The Hero In the Dark

Art of Lying

"He has a scar all across his face. From above his right eyebrow by an inch and all the way down to his right jawline. It's jagged, not straight. His hair was long and put back." Olivia looked at the sketch the cop had put together. Oliver and Felicity stood with Detective Lance. Oliver's arms were crossed.

"She from the future? God if I could drink I would." Oliver nodded a little agree he could use a drink. Felicity just watched as she talks to the sketch artist. She was comfortable. A lot more than when she was in the apartment with just she and Oliver that morning.

"Thanks for doing this," Oliver said as he looked at his girlfriend.

"You trust her?" Lance asked.

"Not sure yet."

"She just trying to save her brother." Felicity defended. She looked at the girl in front of the.  She was just a teen and clearly hurt. Mentally she was shutting apart of herself away from them. Even though she talks about their past as if they were inseparable. Maybe the trauma of seeing them die made her close herself. Fear of not knowing what she'll be going back when she finishes her job here.

"William is almost done with school, how about you pick him up and meet us at the house." Oliver kissed her quickly before walking off.

Felicity watched as Olivia grabbed the paper with all 4 pictures drawn. Olivia thanked the Sketch artist and then walked back over to Felicity. "Hey Lauren, you okay?"

"I'm fine." Olivia walked past her and Felicity followed. Felicity could tell that she was hiding what she really felt. Be it the fear of growing close to them and not knowing what she's returning to or just plain stubbornness she was hiding what was really going on.

Once they had returned to the apartment she removed the bandage from over her wound. She noticed how it was almost fully healed. Grabbing some clippers she clipped and removed the stitches then put more cream over it. Once she went back into the living room she saw William holding a nerf bow and arrow set. He was shooting empty soda cans from the other side of the room. He nocked the one off the bar with no problem.

"I haven't seen one of those in a while." Olivia crossed her arms.

"Wanna try?" William put his bow out and she smiled. She took it and with ease shot the next can. "That's awesome." He smiled and took the bow back.

"Yeah...it's more fun with a real one."

"My dad taught you?" William asked.

"Only after a couple years of begging. Then again I was a natural. The second I picked up that bow...It was hard to put it down."

"Felicity told me you have powers. Are you a hero? A vigilante?"Olivia smiled at her brother's curiosity.

"No. I'm not there yet. But I agreed with ...Oliver and Felicity I'd wait till I'm done with school. You though...stick to school. I think you'll find you like it."

"Lauren." Olivia turned to Felicity and Oliver who stood in the kitchen. She walked away and stood in front of the two of them both looking like they did when they picked her up on her first day of high school in the middle of the day.

There was a lead on Tommy.

"What's going on?" She asked as she leaned on the counter. "I ran the pictures through facial recognition. I got a lead on two of the guys. Both here in Star City. I'm doing a wider search for the others."

"Was the man with the scar one of those men you found?"

"Yes, his name is Ryan Gillard," Olivia could hear it in his voice. "But..." Oliver didn't know how to say it. The look on Olivia's face held something that she hadn't had since she arrived. "He aparently died 4 years ago. In the raid with the Marakuru Men. He was sent to a hospital but was pronounced dead."

"Really?" Olivia asked as she wanted to laugh. But she also question why they would even think that he's dead. Oliver and Felicity had both looked at her the same. Oliver more than anything was starting to not trust her. "You've got to be kidding me, how many times have people who have died in your life show back up, alive." Both nodded. "You've done it several times. It's like you want to set a record or something." Olivia finished.

"Okay, point proven. How do we try and find him? Wait a couple years?" Olivia jumped up, she couldn't stay that long. The longer she stayed the more her brother and that man with the scar had time to find her. Why kill only his parents, he'd be after her eventually. She had to fix the problem and fast.

"No, did you scan systems or the area. I bet if we run all the cameras in the city to catch his face we could. That scar would stick out like a sore thumb."

"Okay, we'll try that next." Felicity put her arm around Oliver's.

"What's for dinner?" William yelled as he continued to shoot soda cans with his nerf arrow.

Felicity left the room as Oliver started looking around seeing what he could cook. "I just want my brother back." Oliver stopped and turned to Olivia.

"Lauren, I never-"

"I know you don't trust me, maybe even believe me. I know seeing as that little attribute rubbed off onto me. But I will do anything to keep my family safe and get my brother back. Seeing as you raise me in the future that includes you."

Olivia walked into the family room and continued to play with William. Oliver crossed his arms and looked at the two kids. Taking a moment to just watch as William just laughed which is something he hadn't done often.

Oliver continued on with making dinner. Felicity had started the search from her tablet since it was connected to the base. Once dinner was done everyone sat at the table just like the night before. While a little more awkward William was excited to talk about his day as well as how he did in math. It was clear how proud both Oliver and Felicity felt about how William was doing in school. Quite opposite of his father.

Olivia went through the night dreading the closer she got before it was time for her to go to sleep.

The dreams she hadn't had in a long time started once again. Making her heart hurt. Dreams of a time she wished she could have taken back. She actually begged. No one would let her.

Like she said. She's lost a lot of people she cared about. Including the first boy she ever loved.

Dreams where more on the bad side never good. She just wanted to have a good dream. She wanted to not remember the worst day of her life. She's never gotten any peace from what she's wanted and she knew not to expect more.