Kara and Laurel are excited that Clark ended up with his crush. And the rest of the arrowverse teams were like shocked but, happy for them. But like that is until, their daughter explains that if she goes back in time, she won’t exist nor will her brothers because some time traveling happened. So after the whole crisis-on-infinite-earths Oliver is still alive cause they had found someway for like him not to die. But still, if Clark and reader’s daughter go back, she won’t exist nor will her brothers, so she decides to stay. And like in the end, Clark and reader end up together. Like sort of angst ending, but mostly happy. And like Clark and reader’s daughter is named Lara, after Clark’s late mom." | Requested by @ -VoidSkyler (On Wattpad)

Jordan Kent x teen!Black Widow! reader: "May I request a widow! Reader that was sent to eliminate the Kent family cause Lois was getting close on a story about the red room. But reader has to go undercover with the twins and accidentally falls for Jordan but her supervisors knew she would and give her a choice kill Lois or die with the family - 🌸🌸🌸🌸" | Requested by 🌸 Anon

Dinah Drake x reader: "Dating Dinah drake (Arrow) would include, please? Thank you!" | Requested by Anonymous

Caitlin Snow x teen! sister!reader: "May I request a Caitlin Snow x teen!sister reader where reader meets Frost for the first time and reader is like super exctied to have another big sister and Frost is only ever nice to reader. Around season four if that's okay" | Requested by Anonymous

Roy Harper x sister! reader: "If you are taking requests then Can you do Roy harper x Y/N but instead of dating there siblings? If so can it be like this: We steal Thea's purse (like brother like sister) but Thea caught us and Roy shows up, then you chose what happens next." | Requested by @ green-spectre (On Wattpad)

Jordan Kent x fem! reader: "Could I please request a part two for Always There please? It was amazing" | Requested by Anonymous

(Platonic) Lois Lane x reader: "Okay but like Lois Lane x Platonic reader who knows about Clark helping Lois when the boys found out and kinda hated her. And the reader is an empath so they know when Lois is lying. Also is the boys godparent"

Oliver Queen x reader, Clark Kent x sister!reader: "Can you write a story where Oliver falls in love/marries either Clark Kent sister or Slade’s daughter." | Requested by Anonymous

(Plationic) Team Arrow x reader: "could we get another part of this [In Through The Window, Out Through The Door], i wanna see how we know Dig" | Requested by @ RowanTPhan (On Wattpad)

(Anti) Barry Allen x reader, Leonard Snart x reader: Hi! Uhhh can you make a cheater!Barry Allen x frigile!reader x caption cold? Btw I Love your blog! you're amazing 🤩 | Requested by Anonymous

Sara Lance x reader: Hello, I have a Sara Lance X reader request. Sara is into reader, but R is playing hard to get and Sara gets super frustrated. The team think Sara's lost her 'mojo' and try to help, but as the Legends do they screw it up and have to go back in time to fix it. | Requested by Anonymous

Sara Lance x reader: Hey, can I please request Sara Lance X reader. Reader is a powerful witch, she is also John Constantine's sister and she is a Legend and dating Sara. (Reader is the opposite of her brother.) | Requested by Anonymous

Sara Lance x Queen!reader: Hey, I was wondering if you could please write Sara Lance X reader. When Sara first returns to Sterling city, as the black canary. She takes it upon herself to keep an eye on an old friend, Reader, who also happens to be Oliver’s sister. (Sara was in love with her, before she got on the boat with Oliver. (She got on the boat, to hide her feelings.) (Still is after 6 years.) | Requested by Anonymous

Sara Lance x Queen!reader: “Hiya, I have a Sara Lance X Queen!Reader. In season two of ARROW, (s2e20) when Roy has lost control because of the Mirakuru, he puts Reader into a coma and Sara, R’s girlfriend, tries to kill him, but Oliver stops her and sedate/cures Roy.” | Requested by anonymous

Barry Allen x Queen!reader: “Hi! I’m a big fan of your fics, especially your Barry Allen x Readers (just finished Two Hearts – loved it!). Not sure if you’re still taking requests, but if you have the time, may I drop a request in for a Queen!Reader x Barry Allen, please? Reader is a metahuman with electrokinesis (like Black Lightning) and has been pining after Barry since he visited Star City? Any scenario you’d like!! I’m a sucker for this man’s dorkiness and love how you capture it…I’m sure whatever you come up with will be perfect :D Also side note, if you have a tag list, I’d love to be tagged for any future B.A. fics! Thank you, lovely human!” | Requested by @frostandflamesfanfic

Sara Lance x reader: "May I please request Sara Lance X fem reader. Reader is Kara Danvers sister, (sister from Krypton, meaning she too has powers) and is apart of the Legends. Whilst on a mission, R somehow comes into contact with Red Kryptonite and Sara and the legends have to stop her(?) But, in the end, Sara calls Supergirl for help. (R is a little bit stronger than Supergirl.)" | Requested by Anonymous

Sara Lance x reader: “Reader goes on the gambit with her brother, Oliver, and Sara. Reader ends up in the league with Sara. The two eventually date. Sara Lance X Queen!reader.” | Requested by anonymous

Sara Lance x reader: “Hey, may I please request.Sara Lance X fem reader.Sara and reader were in the League of Assassin's together and Sara asks R to join the Legends. (Sara is also in love with R. Maybe R could be Nyssa's sister?)” | Requested by anonymous

Sara Lance x reader: “Reader is the middle Queen sibling and was on the boat with Oliver and Sara, but R never made a pads on Sara until she broke up with Oliver after they go back to Starling city.(Sara Lance X fem reader.) (Please.)” | Requested by anonymous

[afaimsarrowverse]

Top 30 Arrowverse Storylines we never got to see:

30.  Ray and Barry as Friends hanging out and superheroing together (The Flash/Arrow/Legends of Tomorrow)

I am not really sure why this never happend. Grant wanted it, Brandon wanted it, the fans wanted it, but somehow Ray ended up not even getting invited to Barry’s Wedding, while Sara, who never even interacted that much with Barry before, did. „All Star Team Up“ did work very good and showed that Ray was quite a good fit for Team Flash, but when „Legends“ came along letting those two character interact outside of Crossover became a problem, but still the writers could have them have interact more during the Crossovers or at least, you know, have Barry invite Ray to his Wedding!

 29. Jacob finding out thaz Kate is Batwoman at a point where it still matters (Batwoman)

Seeing how Anti-Batwoman Jacob was, it would have been a very big moment when he would finally find out that Kate is the one wearing the mask. One can argue that is was still a big moment, but Alice telling him flat out when Kate is not around anymore does not have the same impact or consequences this storyline was supposed to have. It would have been interesting to see if he would have changed his tune (probably) and how much. In the comic Kate’s Father is actually one of her biggest supporters Batwoman-wise, and while I don’t think that we would have gotten to this point quickly, it would have been interesting to see the Crows working with the real Batwoman with Jacob’s grudging permission and what impact this revelation would have had on his relationship to his daughter.

 28. Laurel Lance Lives (Arrow)

Laurel was never supposed to die, but the writers were pressured into killing her of, so Oliver could be with Felicity instead. But you can’t just kill of the Black Canary! She is arguable one of the most important female superheroes of DC Comics, maybe the most important one right after Wonder Woman. Which is why we got a whole line up of new Black Canarys after her death. But the Original One (not counting Sara, who never actually called herself that on the show, I mean we don’t refer to Shado and her father as Green Arrow either, do we?) was the best one and was the Female Lead of the show and would have deserved to go to amazing places after Season 4 and would have gone there if she had had the chance. Too bad shipping is more important than storylines, characters, and legacy to The CW, Warner, and DC.

 27. „Green Arrow and the Canaries“ Spin-Off (Arrow)

We waited almost a year for the news that this is not happening after all, after everyone pretending it’s a go for a very long time. Which is a major disappointment. Not so much because the show would have been that great - the Backdoor Pilot did not look like it - but because many storylines remained unresolved and will probably continue to remain that way because of the cancelation, inculding William’s abduction, the question who gave JJ his memories back and why, the whole mystery about Dinah and the Black Canary, and the question what Laurel is really up to. It’s said that not the whole show would have taken place in the future and there would have been a Laurel Storyline in the present, but in any case it would have been „Arrow“s Legacy Show, where many of the characters from the old show could have popped up, not only those features in the Backdoor Pilot, and it would have finally given the Canaries the spotlight they deserve and the Shadowhunter-Fans another show to watch, so in short: Why make false promises for over a year, if you are not willing to deliver? Not cool.

 26. Kara‘s and Kate’s friendship replaces Barry‘s und Oliver’s after Crisis on Infinite Earths (Supergirl/Batwoman)

Marc Guggenheim promised us this when „Crisis on Infinite Earths“ aired and the world was still sane. Things were looking really good for the Arrowverse, and no one had any idea the world’s newest health crisis would turn life into „mere existing because suicide is bad“. At this point pregnancy, Shut-Down, unfinished seasons, Melissa not extending her contract, and Ruby Rose exiting hers were unthinkable. We should have at least gotten one more Crossover which would have delivered on this promise – in the current season to be exact. But someone decided not to recast Kate Kane because of their Super Ego, so no .. this only happend Off-Screen in Season 1 of „Batwoman“ and that’s it. I am not even sure Kate will be mentoned in the final season of „Supergirl“ at all, however even if the „Whatever happend to Kate Kane“-Storyline should get resolved in Season 6 of „Supergirl“ rather then in „Batwoman“ that would be the end of that and in no way be a worthy heir to the epic seven years spanning Olivarry Friendship.

 25. „Supergirl“ and „Superman& Lois“ airing side by side

 That was the dream. Has been the dream for fans since Season 2 of „Supergirl“ when Tyler first appeared, and has been the plan of the producers since around „Elseworlds“ when they started planning the Spin-Off. Now, Covid and Pregnancy combined and pushed Season 6 of „Supergirl“ backt to who-know-when, while „Superman & Lois“ got a much shorter season then it would have gotten under normal curcumstances, so they won’t air on the same night or even during the same period of time. Which also means that all those mini-crossovers we would have gotten – remember back when „The Flash“ first started and how many Characters from „Arrow“ ended up crossing over into the new show? – won’t be happening now. Which is a shame and very frustrating.

 24. „The Atom“ Spin-Off (Arrow/Legends of Tomorrow)

Now, this one was fist mentoned when Ray Palmer showed up in „Arrow“ back in Season 3. Instead we got „Legends of Tomorrow“ with him as the de-facto Male Lead in it. Which was probably the better Spin-Off then, but now Ray has left„Legends“, they did introduce Ryan Choi, and yes, if I could pick the Spin-Off I would want to see right now, it would be „Atoms“ starring both Ray and Ryan along with their wives. I have no idea how Fairy Godmother Nora would fit into „The Atoms“, but I am sure if one tried, one would find a way. But of course there is no way this is happening anytime soon or anytime at all. Not only because Brandon is now in „The Rookie“, but mainly because someone behind the scenes is clearly pushing for baggage-less Spin-Offs like „Wonder Girl“ or „Nomi“. We did not get „Green Arrow and the Canaries“, might not even get „Painkiller“, and are most definitly not getting an „Atom“-Spin-Off. Which is just wrong and missed opportunity in the size of the Moon.

 23. Harry and H.R.-Team Up (The Flash)

I never expected the Arrowverse Shows to be „Orphan Black“, but until recently they had all those Doppelgangers and hardley ever did something with them. Now Harry and H.R. are the only Main Characters ,with whom the writers actually did something with the fact those two are Doppelgangers and around at the same time, but to be honest, this makes it even worse, the carving for those two to meet, interact, and riff of each other. Because they actually worked well together, and it’s a shame they never got a storyline o rat least en episode where they had to team up and so something together. The Council of Wells is nice, but mainly just for fun. H.R. is the least Wells like Wells, and Harry everyone’s favorite Wells (Eobard does not count), so why did no one ever write something great for those two before they went and killed H.R. off?

 22. Sam sacrifces herself tos top Reign and Alex adopts Ruby (Supergirl)

First of all, I do like Sam, I didn’t want her to die. But the problem is that literally everything about Season 3 was building toward this. Normally everyone bitches about the writers killing off characters, but in this case, it was a grave mistake not to kill off someone. Sam’s Guilt about Reigns crimes, Alex’s bond with Ruby – all of this was literally for nothing and stopped dead with Sam not dying. Somehow getting rid of Reign magically solved everything for Sam (or not, because she was written out between Seasons, we don’t really know if she ever got over her trauma), while Alex’s Adoption Storyline went nowhere and was put on indefinite hold after that one episode in Season 4, where she almost got a baby. Worse, the writers actually admitted that they had planned this, but then changed their minds because they did not want to take a mother from her child. Which just means they were and are cowards – if you compare „Supergirl“ to the other Arrowverse Shows, there is one major difference and it’s exactly that one – only villains and side-characters die on „Supergirl“ (and M’yrnn whose storyline bascially was dying), in other words less heartbreak but also less courage is found here.

 21. Nora dates Spencer Young (The Flash)

Spencer Young was conceived as Nora’s Love Interest, who was to lure her into the Young Rogues at a later point of this season, but something went awry behind the scenes with the actress it seems, so the storyline was pushed back and back, and Spencer was replaced in every episode she was meant to be in after the first one by other characters, until she was eventually dropped alltogether and Bug Eyed Bandit got her gadget, so that a least some of that storyline could get a pay off. As for Nora’s Rogue Love Interest Weather Witch ended up getting this role, which just about works, but given that there is no real foundation there, the romance was only implied and never took off, which is too bad for the shows‘s Queer Record.

 20. Cat remains Kara‘s boss (Supergirl)

„Supergirl“ has changed so much over the years, that is actually kind of impossible to say how the show would have turned out, if certain elements would have sticked around. One of the biggest casulties of the change in style and tone was the loss of Cat Grant as a regular character, and it’s hard to say what the show would have looked like after the first Season, if she stuck around, but it would sure looked have very different. Now I am not so sure we would have gotten Lena Luthor the same way into the show we got her in reality, if Cat wouldn’t have left, but there is no telling, after all Lena quickly went from a kind of mentor character to a female friend, so maybe not much about this would have changed. However James‘ Storylines and all the back and forth with who is owning and running CatCo would of course not have happend like that either, and I think „Supergirl“ would in the end have been a more coherent show because of that. Plus Cat was the best character in the show and having her around would have made everything better anyways.

 19. Anissa meets the other Heroes of the Arrowverses (Black Lightning/ The Other Shows)

This could still happen in the next season or so, if the actress is willing to go to Canada and come back to Anissa Pierce after the end of „Black Lightning“, but even if it happens, it wouldn’t be the same. Due to curcumstances „Black Lightning“ ending up on Earth Prime was just for cosmetics, which is sad, because what’s the point of a Shared Superheroes-Verse if your characters can’t interact? Am I the only one who would have wanted Anissa to meet Kate (never going to happen now), Sara, Barry and Kara? I don’t think so. Sadly it wasn’t to be.

 18. Iris and Kara have a Journalist Team-Up (The Flash/Supergirl)

 This is the one thing fans have been asking for, the producers pretended to listen to, but still ignored. It could happen during the current season, but I have my doubts. The window has closed, and no one knows why this never happened. We did have Iris team up with Lois and Clark during Crisis though to recrut the Paragon of Truth, which was a Journalist Storyline, if you will, but all the fans always wanted both Iris and Kara to have actual Journalist Storylines, but we rarley got them. Yes, teaming up on an Inverstigative Story was always difficult while they were living on different earths, but it would haven been possible nevertheless. And on Earth Prime even more, but no, it was more important to do that endless Mirrorverse Storyline than to have, I don’t know, Iris and Kara break an Investigative Story about Lex to bring him down. Well, maybe we will get another Iris/Lois-Team Up with Journalism rather than Multiverse Saving Topics instead at a later point, but we sadly won’t get a Iris/Kara/Lois Team Up like that.

 17. Amaya meets Charlie (Legends of Tomorrow)

I don’t know why they did not do that. After all Charlie pretend to be Amaya in Season 4 so often, it kind of would be obvious to have them meet at some point. It’s the same actress for God’s sake! But I guess the main reason we never saw that was that „Legends“ has short seasons. Season 4 had only 16 episodes and Season 5 only 15, of which one was the Crossover, so only 14 they could use, and they just ran out of space to insert a meeting between those two ladies that would have had any reason to happen beyond the fact that fans would have wanted it to happen. I am normally all for things happening for storyline reasons and not only for them to just happen, but in this case, I would just have taken it happending without any compelling reason.

 16. Leo meets Leonard (The Flash/Legends of Tomorrow)

I would have payed extra-money for this to happen. But I do get why it didn’t happen, because if you come right down to it, we only had Leo for five episodes across two shows, two of those episodes being part of the Crossover, which left three episodes, that really had other things to do than to bring back Leonard just to have him meet Leo. On the other hand those two were so different, it should have been an obligation for the writers to make it happen somehow. Maybe at least in a vision or a dream or something like that. Gah, I wish Wenworth Miller would just come back in the flesh as any of those two to our shows….

 15. Joe and Cecile as Older Parents for a Newborn (The Flash)

This Season 5 Storyline was cut short, when Jesse L. Martin had to take medical leave from the show. Which is too bad, because it was the very reason why Cecile became a Main Character in the first place, and was an important part of the original Seaon 5 plan, which would have three sets (or rather two and a half sets) of parents: Barry and Iris, Joe and Cecile, and Orlin. Now we got a sort of aimless Cecile for the most part of the season, and the very problem the show actually wanted to avoid in the first place: Jenna merely existing, but not being there for most of the time (but this got way worse in Season 6, if we are honest). Real Life can really be a bitch sometimes.

 14. A Flashback about Sara joining the Legaue of Assassins (Arrow/Legends of Tomorrow)

We were promised this before Season 3 of „Arrow“ aired. Of course the only reason we were promised this was to obscure the fact that Sara would be killed of in the premiere. Same for all those fotos featuring her a part of the main cast and all that jazz. Still, Caity was contracted for Season 3 and showed up in a handful of episodes, but all we got was Maseo saying that he joined the League around the same time Sara did. Since then Sara came back to life, and we still have not gotten that flashback. Why? I know the initial statement was a purposeful lie, but that does not mean we did not want to see that. On the contrary we have been waiting for this since Season 2 of „Arrow“! And we are still waiting. But it does not look like we are ever going to get it.

 13. Oliver meets Jefferson (Arrow/Black Lightning)

I am kind of miffed about that. I wanted Oliver and Jefferson to growl at eacht other, showing us who is better at it. Jefferson only came into Crisis after Oliver was already dead and did point out in Part 5 himself that he never met the man. But he should have. The two oldest Arroverse-Vigilantes apart from the Bat should really have met, just because they are the first ones. But now it will never happen, even if Oliver comes back somehow. (Unless the the new Crossover Strategy is bringing back the characters from the shows that are not around anymore, and future Crossovers will feature Oliver, Kara, Jefferson and his daugthers in the still existing shows instead of having characters from the still existing shows meet, which I kind of doubt, but if that leads to them meeting, I will take it.)

 12. Pay Off for the Tommy Elliott Storyline (Batwoman)

Given how much of Season 1 built that storyline up, an actual pay off would have been nice. But instead the storyline got killed off in the first episode of the new season. And now, before you argue: no, that was not Pay Off. Pay Off would haven been someone other then Luke, who was close to Bruce and knows he was Batman (like his loving cousin called Kate, you know) interacting with Fake Bruce. For episodes. Tommy actually knew Bruce pretty well, so he might have been able to pull a long con. Maybe Kate would have believed him, but Luke would have gotten distrustful, or the other way around, and this would have lead to friction between those two. And maybe this storyline would have eventually even led to the real Bruce Wayne or at least to a clue of his whereabouts. Like I said: Pay Off and not Kill Off. Wouldn’t that have been something.

 11. Laurel comes back (Arrow/Legends of Tomorrow)

Everyone got resurrected in the last episode of „Arrow“, except for Earth-1 Laurel because of the whole „There can be no more Doppelgangers“ business. Now I really don’t see why we can’t just have both of them, but the real kicker is, that the main reason Laurel-1 was not brought back is the Spin-Off, that never was, „Green Arrow and the Canaries“, that was supposed to star Earth-2 Laurel. Now that Spin Off was not picked up after all, and Marc Guggenheim stated that they probably would have brought Original Laurel back in the Finale if it weren’t for the Backdoor-Pilot. Now of course Laurel 2 was the MVP of Season 8, so it would have been a mistake to let her cease into nothingness in the Finale. But they could have just shown her alive and well on another earth in a scene and have Earth 1 Laurel in the other scenes instead. But why did they never bring her back before that? I mean, there was a whole subplot around that in „Legends of Tomorrow“ which ended with Sara not bringing her back, which would be alright, if it weren’t for the fact that another lost sibling that couldn’t be brought back came back on „Legends“, namely Zari’s brother Behrad, which yes, deleted Zari from the timeline and replaced her with a new version of herself, so it wasn’t a cheap fix, but it is just one more reason to be miffed about the fact that Laurel obviously was not important enough to anyone to be brought back anywhen in „Arrow“ or „Legends of Tomorrow“. But maybe there is still hope, I mean two alternate Versions of Laurel were introduced in „The Flash“, so maybe she can still come back there, or at some point in „Legends“ as long as the show is still around.

 10. Ralph and Sue get together and become Partners in every sense (The Flash)

This could of course still happen sometimes down the road, if they do recast Ralph after all, or if Hartley is allowed to come back at some point. Or they could just say it in a random episode that only features Sue. However, it won’t be in the way the the show has beeing building toward since Season 5 (actually 4, but that’s not the point). Back when Sue was introduced, we were blown by the chemistry between those two, dreaming about their own Spin-Off etc. and what has become of it? 2020 destroyed so much….

 9. Two Zaris for Good (Legends of Tomorrow)

Tala wanted that, the fans wanted that, even the writers kind of wanted it and thought about doing it, but in the end, like I mentoned before, „Legends of Tomorrow“ is not „Orphan Black“. „Legends“ already is the most complex Arrowverse Show to shoot, having Tala do double duty for good would have complicated the shooting process even more. Still we love both Zaris, and while it’s understandbale and even right to focus on Zari Tarazi for now, Zari Tomaz is better not gone for good. We might get two Zaris at the end of Zari’s storyline anyway, but until then the best we can hope for is a Caitlin/Killer Frost situation, which might be a problem for both Nate and John, and also is not likely to happen soon, so, yeah, that would have been great, but we are never going to get it.

 8. Ronnie and Eddie return from the Singularity (The Flash)

Well, yes technically Eddie is dead, but his body was sucked into the Singularity, which did not need to happen, if they just wanted to kill him. And Ronnie never actually died, he just was sucked into the Singularity, never seen again, and assumed to be dead (well, without a Partner to replace Martin to merge with him, he should have died by now, but let’s ignore that for a moment). Anyhow the fact that those were sucked in, but Jay’s Helmet came through it, led to the believe that there would be consequences to those two being sucked into the Wormhole. But nothing ever came from it. Not even for one of those two. Season 2 did go down a very different route, and while we are still waiting today to learn what actually happened to those two, it does not look like we are ever going to find out. Which is strange, considering how much time was spend emphasizing this stroryline in the earlier seasons.

 7. Chas returns (Constantine/ Legends of Tomorrow)

It’s still not confirmed „Constantine“ took place on Earth-1, but we always assumed it. And also Chas was refered to in Season 5 of „Legends of Tomorrow“, and let’s face it: John Constantine without his Chas is just not right. Aside from the fact that Chas‘ „Constantine“ Storyline is still unresolved, John need his oldest friend in his life. So not only fans of the „Constantine“ Series would really love to see Chas Chandler on „Legends“. But sadly I doubt this will ever happen - with any actor that is.

 6. Lois and Clark as Parents of Baby Jonathan in „Superman & Lois“

This was after all the initial promise. That the show would pick up where „Lois and Clark“ ended, with the pair as parents, but as parents of a baby not of teenagers. And it was set up this way. Of course we know all the reasons: The claim that Action Series with Leads who have a baby do not work, the problems revolving around Babies and Little Children on Set, the need to write for actual characters instead of mute crying little things, and the fact that storylines for older kids are more interesting than for younger ones, but while we understand all of that and recognize „Superman & Lois“ will be the more interesting show with Teenage Sons in it, the fact remains it is not the show we were promised.

 5. Sydney Palmer (Legends of Tomorrow)

This was set up in Season 1, Brandon did talk about it with the writers and was expecting it to happen as much as we did, and then … nothing. Now he is gone from the show, and we will never get to meet his illusive twin brother. Everything concerning Syndey is strange, starting with the fact he never seemed to be around, even when Ray was a kid. Of course this might be because the Palmers had a „every parent takes one twin“ situation going on, but even if you consider the fact that Ray und Sydney obvioulsy weren’t on good terms, the fact remains everything about him is weird. There even is fan therory that Ray does not have a brother, and Sydney actually is his alternate personality. Which at least makes more sense than the fact that we never got to see him.

 4. The „Whatever happend to Mon-El“- Flashback in Season 3 (Supergirl)

Normally, if a main character disappears for a certain amount of time, and then turns up again, and the stuff he or she had beeing doing in-between is important for the current storyline of the season, we are told what he or she has been doing, and I don’t mean in words, we are talking about television after all, it’s show not tell. This is why I did assume that we would get at least one episode in Season 3, that would show us what happened to Mon-El in the future. At least a flashback subplot in an episode. Something for God’s sake! But I waited and waited and waited – and nothing, not a single scene. Now they did have the Legion Cruiser, they could just have used that set, and they could have only shown us Imra and Brainy, if there was no other way, but we did not even get that. I never understood why we have never ever gotten to see a single scene in the future, where three of our main heroes have spend a significant amount of their time in, why we never got to see someone from the Legion who isn’t Mon-El, Winn, Brainy or Imra (at this point we never even got to see Nura!), but this particular storyline was teased and actually essential to Season 3, and it still never happened via images, and that I really never understood. There is just no excuse for it.

 3. General Eiling hunting Meta-Humans (The Flash)

Whatever happened to this storyline? I guess the Singularity sucked it up. I don’t think they even picked it up in Tie-In Comics or Novels. It went away when Clancy Brown declined to come back, I guess, but I am not so sure they even asked him. You see, even if the argument was, that he was too traumatized from Grodd to go after Meta-Humans any more (which he wasn’t, we all saw the last scene with him), some underling could just as easy have taken over. I mean Eiling knew about at least two Meta-Humans personally, Barry and Martin, and had kidnapped Firestorm in the past, and cleary did not learn anything from his run in with Grodd, which only came about because Eobard thought he was too dangerous and knew too much to be running around freely, but Barry and the others did set him free at the end of Season 1. Even if he would have been too thankful to come after Team Flash, why wouldn’t he come after all the criminal Meta-Humans out there? This storyline was cleary set up for Season 2 and then dropped like pretty much almost everything else in Season 2 that had been set up to be continued before. Lazy! I know it’s kind of X-Men, but the military going after Meta-Humans kind of was a Must Happen that never happened. But there might just be something along those lines happening in Season 7. However  it does not invovle General Eiling or anything else related to the Earth-1 storylines, I fear.

 2. Green Arrow and Black Canary as Street Fightning Hero Partners – with an without masks (Arrow)

This was the initial promise of the Pilot and all of Season 1 and still remained a promise until that episode of Season 4, I guess. Everyone who knew anything about Green Arrow was expecting this from the show, instead we got what we got, which has not very much to with the actual Green Arrow or DC Comics. I mean. we kind of got a brief glimps at it in Season 2 with Sara and Oliver, but that didn’t last very long. However the writers were still fighting for that end-goal, when Season 5 rolled around, because it sure seemed like Dinah Drake was considered as a Love Interest for Oliver at the beginning. But nothing ever came of it, and Dinah even gave up the Black Canary inbetween, so … no, we never got this, only ever on Earth-2 with Adrian-2 und Laurel-2, where he even called her Pretty Bird. In the end this is the initial broken promise, the first lie of the Arrowverse, and it would be the gravest one, if it weren’t for a certain other Arrowverse-Show that bascially died between Season 1 and 2.

 1.      An actual proper Season 2 of „Batwoman“

Do I even have to say it? I can’t even blame Ruby Rose for that, if I were in her shoes, I would have left too. The person I blame is Caroline Dries. Not only did she not recast Kate Kane, no she also refused to make an established character into the new Batwoman. Politics is only one reason. Sophie Moore is black after all. The other reason is an oversized ego. She wanted to create her own superhero. Which is fine, if you make your own show, but not if you replace your main hero, who your whole show revolved around, after one Season with an Original Character and in the same instance kill off your own story. It would have been better to cancel the show than to do this. I mean, what’s the point? It’s not like Alice can’t function without Kate, but why should we care about the things she does anymore, when her main nemesis is just gone?( Ignoring the fact that she is going to be replaced by Black Mask as the main villlain of the show in this season anyway.) Literally everyone in the show was defined by their relationship to the Wayne-Kane-Family and/or the two Bats. Bringing in someone from the outside does just not make any kind of sense. I mean Luke has a sister in the comics, who actually was Batwoman in an Alternate Realitiy, just saying. So yes, this is the gravest broken promise of all the Arrowverse: The promise that we would actually get a second Season of „Batwoman“, which we did not get, no matter what The CW and Caroline Dries and even Greg Berlanti the traitor are calling the Adventures of Ryan WhatsherFace Wilder.

[talatomaz]

way back home pt.i | arrowverse x lance!reader

a/n: this takes place during crisis part 3. i wasn’t sure if I should put all of crisis in one fic but it ended up being too long and i was missing details so i decided to split it into parts

warnings: mentions of death/self harm

word count: 3k

masterlist | request list | request rules

pt.i | pt.ii

reader is a lance!sister, aka baby lance, (it’s a thing, fight me) with the powers of telekinesis, and after e1 laurel’s death, cisco helped her escape to earth 666. she was living a better life with her girlfriend, maze, until her sister showed up on her doorstep spouting her “end of the world” spiel. apparently, you were one of eight paragons and without you, the multiverse would be destroyed...

i do not give you permission to repost or translate my fics on any platform - likes/reblogs are okay and are much appreciated

“Okay, so he was killed by his wife?” You asked, sitting on the edge of the Detective’s desk.

��Mmhmm, and his mistress.” Chloe added.

“God, it’s a classic Diabolique situation.”

You both turned to face the forensic scientist who seemed lost in her own thoughts.

“What?” Ella shrugged her shoulders in confusion causing you and Chloe to laugh.

You momentarily detached from the laughter, now lost in your own thoughts.

It was only natural that you had taken a job in law enforcement after Cisco had dropped you off on this Earth. I mean, your father was a police captain after all and your sister, god rest her soul, was a lawyer.

You supposed it allowed you to feel closer to them even when you were on a different Earth. Maybe that’s why you felt closer to them. You didn’t have to deal with all the pain and sorrow of their deaths that you had back home, but instead, could remember them for who they were and what they, more specifically, Laurel, always wanted.

To save the world.

Focusing back on the conversation, you and your friends’ heads swivelled to the sound of heels clacking against the marble floor. Maze, you assumed. Your girlfriend was quite the bounty hunter, you thought proudly to yourself.

“Ladies, nice to see you. Ah, Maze and...oh, hello, who is this?”

The three of you stood up when Lucifer, the Devil himself, joined you as Maze neared Chloe’s desk, a person with long hair shielding their face, locked in her grasp.

Searching her face, you realised fury filled her eyes, mixed with...a fierce protectiveness?

“Maze, baby, what’s wrong?” You asked, worried at her behaviour. Maze was almost always angry but never with this intensity.

“This human was searching for you.”

All of your gazes fell to look at the individual whose head was gripped in the arms of the infamous demon.

You squinted your eyes, trying to place the person and then your eyes widened with recognition. You only knew one person with hair that long.

“Cisco?” You questioned, bending down so you were face level with the person.

Your assumption was confirmed when the former lifted his head up and his hair fell to his shoulders, revealing his face.

“Hey, Baby Lance!” He said cheerfully despite being stuck in a vice-like grip. Yep, definitely Cisco.

“Oh My-Maze, let him go.”

Stopping yourself before name-dropping the deity, you pried your girlfriend’s arms from your friend’s body and pulled him into your arms.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Ramon?”

You laughed in shock as you hugged him tightly, having not seen him for almost 3 years.

“We were looking for you, Baby Lance.”

“We?” You and your group of friends replied simultaneously.

As if on cue, another familiar figure appeared behind Maze, calling out the meta-human’s name.

“Cisco, I told you not to run off. Especially when we’re on a diff-Oh, hi.”

She stopped abruptly when she noticed the former, you and your friends gathered at the desk.

You raised your eyebrows in question at the female, having only known her for a few months after you came back to your Earth to be with your family as you grieved on the year anniversary of Laurel’s death.

“Dinah?”

Removing yourself from Cisco’s arms, you walked up to the vigilante and stared at her and then looked back at Cisco. There was only one reason why the two of them were here together, and it wasn’t for a cute reunion.

“You both need to tell me what you’re doing here right now.”

Cisco had a pained look on his face which Dinah seemed to reciprocate. Your head flew back and forth between the two as your frustration grew.

“Guys!” You shouted, causing everyone to jump.

“We need your help, Baby Lance.” Cisco replied.

“Yeah, it’s, um, bad, y/n.” Dinah continued.

Your heart fell into your stomach as your mind ran through the worst possible scenarios. Your father and sister were already dead. Your mother was gone. That left...

“Oh, God. Is it Sara?”

You ignored the curse that fell from Lucifer’s lips after Chloe hit him when he was about to interrupt for you mentioning his father.

The meta-human duo remained silent causing you to repeat your question, eyes filling with tears.

“No, I’m okay, kid.”

At this, you looked over your shoulder. nearly collapsing with relief at what you saw. Standing in the centre of the police station was your sister, seemingly unharmed.

You ran up to her and practically launched into her arms, “Oh, I’m so glad you’re okay. I couldn’t deal with losing you too.”

“Hey, I’m okay, sweetie.” Your sister reassured you, speaking with the soothing tone she often used when you were a child.

Recomposing yourself, the two of you approached the ever-expanding group and Sara glanced at your friends before returning her attention to you, Dinah and Cisco.

“Cisco, I told you to not run off. Dinah, I told you to watch him. Y/N, we need your help.”

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” Chloe interrupted for the first time.

“Uh, I think we should take this somewhere private.” You responded.

***

At the insistence of Lucifer, you all, with the exception of Ella, went to Lux as it would be empty due to it being mid afternoon.

Upon arriving, the seven of you gathered by the bar with Maze pouring you all a drink.

“Per your request, we’re somewhere private but why are they here?” Dinah asked, nodding in the direction of Lucifer, Chloe and Maze.

“Let’s just say they are very understanding. Okay, so what is it?”

“We have a crisis.” Sara began.

“Yeah, on infinite Earths.” Cisco added.

“Wait, did you say infinite Earths?” Chloe interrupted.

Sighing deeply, you looked at your sister, “Okay, before you explain the reason for your presence here, I’m just gonna give them the rundown.”

You faced your Earth 666 friends and continued to talk,

“Long story short, we live in a multiverse with several Earths. I’m from Earth 1, this is my sister, and my friends. We’re, what we call, meta-humans. Meaning we all have powers. I can move things with my mind/hands.”

“Cisco can create portals to anywhere, including here. Dinah has a canary cry which is essentially a high-frequency scream that kills. Sara doesn’t have powers but she’s an assassin, technically died twice but was resurrected and now travels through time with another group of heroes called Legends.”

You inhaled a breath and watched as everyone’s faces dropped. Sara, Cisco and Dinah’s due to you revealing sensitive information. Maze, Chloe and Lucifer’s due to your wild explanation.

“Y/N!”

“What?” You shrugged at your sister chastising you.

“Why would they understand? They’re normal people.”

At this, the Earth 666 trio burst out laughing so you explained to your family their situation,

“These guys understand. Lucifer is the Devil. Literally. God is his father. Maze is Mazikeen aka a child of Lilith. And Chloe is, well, basically an angel.”

“So I think we’re good now. Sara, if you can now get to the point.” You said, diminishing all attempts at questioning from everyone in the room.

“Anyways, as Cisco said, there’s a Crisis on Infinite Earths. A anti-matter wave is destroying all Earths. It’s destroyed so many already, including Earth 2 and Earth 38, Supergirl’s Earth.”

You then listened as she explained all about the Monitor, Lyla and everyone’s hunt for the eight paragons, who were essentially the world’s greatest heroes. Dinah then notified you of the identities of all the paragons before stopping at the Paragon of Strength.

“Y/N. It’s you. You’re the Paragon of Strength.”

“What? No, Sara. You’ve got it wrong. I’m not a hero.”

You stumbled over your words, desperately failing at hiding your shock, eyes then widening at the slim box that the former pulled out of her jacket.

“Is that-”

“Yes.” Sara simply replied.

“No, I-I can’t. You know I can’t, Sara. I can’t be here right now.”

You downed what little alcohol you had left in your glass, welcoming the burn, and jumped off the bar stool you were currently sitting on.

You pushed past your sister, walking away before stopping at the call of your name.

“Ollie’s dead.” She said, her soft tone returning.

You looked back at her and knew her words to be true as tears filled the trio’s eyes.

“What?” Your voice broke with that one word.

“He’s gone. And we need your help to stop anyone else from dying.”

Making your way back to the group, you took the box from your sister’s hands and opened it to reveal the contents. Inside was a small, sleek black mask. The one that your sister donned when she took over Sara’s mantle as the Black Canary.

“Y/N, you have to come with us. You know Laurel wanted her legacy to continue.”

“It is! With Dinah, not with me! I’m not worthy of this. I’m not the Black Canary. I’m no one.”

BANG

BANG

BANG

Everyone’s heads turned to face the back entrance of the club where the sound originated from. Sara wielded one of her knives as did Maze. Whilst you and Cisco raised your hands in defense and Chloe aimed her gun.

The doors busted open to reveal three familiar faces. One of whom was recognised by Lucifer.

“John?” You, Sara and Lucifer shouted in confusion.

“Well, if it isn’t Constantine.” Lucifer said, purposely mispronouncing the demonologist’s name resulting in the former correcting him.

“John, what are you doing here? With Diggle and Mia, no less.” Sara asked, and you remembered that John was now a member of the Legends.

“I reassured you, Sara, that I would do whatever it takes to get Oliver’s soul back. Oh, Baby Lance, I haven’t seen you for a very long time. How you been, gorgeous?”

Maze practically growled in jealousy, pushing you behind her.

“Wait...”

Your eyes flickered between Sara, Lucifer and John and then frowned at the latter’s words. When you realised what they had done and were planning to do, you felt fury rise through your body.

“Sara, tell me you didn’t.” You asked hardly but quietly, not trusting your voice to remain calm if you spoke any louder.

Everyone suddenly felt the tension in the air and remained silent, scared that any interruption would cause you to snap.

“Sara, tell me you didn’t.” You enunciated each word, hands curling into fists at your side.

“Y/N-“

“No!”

Sara’s mouth immediately closed and whatever words she was about to say fell short.

“You’re telling me that you can use the Lazarus pit to save Thea. To save you. And now, to save Ollie. But, you cannot use it to save Laurel. Your own sister.” You said calmly, too calm.

You were trying your damnedest not to shout but the thin thread you had on your control broke when the former tried to defend herself.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Sara?!”

You extended your hand, stopping your sister from closing any further distance between the two of you. She struggled against you as you used your powers to restrict her movements.

“Y/N, stop it!”

Relenting on your intensity, you allowed her to stumble forward.

“Look, I’m sorry about that. But I’m not here for Oliver. I’m here for you.”

“Why? Because you need me?” You sneered.

“Yes, you’re one of eight people who can save the multiverse.”

“What? A paragon? Sara, I’m not the paragon of anything. Least of all, strength.”

When the former assassin tried to argue, you continued to speak, “Sara, you know I almost killed myself after you died?”

“Yeah, and Laurel saved you.” Sara answered, tears forming in her eyes at the painful memory.

“Right. But what you don’t know, is that I did the same thing after Laurel was murdered by Darhk.”

“Y/N.” Sara’s voice broke as she murmured your name, Maze doing the same.

“Yeah, and this time, Felicity saved me. I mean, I begged her not to. But she did. And here I am. So don’t you come here and tell me that I’m a Paragon of Strength when I am weak.”

You looked up at Mia, John and Diggle who were watching you in shock and returned your gaze to your sister.

“Laurel was my vice, the one person I had through everything. After she was gone, I didn’t want to live.”

You paused for a moment before adding, “Laurel may have brought you back, but as far as I’m concerned, you were dead the day the Gambit went down.”

Your words cut threw Sara like a hot knife through butter which ultimately left her reeling from the hurt she had caused. You then walked away, ignoring everyone’s shouts, using your powers to prevent them from chasing after you.

***

Slamming the door closed, you dropped your keys on the table and stormed into your living room. Tears streaming down your face, you grabbed one of your throw pillows and screamed into it.

Why? Why did this have to happen?

You were perfectly happy living your new life here but now you knew that you would never get that back. Even if you helped end the Crisis, the fact would remain that you had revealed your true nature to your family here.

Around 3 months into your relationship with Maze, she had sat you down and told you who she really was. Of course, you had doubts that she was telling the truth but you ended up believing her because what else could you do? Your life on Earth 1 was unique, why did you expect Earth 666 to be any different?

You had never told your Earth 666 family about your powers though. The perfect opportunity would have been when Maze told you who she was but you chickened out. You were weak. You knew you wouldn’t be able to deal with the rejection. Because you would have been alone again. And being alone sucked.

You wiped the tears that had fallen down your face and let your mind roam. You knew in your heart that Sara was right except you didn’t want that burden. But you didn’t want to be a martyr either. You knew you’d suck it up and be the Paragon that the world needed you to be.

But that didn’t mean you agreed with Sara’s choices.

How could you?

She was willing to save an ex-boyfriend but not her sister. If Laurel were here, you knew she’d probably agree with Sara. She was always putting everyone else first. And by doing so, she got herself killed. All because she put on that stupid mask.

And now, Sara was telling you that you had to wear your dead sister’s mask, the one she was murdered in, no less, in order to save the world? That was insanity.

Your train of thought broke when you heard the door click open. You looked up at the doorframe and saw your girlfriend standing there, staring at you. Behind her, your sister emerged, her face wet with tears.

Maze raised her scarred brow in question, silently asking if you were okay. You nodded lightly so your girlfriend gave you a gentle smile before leaving you alone with your sister.

When she left, Sara walked into the room and gestured to the empty space beside you and when you nodded again, she sat down.

“I’m sorry for what I said.” You said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

“You were right.” You looked up at your sister in shock and saw fresh tears forming in her eyes.

“I agree with the decision I made because it was the responsible one but it doesn’t mean I didn’t want to save Laurel. Hell, I chased Darhk through time just to kill him but I ultimately realised I couldn’t. Anyways, that’s beside the point. At the end of the day, Laurel was-is-our big sister and she always will be. I’m sorry that she’s gone.”

“I miss her.” You said softly, your voice breaking.

Tears started to spill again and Sara gathered you into her arms. Not having the energy to push her away, instead, you clung to her, sobbing. Sara rocked you gently, her own tears falling. You had never actually grieved together after Laurel died; she had been off with the Legends at the time.

When both of your tears stopped, turning into light sniffles, you pulled away to stare at your sister.

‘I’ll help you, Sara, but I’m not a hero. I’m the furthest thing from it.”

Sara heard her own words ringing in her head from her conversation with Laurel long ago. She had been in your position. She had felt what you felt now. Hell, she still feels like that somedays. But she knew that what she did was for the greater good. And she knew exactly what you needed to hear.

Sara cupped your cheek and rubbed her thumb against your skin and spoke, “I’m not asking you to be a hero. I’m just asking you to help me. To save others in the name of those we couldn’t.”

You leaned into the embrace and allowed her words to take effect. To save others. That was exactly what Laurel would have wanted. It’s what she died wanting to do.

You nodded, “For Laurel.”

“For Laurel.”

Next Part ->

[dagenspear]

Crisis On Infinite Earths Outline Fix, Part 3

This is Part 3! For some reason, Part 2 doesn’t look like it’s showing up, so here’s the link for it: https://dagenspear.tumblr.com/post/635893413115494400/crisis-on-infinite-earths-outline-fix-part-2

Here are the ideas God blessed me with:

Eobard explains to Barry that in previous timelines, it was a younger version of himself that experienced this in 2024. When the dagger was destroyed, his future death was prevented and he took advantage of it, saying that he couldn't resist making sure Barry failed this time, hitting him at his weakest in this timeline. Barry asks what he gets out of this. Eobard states that for his entire life he's lived in The Flash's world, taunted by Flash's existence, by what he'll never be, that once Barry's world is destroyed Eobard will be given a anti-matter earth of his own, and he will force Barry to live in Reverse Flash's world, with his failure of the loss of the entire multiverse and everyone he loves to keep him company.

Harbinger is immensely weakened from being used to kill the Monitor, barely any power left.

Iris comforts Barry in the midst of him feeling like Oliver's gone.

Lois hugs E-38's Superman, in relief that he's alive. He asks where Jon is, Lois telling him she put him down for a nap.

The earths are beginning to be destroyed at a more rapid rate.

Harry, Jesse, Jay and Wally are in this episode. Jesse and Harry were off E-2 when it was destroyed, dealing with something else and have been trying to figure out what was happening, when they couldn't get back to E-2, going to Jay when they realized it was destroyed due to anti-matter, explaining that it was near impossible to get here due to the damage of the anti-matter effecting the multi-verse, and only with the combined powers of Jay and Jesse and the breach device were they able to. Jesse having sought Wally first.

Shadow Creatures begin to come at STAR Labs, as Kara, Jjonn, the Supermen, Lex, Bruce, Ray, Mia and Sara try to prep a makeshift tower to protect E-1 from them, using Lex's device, with Harry's help, who tells them his intelligence has started to return. Kara telling them that Alex, Brainy and Lena are running the calculations to see if they can recreate the defense against the antimatter as well, using other means. Lex explaining that they can't. He tried. E-38 Superman telling him they'll get an opinion they can actually trust. Lex acts faux offended, telling him that if the multiverse goes, he does too, and he's not too keen on dying.

The shadow creatures don't attack STAR Labs though, but begin going after the civilians around the STAR Labs area. E-78 Superman, calling the shots, deduces it's a distraction and he, Sara, Mia and Jjonn go to defend the civilians, leaving Kara and E-38 Superman there to defend STAR Labs.

Jay and Jesse are dispatched to help civilians as well, as Barry, Caitlin/Killer Frost, Cisco and Ralph seek Thawne, with Wally insisting he go with them. To help, Harbinger uses some of the cosmic energy she has left to de-energize the anti-meta cells in Cisco's bloodstream, allowing to use his powers in a minimal basis, telling him it could kill him if he exerts himself. Cisco vibes, but is unable to get a clear visual, like it's being blocked. Harbinger theorizes by antimatter.

In the Black Lightning episode the earth doesn't get destroyed. Black Lightning is still taken from there though.

Barry has Cisco track the negative speed force signature of Thawne, in correlation to the energy signature that the Anti-Monitor used to takeover Harbinger, her with them. This leads them to the doorway Eobard opened that let the Anti-Monitor out. Barry recognizes the letters on the door. It's similar to the speedforce language, and the language written in the book of destiny. Barry remembers the Monitor telling them about how "Nash" was able to open the door that no man should know how to open, that was encoded with the language of time. Cisco tries to vibe, but it begins to hurt him, so Barry stops him, telling him that he won't let this kill him, then telling Cisco to vibe him to help him remember the full translation of the language. Cisco does it, and it's just enough to get Barry to link up with the memories. Barry begins to remember being trapped in the speedforce and the letters he wrote down. In doing this, he's able to decode the language and reopen the door, that's actually a portal. Entering it.

The portal leads them to an energy chamber, with a machine in the middle, that's powered by a captured Earth-90 Flash! He's held in a force field of flash time running mode on some sort of treadmill, against his will. Barry enters flash time, and tries to talk with E-90 Barry, who tells him that the Monitor took and held him, but when he died, he was taken from his chamber and put into this machine by the Anti-Monitor. E-90 Barry tells Barry that he can't stop, as he's been trapped in an infinite timeloop of running. Barry examines the machine, discovering that it's converting the anti-matter energy that flows through the Anti-Monitor, from the antimatter universe into an energy pulse that's wiping the earths out. And E-90 Barry's powering it. Barry begins to think that maybe he can avoid the crisis altogether.

As this happens, Batwoman and E-1 Bruce Wayne, along with the others, defend civilians as they're being evacuated out of the area by Atom, E-78 Superman, the CCPD and the Flashes, as Martian Manhunter phasing through things to get people out from unreachable places. Bruce and Kate question if this all matters, if they can actually stop this. Kate coming to the conclusion that she didn't think they could before, but she understands now that hope isn't something that exists in the absence tribulation, but the opposite. Bruce stating it as well, that by giving up they dishonor what it means to do this. Kate states that she's glad Bruce's here with her, as, to her surprise, she's actually missed him.

Barry sees that the only way to get E-90 Barry out of the machine without the energy output of the machine killing E-90 Barry, off (what Cisco cuts in and calls) the cosmic treadmill and stop the pulse is by overloading it, and tries to generate enough lightning, but he's still weak from Bloodwork and using immense energy to punch the hole to grab Oliver in Part 1. Wally suggests he try. But Barry concludes that none of the speedsters could get to the limit it would require.

Harbinger says she knows who could and transports away, getting Jefferson Pierce, AKA Black Lighting, her using some of the last bit of power she's has left. He objects, enraged, at being taken from his earth, angrily asking if his daughters, his wife, will live, and when being told that she doesn't know, he furiously tells her to save them, and when she says she only had enough power to get him. Harbinger tells him that they need his ability to exhibit immense electrical energy, telling the others the Monitor examined him because he had this ability.

Barry pushes Jefferson to help, telling him, "The only way our daughters have a real chance at being safe is to do this". Jefferson questions him on that, "our daughters", but Barry shakes it off, correcting himself, "your daughters". Jefferson, after a moment of consideration, then agreeing.

And with that we have the same scene of Black Lightning doing his thing, giving it his all to overload it.

Barry makes the call on the teams actions as they do this:

In this Cisco is able to open a breach within the force field around the cosmic treadmill.

Caitlin Killer Frost's out and fires a freezing blast to slow down the cosmic treadmill.

With Wally putting Ralph into flashtime, this allows him to quickly reach into the breach and grab E-90 Barry, pulling him out.

The machine shuts down. Barry and the team celebrate and then get out of there. Not seeing the antimatter energy begin to build inside the core and glow.

We learn that there are 4 earths remaining: Jay Garrick's Earth, Black Lightning's Earth, Earth 1 and Earth 97. This, of course not including the remains of Supergirl's Earth on Earth 1.

Meanwhile a battle with some of the shadow creatures. Sara and Mia are pinned down by several, when suddenly a sonic blast blindsides them them back. E-2 Laurel Lance being the source, as she steps into their view, in Black Canary garb. Sara almost reacts with happiness, before catching herself, realizing that this isn't her Laurel. E-2 Laurel extends her hand to help Sara up, a similar confusion of emotions evident. Sara bypasses the hand to stand up on her own. Mia asks what she's doing here. She responds that she was on her way already, saying that the team thought it was best to stay behind and deal with their things there, and wait for Oliver. Sara explains that he's gone. E-2 Laurel questions that. Mia dismissing it, saying that they don't know what happened to him. Sara snaps back that he's gone.

Lex works on the machine, atop STAR Labs, connecting it to the power grid of the city, it shutting down the power within a 20 block radius.

E-78 Superman and Martian Manhunter fly back to E-38 Superman and Supergirl, and tell them that everyone who was around STAR Labs has been evacuated. E-78 Superman suggests Jjonn go see if the CCPD need help with the citywide evacuation, as his powers could be beneficial, and they'll stay here and guard STAR Labs. E-38 Superman and Kara agree with that. Jjonn does as well.

Barry goes to Iris and they embrace, her asking what's happening. Barry explains to her that they stopped the antimatter machine, which they both say means he won't vanish. Iris is overjoyed, but then asks why the red skies are remaining. Barry says that it must be something else. Barry's uncertain though. Iris suggests maybe the speedforce knows. Barry agrees. Iris is clearly torn. Barry asks if she's okay. Iris blows it off, saying that it's fine, it's nothing that can't wait, until after all this, now that they know he'll come back.

E-78 Superman uses a combination of his heat vision and cold breath to incapacitate a couple dozen shadow creatures coming for STAR Labs.

As Mia keeps an eye out, E-2 Laurel asks Sara why she snapped at her. Sara tells her that the last thing Mia needs is to have a delusion that Oliver's alive. E-2 Laurel questions trying to dismiss her hope in seeing her dad again, suggesting that THAT is the last thing she needs. Sara argues that with the losses she's suffered she's learned not to bury the situation. E-2 Laurel tells Sara that she's lost everyone from her earth, and that's shown her to not give up hope. Sara relents, saying she's sorry for that, she didn't know. Sara agrees that maybe she's right, then saying with a smirk that it sounds like something her Laurel would say. E-2 Laurel laughs that off.

In the waverider medbay, Barry watches E-90 Barry sleep, being helped by the waverider, with Cisco, Caitlin and Ralph there. He tells Cisco to give him a brief vibe boost and he'll do the rest, to put him into a hypnotic state to link up to the speedforce, then telling them to go help the others and he'll do this. This happens, Barry coming face to face DCEU Barry! Same scene, but after DCEU Barry fades away, Barry finds himself caught in a crackling lighting field.

He yells out for the speedforce to tell him him what's happening. The speedforce speaking in a distorted voice of his mom, telling him that the antimatter of crisis is damaging the dimension of the speedforce as well. Barry tells it that the antimatter has been stopped. The speedforce tells him that it can't be stopped and that the only way for Barry to stop is to sacrifice himself. Barry tries to argue otherwise. But the speedforce insists. Barry asks for it's help. It replying that they've been too damaged to help. Barry drops to his knees, in emotional exhaustion, saying that he's too weak to stop it. Until he feels a hand touch his face, him looking up to see his daughter, Nora West-Allen. She tells him that the multiverse needs him to do this. Barry questions how he can if he couldn't even save her, just like he couldn't save his mom and dad, concluding that everyone he loves will die and he'll be all that's left, then beginning to breakdown. Nora says that he still has a family, people who care about him, who can help, finally telling him to, "Run Barry, run" and he's suddenly snapped out of the speedforce, back in the waverider, still an emotional wreck.

Jefferson Pierce, Black Lightning, watching Barry, asks him if he's okay. Barry doesn't answer. Jefferson tells him that he heard him say the name Nora, as he was in that trance he was in, asking Barry if that was the name of his daughter. Barry, shocked that he knows, asks him how he does. Jefferson explains he can read the desperation and the pain on his face right now, along with his slip up earlier, concluding that she died. Barry tells him it was months ago. He says he's sorry. Barry tells him it was his fault, he pushed her away, he was too angry with her, to understand what she was feeling and that if he had maybe she wouldn't have disintegrated in his arms, finishing that maybe he deserves to die for that, to never see her again. Jefferson aggressively pushes back against that, telling him he can't imagine what he's feeling right now, and that he wouldn't know what to do with himself if he lost his girls, then snapping back that Barry still needs to step up. Barry says that he can't, he's too weak. But Jefferson's heard enough and slaps Barry, telling him that his family, everyone's family, is going to die, if this isn't stopped and they need all hands on deck for that, saying that somewhere in him, Barry knows that his powers are a gift from God, and that they're here for this purpose, that they're chosen for it. Barry has a moment, remembering Oliver's line from the Pilot, "I don't think that bolt of lightning struck you, Barry. I think it chose you." Barry tells Jefferson that a friend told him something like that once. Jefferson states that he wasn't lying. Barry, with resolve, agrees.

Atom assists Harry and Lex in working out some final touches on the machine, Atom telling them that they're going to need something more powerful to get this to reach the levels necessary. Harry and Lex begin arguing about something else that's missing, almost competing to reach the solution, then concluding that they need something that can project intense sonic frequencies across distances. Atom realizes what they could do and asks, "Can we use someONE?"

We show an establishing shot of Jesse and Jay speeding around the remainder of the city, looking for more civilians.

Barry superspeeds up to Wally (whose using his speed powers to bring people), Cisco (whose using his breach powers so Frost and Ralph can get people from other parts of the city and bring them there, in spite of it clearly hurting him, his nose bleeding) and the others, with the CCPD, at the edge of the city, ushering people out, Joe in attendance, making the calls on where to take them, as Jjonn phases through buildings with civilians and placing them with the others.

Barry tells them the negative speedforce tracker isn't working, suggesting it must be the antimatter getting stronger, stating that he needs to find Thawne. Cisco questions why he'd think it's the antimatter, as they stopped it. Barry tells them that they didn't and that it's somehow still going. Cisco insists that they get back to that machine and do something, figure out what's wrong. Barry states that they don't have time. Killer Frost turns back into Caitlin and she says that they can't let Barry die. Ralph states that Barry's their friend and The Flash has to live. Wally watches on contemplatively at this, then saying that the city needs the Flash.

Barry shuts them all down, stating definitively that no, they can't put the multiverse over his life, ordering them to stay on mission and then apologizes first for it, before asking Cisco to give a quick vibe to see anything that can lead him to Thawne.

Cisco conflict-ingly does it, seeing Thawne standing, but not seeing any defined shapes around him. Thawne then turns, looking right at Cisco, smiling, telling him hello again, and tell Barry he knows where he can find him, then stating that if Cisco joins him he'll have a place in his antimatter world. Cisco spits at him, then snapping out of the vibe, nose bleeding, and tells Barry that Thawne said he knows where he can find him. Barry realizes where he is.

Lex, Harry and Ray link up E-2 Laurel to the machine, Sara and Mia watching on. E-2 Laurel and Sara question how this works, Lex and Harry explaining in complicated science talk, and Ray simplifying it with essentially resetting the harmonic frequency of E-2 Laurel, so that her cry lines up with the pulse.

Mia asks if it'll hurt. Ray, Harry and Lex all exchange looks, Ray saying he thinks so, Harry being conflicted, as Lex tries to signal him to say nothing, but Harry ignores him and says it could kill her. Sara, worriedly, tells E-2 Laurel that she doesn't have to do this. E-2 Laurel, with conflict, states that yes, she does. Mia tells her that there are better ways to get revenge on the Anti-Monitor without getting herself killed. E-2 Laurel explains that that's not what this is about, saying that he destroyed her home, her family, and (looking at Sara) concludes that she won't let that happen again. Sara, eyes teary, says that she really is Laurel. E-2 Laurel, with a small smile, tells Sara that she tries.

Barry reaches his childhood house, de-hooding, and enters, finding Eobard, not wearing his hood as well, just lounging in the living room, where his mom and dad were killed. Eobard says that it's nice to see him, stating that there's honestly no one he'd rather celebrate this day with. Barry asks him how he's keeping the antimatter going. Eobard laughs at him, gleefully explaining that he's not doing anything. The antimatter isn't coming from a machine, but from the Anti-Monitor himself and his connection with the antimatter universe, the machine essentially only being a funnel for the energy to focus it on individual universes, from outside of time, concluding with, that by Barry stopping the machine he guaranteed it to overload with the antimatter energy, imploding and taking all the remaining universes out in one fell swoop, mocking Barry with the statement of it being all because the Flash didn't wanna die. Eobard then says that that's why he wanted to experience this here, as it's only fitting to celebrate the multiverse dying for the same reasons Barry's parents did, that his daughter did, because of Barry himself. Barry's eyes ignite in his rage with yellow lightning. Eobard only smiling in return, his eyes glow red, telling him to come on Flash.

Them both superspeeding their hoods on, Barry furiously attacks Eobard, them tearing apart the inside of the house, very similar to what happened when they fought around Nora Allen.

Eobard speeds out of the house, leading Barry on a chase into the city, outrunning him, picking up a broken piece of rebar and slashes away at an abandoned oil tanker truck as he speeds by, and when Barry gets there, he releases a lightning snap of his finger, it erupting the oil tanker in a blaze of fire, blowing Barry back into the wall of the building across the street. Eobard quickly zooms over, placing his foot on Barry's throat, choking him, as he tells Barry to give and let it happen. Barry states that he'll never give up, even if he succeeds he'll never give up trying to stop him. Eobard simply grins sinisterly, stating that he knows, and he'll always make sure he suffers for it.

Eobard, with readiness, states that it's time for everything to end, then superspeeding away, leaving Barry on the ground. Barry tries to get up, but is helped when E-90 Barry shows up and extends his hand. Barry asks him if he's feeling better, him replying with a thanks for saving him and that that waverider fixed him up real good.

Reverse Flash speeds in, standing before STAR Labs, welcoming everyone to the celebration of his perfect victory over the Flash.

Ray, with his comlink tells everyone that Reverse Flash is at STAR Labs.

Jesse and Jay try to superspeed there, before their powers start to fizzle out, and they drop in agonizing pain.

Black Lightning comes at the top of STAR Labs to helps power Lex and Harry's machine.

The Supermen and Supergirl confront Eobard. Naturally, the 2 Supermen try to talk him down, as Kara glares at Eobard. He blows them off, yelling, proudly, that he will gladly destroy every earth everywhere, if it meant the Flash suffered for it.

Lex watching the ensuing situation from atop STAR Labs simply says that he's never related to someone more.

The Supers step forward, stating that they will stop him, Kara's eyes beginning to glow with anger, as she tells him that he will pay for the death of the earths, her earth. Eobard mocks that. E-38 Superman tries to temper what he can see is Kara's rage beginning to boil over. But it's all for not when Eobard simply says that he'll make sure everyone they care about dies, and she blasts her heat vision at him. Eobard dodges it of course, but also opens a breach in his place that opens up in front of E-38 Superman, her heat vision going through that and blasting him back. Kara reacts quickly, in shock, regret, as she sees E-78 Superman rush to him and help him up , but then anger again, blasting Eobard with a continuous stream of heat vision, him outrunning it every step of the way, then igniting a lightning bolt and throwing it at Kara, it dropping her. Eobard cackles at their failed efforts, then saying that as fun as this is, he's got more important things to do, calling the entire army of shadow creatures to him, stating that he has a date with destiny, superspeeding away.

E-38 and E-78 help Kara up, E-78 telling them to go after Eobard, he'll take care of the shadow creatures. E-38 Superman asks him if he's sure. E-78 Superman affirms that he is. Kara redirects her emotions, to tell E-78 Superman to be careful, who shoots back with a glint in his eye and a smirk, that he always is. They take off, leaving him in front of the horde. He readies himself intensely.

E-38 Superman and Kara chase after Eobard. Eobard phases through a wall, forcing Kara to smash through it, but just misses him as he phases through the floor. She x-rays it, looking for him, not seeing him.

Meanwhile Barry, E-90 Barry and Wally speed up to Jay and Jesse. Wally quickly sees Jesse and Jay clearly in weakened and goes to check on Jesse. Barry and E-90 are beginning to show similar effects, E-90 Barry barely able to stand. E-90 Barry takes a moment to reflect on Jay looking like him and that he has the same name his brother had. Barry checks on Jay and asks them all if they're okay. They all agree that something's wrong. Wally asks what's happening to them. Barry realizes the speedforce is beginning to suffer from the crisis and tells them this and that the speedforce must be beginning to drain. Barry tries figuring out what to do. Wally asks why he's not feeling it as well. Barry snaps that he doesn't know, but then apologizes, saying he needs to talk to Iris.

Eobard grabs Kara from behind, phasing her into the floor, then getting out and laughing at her. E-38 Superman superspeeds up behind him, but Eobard reacts even faster, turning around and phasing his hand into his chest. Eobard simply says that Superman may be fast, but he's faster, before taking off. Kara breaks out of the ground and rushes to E-38 Superman, whose holding his chest in pain, spitting up blood. Kate lands next to Kara from her grappling hook and Bruce gets there on a motorcycle shortly after. Bruce quickly checks on Clark's wounds, telling him that it looks like he's beginning to heal already.

Barry gets to Iris, whose now with Joe at the edge of the city and tells them that they have to get out. Iris refuses and Joe says that it's not like they have anywhere else to be. Barry, with all his strength, brings him and Iris into flashtime, the agony of it tearing him apart. Barry tells her that his speed is beginning to wane and he saw himself in the crisis and he doesn't have enough power left to do that, he failed the multiverse, like he failed Nora and Iris, apologizing for letting his inability to let go of his anger against Eobard. Iris rejects that, telling Barry that she may have been angry with him at the time but she doesn't want him blaming himself for Nora, they're not perfect and they made mistakes, but Thawne was responsible and they can't let him destroy more families. Barry agrees, but he questions how when his energy is being drained and more. With that, Barry looks at his hands, the same ones that are bringing Iris into flashtime and realizes what he can do. He starts to leave, but Iris hold onto his hand, her eyes teary and uncertain, her other hand on her stomach. Barry realizes right away and says it, that she's pregnant. That's what she wanted to tell him before. Barry takes a moment to hold her. It's silent, mournful. Barry doesn't want to leave her anymore. But Iris tells him to go, that he has to, telling him to run. He tells her he loves her, as she does the same, and he runs, his hand slipping out of hers and taking off, leaving her there.

E-78 Superman is barely holding the creatures back. Atom comes in to help.

Barry, in agony, but pushing through it, speeds up to the other Flashes and tells them that they can save the multiverse, together. When they ask what that means, Barry says that if he can give others his speedforce and let them enter flashtime, they can give it to him and he may have enough power to do what needs to be done. Each one suggests they do this, but Barry tells them that they're either too weak already or inexperienced, it has to be him and they have to let it be him or risk everything they love. They all surround Barry in a circle, him in the middle and with every ounce of strength they have left, they release their energy into Barry, the lightning flowing into him...

Eobard superspeeds onto the STAR Labs rooftop, and up to E-2 Laurel, nearly struck by Sara with her staff and Mia with her arrow, who stand in defense of her. But he catches them quickly, telling Sara that she won't stop him this time, and knocks her back with a superspeed kick, simultaneously throwing the arrow back at Mia, it hitting her in the leg, crippling her, telling them it'll be his pleasure to make them watch.

The energy of the speedforce flows into Barry, crackling and with that Barry is at full strength again, the lightning flaring up in his eyes.

As Eobard is about to kill E-2 Laurel...

Barry, in complete superspeed mode, sweeps in and, with a lightning energized punch, blows Eobard off of the roof of STAR Labs.

Lex and Harry activate the machine, and with a sonic explosion practically emanating from E-2 Laurel's whole body, the pulse echoes throughout the streets. The pulse disconnects Eobard from his control of the shadow creatures.

Eobard is enraged at this, stating that it's impossible, he should be too weak.

Barry simply states that he's not alone and he's done letting Thawne make him think he is.

But then antimatter red lightning crackles in the sky, and Eobard begins to laugh, telling him that it doesn't matter anyway, he's still too late.

Out of a blood red warped breach the Anti-Monitor walks onto the STAR Labs roof. The antimatter explosion beginning to expand from that.

Kara lands on the roof opposite.

E-78 Superman flies at him head first, but is grabbed, his head caved in and thrown like a ragdoll.

Kara is horrified and goes for him, him simply blocking her attack.

Kate and Bruce are powerless from below.

Sara and Mia are powerless from the roof, as he walks up to E-2 Laurel and grabs her by the throat, lifting her up. Sara, in horror, begins to go for him. The Atom tries to blast him.

Barry, in flashtime, watches, knowing there's nothing he can do to physically stop him, but in that moment, he readies himself and punches a breach through the universe. He runs and runs, faster than he ever has, opening multiple breaches into each of the remaining earths, superspeeding through them all just as fast. Eobard superspeeds up to him, blows between him and Barry ensuing. Eobard is finally able to get a hold on him, telling him that he'll die from this. Barry, in resolve, phases out of Eobard's grip, him falling through Barry and is cast out, in a yell of rage, into the remaining energy of the speedforce. Barry maintains his course, superspeeding through every earth, circling it a million times over it, all the remaining earths beginning to vibrate at another frequency, the energy of it overtaking him, as he yells out in pain, the energy emanating from his body as he begins to be consumed by it and disintegrate. The only remnants, the flash ring and the burned, scorched flash suit symbol, which fall before Iris and Joe.

Suddenly all is still. All the destruction has stopped. The red sky of antimatter is erased.

Wally, somehow able to use his speed, rushes up to Iris and Joe. Iris in tears, inconsolable, breaks down, to her knees, Joe trying his best to hold her, but his heartbreak showing. Kara lands in front of them, her eyes full of mourning, realizing what's happened. Wally tries to comfort both, but is unsure how, then picking up the flash ring that remains. Kara carefully walks up to Joe and Iris and kneels down before Iris, picking up the flash symbol, telling Iris how sorry she is.

But suddenly the crisis isn't the only thing that's been stopped. Everything has, everything freezing.

And in a flash of light, Kate, Ray, Sara, Kara, Lex, Jjonn and Wally find themselves in the vanishing point. They all wonder what's happened and how they got here.

And are then told the answer, by Oliver, now the Spectre. He tells them that Barry burned himself alive to save the remaining universes from the Anti-Monitor, phasing them all out of the his reach, where time stands still, the vanishing point, but everyone else is unable to survive here and have been put in stasis in this outer dimension. They ask why they haven't. Oliver answers that that's on him and tells them that the only way the earths can be safe is if they destroy the Anti-Monitor for good.

TO BE CONTINUED...

END OF PART THREE.

Please review and tell me what you think!

[dscully2019]

Here it is...the alternate "I'll use you as a warning sign" ending... I'm calling it The Crisis ending for obvious reasons. Basically... temporary character death tags would have applied and I didn't want to sucker punch people with that. Also, when The Crisis is resolved 'Earth 18' looks a little different, but very familiar cause why not. 🤷

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been two weeks since the party and Sara was still working on getting all of her ducks in a row before confronting Darhk with the information she and her team had gathered against him.  She sat in the café above the Nest slowly stirring her tea, staring into space. 

 “Happy Birthday, Sara.”  Laurel sat across from her.  “You okay? You’ve been so distant lately.” 

 “Merry Christmas, Laurel.”  She sipped her tea and nodded.  “Peachy.” 

Laurel’s brows raised.  “I know you better than that.” 

Sara sat the mug down and pushed it away.  “I think I threw away my one chance at something remotely normal.”  Behind her she felt the cool December air blowing through the doors as they were opened.  “I’m sorry, but this is a private party.” She didn’t bother to turn around to see who had the audacity to walk into her café on Christmas day. 

"Birthday party, I’m assuming.”  Sara slowly turned to see if the voice she heard was actually who she thought it was.  She saw Ava standing in the doorway. “Happy Birthday, Ms. Lance.” 

The image of Laurel slowly faded away causing Sara to blink a couple of times before she stood up.  Damien Darhk had her sister killed nearly a year ago, but Sara still imagined she could have conversations with her when she felt particularly lost.  Apparently, this was one of those times. She slowly walked toward the new arrival. “What are you doing here?” 

 She held up a USB stick.  “I brought you a Christmas gift.”  She offered it to Sara. “It’s all of Darhk’s actual, uncoded financials.  You’ll be able to track every deal, every hit, all his business transactions.”  When Sara didn’t reach for the stick Ava slowly lowered the device. “The man who killed Laurel’s name is on this.” 

“You could have sent it through Z.”  She rested her hands on her hips. “So, why are you here?”  Ava dropped the USB stick on the table in front of Sara, then retrieved a gift-wrapped box from her suit jacket.  “What’s that?” 

“That’s for your birthday.”  She bit her bottom lip and looked back towards the door.  “I know you wanted me to go, but I couldn’t leave it like this.”  She sat the box on the table next to the USB stick. “I needed to see you, make sure you got the information you needed.”  Sara remained frozen in her spot. “I’ll go, I’m sorry.” 

   Sara tried to resist, but instead reached out and grabbed Ava’s hand just before she was out of reach.  “Don’t go.” Ava stopped and Sara laced their fingers together. “Let’s take Darhk down together.” 

Ava smiled.  “I thought you’d never ask.” 

 The night sky behind Ava changed to an ominous shade of red.  “What is that?” She led Ava out onto the street. Everything was saturated in the crimson hue.  Sara stomach dropped knowing something was horribly wrong. She turned to Ava. “No matter what happens, promise that we’ll find each other again, okay?” 

“What is this?”  Ava’s expression was worried as she scanned the surroundings.  “Do you know what's going on?” 

  Sara cupped Ava’s cheeks and forced Ava to focus only on her.  “Just promise me, okay?” She could sense something was moving closer. 

Ava promised and pressed her lips to Sara’s just before the anti-matter wave hit, and  Earth-18 ceased to exist.

~~~

It was December 25th just after 11pm and Sara played with the jewelry box in her pocket and looked at Ava with intent. "Can you believe it's been over 16 years since we sat outside of this cafe and lied to John Constantine?"

Ava shook her head and looked up at the Darhk Roast sign. "Technically you lied to John, I was just in the wrong place at the right time."

"That's fair." Sara sighed and ran her thumb over the velvet box. "As crappy as that whole situation was I can't help, but wonder if Leah never told Amber, would we have even met?"

Ava hummed and nodded. "Maybe, could have been a random encounter at an airport. Some things are just meant to be."

There it was, the moment Sara had been waiting for. She seized the box in her pocket and dropped to one knee.

[tvdversefanfiction]

Canary Carnage

Fandoms: Arrowverse, DC Universe, TVDverse and The Originals

Chapter Twelve: A Far Cry from Earth X

Warnings: I don’t own any of the rights, content or characters belonging to any of the DC content I use within the story along with not owning any rights, content or characters within The Vampire Diaries, Originals or Legacies.

18 Rating: Moderate/Graphic displays of violence, sexual innuendos, sexually charged scenes, SMUT, mention of Nazi’s due to Earth X storyline, strong language and potentially triggering scenes.

Pairings: M/M, F/F, M/F.

Lucas Thomas Wayne may have been the Earth X doppelganger of Lucas Lance, but they were to very different people Lucas Lance was the Red Canary and Lucas Wayne was the Blue Canary.

Lucas Thomas Wayne was dumped on the doorstep of Earth X’s Batman after his biological mother Earth X’s Laurel Lance aka Siren X abandoned him to continue her ruthless crusade. He is the biological son of Earth X’s Bruce Wayne aka Batman and was raised by his father eventually joining him in his crusade to make Earth X a better place.

Earth X’s Lucas was resilient, strong and ready to save his world from the darkness that surrounded it under the guidance of his father Batman but having the same meta-human power as his mother leading to Batman himself naming him the Blue Canary.

Lucas Lance was the villain and Laurel Lance was the hero in that story whereas on Earth X Lucas Wayne was a hero and his mother Laurel was the villain on an earth with far too many villains so when the fate of the multiverse was at risk it was only a matter of time before Earth X would be no more.

Unbeknownst to him his father had planned a back up plan so that he could live after hearing rumors about Earth Blood from other earths he had visited in the past and eventually learning that somehow Earth Blood existed out of the multiverse meaning if all else failed he could at least save his son and all else did fail.

Lucas Thomas Wayne couldn’t be any more different than his doppelganger who died on Earth Blood but he was soon about to learn all about him as he found himself teleport-ed to Earth Blood via a fail-safe breaching device that his father had installed into his phone scheduled to teleport him after Earth X was wiped out by anti-matter.

A lot had changed on Earth Blood over the five years that went by following the death of the Red Canary: the entire vampire community now knew the Black Canary as Laurel Lance spent most of her time travelling the world and using her superhero alter ego and Sara Lance had taken over New Orleans Voyage Hotel renaming it the New Orleans Lance Hotel in honor of her family deciding to stay in New Orleans and adjusting to no longer being the White Canary and being a vampire.

The Mikaelson family were of course still the Mikaelson’s as immortal beings who lived for over a thousand years, five years wasn’t really much to them although they did have some momentous changes such as: Kol Mikaelson reuniting and marrying his true love Davina Claire, Hope Mikaelson being accepted to and now going to Columbia University in New York City, Rebekah getting her revenge on Marcel Gerard by trapping him for good and the tragic and shocking death of Hayley Marshall which left everyone devastated especially Elijah and Hope.

The last thing the Lance sisters or the Mikaelson family were prepared for was the return of Lucas, or rather their introduction to Earth X’s Lucas Wayne the heroic Blue Canary who was ready to cause all kinds of carnage to any wrong doers.

“Where am I?” Lucas Wayne wondered as he opened his eyes to find himself in a hospital room laying in a hospital bed with a nurse standing over him. “What’s going on?”

“You were found on the side of the road unconscious but we’re as of yet trying to find out why you were there.” The male nurse replied to him. “Do you know your name?”

“Last thing I remember is being at home with my dad…” Lucas began to say before he realized Earth X was no more before tearing off the cables connected to him, climbing off the bed and rising to his feet much to the nurse’s concern.

“I’m going to have to ask that you sit back down! You’re not in a state to be going anywhere.” The nurse advised him, as Lucas was too concerned looking at his hospital gown which revealed a little too much in the back.

“What earth are we on?” Lucas asked, knowing the chances of the nurse knowing anything about the multiverse were slim.

“Yeah I don’t know what you’re talking about…I’m going to need you to sit back down!” The nurse answered the Blue Canary, eager to get his patient back into his bed.

“I figured that was a long shot…well I’m going to need my clothes.” Lucas replied to the nurse before looking him up and down. “Your clothes will do if you can’t find mine.”

Lucas Wayne waited for a moment as the nurse stared him down making it clear he wasn’t going to let him go easily forcing Lucas to release a canary cry in his direction with just enough force to send the nurse flying into the corridors giving him just enough time to make an escape and try and figured out what the hell was going on.

Lucas knew that for him to be on this strange earth that his own earth must’ve been destroyed by the anti-matter waves and wherever he was now was going to have to be his new home but he had no idea of the people he lost or the people he was about to find.

It was the fifth year anniversary of Lucas Lance’s death and although he died on Lian Yu, Laurel decided to have him buried in Lafayette Cemetery within New Orleans where she would reunite with her sister Sara each year on Lucas’ anniversary to mourn him as they honored not what he became but who he once was.

It was a tradition that brought Laurel comfort and helped eased her guilt, regret and pain about losing a son and choosing not to return to Star City to stop him even being born knowing saving the world had to come before being a mother but that didn’t make her feel any less guilty.

At first she had no idea why her younger sister Sara Lance chose to stay in New Orleans despite the fact she was hated by the Mikaelson siblings for killing their beloved sister Freya Mikaelson but as the years went by their hate for Sara grew smaller as Rebekah Mikaelson surprised them all by forming a friendship with the White Canary, a strong friendship built on forgiveness, loss and honesty.

Laurel Lance knew there was good in Rebekah and Elijah from the start and following his marriage to Davina Claire she learned Kol had good in him too as she began blurring the lines between good and evil, learning that the world itself was not so black a white which was a lesson she wish she had learned five years ago.

“I had a feeling this is where you would me Miss Lance, it’s always a pleasure to be in your presence.” Elijah greeted Laurel as he sped into the cemetery to stand beside her, as Laurel stood in front of her son’s tombstone.

“I don’t even understand why I always come here each year I mean with the way the future changes he’s probably vanished by now just like Talia al Ghul did when he died.” Laurel admitted with a saddened sigh, freely opening to the noble original before turning to face him. “I enjoy your company too Elijah.”

“It’s soothing to have a place to grieve for what we’ve lost and also a place where we feel we can reconnect with them momentarily at least.” Elijah replied to the Black Canary. “I may not have been with you in your choices with your son, but I understood them, nonetheless. You can’t keep torturing yourself forever Laurel.”

“I could say the same to you over Hayley it’s not on you what happened to her and it’s not on you to keep your life on hold because she’s gone…you two weren’t even together in the end.” Laurel told him, trying to comfort the original why he tried to comfort her. “You two shared a great and epic love for each other but that doesn’t mean your life has to be over…you’ve lived on pause for a thousand years Elijah maybe it’s time to press play.”

“We are as bad as each other.” Elijah admitted with a sly laugh, smiling at Laurel. “Neither of us will take the other’s advice and yet we keep advising each other anyway.”

“Well that’s where your wrong as of today my days as the Black Canary are well and truly over I’m even considering joining Sara at the hotel I mean she wants it to remain somewhat of a family business…the irony being my son literally murdered his way into owning the hotel.” Laurel replied with a sly smirk.

“This world needs the Black Canary don’t let her go for some attempt at a normal life you were never meant to be normal Miss Lance.” Elijah advised Laurel, hoping she didn’t give up being the Black Canary, knowing how much it meant to her.

“How is your brother Klaus?” Laurel asked, instantly making Elijah chuckle, both knowing she didn’t care about Klaus, she just wanted to change the conversation.

The Lance sisters had grown closer to the Mikaelson over the last five years to the stage where both Laurel and Sara even tolerated Klaus which to them was quite the hard task but Laurel and Elijah wound up getting a little too close and that’s where their problems began.

From the moment they met they had buried feelings for each other feelings that they eventually acted upon which would have been perfect if their moment of passion didn’t happen the same time Hayley Marshall was killed making Elijah blame himself and his feelings for Laurel for not being there for his former love’s death.

Both Laurel Lance and Elijah Mikaelson were both filled with guilt over their past, but both wanted to help each other and so they were at a painful halt in their angst-ridden relationship with happiness for either seeming highly unlikely.

Klaus Mikaelson was king of New Orleans once again thanks to Rebekah’s revenge against Marcel and although he was particularly thrilled that a man he once loved like a son was wiped off the map or the fact Rebekah wouldn’t reveal his exact location he was more than thrilled to have New Orleans to himself.

Marcel Gerard was the only thing on that entire earth that could kill him and him being out of the equation made the original hybrid and his siblings truly immortal once again or so that’s what he had come to believe.

Klaus walked the streets of the French Quarter like he did many nights taking in the city he loved so much when he noticed Lucas Wayne for the first time stood next to a jazz band performing a musical ensemble in the middle of the street.

Immediately he believed that Lucas Lance either survived the day he died and deceived everyone including himself or that the Red Canary had somehow found a way back to the living, knowing the canary was capable of both.

“I didn’t take you as a lover of music, but you always were full of surprises.” Klaus said to Lucas after walking over to stand next to him, as the two of them continued to listen to the beautiful jazz music being performed live.

“You’ve clearly mistaken me for someone else or rather the same person but different earth.” Lucas replied to the original hybrid. “Tell me who am I to you in this strangely fascinating world?”

“Are you seriously expecting me to believe that you’re a doppelganger of Lucas Lance?” Klaus scoffed, believing Lucas was trying to trick him somehow, after all he was quite the master of manipulation in the past.

“Seriously? You know who I am in a world that’s already much better than my own and nobody has heard about breaching devices which allow you to jump portals?” Lucas quizzed the strange man he was highly suspicious of. “Clearly you either know about the multiverse and are lying boldly to my face or you are somebody completely useless to me…no offense meant unless you’re a liar that is.”

“Are you really not the same man who died at my sister’s hands five years ago?” Klaus wondered, struggling to know whether to trust Lucas’ words.

“This world really is fascinating!” Lucas said with excitement in his eyes as an innocent smile appeared across his face making Klaus realize this wasn’t Lucas Lance. “I’d love to hear the story of how this earth’s doppelganger met their demise seems like there’s a chance of a lesson being learned there…tell me stranger do you know Bruce Wayne?”

“I have no idea who he is, but your mother is in this very city in fact she’s only recently returned.” Klaus informed the Blue Canary, as he tried to work out what Lucas’ otherworldly doppelganger was doing in his world. “Sara Lance too.”

“Figures the man whose sister killed me works alongside Siren X makes sense that ruthless bitch would survive the literal end of the multiverse. I just need to find out if I’m on this supposed Earth Prime or this Earth Blood my father talked about.” Lucas revealed to the original hybrid just in time for the band to take a break. “You better tell your boss I’m coming for her and this canary isn’t so easy to kill.”

Before Klaus Mikaelson could even process the realization he had just met the doppelganger of a former flame Lucas Wayne sped his way out of sight clearly without a worry of being noticed for his powers which was a far cry from the other canaries arrival on Earth Blood.

Klaus had no idea what world this Lucas came from but he already knew this one was different to the Lucas Lance of his past despite their many similarities and he couldn’t help his urge to want to find out more like; was this Lucas also the Red Canary? How different was he to the Lucas he knew? What the bloody hell was Siren X? Was Laurel or Sara Siren X on this Lucas’ world? Was this Lucas a threat to his loved ones and beloved city?

Klaus knew one thing for and that was it was time to sit down with the two canaries in the city that he did know, knowing either Sara, Laurel or both Lance sisters would quickly solve the mystery of Lucas 2.0.

To find out the brother you grew up with was actually your son was a reveal very rare but it is a discovery Laurel Lance made before she went on a mission to kill that son for the greater good only to later on reconsider what was good and evil and whether her son truly deserved to die.

Laurel Lance was still traumatized from watching her son Lucas Lance die at the hands of Rebekah Mikaelson, so traumatized that when she learned of the news about a doppelganger of her son now being in New Orleans it had her reliving all the pain and regret once more as she began to fear what awful fate this version of her son would meet and whether she or her loved ones would be the ones to deliver it to him.

She wanted so badly to run away and continuing running so she never had to face another Lucas or her duties as the Black Canary ever again but deep down she knew that despite everything she was first and foremost a canary and she needed to make sure this Lucas wasn’t a danger to others or himself, hoping desperately this outcome would be better than the last time she had to put a world before her own child.

“I can’t believe that there’s another version of Lucas out there…although with all the parallel universes it makes sense that he’d be born in at least a few other worlds within the multiverse but what doesn’t make sense is why the hell he is here.” Laurel reluctantly confided in Klaus, as the Black Canary and the original hybrid sat on the edge of his bed within his room in the compound both nursing a glass of whisky each.

“He said something about the multiverse being dead that there was only Earth Prime and Earth Blood now which I found rather strange, but I don’t pretend to understand the multitude of worlds that you meta-humans come from.” Klaus replied while taking a sip from his drink. “He also mentioned Siren X he believes I work for this person I believe he’s referring to either you or your sister.”

“Me…or at least the Earth X evil doppelganger of me.” Laurel revealed to Klaus. “Figures some version of my son would be working alongside an evil version of me.”

“I don’t know he didn’t seem like a big fan of Siren X if anything I think he’s more than likely an enemy…he had a look of hate when mentioning her name and that particular look can’t be faked.” Klaus informed Laurel as he finished the whisky in his glass. “Maybe in this bizarre world he comes from the roles are turned around between you and him.”

“You mean in a world literally run by freaking Nazi’s my son is a hero?” Laurel laughed at Klaus before downing her drink. “Why tell me about this? You’re not one to tell me anything especially regarding my son.”

“I wanted to know if it was possible or if Lucas was just playing yet another game with us all.” Klaus admitted as he stood up from the edge of his bed. “I don’t particularly want to play in the past not when the future is mine!”

“It’s highly possible my Lucas is back but it’s also highly possible that this isn’t my Lucas.” Laurel replied to the original hybrid as she too stood up from Klaus’ bed. “I’ll meet with this Lucas but if he’s not my son then he’s your problem not mine.”

“In other words, if you don’t kill him I should.” Klaus answered with a sly smirk.

“You were the one trying to save him last time around so don’t start playing the big bad wolf to me Klaus!” Laurel snapped at him. “I said I’ll sort it and I will.”

“Yes, well Lucas Lance amused me and that’s rare for anyone to do but if this isn’t him then he’s merely some cheap copy from some maddened world that I don’t intend on getting to know.” Klaus replied, making it clear to Laurel he was ready to kill if he needed to.

The mere idea of Klaus Mikaelson killing her son infuriated her and not because his sister Rebekah had already murdered one version of him before but because it seemed so easy for him, which served to strengthen her dislike for the original hybrid as she continued to believe he was more monster than man.

Laurel Lance doubted any chance of any version of Lucas being a hero having dealt with the Red Canary’s crimes first hand but this wasn’t the Red Canary and this wasn’t the son from her future or even her world and if she was to take him out then she would in fact be the villain this time around.

Lucas Wayne grew up in a cruel world a world in which the Nazi’s had won but that didn’t stop his father Bruce Wayne from donning the cape and suit and becoming Batman if anything it drove Batman to be the hero not only Gotham City needed but the world itself as he worked alongside a group of freedom fighters eventually enlisting his own son Lucas into the group under his heroic alter ego Blue Canary.

Earth X’s Batman had traveled to many different worlds most far better and some far worst but he never gave up on the hope of one day saving his own earth that was until he heard tales of the death of the multiverse and everything changed for him and his son.

The Blue Canary had turned down many of his father’s pleas to go to either Earth Prime or Earth Blood with a device that not only allowed him to breach to another world but also transport him to another time but Lucas Wayne was very much like his father and wanted to save his earth, the problem was Bruce was never going to allow anything to happen to his son meaning Lucas Wayne was now in a different world in a different time completely and utterly alone.

Lucas wanted nothing more than to return to his awful world just to be reunited with his father but he knew Earth X was gone now and if he was going to honor his father’s sacrifice he had to continue being a hero no matter what world he was in.

“You know you were always pretty morbid but visiting your own grave is a whole other level even for yourself Lucas.” Sara told Lucas after vamp speeding into Lafayette Cemetery to stand beside him, finding Lucas stood in front of his own grave, or what she believed was his own grave.

“I don’t know why I was drawn here but I was…it was like his spirit was calling out to me somehow.” Lucas replied as he continued to look at Lucas Lance’s tomb, looking haunted by his own doppelganger’s grave.

“I heard your playing the doppelganger card, but I’ve got to admit you’re really committing to the role little brother.” Sara said completely disregarding the theory that this wasn’t the man who she was raised with.

“Brother?” Lucas stated as he turned to face the White Canary. “In my world I’m an only child well I was the only surviving child…yet you know me as brother and I’m not aware of any siblings looking like you which only means you’re her daughter.”

“What the hell are you talking about Luci?” Sara questioned him, not sure whether to be more confused or more suspicious by Lucas’ words.

“My name is Lucas Wayne…I’m guessing yours is Sara Lance which means you are my half-sister I won’t blame you for your mother considering she’s mine too or at least she is on my now extinct world.” Lucas replied to the woman he believed was this earth’s Laurel Lance’s daughter.

“Wayne…shut up!” Sara said in shock, realizing this version of Lucas wasn’t her Lucas. “You’re the freaking son of Batman!”

“I guess identities are just as badly hidden in this world.” Lucas scoffed. “Yes, I am but, on my Earth, they tend to call me the Blue Canary…tell me are you evil like our mother or is this a world where she’s a canary instead of a siren?”

“Firstly, Laurel Lance isn’t my mother she’s my sister, secondly I’m the White Canary and I’m not your sister I’m your aunt.” Sara informed the Blue Canary, while trying to get her head around his revelations. “Also, this isn’t my earth or Laurel’s but we’re both the good guys here…this world isn’t like the others.”

“Well I gathered that on the whole fact that there’s only two worlds in existence now within two entirely different multi-verses which I know is as confusing as it sounds so I’ll just ask is this Earth Prime or Earth X?” Lucas replied with more questions for the White Canary.

“Earth Blood…What do you mean the other worlds are gone?” Sara quizzed her nephew’s doppelganger, desperate to find out more about the supposed death of the multiverse.

“Do you always answer questions with more questions?” Lucas retorted with a smile on his face.

“I could say the same for you…my sister says you come from Earth X or at least that’s what she suspects considering the Siren X name drop you gave to Klaus.” Sara stated to him. “Are you as batshit evil as my Lucas was or did Batman become a good influence on this version?”

“I do come from Earth X yes but I’m not part of the evil that world is run by your sister is however, I worked alongside my father until…” Lucas began to explain before taking a painful pause, as he was reminded of the death of his father, his friends, his loved ones and the only world he had known as home.

“Until the death of the multiverse…you’re the only survivor from your earth, aren’t you?” Sara asked sympathetically, knowing the answer by the pure look of devastation of Lucas Wayne’s face and the tears forming in his eyes.

“All the worlds from our multiverse are gone…completely wiped out except for the newly reborn Earth Prime…in time there will be more reborn, but our worlds are gone forever!” Lucas cried. “I knew it would one day come to this, but I thought I’d be gone too.”

“We should probably go somewhere to talk about all this something tells me we’re both going to need one hell of a drink.” Sara suggested to Earth X’s version of her Lucas, wanting to stop his cries, distraught to see a soft side to any version of her brother.

“My father said not to trust anyone…but he was highly paranoid, and you are a fellow canary after all.” Lucas replied while drying his tears. “Let’s just keep your sister out of this one!”

Sara Lance had sought out Lucas fully expected to find the man she loved like a brother to be fooling them all but instead she found a good hearted and vulnerable Lucas Wayne, one not too dissimilar to the Lucas Lance she once knew before becoming the Red Canary.

She knew she could trust the Blue Canary as she recognized the pain in his eyes, the loss he must of felt and the loneliness he was now suffering from following the death of his entire world but just because she was willing to trust Lucas Wayne and he was willing to trust her didn’t mean it would be so easy for everyone else.

Sara Lance had been convinced that the man she found in Lafayette Cemetery was in fact the Earth X’s Lucas Wayne, the Blue Canary and the son of batman and decided to take him back to her own Lance Hotel within the French Quarter of New Orleans going as far to take him up to her own private bedroom within the hotel so they could have some privacy.

Sara ordered some much needed beers for them both via room service before they both walked out to Sara’s private balcony, both holding bottles of beers as they looked down on the city of New Orleans taking in the beautiful view that the city had to offer.

Lucas Wayne was taught to never trust anyone but he wasn’t anywhere near as distrusting as his father in fact he liked to believe he was a great judge of character and his judgement for Sara Lance was that he could trust her, a gut instinct which he wasn’t wrong about as she willing divulged information about his doppelganger Lucas Lance.

“I don’t mean to be cruel but I can’t help but see irony that the Laurel you know was determined to stop your Lucas’ evil ways considering I’ve spent most of my life cleaning up after a mother who abandoned me and the evil acts she committed on my earth.” Lucas scoffed at Sara while taking a sip of his beer. “Although I guess your Lucas was also abandoned by his Laurel in a way luckily, I had my father to raise me honestly and not under a cloud of deceit.”

“It wasn’t exactly like that it was a future version of Laurel in our world and she was trying to protect you.” Sara defended her sister while still feeling sympathy for this version of her nephew. “I know you’ve lost a lot and I know Siren X was a wicked bitch but my Laurel’s not like that she’s a hero…just like you.”

“It must’ve been difficult being part of a mission to kill a loved one for the great good I’d like to believe I’d be that honorable if I were ever in that situation.” Lucas replied with sincerity, making it known to Sara he didn’t hold her or Laurel responsible for his Earth X fate. “My whole life has been a never-ending battle fighting side by side with my father with the quest for freedom and now the war has ended…everyone lost…and all I want to do is find another battle to fight.”

“I get that for many years I was an assassin with the league of assassin’s my life was far less honorable but it was a never ending battle nonetheless and upon leaving the league I had to fight someone I called a brother.” Sara comforted Lucas before they both took drinks from their bottles of beer. “My war ended about five years ago and it was hard at first…don’t get me wrong things are never quiet around here, but this life really is an improvement to my previous even if I am a vampire.”

“You’re a vampire!” Lucas said in shock before laughing at the White Canary. “I think I can safely assume that this is Earth Blood then.”

“Lucas…” Laurel spoke with a sense of shock and heartbreak in both her voice and on her face, as she walked into Sara’s hotel room forcing both Lucas and Sara to walk back in from the balcony to greet the Black Canary.

“Judging by you looking not much older than I am that I’m also in the past instead of the present of Earth Blood.” Lucas stated, correctly assuming where and when he was, while Laurel continued to look at her son with tears forming in her eyes.

“He’s not our Lucas, he’s really not but he needs us Laurel.” Sara revealed to her older sister. “I think we need him too…I think you need him too.”

“So, you’re really from Earth X then?” Laurel managed to say as she held back her tears. “You must hate me even more than my Lucas did.”

“Well as long as you don’t try to kill me on numerous occasions, I’m fairly sure you and I will get along in some shape or form.” Lucas replied to the good doppelganger of his evil mother. “You’re not her I can’t hate for actions someone else made.”

“Wow you really aren’t my Lucas!” Laurel both cried and laughed, unsure if she was happy or not by the discovery of the good doppelganger of her evil son.

It was hard for Sara Lance not to see the little brother she grew up alongside when she looked at Lucas Wayne knowing that despite him looking exactly like Lucas Lance he wasn’t that man but he did share many similarities with who her adoptive brother Lucas was before becoming the Red Canary before Lucas Lance gave into evil.

Laurel Lance was resistant at first to get to know this doppelganger of her son but she knew he was innocent and as long as any version of her son needed her help she was going to be there for him even if it caused potential carnage between her and her bonds with the Mikaelson family, knowing Klaus would definitely have something to say about another Lucas being in New Orleans.

Nyssa al Ghul had decided to stay on Earth Blood five years previous creating a league of assassins of her own and claimed the island of Lian Yu for herself and her assassin army using her chance to break free from her father once and for all and both Sara and Laurel had been living on Earth Blood for quite some time too but they were far from alone.

Upon the death of the multiverse Lucas Wayne wasn’t the only one to find a way of escaping erasure by the anti-matter wave and Bruce Wayne wasn’t the only one to learn about the strange world of Earth Blood and the Blue Canary wasn’t the only one who used this world as an escape from their own deaths although he was the only one anyone would be happy to see.

In fact quite a few people from multiple worlds managed to find some way of escaping the death of the multiverse bringing them all to Earth Blood which may not have been a huge concern for the Mikaelson’s but it was certainly about to put the lives of all the canaries in definite danger.

“Well Puddin you don’t quite look like my Mr J but you sure as handsome!” Harley Quinn stated as she walked up to the gates of Lafayette Cemetery to find a different version of The Joker stood there waiting for her, knowing by the look of him he was just as sinister as The Joker she knew.

“Well you look exactly like the Harley Quinn I’m used to.” The Joker replied as he walked slowly towards a doppelganger of his sinister lover. “Now don’t tell me you’ve disappointed me and came alone now.”

“Don’t be silly now I’m a very smart broad and I know if we’re going to take this city by storm then we’re going to need accomplishes…although alone time with you is definitely on my schedule right after some chaos and carnage.” Harley answered with a menacing look in her eyes as Poison Ivy, Ra’s al Ghul and Killer Frost appeared from out of the shadows, each of the three looking just as sinister as delighted with themselves as the others.

The Joker simply replied with a manic and continuous laugh clearly beyond ecstatic to have escaped death once more, eager to rid this world of any good that resided within it knowing his twisted team were more than prepared to take out anyone that got in their way even if Batman himself somehow managed to follow them.

Now truly was the time for some true carnage and The Joker was more than ready to inflict it on everyone that got in his way.

[closetedshowfan]

Another random Arrow thought....these are happening quite constantly lately. I blame my rewatching past episodes.

So, unless I’m mistaken, part of the reason Felicity broke up with Oliver was how he handled the whole having a son thing.

Now, not to sound petty, but Oliver did only keep it secret because he wanted to have a relationship with his son. Which is understandable.

What is mind-boggling to me is this. Oliver was in no way dating Felicity when he fathered a child. Yet, she was mad and showed it. While on the other hand, the girl he actually cheated on (multiple times yet still stayed with by the way) told his baby momma that it wasn’t completely her fault. That Oliver got the blame as well. Laurel had every right to be mad and upset, yet she only showed she was upset with her dad because she knew that the current situation had nothing to do with her. Her ex’s son was kidnapped, and she put away her hurt to help find him.

How can anyone say Laurel was horrible??

#laurellancedeservedbetter

Let me know your thoughts. I’m open to hear what you think. And if I got anything wrong let me know. My rewatching is sporadic, so I may miss some things.

[hope-for-olicity]

Arrow Rewatch 2018: 3x16

Quick Thoughts

- I’m freaking in love with Season 3! I can’t stop watching episode after episode! Even with the huge lack of shirtlessness

- Laurel has to realize she sucks why does she challenge people at all - much less Nyssa

- LOVE Thea’s fashion choices

- Congrats and Why oh Why did you do that? - I heart Felicity

- Oliver being all cryptic - why not just tell them?

- Lance has every right to be mad at the Arrow - he should have told him!

- Oliver’s deep voice when dealing with Ray - love it!!

- Felicity apologizing for not telling Oliver about Ray - so sweet - but it, like this, would be a terribly uncomfortably conversation.

- Love reaction to hearing they had a bad with his lips sewn shut :)

- Everyone wants to save my soul these days - I heart you Thea

- Love how Oliver went to see Felicity to find out about Michael Amar only to come down to the foundry and have Digg show him the same information. So it’s just like old times - Oliver went to visit Felicity at work for no reason!

- Felicity is preoccupied? With what Oliver? Ray??

- Digg calling it like it is - Ras is playing with Oliver’s head - Digg does not approve of Oliver becoming Ras

- Felicity telling Oliver what she thinks about Oliver’s offer from Murder Incorporated!! What makes you think you aren’t already on the right path? Good on her for pointing out them not being together was his choice

- So Captain Lance is anti-vigilante now - Laurel this is YOUR FAULT.

- Was surprised to see Nyssa...I’d leave The League if I was her too

- Felicity is cheering on her team

- And a thank you and a you were right :) 

- A pass on becoming the most handsome demon’s head ever?

- I love when she says this:

- Hong Kong Oliver running into Shado’s twin - the fact that Shado has a twin...

- Laurel and Nyssa becoming friends. I like it - maybe she will help Laurel become a better person

- Maseo tells Oliver he cannot turn down being Ras

- Theroy back on

- Surprised that Ras himself came himself to discredit the Arrow

- NO SHIRTLESS OLIVER

Season 3 tally - 3/16 episodes with shirtless Oliver…just saying, I’m taking note. For reasons…

@memcjo @allimariexf @blondeeoneexox @jules85

[douxreviews]

Arrow - ‘Emerald Archer’ Review

“We knew what we were getting ourselves into when we agreed to this.”

By framing its 150th episode with a documentary, Arrow does what it does best. Focusing on the cost of being a hero and the damage created when you don’t succeed by revisiting the past and simultaneously resetting the stage for things to come.

From the first moment, we knew we were in for something different.  Gone was Oliver’s opening monologue followed by the requisite action scene.  Instead we open with Warner Bros. Pictures title card and a posthumous interview with Quentin Lance expounding on the need for vigilantes even as he admits they work outside the law.  The voiceover poses the age-old question – are vigilantes heroes or criminals.  

It is soon clear that Oliver’s commitment to transparency includes allowing a documentary crew full access to his home and at work.  His hope is to win back the city’s trust and become the hero he always wanted to be.  Towards that end, he candidly recounts the decisions he made and admits to his failures.

He’s not the only one.  Either the documentarian is an adept detective, which is not out of the realm of possibility given that she’s been working on this for years, or Oliver also offered up his friends and family to be interviewed.  Regardless of how she found her interviewees, it’s obviously Oliver did not coach them on what to say.

Barry claimed Oliver was unbelievably damaged before hastily backtracking in fear of harming Oliver’s reputation further or admitting to knowledge of his formerly secret identity.  Curtis called him flawed although stated he was a hero.  A season 1 Diggle claims there is no way Oliver could be a hero while the present-day version just said that Oliver has “grown.”  Thea, Sara, and Sin, discuss vigilantism without ever mentioning Oliver by name while Rory and Rene only mention their own exploits.  Laurel, forced to take on the mantle of her Earth-1 namesake is blunt when she claims that vigilantes cannot be law-abiding and they know it, which is probably one of the few things on which she and Ricardo Diaz can agree.  

And they’re right.  The reason the police come up short when faced with these criminals is not that they are incompetent, ignorant, or untrained.  It’s that they are obligated to work within the confines of the law.  Vigilantes are not.  How many times has Oliver and Company broken into random tech company #3 to steal the one gadget that can defeat this week’s villain or hacked into a government or military database to obtain someone’s personal information – warrant be damned.  If the police were allowed to use the vigilantes’ methods, they could have the vigilantes’ results.  We should be happy they can’t.

These questions are brought to a halt when the SCPD investigate a possible shooting and vigilante sighting only to discover a maskless and winded Rene.  Rene explains that the New Green Arrow has been captured and Oliver’s first response was to turn off the cameras.  He’s fine with the documentary digging into his own life but not his sister’s.  Or his son’s but we’ll get to that shortly.  

Giving Oliver the benefit of the doubt, I’ll say that these events provide him with an opportunity for a little transparency with his friends too.  Oliver comes clean to both Diggle and Dinah about his relationship with Star City’s newest vigilante.  While neither was particularly surprised by Ollie keeping a secret, they were shocked at the secret itself.  That doesn’t stop either of them backing his play.  Diggle uses A.R.G.U.S.’s super secret satellites to rescue Emiko and Dinah uses all of SCPD’s resources to locate her captor, not that they are successful.  

Which is when Diggle approaches Oliver with the idea of getting the Band back together.  Star City Police Department may not be able to handle the Chimera but Team Arrow can.  Diggle counters Oliver’s argument that Team Arrow no longer exists by saying it does. It’s just morphed into a different form.  Dig informs Oliver that Team Arrow is willing to go into the field with him even at the risk of violating the Anti-Vigilante law.  

This only makes sense if my previous argument is true considering that with the exception of Rene all of Team Arrow is involved in law enforcement of one stripe or another and could assist in that capacity.  By choosing to go out as vigilantes they are not hamstrung by those rules and regulations.  For whatever reason, Oliver agrees.  

Realizing Chimera will use the Mayor’s debate with Oliver as an opportunity to attack Oliver, Team Arrow lies in wait.  As expected, Team Arrow succeeds where the SCPD fails and is thanked for their help by being arrested.  All of which is captured on film.  This leaves Mayor Pollard in a bit of a quandary since the Anti-Vigilante law she wrote is still in effect.  Her solution is to deputize all of them.  

With that in mind, Oliver returns to the Bunker, film crew in tow, with the intent to rebuild.  We never get to see the documentary’s conclusion about the nature of vigilantes.  Although, if Maya is to be believed it must have shown them in a positive light.  However, given her comments regarding vigilantes being the death of Star City and getting what they deserved I doubt the Mayor’s solution was successful.

The B plot revolved around William’s return home.  He’s brimming with anger at being sent away to boarding school, at not being able to come home for the holidays, at Felicity’s newfound security consciousness and probably a little at himself.  William got expelled from school and apparently made an impressive effort to hide the fact.  The feat might have fooled just about anyone but Felicity.  We also get hints of the William yet to come – from his recognition of Felicity’s security measures to the budding friendship between him and Zoe and his reluctance to discuss his school crush.  Please, please, please let the reason for his dismissal be something other than his sexual orientation.  

Why William was expelled is just one of a multitude of questions I have.  Does the resurrection of Team Arrow mean Diggle and Curtis quit their day job?  And does it include Emiko?   And is Ollie in charge or Dinah?  And, and, and...

Other episodes may have more emotional heft but this was brilliantly crafted.  There was nothing I did not love.   However, given what we know of the future I’m left with one fervent hope.  That Nora West-Allen of this season’s Flash is correct and the timeline is malleable.

5 out of 5  Black Watch Satellites

Parting Thoughts:  

This episode was filled with Easter Eggs.  From Sin’s last name is the name of one of her co-creators to Kevin Meltzer being named after two of The Green Arrow’s more famous writers, Kevin Smith and Brad Meltzer.  The streets Nutter and Winter were none other than  Pilot Director extraordinaire David Nutter (Arrow, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Supernatural, Smallville, Dark Angel, Roswell, and the upcoming Batwoman just to name a few) and former Arrow Director of Photography and Producer Glen Winter.  And lest we forget the Documentarian was named after CW President Mark Pedowitz.

In case you missed it, the voice over was narrated by Kelsey Grammer.

Was Diggle going to tell Oliver about Diaz when Curtis interrupted?   The world may never know.

Rory and Helena are missing?   Helena’s no big loss considering she’s more villain than vigilante.  But Rory?  Say it ain’t so!

Connor was supposed to be Diggle’s son, right?  So what does that make Maya?  Her hatred of vigilantes has a distinctly personal tinge.  

Quotes:  

Dinah: “He just dresses in green leather and runs around with a bow and arrow. Which sounded a lot better in my head.  

Rene: “You have a cute shiny new badge (turns to Dinah). Thought about giving one to anyone else?

Mayor Pollard: “Your little stunt of deputizing Oliver Queen has set off a firestorm.” Dinah: “That’s funny. I actually think that’s a different superhero.”

Felicity: “It wasn’t so much a suggestion as it was one of those ‘mom’ things where if you don’t talk now, you’re grounded.  So...”

Diggle: “Who’d have known that wearing a hood and carrying a bow and arrow runs in the gene pool?”

Diggle: Oliver needs access to the Black Watch satellites." Curtis: “Does he know about those?  (To Oliver) You know about those?” Oliver: “You’ve met my wife, right, Curtis?

Curtis: “We gotta call him something.  I thought ‘Chimera’ sounded cool. Ok, do I look like Cisco?”

Rene: “Do your folks know you’re here.” William: “I’m not 7.”

Rene: “Sure, you guys can have the living room. I’ll be in the next room.  Cleaning my gun...”

Rene: “You are so stubborn.  You sure you and Oliver aren’t related?”

Dinah: “We have a new problem.” Oliver: “Don’t we always?”

Officer: “SCPD.  Don’t move! Freeze!” Curtis: Maybe you were all too busy being unconscious, but we just saved everyone in here."

Nick: “Fans have a strange way of showing their affection.”

Laurel: “Get that camera out of my face before I give you an enema with it.”

William: “Where’s Dad?” Felicity: “Oh, he just came across a very unexpected- completely expected setback.”

Pollard: “Oh, it’s a party.”

Shari loves sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural, and anything with a cape.  

[afaimsarrowverse]

Arrowverse: January 2020: Crisis and Beyond

I did one of these before the first three parts of „Crisis on Infinite Earths“ and it seemed to go good, so I am doing a second one again. No speculations, no fake news, only facts: Stuff about „Crisis on Infinite Earths Part 4&5“ and the future of the Arrowverse as a whole:

Beware Spoilers!

Crisis on Infinite Earths:

Part 4 and 5  - also known as Arrow Episode 8.8 und Legends of Tomorrow Episode 5.0  -will air on the 14th of January on the same night.

What will happen?

We’ve got the synopsis for Part 4 and a very much not-synopsis for Part 5. The paragons are stranded at the Vanishing Point, searching for a way out. The Flash vanishes, and Oliver, who has become something else, appears. From Part 3 and the promo-material we know that Oliver has become the Spectre. Jim Corrigan, as we learn in at least one of the latest promos, helps Oliver to take over the mantle. An older promo did also hint that we are going to see the Reverse-Flash after all in this crossover, and many fans think that he might be involved in the disappearance of the Flash. Promo-Matrial shows us that the Speed Force is very much intact, Eobard might have survived while hiding either in the Speed Force or the Negative Speed-Force. However until now there has been no official confirmation for the Reverse Flashs role in the crossover, he might not actually be in the crossover, but only appear to Barry when he is in the Speed Force. The promos hint that Barry disappears via Speed Force while Ryan Choi und presumably Lex Luthor work on a machine that should get all of them out of the Vanishing Point. Their will be at least one Speed Force sequence in Episode 4, in which a lot of the Arrowversecast could show up, even though none of them exists any more right now. However, given that this is the Arrow-Episode, it’s more likley that a lot of people from Arrow and Olivers past will show up during Olivers transformation to the Spectre. One of them could be Laurel Lance from Earth-1, who was confirmed to be in the crossover, quite a while ago. We will also learn the origin of the Monitor and the Anti-Monitor and our hereos will face the Anti-Monitor at the dawn of time.

The Battle at the Dawn of Time

Was filmed in a quarry and has the paragons fighting the Anti-Monitor and his shadow-demons. That scene has been in the trailers since Day 1. Remember that blueish graded scene? Well, it’s finally happening, however the grading seems to be gone. Or is it? Spectre-Oliver also is there. So maybe the grading is like Spectre-Vision or Spectre-Time? However they could have jossed it all together as well.

And then?

Presumable after that the Earths or at least some part of the Multiverse is back, because we haven seen Black Lightning, Frost, und Heatwave (it’s currently unknown if it’s Earth-1 Mick or the Crisis-Mick) in StarLabs. They are fighting Shadow Demons as well.

The Final Battle

Also there is a second battle against the Anti-Monitor, that involves not just the paragons, but also Dreamer, Alex Danvers, Superman, Ray Palmer, Wild Dog and Dinah Drake – as well als Heatwave and Frost – so yeah, our cast is back. This ist he final battle and will occur during Episode 5. We don’t know much more about it, expect that Shadow Demons are there as well.

Superpowers and Time Travel

It has been sayed several times, that Sara will gain superpowers and that this storyline will spin out of the crossover. In the promos we also see Lex Luthor firering some kind of energy blast. While this could be technology based, mabye the paragons (all of them) get some special powers in order do defeat the Anti-Monitor? Or maybe it’s just some of them. One seems to be Sara.

As for the time travel aspect. Strange things are going on in the promo-material. For one: There was this picture with Kara and Oliver in their old uniforms, which could not have been a flashback because Kara has her current hair (and they did use a wig before this Season while doing a Season 2 flashback, so it seems unlikley that they would forget putting one on her during the crossover!). This could be a vision of some kind though. Then there is the Young Monitor shown interacting somewhat with some of our heroes. Again could be visions, but in one of these sequences Kara is doing something very strange behind him, which has been interepreted as slowing down or reversing time. Also Wild Dog seems to be back in his armored uniform, which he ditched after Season 6. But given whom they are fighting, this would just be the smart move.

There are other strange things going on as well. A scenes shows Sara bursting in a pinkish bedroom fighting Shadow Demons. Also we got one shot of Barry in civilan clothes and more then one shot of Sara in Outfits Pasts, that look kind of familiar, as in from the past so… again all of this could be some sort of vision. Or it could be time travel. We don’t know at this point.

Also Sara from the past: There is one scene in which she looks very much dead/dying/badly hurt, which could be where she gains her superpower or it could be a revisiting of her Arrow Season 3 death, either in vision or through time travel.

Stargirl

Marc Guggenheim told us, that there are a lot of guest appearances coming up. One of them is Laurel Lance from Earth-1. Another one is Stargirl, but not the Arrowverse JSA-Version, but the new version from the new show. This version will actually make her screendebut during the Crossover. Somewhen during spring Season 1 of „Stargirl“ will air on The CW. It will also be available on the DC-App, a day or so before the episode in question will air on The CW. However even though we can’t know for sure what the future brings, the show is considered CW-Property at the moment and a part of the Arrowverse.

After Crisis:

After Part 5 all the shows will pick up where the have left off. But most of them are expected to have some sort of fallout from Crisis. Even Black Lightning.

Arrow

Having only two episodes left after Crisis, „Arrow“ is coming to an end. The first episode after Crisis is the Backdoor-Pilot. (More about this one later). Then on the 28th of January „Fadeout“ the two hour „Arrow“-Finale will air. Felicity will be back for this episode. As will Rory Regan. We will also see Roy, Anatoly, and Sara in it. As well as probably Thea and Quentin, because Willa Holland and Paul Blackthorne were both confirmed for muliple episodes this season, but have only shown up once so far. They could appear in Crisis instead, but the safer bet would be the Series Finale. Expect many more returns and guest appearances for that. Evidence suggests that Barry might be in it, but that could have been someone else in red. The synopsis is a non-synopsis again, so don’t expect to find out what it actually is about until after the Backdoor-Pilot.

The Flash

„The Flash“ returns a little bit later then the other shows. It’s back on 4th of Febuary with an episode called „Marathon.“ Given the later date, we know much less than about the other shows post Crisis. The three episoded after this one are called „Love is a Battlefield“, „A girl named Sue“ and „Grodd friended me“. All of this episodes will air in Feburary. Sue Dearborn will finally be introduced in those episodes. „A girl names Sue“ is going to be very much about her. She will be played be Natalie Dreyfuss. If the show follows the comics she is going to be Ralphs future wife. At least we can expect some sort of romance, I guess. We were told that there was going to be another Ralph-Centric episode this season, „A Girl named Sue“ is a good candidate for this as well as it is for Sues first appearance. The episode after brings back Grodd. Also back is Wally West, there will be an episodes in which he fights a classic villain with a new face. Another new character and potenial big bad for the back half of the season is Eva McCulloch, she will be played by Efrat Dor and might have something to do with the conspiracy Team Citzien will try to unveal in the upcoming episodes. There have been rumors about her being a female version of Mirror Master, so we will see what kind of villain, if any, she will turn out to be. There will be at least one more episode with Chester P. Runk in it. And we were told that we will learn more about Nash Wells and his secrets, however anything Nash-releated will probably depend on what’s going to happen with Pariah at the end of Crisis.

Season 7 has been ordered by The CW and Grant Gustin has renewed his contract and signed up for it.

Supergirl

„Supergirl“ will be back on the 19th of January with an episode called „The Bottle Episode“. The term „Bottle Episode“ originated from the „Star Trek: TNG“-Production-Team and signifies episodes which safe money and therefore take place on the standing sets, don’t use guest actors etc. However this episode might be named that for another reason. While the synopsis, only speaks of complications after Crisis and a chaotic threat, it is the episode with Meaghan Rath. She is Jesse Raths sister, and we were told she is going to play a female version of Brainiac-5. The first Brainiac has a certain bottle-collecting habit in the DC-Canon, and what’s really interesting is what is in those bottles. It is unknown where this new Brainiac-5 Version comes from. Is she from an alternate earth? Has Brainy somehow become a woman? Originally the part was described as Brainys sister. We will have to wait and see.

Next up is the two-parter „Back from the Future“. David Harewood directed Part 1 (Melissa is going to direct an episode later this season). The synopsis speaks of a Toyman copycat and the episode sees Winn Schotts return to the show (this is where the title comes from). It’s possible but not very likley that we are going to see the Legion of Superheroes in this two-parter. Jermery Jordan is contraced for three episodes this seasons. Apart from the two-parter, he could show up at the end of „The Bottle Episode“ or – which is prefable – in the episode after the two-parter which ist he 100th episode of „Supergirl“. It’s called „It’s a Super Life“ and it’s „Supergirl“s spin on „It’s a Wonderful Life“. Instead of an angle, she gets a certain imp, played by Thomas Lennon this time around. Mxyzptlk shows Kara a world without her, at least that what they want us to beliefe is happening in the 100the episode. Guest Star alert! Odette Annabelle is back, so ist Sam Witwer, we also get the return of the characters of Otis Graves and Thomas Coville. This seems like they will concentrate of the plots of Season 3 and 4, rather then the earlier Seasons, but it’s still very much possible that Cat, Maggie, and Mon-El show up in this one as well. There has been much buzz about Chris Wood being in it, but nothing is confirmed. Yes, he was in Vancouver for quite a long time, but it was the Holiday Season, Melissa did just release her Insta-Video about her abusive realtionship, and he is her husband after all. That fact alone could be reason enough for him to be at the 100th episode party. Yes, he was the only former castmember there, but like I said, he is Melissas husband. It would make sense to expect Mon-El back sometime this season, but I wouldn’t bet on it. By the way, Andrea Brooks will definifly be back some time this season, depending on the lenght of her maternity leave.

Season 6 of „Supergirl“ has already been ordered by The CW.

Legends of Tomorrow

Season 5 of „Legends of Tomorrow“ is finally going to premier in January. „Crisis Part 5“ is said premier, however the producers do consider it a special, and the episode „Meet the Legends“, which airs on the 21th of January, the proper Season Opener. Appearantly the Legends have become famous, Sara isn’t too pleased, Ray, Mick, Nate and the others are enthusiastic about it and invite a documentary crew on the „Waverider“. A new timetravel-related problem emerges in the form of Rasputin, who is back from hell and not so easy to deal with. Meanwhile Constantine finds out the reason behind the new blips in the timeline. The reason ist Astra Logue, as we know. We also know that current Legend Behrad Tomaz is not the wind-totem bearer that was on the team in the last two seasons, but his sister Zari is. But last time we checked the Legends didn’t know that. Tala Ashe will be back as the new version of Zari this season, so no worries there. Gary and Ava will also be back, even though the Time Bureau is gone. Mone seems to hang out with the Legends now, while Ava must figure out what’s next for her.

As mentioned before Sara gets Superpowers. Even though they are a side effect of some kind of magical illness – maybe. The back from Hell villains will be called „Encores“ and will also be the main problem for the Legends this season.

Given that the „Arrow“-Finale is a two-parter „Legends“ might already be off again in the week after the Season-Opener. It should be back on the week after the „Arrow“-Finale though. Caity Lotz directed Episode 5.5. „Mortal Khanbat“. Brandon Routh and Country Ford are sadly to be expected to leave the show around the middle of the season. Brandons last episode might be either 5.7 „Romeo V Juliet: Dawn of Justness“ or 5. 8. „Zari, not Zari“. He filmed something with the Legends during the shoot of „Zari, not Zari“ but this might have been for 5.7. or the Crossover. Like Season 4 Season 5 sadly has only 16 episodes, one of them being the special „Crisis Part 5“.

As we saw in the trailer, Ray will get to impersonate a TV-Persona, Nate gets high or learns to fly (maybe both), Beebo is back and so are the puppets. There will be aSteelatom-Episode that involves a prom. Avalance is still very much alive, and we may find out what Charlies secret is, and the Constantine/Hellblazer-Storyline may conclude this season. Given that we are alreay losing Ray, we might not want that, but it could happen.

However at least Season 6 has already been ordered by The CW.

Black Lightning

Still no news about when Season 3 will appaer on international Netflix, but The CW picks up again on 20th of January with „The Book Markovia Chapter One“. Jefferson will deal with the Crisis fallout, while the rest of the cast pretty much picks up where the left of.

Season 4 has already been ordered by The CW.

Batwoman

Batwoman is still winglady to „Supergirl“ and comes back on the 19th of January. „How queer is everthing today“ picks up after the devastating events of 1.8., however the synopsis mentoned „Batwoman’s akward encounter“, so I have no idea what that alludes too. Can’t be Crisis, so it must be something else. Timlinewise we will also learn in this episodes, if the general Season 1 events have reached Crisis or not. „An Un-Birthday-Present“ celebrates the Kane-Sisters birthday and teases a guest in Gotham. The next two episodes are titeled „Take your choice“ and „Drink me“. Upcoming is a Rooftop-Kiss and maybe Batwing. As always everyone involved in this show is a lot more tightlipped about upcomind events then the rest of the Arroweverse.

Season 2 has already been ordered by The CW.

Also „Batwoman“ is the strongest argument against th death of the Multiverse and only one earth after Crisis. In order for this, „Batwoman“ and „Titans“ would have to take place on the same earth and inside the same continuity. Ser Jorah Mormont would have to be Bruce Wayne, they would have to settle on one Slade Wilson,, etc. Unless they undo all of it again before Season 3 of „Titans“ happens.

Green Arrow und the Canaries

The Backdoor-Pilot airs on the 21th of January. Mia, now called Queen instead of Smoak, is back in 2040 and has everthing she could have wanted. However Laurel of Earth-2 und Dinah show up in search for a kidnapping victim with a direct connection to Mia. The three team up to save the city. The grown up version of John Diggle Jr. is in this episode, so he might be the antagonist in this. There is no offiical word on William or Connor yet. As for Laurel und Dinah they seemd to be without Age-Make-Up. So they might have time travelled. That or they were aged up digitally in post. Or they jossed the Make Up for some reason.

Somewhen after it airs The CW will decide if they are going to pick the show up or not. It could be a swift decesion, however it’s more likely not to be decided until Pilot Season, when the solidify their programm for the next season. Don’t hold your breath, just be patient.

And don’t expect plot-details until after Crisis.

Superman and Lois

Will spin ouf of Crisis. The Pilot is about to be shot in spring. During Pilot Season The CW will view it and then decided wether to pick it up or not. Chances of getting picked up are very high, unless Warner steps in and decides Superman is to be Movie-only-property again after all.

The show is a Spin-Off of „Supergirl“ and will feature Tyler and Bitsie and not Brandon Routh. It will be about their lifes as parents, journalists, and superheroes. The show kind of picks up where „Lois and Clark“ ended – the couple as young parents.

There have been supersons-rumors going around. Depending on the end of Crisis, there could be a reason for this. Remember the dialog about two kids? And that other Superman who happens to have a son? However, we will have to wait for the end of Crisis for that one. It might not happen after all. Plus: The show is not picked up yet. So we will have to wait and see for more plot details.

Green Lantern

The DC show is coming to HBOmax. It’s rumored to be set in the Arrowverse, however not confirmed. As Crisis has shown so far: All DC Properties are set in the Arrow-Multiverse, so maybe they are going to strenghten that connection in the coming years. However like I said, nothing is confirmed yet.

[foxofthedesert]

Arrow FF | Dinah x Laurel | A Christmas Miracle

Part 3 – The Dance (Click for AO3 Link)

As Dinah trails Laurel down the familiar amber-lit hallway, she has to remind herself that this is not her first trip to this particular Oak Forest complex.  Seeing as Laurel lives smack dab between Felicity and Dinah, the convenience of her apartment made sense to conduct meetings of the anti-Diaz club Felicity formed while Oliver was locked up and which thereafter morphed into what Felicity calls ‘an unconventionally awesome three way Womance.’  Dinah also drops in to check on Laurel after particularly rough days, a gesture that while not received with praise is at least silently appreciated judging by Laurel’s tacit acceptance of her continued unannounced visits.  There is a modicum of resentment from Laurel that occasionally boils over due to feeling unfairly criticized or annoyingly henpecked due to the wanton villainy that characterized her recent, although Dinah has learned how to assuage those flare ups with honeyed reassurances that she is only concerned because she cares.  Usually that works well enough, and it when it doesn’t they just bicker it out until one of them invariably apologizes.  Lastly, during their collaboration on the Ace Chemical case, work twice spilled over into Laurel’s home and saw them laboring into the wee hours of the morning double and triple checking critical details tucked away inside the mountain of associated files. 

All of this means that Dinah a stranger to this sharp, stylish corridor, nor is she unfamiliar with the cozy confines of the abode lurking behind the door just ahead.  And yet the tingling in her extremities and the butterflies fluttering around in her tummy would suggest otherwise.  In the wake of their bonding experience at the shelter, the sensations being produced by Laurel’s proximity and their pending nightcap are not unlike those she experienced the night before her junior prom.  Only then her date was a six foot two, one hundred ninety-five pound star athlete with whom she was utterly smitten; whereas now...well, at least the last part is accurate if her slightly humiliating reaction is any reliable barometer.  

Get ahold of yourself for God’s sake, she tells herself as they approach Laurel’s front door, which displays a lovely ornamented wreath.  You’re not sixteen anymore and this isn’t a date.  Then she recalls Laurel’s anxious shifting as the invitation was posed, and how clearly it was meant as much more than a friendly gesture of thanks for her help at the shelter.  Or is it?  Hmm. Laurel certainly was acting like maybe it is, which is probably why I’m as big a bundle of nerves as she seems to be.  Holding her hand when we left the shelter didn’t help matters, either. As Dinah remembers how right it felt when their palms meshed and their fingers wove together, she watches Laurel fumble for the key to her apartment with shaky hands, swear under her breath, then glance back sheepishly before returning to her task.  The unmistakable hint of an incredibly fragile hope that flared through Laurel’s green eyes hits Dinah square in the chest.  Jesus.  Is this really happening?

Dinah gets her answer when Laurel finally slides the correct key home and pushes the door open, then hesitates in the doorway before offering a shy invitation that sounds nothing like the arrogant, flamboyant, dangerous vixen she first encountered on Lian Yu.  Unfortunately Laurel recovers her confidence too quickly for Dinah to comment upon that brief display of vulnerability then flicks on the light and enters to reveal a sight no one who knows this Laurel Lance could have ever adequately prepared for.  

Inside the apartment is a scene that would not be horribly out of place in one of the Hallmark Christmas movies Dinah enjoys indulging in during the Holidays.  Festive trinkets adorn virtually every piece of furniture from little knickknacks like porcelain elves upon the bookshelf to dual poinsettias with ribbons attached to the wrapping on the vase on the entertainment stand next to the door all the way up to an exquisite nativity scene upon the coffee table that appears as old as it is gorgeous.  Meanwhile a modest Christmas tree is tucked into the corner of the living room, neatly and conservatively trimmed featuring plain white lights and mostly silver ornamentation.

“I like what you’ve done to the place,” she says as she mimics Laurel in shrugging off her coat then depositing it, as well as her other unnecessary garments, upon the coat rack to the left of the door.  

Laurel smiles over her shoulder, an attractive blush coloring her cheeks. “Thanks.  I might have gone a bit overboard.  This is the first year I’ve decorated since...” she trails off then, brows drawing in, an oppressive sadness dimming the light in her eyes as she is transported somewhere in her mind, to another time and place Dinah is not yet privy to.  But as abruptly as the gloom descends, Laurel brushes it away with a shake of her shoulders and reattaches a wry smile to her face.  “Well, let’s just say it’s been a long time.”

Wanting to ask about what went through Laurel’s head just a second ago and whether or not it has to do with Quentin, Dinah opts instead for a safer track.  Some day she will get Laurel to open up to her about all she’s been hiding for so long under those impressive facades meant to distract from a secret anguish no one else seems interested in.  Except for Dinah, that is, and not just due to the cop instincts that make her want to dissect criminals and villains to determine what makes them tick.  She wants to know because it has been evident to her since she bothered to look past the jagged sarcasm, edgy goth wardrobe, and penchant for violence, she realized there was something significant there screaming to the heavens to be uncovered.  Once she knew what she was looking for, it didn’t take a genius to figure out there is so much hurt being bottled up inside Laurel that needs to be vented if she’s to maintain this positive course correction she’s made.  The problem is Laurel’s problematic lack of a support system makes any definitive progress unlikely in the near term.  Who in her life would she deem trustworthy enough to permit voyage beyond the as of yet impenetrable facade?  The answer is self-evident to Dinah.  No one.  Or not yet anyway.  Dinah is trying her damnedest to be that someone since no one else seems interested.    

With every one else important to Laurel life occupied with their own problems, such as Felicity and Oliver with their family and Team Arrow and all the peripheral shit that comes along with being the central figures of a Superhero outfit that spans multiple cities and Earth, or simply unconcerned about her welfare because they can’t let go of the past – ahem Rene and John – the burden of caring about and for Laurel Lance has fallen to Dinah alone.  And that’s okay.  She’s happy to shoulder it. Dinah has always been a caregiver.  It’s one of many factors that drove her to focus her military training into a meaningful civilian service.  That and Laurel, at least to her, is worth it.  If no one else can see that?  Their loss.  She’ll take this exceptional, infinitely interesting woman over the banal choices for company daily served up to her on a silver platter.  

“What got you in the holiday spirit if you don’t mind me prying?” she asks, following Laurel into the living room where her svelte hostess gestures for her to sit.

“Hold that thought and go ahead and make yourself at home while I go get the snacks,” Laurel says in lieu of answering immediately, then glides off toward the kitchen with her typical grace.  

Dinah obeys like a good guest, and to keep from fidgeting occupies her hands by trailing her fingers over the smooth lacquered finish of the figurines composing the nativity scene neatly arranged upon the coffee table.  The craftsmanship really is amazing, the precision unlike anything she has come across from her limited exposure to Christmas decorations.  As a kid her parents opted to celebrate the holidays in a non-religious manner seeing as both were lapsed in the faith they were born into, her father the son of Southern Baptist preacher and her mother’s family ensconced firmly within Reform Judaism.  But she had friends who made big to-dos about Christmas and often visited their houses to get a glimpse into a portion of modern life she was denied.  She used to marvel at the ornamentation on display and wish she was brave enough to ask her parents to make some allowances.  None of her friends had anything like this, though.

The manger is so intricate that she can feel imperfections in it as if it were real wood, the hay hundreds of individually constructed strings upon which a marvelously detailed baby Jesus lay, with ten tiny olive-tinted fingers clutching at the threadbare shawl wrapped round him.  Mary and Joseph are almost as meticulous, in their period clothing with accurate complexions and features, as are the equally diverse wise men and the astonishingly life-like miniature lambs tucked in round the manger.

“My great-great-great-something grandfather made that in the 1850’s, I think,” Laurel says, having snuck back in while Dinah was entranced studying the figurines.  A bit startled, she looks up to see Laurel rounding the couch with a tray in hand and tracks her progress as she continues on to deposit the tray carefully upon an unoccupied portion of the coffee table.  “It’s also the answer to your earlier question.  I mean, volunteering at the shelter this year got me thinking about when I was a kid and my parents would go crazy around Christmas.  Nostalgia hit me hard, so I started browsing through some of the boxes of Christmas stuff Quentin never got around to unpacking and found this nativity scene carefully tucked away in bundles of padding.  It’s exactly the same as the one my Quentin inherited, one of a handful of items that survived the family move from Germany after the war.  Incidentally, apparently family origin is one thing that doesn’t really change between Earths where we have doppelgangers.”  She pauses for a breath.  “Anyway, I wanted to put it out to remember both Quentins by but it seemed silly to have just that, so I put up a few more.  Which turned into a few more. Eventually...I looked around and this had happened.  Oopsie.”  To prove her point, she gestures around the apartment, its festive décor providing a merry backdrop to what Dinah hopes will be just as merry a night.

“Well, it’s absolutely gorgeous so I don’t blame you one bit for wanting to show it off.  Or for going overboard on the rest,” Dinah says, savoring the information she has just gleaned.  Not only does she now know that they share in a heritage that traces back to Germany before the Second World War and that family histories remain largely intact between multiple Earths when a person exists in each of them, but the most intriguing tidbit is that Laurel had a happy childhood at one point.  So what went so terribly wrong to make her into Black Siren?  Curiosity surges through her mind that she quickly tempers with a dose of reality by reminding herself why she’s here.  “The whole apartment is really nice. I’m very impressed,” she adds, meaning it from the bottom of her heart.  “Now that I know you have a knack for interior decorating, I’ll be blackmailing you into sprucing my place up for Hanukkah next year.”

Just because her late parents chose the path of unbelief does not mean Dinah has.  There was a time she abandoned her faith, but since moving to Star City she has slowly been building up to the loosely-observant Reformist she is today.  That means among other things that she attends synagogue whenever she can, which isn’t as often as she’d like due to her job, and eats as kosher as convenience and finance will allow.  She has never been big on tradition, so she prefers to practice her faith in a casual way that appeals to her modern, practical, and privacy-oriented sensibilities. That said, her belief is as strong as it has ever been, strangely enough thanks to the woman from whom she just washed dishes and mopped floors until her fingers pruned up and her back ached like a bitch.  If there was ever a sign from God that love and forgiveness possess a singular power to heal the heart, it has come in the form of her constantly evolving relationship with Laurel.

Ignorant of Dinah’s thoughts, Laurel chuckles at the jest she just made, which causes those amazing dimples of hers to peak out.  “Can’t wait to see what material you break out to get me to do your bidding. I’m not easily blackmailed, you know.”

“I know.  I happen to like a good challenge, which you most certainly are,” Dinah says with a wink that causes Laurel to blush for what seems like the hundredth time tonight.

“I’ve been called many things, but none with ‘good’ attached as a modifier.  Eggnog?” Laurel returns as she gently picks up a mug of eggnog and offers it to Dinah, who accepts it with a grateful smile.

Powerless to resist the creamy goodness cradled in her hands, Dinah takes an experimental sip and cannot stop a moan of pure delight from purring through her chest.  “Well, get used to it if this stuff is any indication of your talents.”  She then breaks off the arm of one of the gingerbread men, snaps the hand off, then samples the dismembered appendage.  Eyes sliding shut in rapture, a similar sound erupts from the depths of her chest.  The cookie is more like something out of a professional bakery than an amateur oven.  It is soft, perfectly chewy with a cinnamony and gingery flavor that coats her tongue with wonderfulness.  “Christ alive, Laurel!  This is divine.”

Not half as divine as those noises you just made, Laurel thinks, then chastises herself for what feels like the thousandth time tonight.  She has always been hyper-aware of Dinah’s casual sensuality and absurd level of hotness, but lately her inability to curb that awareness has proven quite the irritant.

“Where’d you learn to make this?”

Dinah’s question causes Laurel to reemerge abruptly from the haze induced by that sinful moan.  “I found it in my dad’s recipe book,” she answers, hastily to avoid any intensive scrutiny of her embarrassing biological response.  “I mean, Quentin’s.  Not that my Quentin wasn’t…that he didn’t...err, that he wasn’t...”  A soft hand touches her to mercifully prevent any further verbal flailing.

Dinah’s gentle smile eases the mortification, but only just.  “It’s okay. I know how much he meant to you.  It’s not wrong of you to see him as your dad.  He was.  If any man ever loved his daughter, that’s the way Quentin loved you.”  

Tears prick at Laurel’s eyes unbidden and she clamps down on her lower lip to keep from whimpering like some pathetic little girl.  That age old cliché that time heals all wounds is nothing but a bunch of bullshit to Laurel when it’s yet to get any easier for her to hear how deeply this Earth’s Quentin Lance cared for her.  The gaping, oozing sore his entirely preventable death left behind is a constant reminder of her unforgivable failures as a daughter upon two worlds. When her mother died in an auto accident and took her Sara to the grave with her, Laurel selfishly and foolishly blamed it all upon her father, who was behind the wheel, even though it was not his fault.  A truck driver strung out on amphetamines to stay awake ran a light and plowed right into the passenger’s side.  There was nothing anybody could have done, but that didn’t stop Laurel from berating her father at every turn until their relationship was in tatters and he could barely stand to look at her for fear of what she might say.  When he was gunned down two weeks after her sixteenth birthday, six months after her Ollie died in the Gambit, she blamed him for that, too. Or at least she did until realization set in that all of the tragedies were ultimately her fault.  Her parents had been on their way to pick up her from a silly after school program for advanced readers when that accident occurred, Ollie went on that trip with his dad because she was putting too much pressure on him to move away with her for college, and her father was killed interrupting a robbery while out buying ice cream for her because she emerged from the dreary foxhole of depression to actually interact with him for the first time in weeks.  

Guilt over her role in those events ate her alive over the subsequent years.  Haunted in nightmares, she was stalked from the shadows of her mind every waking hour of the day until she was reduced to little more than a deviant drug addict living on the streets, willing to do anything for a fix so the voice inside her head that sounded suspiciously like her dad would stop blaming her for their family’s demise.  Becoming Black Siren cauterized that wound fairly well up til being Black Siren cost her the exceedingly precious second chance at deserving her father’s unconditional love.  That day in the hospital, hearing Sara’s plaintive cries, feeling the blood rushing in her ears, unable to curtail the tears rolling down her face, tore it right back open again, as it has remained ever since.  And the only person who has seemed to notice her silent suffering is Dinah Drake.  

Miracle of all miracles….

As if sensing Laurel’s internal distress over her terrible comportment and her reticence to continue down this line of discussion, Dinah again proves her aptitude with regard to Laurel’s emotional and mental state.  A pat of Laurel’s hand precedes returning her own to her mug, and she then adopts a more neutral posture and tone as she indulges in another healthy sip of the eggnog.  After a satisfied little sigh, she asks, “So, what brought you to the shelter?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Laurel says, tone a bit clipped.  

One day she will tell Dinah about the months she spent living at place just like the Carmine Kanigher Emergency Shelter.  If her wildest dreams come true, she’ll finally be safe enough in a relationship with a woman who can handle the harrowing tale of a broken nineteen year old sexual abuse victim and heroin junkie who escaped her personal hell when S.T.A.R. Labs explosion bathed her battered body in Dark Matter in the midst of an agonized banshee wail.  Beaten half to death, face a bloody mess, violated beyond reckoning, angry cigar-shaped burns seared into the small of her back and the back of her neck, in tattered clothes that hadn’t been washed in a month, she stumbled eight blocks in the dead of night until she spotted the little facility tucked in between a decrepit old apartment building and an anachronistic Catholic church that looked more like it belonged in Gotham than Central City.  

As she stumbled across the empty intersection, her heart started beating uncontrollably.  Two steps out a cold sensation corkscrewed up her spine and she stopped right in the middle of the street, paralyzed. Out of the blue she could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head, could smell the stink of vodka on his breath, and feel a grimy hand clamping down on her hips whilst the other snatched great handfuls of her hair with all the tenderness of a rabid grizzly. Panic descended upon her like a runaway train.  Unable to think, reduced to pure adrenaline and fear, she used every last ounce of willpower to force her feet to move and raced as fast as her unsteady legs would take her toward sanctuary, heedless of the cars barreling down upon her from both lanes, horns screaming at the crazy unkempt lady on a suicide mission to figure out the chicken’s motives for journeying to the other side of the road.  Only instead of a triumphant arrival, her toe got hooked on the sidewalk, causing her to face plant within a stone’s throw from what would soon become her only safe haven in life, fracturing her cheek and reopening the jagged cut on her lip.  

Laurel can remember so vividly how she literally crawled those last five yards to the front door on her hands and knees, panting for breath and keening in manic desperation, can remember how her bare knees were shredded on the unforgiving concrete leaving behind erratic streaks of blood that took the staff four hours to scrub out the next day.  How she got up the stairs and through the front door is not so clear, but she does recall smelling fresh popcorn the second she staggered inside, a scent to this day she associates with safety. She also remembers being greeted by the unbearably kind face of a woman not much older than she is right now, and how that same woman nursed her through the night so patiently and with such gentle care that she wept in her arms until she passed out.

That is why she was at the shelter tonight.  To at long last pay it forward in honor of Emma Morrison and all of the other men and women who filtered through her shattered life during her brief stay at Central Covenant Emergency Shelter.  After all they did to piece her back together into some semblance of a human being, a herculean feat Laurel still doesn’t understand how they accomplished, the least she can do is help out around the holidays at a place that is doing the same thing for people just like she used to be.  People who have been chewed up and spat out by the world, whose loved ones have left them by choice or via the grave, who have nothing and no one to care for them during the one season per year everyone should have someone.  Even a wretch like her.      

One day she will tell Dinah all of this, because there hasn’t been any one else in her life since Emma that made her want to talk about her past, to air out her anguish, to vent her immeasurable pain.  Dinah makes her want to, though, and not just because Dinah has proven herself trustworthy but because Dinah had the audacity to get to know Laurel for no other reason than for Laurel’s sake.  Against all objective logic, Dinah chose Laurel, and continues to over and over again.  Nobody else has done that since her Ollie and her Daddy died. So there will come a day she will sit Dinah down and divulge the ugly truth behind her radically abrupt spurt of holiday volunteerism. But not today.  Especially not on Christmas.  Talking about those dark days would sully something precious that has been building between them tonight.  Something Laurel can already feel slipping away from her, which causes her to react with her typical knee-jerk abrasiveness.  

Lids narrowing in accusation, she pins Dinah down with a cold stare.  “You were the one who followed me there.  Worried I was about to dive head first into the evil end of the pool again?”  Still on the defensive, she squeezes the mug between her hands more tightly to rein in her flaring temper.  She hadn’t meant to jump down Dinah’s throat, it’s just lashing out is her default response to emotional upset.  Once she told Felicity empathy was a work in progress – well, it is one of many works in progress in her life, coping mechanisms included.  

To her credit, Dinah does not take the bait other than to calmly reply, “Of course not.”  A pointed look from Laurel, replete with an arched brow, inspires Dinah to amend herself with a shy shrug and cute shrug of her shoulders.  “Okay.  Maybe a little.  Mostly I was curious.  You pawned a very important case off on an A.D.A. at the last minute, so I thought I’d find out why.”

Laurel does not understand the reasoning.  At all.  “You have history with Martinez.  I thought you’d be fine working with him while I took some evenings for myself during the holidays.”

For the first time all night, Dinah becomes visibly upset.  Her nostrils flare, the muscles in her arms and shoulders tense, and her eyes narrow sharply.  “Well, you figured wrong.  We worked that case together for over two months, Laurel.  You should have seen it through instead bailing on me!”

Taken aback, Laurel returns her mug to the tray.  Of all the things for Dinah to get her panties in a wad about, it’s this?  As far as Laurel knows, Dinah and Martinez get along swimmingly.  They have worked several cases together since Laurel assumed her doppelganger’s duties as District Attorney and have only returned glowing praises about the other in both verbal and hard copy reports.  Hell, they’ve even gone out for casual drinks a time or two and had a swell time, which irritated Laurel more than it should have considering she only recently retrieved her attraction to Dinah from the realm of impossible dreams.  

Strangely enough, it was working on this case so closely that made her reconsider whether her assessment of Dinah’s sexuality was as reliable as she initially assumed.  Maybe that’s why she’s so perturbed.  Maybe she thought the same about me?  I mean, I wasn’t exactly waving my bi flag for all to see.  What if working this case together has opened her eyes the same way it has mine?  What if…

Going any further down that road without context is so dangerous Laurel veers a sharp turn on the nearest on-ramp leading to attaining what she needs with a sudden desperation that is as terrifying as it is exciting.

“Okay...what’s this really about?” she poses, daring Dinah to try and finagle herself out of giving an honest answer.

“I just told you...” Laurel waves off Dinah’s sad attempt at deflection as if batting away a pesky fly.  “Yeah, yeah.  You told me why you were curious as to my so-called pawning off of the Ace Chemical case.  I couldn’t help but notice, though, that you’re truly upset about it.  And not for the specified reason.  This has nothing to do with your investment in this case.  Or mine for that matter.”

“Is that so?”  

Dinah’s brows shoot up so sharply it feels as if they’re about to clash with her hairline.  How did this conversation turn on her so quickly? She’d meant to get Laurel to confess that she dropped the case because her work at the shelter during the holidays had become too important for her to abandon, that she has finally found a purpose for that heart she’s kept so safely guarded with a charming misanthropy she wields like a sword and shield to repel any who seek entry.  Only halfway through the sentence it turned into accusation as the abandonment Dinah felt – and yes, she knows that’s irrational; but Laurel makes her irrational, okay! – superseded that initial noble goal.  Deep down, she knows Laurel stepping away from the case only hurt her because it meant they wouldn’t be spending any more late nights in each other’s offices or in Laurel’s apartment working into the wee hours of the morning. There would be no more sipping on coffee and chatting about sports during short breaks, no more furtive glances when they thought the other wasn’t looking, no more of their shoulders and hips brushing together as they huddled over a report they’ve both read a dozen times looking for potential weaknesses or loopholes in the prosecution the defense might exploit, and no more excuses to touch Laurel because she’s right there and available and one hundred percent engaged in their hypnotizing dynamic.

Dinah was aggrieved because she wants more of all that, craves it like a drug, yearns for it like a forlorn lover whose partner has been out of reach for far too long.  She is afraid that without a legitimate professional excuse to continue this closeness they’ve developed it will wither on the vine and die before ever bearing fruit.  And that hurts her, makes her chest and throat physically constrict and her heart ache painfully to the point she feels tears of sheer despair well up from within her very soul.  If she cared to examine that phenomenon with any degree of conviction, she knows she would invariably uncover the root cause to be a four letter word that she simply cannot be the one to say first.  There is far too much on the line for that, and not just for her but for Laurel, who has probably been hurt more than Dinah has.  

And of course Laurel took the opportunity to, in a matter of heartbeats, dissect Dinah’s outburst and arrive at the same conclusion she has. Sometimes the woman’s perceptiveness is downright infuriating.

“From my point of view it is,” Laurel replies with complete confidence. All of the sudden, those spectacular green eyes lose all hints of vulnerability and instead resemble those of a hawk who has zeroed in on her prey.  That prey being Dinah.  Which sends a jolt of excitement through Dinah’s veins.

Refusing to back down an inch, Dinah harrumphs.  “Well, then, since you’re such an expert in the subject of my motives, why don’t you enlighten me as to what they were?”

Laurel shoots her a warning glance that is not so much threatening as out of concern.  Dinah doesn’t quite know what to make of it until Laurel responds, then she understands that the concern is for them both.  

“You sure you wanna go down this path?  ‘Cause there’s no going back once we do.”

Dinah has never been more sure of anything.  Four hours ago she would have taken the out being dangled so tempting in front of her.  But four hours ago she hadn’t seen Laurel disarmed of the sword that is her double-edged tongue and disrobed of the impenetrable armor that protects a soft underbelly Dinah would wager has been exposed for none asides from Quentin in a very long time.  Four hours ago she hadn’t seen Laurel glowing under the adulation of people who clearly care for her as much as she does them.  Four hours ago she hadn’t witnessed Laurel giving heartfelt hugs to homeless folks who weren’t the cleanest or the best smelling and engaging them with a mega-watt dimpled smile that actually reached her eyes as she wished them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and meant every last word.  Four hours ago she hadn’t held Laurel’s hand and realized it felt more right in hers than anyone’s ever has – and that includes Vince.  Four hours ago she was not ready to trust Laurel with her heart, because believe it or not she is not as strong as everyone makes her out to be.  

But that was four hours ago.  Now, things are different.  Much different. In such an astonishingly brief window of observation she has seen Laurel express attributes she knew were there along just waiting for the right moment to be unfurled and has at the same time been given a glimpse at a potential future that is so beautiful it takes her breath away.  All she needs is for Laurel to make the first move. And if that happens, Dinah is ready and willing to meet her halfway.

Until then, however, she has to maintain the pretense of ignorance, and not just for her sake.  Like a skittish dog who has been ritually abused only to be rescued by some compassionate soul, Laurel will need to feel like she is in control of the progression of their relationship or she might panic and bolt.  Some might see that as an obstacle they could not overcome, but Dinah is not one of those types.  Pride within intimacy has never been her problem.  Adaptability is her strength.  Take charge or be submissive, so long as she is being shown proper love and respect she can cut either direction depending on the mood.  With Vince she liked being a little domineering because he could take it.  He had this sixth sense for when she wanted to wear the pants and when she needed him to take the reins.  It seems that with Laurel, the sixth sense belongs to her.  Maybe time will bear out a different result, and if so she is eager to experience the journey, but if not she is just as happy to be for Laurel what Vince was for her.  Hell, it might even be the change of pace she didn’t even know she needed.

For now, though, she can just tell that she’s going to have to give a little bit more than she’s used to, bend a little more readily so that this new, fragile, incredibly thrilling development between them doesn’t break right out of the box.  

Crossing her arms over her chest, she narrows her eyes dubiously.  “Pssh. You act as if your theory is going to blow my damn mind or something.”

“Maybe it is,” Laurel says matter-of-factly, then softens almost imperceptibly.  “Maybe it’s already blown mine and I’m just trying to make sure you’re ready for the fallout.”

Internally, Dinah is squealing like a school girl whose crush is just about to make her dreams come true.  She has honestly not felt this way in so long she can’t remember the last time.  Externally she utilizes her many years of training, both from the military and the police academy, to maintain a neutral expression.

“Don’t go pulling punches on my account.  Not now.  One of the reasons I like spending time with you is because you give it to me straight. So if you have something to say, say it.”

Laurel nods, then does not hesitate to accommodate Dinah’s command. “Alright.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”  Here she pauses briefly, inhales deeply, lets it out slowly, then squares her shoulders before launching into her speech.  “So...I think that me handing the case off to Martinez means our collaboration ended earlier than scheduled.  I think that hurt you, and way more than you could have predicted.  I will concede that you might not understand why that is, exactly.  Or if you do, you’re too scared to admit it.”

Getting hot.  Keep going.  Figuring Laurel might need a bit of encouragement to see this through all the way, Dinah decides to inject a bit of a challenge.  Laurel always responds well to those…

“I’m not afraid of anything.  Especially a loud-mouthed bean pole like you.”  

Laurel’s grin tells Dinah her tactic worked like a fucking charm.  She gets herself a well-deserved mental pat on the back as Laurel scoots closer rather than reeling away as most would.

“Getting defensive.  I hit a nerve, I see.  Don’t worry, you didn’t offend me with that cute little barb.  In fact, you just proved my point.”

“Which is?”  C’mon.  You’ve come this far.  Just a little further...

“That you like me.”

Score! 1-0 in favor of Drake.  I’m liking the direction this is going more and more by the second.

To really sell her being utterly dense of what is going on here and that Laurel is the one in charge, Dinah furrows her brow in confusion. “Come again…?”

A daring hand hovers over Dinah’s arm, then a long finger begins trailing down the underside of her forearm, which is still bared due to her having neglected to roll her sleeves back down.  The touch of tapered nail scores a line of fire into her flesh, leaving behind a trail of heat so intense Dinah would not be shocked to discover on the morning that the line has not faded.  The thought draws her eyes down to the tattoo of a flock of birds on the outside of Laurel’s right index finger.  The sight elicits an electric buzz low in Dinah’s belly.  

Unbidden, she imagines lying on her side upon a reclined chair, Laurel sitting next to her and holding her hand as a carefully selected artist etches the finishing touches into a custom design upon the skin high up on her left rib cage – the side closest to her heart -  that appears to be a laurel wreath bisected by a knight’s lance.  The image does things to Dinah that cannot account for.  Never before has she been stricken with the impulse to get such an intimately personal tattoo to join her Marine Corps insignia, as if she subconsciously is already harboring a desire to be branded as Laurel’s woman.  

Shit! Dinah shudders as the image dissolves, leaving her excited and frightened and a little turned on all at once.  Thankfully, her return to the present is timely, as she glances up just in time to receive Laurel’s languid response.

“You heard me.  You like me.  And not just because I keep it so real for you.”  Lifting her finger from Dinah’s arm, Laurel slides her hand down until her palm slides into place against Dinah’s.  Just like at the shelter, their fingers thread together as if designed to be mated.  The expression on Laurel’s face then turns decidedly emotional.  “You care about me.  For me.  Not just because I look like someone you used to love or am a useful ally because of my job, my kickass ninja skills, or my meta powers.  In spite of all the hurt between us, you see something in me worthwhile.”  She ducks her head, looks up at Dinah through her long lashes.  “I can tell because it’s the same way that I care for you.”

Dinah exhales sharply as if punched, just without all the consequential pain.  This is it.  It’s really happening.  All of the tension that has built up since their eyes met across the crowded cafeteria at the shelter has come to a percussive crescendo. On Christmas Eve of all days.  Is this my present?  Is this what I’ve waited all year for?  All my fucking life for?  And not even known it ‘til now?  Hell yes it is!  How she knows, she can’t say, nor would she at the risk of killing the magic.  Some things are better left assigned to the mysterious and fickle hands of fate.  And since said hands seem to be favoring her tonight, Dinah is more than happy to surrender this one without a fight.

“Laurel...are you saying what I think you are?” she asks after tipping up Laurel’s chin.

Knowing instinctively that this is the moment, the one that will define the rest of her life, Laurel braces herself and summons up every last ounce of her courage.  For too long she has pined secretly over Dinah, often times secretly even to herself.  There was ample reason, to be sure, but all of those seem to have been rendered moot by whatever Christmas magic is operating to give her the one thing she has wanted more than all else since an audacious, slightly self-righteous, lionhearted woman kept her from murdering a federal judge after she bared her heart on behalf of someone she will always love and was cruelly shot down.  

That day Dinah saved more than the life of one heartless judge, she saved Laurel’s too.  That was the singular event, the axial minute, the pivotal hour that made her believe she could actually make a go of this good guy shit the other Laurel draped around neck like a cloak of calling.  Quentin had started her down this path and his death had kept her upon it by a thread most days.  But if Dinah hadn’t gone out of her way when she didn’t have to and all but told Laurel she believed it was possible for her to be redeemed, none of this would be possible.  Before then, a backslide was inevitable.  

And so Laurel mentally buckles up and floors the gas pedal, if for no other reason than she owes Dinah the truth.  Come what may.  

“If you think I’m saying every time I’m close to you my heart starts racing like it’s going to jump out of my chest, then yes,” she says, investing her heart into her words as possible never before. She squeezes Dinah’s hand a bit harder, willing her to hear and understand that none of what she is hearing is bullshit, that every last syllable is being wrenched from the bottom of what’s left of her heart.  “If you think I’m saying I think about you constantly, then yes.  If you think I’m saying I’ve never met anyone like you who makes me feel all the crazy, amazing, scary things you make me feel, then yes.  If you think I’m saying I daydream about what it would feel like to hold you, kiss you, and wake up with you in my arms, then hell yes to that, too.  Truth is, I’ve felt this way for a while now.  I think it started that day outside the Courthouse when you stopped me from doing something incredibly stupid.  The way you looked at me…I couldn’t remember the last time anybody looked at me that way, and all I knew was I wanted more.  These past few months, I’ve done everything I can to insinuate myself into your life because for whatever twisted reason, I’m drawn to you, and I just can’t seem to help myself.”

For an unbearable few seconds, Dinah says nothing, just sits there staring at Laurel while clenching her hand so hard that Laurel starts to lose feeling in her fingers.  Dread rears its ugly head shortly thereafter.  

Oh, God.  Have I blown it?  Have I scared her away?  Did I read this all wrong?  I’m gonna lose her.  Fuck!  No, no, no...

“Wow. I, uh...wow.”  

When Dinah manages that breathless response, it doesn’t inspire much confidence in Laurel that the panic clawing at her chest and clogging her throat are an overreaction.  At this point, addled as her brain is, all she can think of is that she needs to backtrack as quickly as possible and salvage their friendship.

“I’m sorry. ��I didn’t mean to...”

“No!” Dinah’s interruption is a mini explosion that startles Laurel so badly she jumps.  “Just...stop right there.  That was a lot to take in at once, but not in a bad way.”

The sensation of relief that washes over Laurel is nothing short of blissful.  All of that anxiety might have been for nothing after all. If so, that means Dinah does feel the same as her.  And if that is true, it means they might actually make a go of this.  There is so much on the line here, so much to lose, that the thought is almost terrifying.  Almost.  An overpowering urge to kiss those hypnotically plump lips of Dinah’s is overriding all other considerations.  

With her heart in her throat all of a sudden, Laurel runs her thumb along the back of Dinah’s hand and is pleased to see Dinah shiver in response.  “Really?”

“Really.” Dinah smiles crookedly.  “Turns out you’re a pretty smart cookie, Lance.  Your theory may be more of a fact.  Working with you on this case has been amazing.  You’ve been amazing.  And I know I shouldn’t, but I want to be close to you, Laurel.  Closer, even. So much closer.”  

That last bit is hardly more than a whisper, which Laurel hears clearly due to their heady proximity.  A frisson of pure joy runs down her body because that is the exact same thing she wants.  And not just metaphorically.  Right now she wants to be closer physically, too, which has some of her old spunk reappearing.

“How much closer, Dinah?” she asks, eyes hooded, nostrils flaring to indulge in the scent of coconut and jasmine that is uniquely Dinah. She inches forward, drawing their heads and upper torsos ever closer. “‘Cause I’m pretty sure there’s some mistletoe in the vicinity I could scrounge up if I need to.  You know, if you need an excuse to ask for a kiss.”

Dinah taps her index finger against her chin a couple times, feigning pretending to weight the need for such measures.  “Hmmm.” Then she shakes her head gently as her lips slide into an impish smile.  “Nah.  Direct is more my style.”

“A woman after my own heart.  Which, incidentally, is one of the many reasons I love you.”  Laurel gasps aloud the instant that very heavy phrase slides off her tongue.  She hadn’t meant to say it. “I...I‘m so sorry.  That just slipped out.”

But Dinah does not appear shocked or appalled or angry or anything negative really.  Instead, she is still smiling as she leans in, her head tilting a fraction as their noses nearly come into contact. They are so close now Laurel can smell Dinah’s breath, sweet with hints of gingerbread and eggnog, as she speaks.  “It’s okay.  No need to apologize.  I liked it.”

“You did?”

“Mmhmm. Say it again, please.”  An emphasis is added when Dinah nuzzles the tips of their noses together.

Laurel has never felt so warm and alive.  And there is no way in hell that she would refuse that request, even if she had a gun to her head. She can think no better way to die than professing her love for Dinah Drake.

“Dinah.” She pauses, breathes deep, then opens up her heart and lets all of the repressed affection for this incredible woman spill out in three little enormous words.  “I love you.”

Heart in her eyes, Dinah responds with every bit as much emotion.  “Laurel. I love you, too.”  She then nibbles her lip affectedly, head tilting a bit further.  “Can I kiss you?”

“Yes, you may.  Any time you wish,” Laurel says, her heart thudding in her chest as though it has been replaced by a Pamplona bull.

Dinah does not waste any time.  Holding Laurel’s gaze, she leans in until their lips are ever-so-lightly together, lets Laurel adjust and brushes them together from side-to-side until Laurel loses containment upon a high-pitched mewl that tears free from her throat, making her sound like a kitten being teased too long with the milk it so desperately craves.  Lips curling into a smile, Dinah stops the teasing at last and seals their lips together.  It’s their very first kiss, and it feel is so indescribable, so incredibly wonderful that Laurel’s brain short circuits.  In that moment, she is reduced to pure sensation, from the tingling of her lips as Dinah gently sucks upon them to the fire coursing through her veins, burning away every last vestige of doubt, fear, and anxiety over whether or not they might be ruining something irreplaceably precious and over whether or not she will ever deserve however much love Dinah is willing to expend upon her.  None of that matters when with one kiss

When Dinah pulls away a few seconds later, she hums in appreciation of what has just happened.  And then her eyes begin dancing merrily. “Just for future reference, was that little Wesleyan promise you made my Christmas present?  Infinite kisses?”

Laurel chuckles at the reference she actually understands.  They don’t have The Princess Bride on Earth-2, which is a crime in and of itself, but thankfully Dinah was kind enough to introduce her to one of this world’s classic romantic comedies.  Which was the reason she used that phrase.  How Wesley felt about Buttercup is pretty much exactly how she feels about Dinah.  Hopelessly devoted.  Willing to do anything and everything for her.  Willing to kill for her, and if she must, die for her.  That said, now is not the time for such declarations.  

“I actually was going to give you a Colt CQBP,” she says, smirking because she knows how much of a gun nut Dinah is.  “But now I’m thinking I like your idea better.”

“Ooo! How did you know I wanted one of those?  God, that’s so tempting. I think I agree with you, though.  The kisses sound like a much better deal.”

Laurel reacts accordingly, hands going to her chest as if flattered. Because she is.  Dinah turning down a gun for her kisses is a pretty big statement.  Almost as big as Ollie rejecting a new, spiffier bow in favor of his wife’s smooches.  

“Oh, my.  I’ve got a sweet talker on my hands.  Are you gonna make me regret...”

With a growl, Dinah interrupts the spiel Laurel was about to launch into about giving Dinah a brand new avenue of attack with which to get her way.  

“Shut up, woman, and give me more of what I really want.”

“My God, you are so demanding.”  Laurel caps off the comment with dimpled grin.

“And you wouldn’t have me any other way,” says Dinah, who then without warning surges forward to claim Laurel’s lips in a searing kiss with none of the tentative nature of the first.

After some indeterminate amount of time exploring one another on the couch with eager lips and combative tongues and adventurous hands, they draw apart reluctantly, their lips breaking contact with a satisfying smack.  As she leans away from the sole source of her current inundation with unadulterated bliss, Laurel inadvertently glances up at the clock only to note that it is, in fact, five minutes past twelve.  Christmas Eve is officially over, which can only mean one thing.  

Reaching out with her left hand, she tenderly cups Dinah’s cheek.  “Merry Christmas, Dinah.”

Burrowing into the embrace, Dinah’s answering smile is one for the ages. “Merry Christmas, Laurel.”

Which it most certainly is.  In fact, it will turn out to be the most Merry Christmas Laurel has ever had.  Until next year, that is, when she wakes up with a gloriously naked and happily sated Dinah sleeping soundly sprawled atop her.  Or the next year, where she awakens to a very frisky Dinah kissing and licking up the length of her inner thigh and doesn’t stop until arrival at the Promised Land.  Or the year after that when they are engaged and spend an unbelievably awesome Christmas with Sara and Ava back in 18th century at the winter home of the legendary Carolus Rex of Sweden.  Or the year after that, the best yet, when her present is little stick with two pink lines.

Some might say Merry Christmas as a perfunctory salutation to friends and family, but not Laurel.  She means it every time she says it.  And how can she not?  Dinah makes every Christmas a merry one for her.