Brave New World: Arrow

Chapter 25

"So, your dad decided it was a good idea to restore your memories?" William asked Zoe as they studied together at the Queen Mansion.

"Yeah, since mom is not allowed near me under any circumstances for a while, dad decided that the best way to explain his not being around was by just reminding me that he's Wild Dog, especially since I'd figure it out eventually." Zoe said.

"Well I'm glad he did. It's nice to have someone my age to talk to about this stuff." William said.

"Yeah, how are you holding up with your dad being the Green Arrow? I remember hearing that you weren't thrilled about it originally." Zoe said.

"Honestly, the fact that my mom is still alive helps a lot, though she keeps trying to pair me up with girls." William said and Zoe chuckled, since she was the only person William had already come out to. At least, as far as they knew, since they did not know about their future selves and their parents had no intention of telling them about that.

"I'm guessing you haven't told her yet?" Zoe asked.

"No. Honestly, I have a feeling that dad already knows somehow, but mom hasn't noticed yet." William said.

"You could tell her." Zoe said.

"I'm not ready yet. Honestly, I'm glad that if I'm right about dad knowing, he's waiting for me to feel comfortable telling him." William said.

"Well, from what I remember, your dad shouldn't have any problems with that." Zoe said.

"I know. Honestly, the bigger adjustment is not only having my mom back, but also meeting my Grandma Moira and also knowing that instead of being with Felicity, my dad is dating the doppelganger of a woman who tried to kill me, though from what my mom says, this Laurel Lance is a very nice person and from what I've seen, she is." WIlliam said.

"How is life with a rich grandmother?" Zoe asked.

"It's awkward, since apparently she never wanted dad to know about me in the first place." William said.

"Ouch." Zoe said.

"Yeah. Though honestly, she seems to enjoy having a grandchild to spoil now that I'm here." William said.

"What about your dad's dad? I know he's dead, but did they ever tell you any stories about him?" Zoe asked.

"Honestly, all I really know about him is that without him, my dad wouldn't be the hero he is today. I overheard my grandmother talking to my aunt and she thinks that the reason my grandfather wasn't brought back after dad reset the world was because he could only change the things that didn't change him and without my granddad doing what he did for my dad, there'd be no Green Arrow, which means that there would be no world right now." William said.

"It must be nice to know that your dad will go down in history as one of its greatest heroes. I wonder if my dad will." Zoe said.

"I'm sure he will." William said.

"Great. So, think that any of your dad's enemies will come looking for us?" Zoe asked.

"Dad had Argus establish a perimeter around the mansion and I have Argus agents shadowing me every time I leave. I'm sure you have the same security." William said and Zoe nodded.

"Probably." Zoe agreed.

"Mom's annoyed by all the security, but it could be worse." William said.

"How?" Zoe asked.

"Last I heard, the leader of the League of Assassins owes dad more than a few favors. I'm sure if he asked, she'd provide us with League bodyguards." William said.

"Yeah, I think I'll take Argus." Zoe said.

"Me too." William agreed.

"You think our parents will ever go public with their identities again?" Zoe asked him.

"I doubt it. Only reason dad revealed his identity is because he had no other option when he wanted to free the city from Diaz. Who hopefully will never see past whatever prison cell he's in now." William said.

"You ever think that someday, we'll pick up where our parents eventually leave off?" Zoe asked.

"Not really. Honestly, if I ever did take up that kind of life like dad has, it would probably be more of a techie position like Felicity. I'm not really the kind of person who wants to get in on the action." William said.

"Right, you're the brainy nerd. I, on the other hand, am my father's daughter and I'm the brawny jock who wants to get in the field." Zoe said and William rolled his eyes.

"Guess we know who the dumb one in this dynamic is then." William said.

"I walked right into that one didn't I?" Zoe asked.

"Pretty much." William said and Zoe laughed.

"It's too bad you and I are attracted to the same gender. Otherwise I think we would've worked well together." Zoe said.

"Maybe on a different Earth and it is so weird to think that there's a good chance that some other version of us actually exists in the multiverse." William said.

"Yeah, I don't really understand any of that and please don't explain it to me. There are some things about this world that I don't want to or need to understand. As long as someone else does." Zoe said.

"Hey to be honest, I don't really understand it much myself. I only know as much as I do from overhearing Felicity talk to my dad's friends in Central City." William said.

"I still don't understand why you knew the truth about your dad the whole time you lived with him and I had to find out the truth about mine from overhearing my dad talking to his teammates." Zoe asked.

"Two words. Adrian Chase. The only reason I knew is because of him, and trust me, it wasn't worth it." William said.

"Fair enough. That guy is also the reason I almost lost any chance of living with my dad again." Zoe said.

"Hey, at least now you'll never get taken away from him again." William said.

"Very true." Zoe agreed.

"I have to admit, I have missed talking to you like this in person. Especially since you ghosted me after you moved to Central City. Not cool by the way." Zoe said to him.

"Yeah, not proud of that. Though to be fair, that was partially my grandparents' fault." William said.

"Buddy, you can't blame that on them, since you're the one who wanted to live with them in the first place." Zoe retorted.

"I'm never winning that argument am I?" William asked.

"Since I heard that your mom grounded you for a week after your dad told her about that stunt, no, you're not." Zoe said.

"I am sorry about that Zoe." William said.

"Look, it's behind us now and besides, technically, it hasn't happened yet, so let's just forget about it, I just wanted to give you a hard time about it once." Zoe said.

"Fair enough." William said as they continued talking.