Second Chances: Arrow

Chapter 25

"You seriously don't seriously want to give her another chance?" Rene asked Oliver crazily after he'd told him and the rest of the team about Evelyn.

"What's the big deal? I think that this is a good idea since this kid is following his example anyways, might as well make sure she doesn't get herself killed?" Dawn asked.

"The big deal is that Oliver recruited Evelyn to the team back in the old reality and she betrayed us." Rene said.

"This coming from the guy who sold Oliver out to the FBI." John reminded him and Rene flinched at the reminder.

"Wait, what?" Laurel asked, looking at Oliver, since that was news to her.

"Rene was forced to testify against me when the FBI were investigating me for being the Green Arrow after Diaz leaked a photo of me as the Green Arrow to the public under threat of never seeing his daughter again if he didn't comply." Oliver explained.

"So he was forced to do it against his will." Laurel said.

"Yeah, I'm not proud of what I did, but I'm a father first. Something I know Oliver could respect." Rene said and Oliver nodded.

"And if that happens again, you know to come to me immediately. Though hopefully it won't since we're going to find Diaz and put him away before he can do any damage." Oliver said.

"Still, Evelyn betrayed us and tried to kill us when she was working with Prometheus." Rene said.

"Prometheus manipulated her when she was at her most vulnerable." Oliver reminded him.

"How vulnerable?" Laurel asked.

"She, along with Rene and the rest of the new recruits had just learned I was the Hood and she didn't take it very well." Oliver explained.

"So she traded one killer for another who was even worse?" Laurel asked.

"She wasn't the most stable person to begin with, considering the fact that the way she got on our radar was by stealing your old sonic device and dressed up as you and tried to kill the mayor after you died." John admitted.

"Her parents died at Reddington and she wanted revenge. She was misguided and I thought I could help her. I just underestimated how much resentment she had towards me for not being able to save her family and Prometheus took advantage of it. But now, while Evelyn still lost her parents, she doesn't have the same ax to grind with me that she used too. Besides, she's gonna do this with or without our help and personally, I'd rather make sure that she doesn't get herself killed." Oliver said.

"You really think we can trust her this time hoss?" Rene asked him.

"I don't know. But I think that she deserves a chance." Oliver said.

"Okay then, I'm in." Rene said.

"So am I." Laurel said.

"Me too." Felicity said.

"I'll back your play." John said.

"I guess I'm in." Dawn said.

"I'll prepare a memory erase spell, just in case." Abby said.

"Fair enough. Okay then, we'd better go get ready to see what she can do. And I do think that she has what it takes to be a hero, she just needs the right guidance and hopefully this time I can give it to her." Oliver said.

"Then I guess we should suit up." Laurel said as moved to suit up.

When Evelyn Sharpe arrived at the location the Green Arrow had given her, she found him waiting for her with several other people in uniquely designed costumes waiting for her.

"You came." Green Arrow said and he sounded impressed.

"I told you I was serious about this." Evelyn said.

"Well, now we know that this isn't just some phase for you." the guy wearing the dog shirt and hockey mask said.

"Who are the rest of you?" Evelyn asked.

"Meet the rest of Team Arrow. Black Canary." Green Arrow said as the woman in black raised her hand.

"Spartan." Green Arrow said as the man wearing the black helmet nodded at her.

"Wild Dog." the hockey mask dude just nodded.

"Dove." the woman in the blue and white suit with wings on it nodded at her.

"And Magi." the woman in red holding a staff nodded at her.

"I hope I'll learn your real names soon." Evelyn said.

"Let's not get ahead of yourself. You still need to prove to us that you can handle joining our team before you get to know our names." Wild Dog said.

"I know. And how do I do that?" Evelyn asked, since she really wanted this and she'd do whatever the Green Arrow and his team told her she'd need to do to prove to them that she was serious about this.

"First, Magi, will you please." Green Arrow asked.

"With pleasure." Magi said as she held up her staff, which glowed a bright red.

"What is she going to do to me?" Evelyn asked nervously.

"Relax. Magi is a magic user. I'm gonna have her use her magic to make sure that you're up for this both physically and mentally by scanning both your body and mind to make sure that you can handle it and to make sure that you're not hiding anything from us." Green Arrow assured her.

"Do it." Evelyn said, since while she wasn't thrilled about having someone probe her mind, she'd do whatever it took to prove herself.

Magi nodded as she used her staff to scan Evelyn's mind and body.

"Well?" Black Canary asked.

"She's clear. All her body needs is more training and as far as her mind goes, she might be a teenager, but she's committed to this." Magi said.

"Good. So her intentions are good?" Green Arrow asked.

"Probably purer than anyone else in this area." Magi confirmed.

"I just want a chance to prove myself." Evelyn said.

"And you'll have it. But this team is more than just a team. We're a family and I need to know that you can commit to that and that you won't do anything to jeopardize that." Green Arrow said.

"All I want is a family. To feel like I belong somewhere. I haven't had that since my parents died." Evelyn assured them.

"Good. You start training tomorrow. As you prove yourself, then you'll learn our names and get a real suit like ours." Green Arrow said.

"I understand." Evelyn said as Black Canary handed her a card.

"I reached out to a friend, Laurel Lance, who made arrangements for you to stay a local teen shelter in the Glades and they're all set up to have you return to school, since part of this gig is balancing the vigilante life with normal life and for you, that includes graduating high school and that comes first." Black Canary said.

"Honestly, I'd appreciate some normalcy now that I have a shot at it." Evelyn said, honestly happy to hear that she might have a shot at regaining some real sense of normalcy, something she hadn't had in a long time.

"Perfect. Head to the shelter now and take this." Green Arrow said as he handed her a phone.

"A phone?" Evelyn asked.

"It's a secure phone that we'll use to contact you with a time and place for training." Green Arrow said and Evelyn nodded.

"Thank you. I won't let you down." Evelyn said.

"We'll see." Wild Dog said as he and the rest of the team left and Evelyn headed towards the shelter.