The Emerald

Chapter 16 - Team Business

The Team spent the next hour touring the training facility with Lance. Oliver couldn't be more pleased with the prospect of training here as the opportunities were endless. Not to mention the benefit of having the compound available to train the Queen security teams. Finally they all circled back around to the main gate and gathered next to the vehicles.

"Detective, thankyou!" Oliver said as he shook Detective Lance's hand again, his gratitude evident in his voice.

"I'm always willing to do anything I can to help." Lance replied with a smile as he returned Oliver's handshake.

"We have to go take care of some business at the lairbut you are more than welcome to join us at the Mansion for dinner." Oliver invited, knowing his mom wouldn't mind extra company.

"Thanks. I think I'll take you up on that." Lance accepted the dinner invitation. "I guess I'll see you all later then." He said to the Team as he got in his car before driving away, leaving Team Arrow standing outside the training compound.

"Okay Team." Oliver said as he turned to the group assembled before him. "Let's head to Verdant and get down to business." 

Sara jumped on Oliver's bike with Sin right riding behind her as the rest of the Team piled into the SUV that they had brought. Both vehicles headed out towards the lair.

"So why are we here again?" Thea asked a few minutes later as the group was making their way down the stairs to the lair.

"You'll see." Sara said cryptically as she went to stand next to Diggle, Felicity, and Oliver.

"Roy..." Oliver started as he, Felicity, Diggle, and Sara stood together to face the younger three in the room. "We haven't always seen eye to eye on things. Nor have we always gotten along. However, you have proven to be an integral part of this Team. Your skills on the streets, passion for protecting people, willingness to learn, and dedication to this Team is what has brought us down here today. You have helped to save not only my life, but the lives of everyone on this Team on multiple occasions. We owe you our thanks."

"We know we haven't always made working with us easy, and yet you never give up." Diggle added with a smile, enjoying the look of shock on Roy's face as he listened to what they had to say. "You've trained really hard to get to where you are today and we are proud of everything you have accomplished."

"In the League of Assassins there is a tradition. Once a person has completed their training they go into a room and choose their weapon. For Nyssa it was the bow and arrow, I chose the bo staff. Each weapon has its own merits, and is only as good as the person who wields them." Sara said as she pulled the cover off of the first case revealing an array of weapons from arrows, to throwing knives, to metal batons.

Roy was speechless. He stepped up to the new weapons case and gently reached a hand out, lifting out one of the arrows. These looked the same as Oliver's, except for the fact that they were a deep red, deeper red than his hoodie. He turned to look at Oliver, still shocked as to what this meant.

"Are these mine?" Roy asked. Clearly they were, but he was still too shocked to completely process everything before him. Oliver smiled and nodded his head. He turned back to the case and looked over everything. Finally he noticed the empty spot in the center, the place where Oliver hung his bow in his weapons case.

"Oh, yeah, my turn!" Felicity said, slightly flustered. She had been having somuch fun watching Roy take everything in that she almost forgot it was her turn to speak. "We didn't get you just one weapon because you've proven your skill with each of these. However, you can't have arrows without a bow." Roy turned to look at her and she walked over to the last case that they had not unpacked yet, gesturing for Roy to follow her. "So you're going to need this." She gently opened the case and smiled as Roy's eyes grew bigger. "We had it custom made."

Roy could not believe his eyes, again. He reached out and carefully lifted the recurve bow from the case before him, gently turning it in his hand as he felt the weight and balance of the new weapon. The bow was also a deep red and black, just as the arrows were, and Roy knew without a shadow of a doubt that these were specifically made for him.

"In the Army there is a uniform." Diggle commented after a minute, drawing the attention of everyone back across the room to where he stood next to the second of the display cases. "It's issued to a new soldier before they send him into battle. Your hoodie is great, but it's not our fabric of choice." He grabbed the cover of the case and slowly pulled it off as he continued to speak. "We prefer leather!"

Thea gasped in surprise as she watched the case before her light up, revealing a new leather suit inside. It was black and red, the same color as the arrow and Roy's new bow. She watched as he stepped closer to it, awestruck. It was a hooded suit, just like Oliver's, except in a different color. There were pockets on the pant legs that held metal batons. Where a gun holster would normally sit there was a pouch of smaller red fleshettes on one side, and throwing knives on the other. On the back she could see a red and black quiver full of red arrows. There were also heavy duty black boots to go with the outfit.

"Well... How'd we do?" Felicity asked, curious as always.

"It's..." Roy started to say, then realized he was speechless. "Wow!" Was all he managed to come up with.

"Why don't you go try it on." Oliver suggested with a huge smile on his face, clearly pleased with Roy's reaction.

Roy took the suit and went to change, still amazed at what his Team had done for him. Thea and Sin took the opportunity to step closer to the cases and see all that the Team had given Roy. Only a few short minutes later Roy reemerged, suited up.

"Looks good on you." Diggle commented with a smile as he took in the look of Roy fully suited up in the red leather.

"One more thing." Oliver said as he picked up a small box that had been sitting on Felicity's desk. He walked up to Roy and handed him the small box. "A friend once told me that if you survive a crucible you grow the stronger for it. This is to remind you of that."

Roy gently pulled out a new mask, this one a deeper red than the old one, the same deep red as his new suit, and he looked up to meet Oliver's eyes.

"Here, allow me." Thea said as she walked up to Roy. She took the mask from his hands and gently put it into place before reaching back and pulling up his hood. She stepped back and smiled, as did the rest of the group standing behind her in the lair.

"How do I look?" Roy asked Thea, caring only for her opinion at the moment. He smiled broadly at her response.

"Like a hero!"