Arrow The Cat and the Canary

Chapter Fifteen

Standing in the Bunker in front of the polycarbonate case housing her costume. Looking at it like this, she felt as though it wasn't hers. As though it wasn't her that went out at night and fought criminals. Like she and the Black Canary were not the same person. While she loved nothing more than being the vigilante in the blonde wig, it was like she was living two lives. One where she was pretending and one where she was the real Laurel. The assistant distract attorney, Laurel Lance, felt like the costume. The Black Canary was who she was in her soul. Something to strive to be. She pondered on that feeling while the rest of the team stood around Felicity's computer screen, listening as she explained in great detail how she had managed to trace the chemical elements using the reports from Star City General. She kept her back from them, still annoyed that Oliver had not wanted her involved in the mission.
"It's because he doesn't think you're capable, y'know?" She heard the deep voice say as Luke leaned his arm against the side of her costumes case. She shot him a sharp look in response, unwilling to entertain his insults. "You know that I'm right. You're not one of them. You're just fooling yourself." He circled her, each word packing more venom than the last. Each digging at her bit by bit. "You'll never be like one of them. It's stupid to think that you ever will be."
"Stop it!" She hissed back at him in a hushed tone, not wanting the team to hear her. They didn't seem to take any notice of the dead man berating her.
"You don't seriously think that you're one of them, do you?" He scoffed. He turned to look at them as they take amongst themselves. "A trained war vet, daughter of an assassin and a man who survived five years in hell and has gone head to head with the worlds best fighters. And then there's you. The lawyer playing make believe. Do you seriously think that that mask makes you one of them? You took a few boxing lessons and got basic training from the League of Assassins. You're nowhere close to being one of them. You're a disgrace. An embarrassment. Your sister would be ashamed to know that this is what you've done with her legacy." Anger swelled up inside of her as she spoke, his words jabbing like hot rods at her.
"Shut up!" She yelled. Everything went red as she threw her fist at him. It moved straight through where his face had been, colliding with the side of the case. She groaned in pain and turned to see all of them staring at her, each looking as confused as the other.
"Laurel, are you okay?" Felicity asked, genuine worry in her voice. Laurel looked at them, then at her fist, her knuckles already red.
"Yeah, sorry..... Just on edge I guess. Are we ready to go?" She asked, trying her best to be reassuring to them, hoping none of them would try to press her or convince her to stay behind. She was pleasantly surprised when they didn't.
"Yeah, we were just saying that I need to show my face at this as a mayoral candidate, so Thea and I are going in as civilians. You and Digg can scope it out from the service corridors and the rooftop and be on standby for when Darkh does strike. That alright?" His voice was full of determination. She knew that he wanted to get Darkh as much as she did, maybe not for all of the same reasons, but the only thing that mattered to her was getting justice for Luke, no matter how much he seemed to be blaming her for his death. Laurel and John began to suit up as Oliver and Thea left to get ready and Felicity tapped away at her keyboard, making sure she had access to all of the available cameras and floor plans for the building. When she was finally ready, Laurel placed her domino mask on, looking Luke in the eyes with a look of disgust as he stood judging her silently. She walked past him, focused and ready to put an end to it all.

.....

She kept her footsteps soft as she moved along the long corridor. According to Felicity, she wasn't likely to run into any civilians on that floor. All of the guests would be in the main foyer, mingling and waiting for a speech from the current mayor as well as the candidates for the mayoral race. It made sense to her why Darkh would want to unleash an attack of this magnitude there. All of Star City's government officials were in attendance. If they were taken out of the picture, then the city would turn to chaos on its own. He wouldn't have to do anything else. She knew that Team Arrow wouldn't be able to handle the fallout from it, something she was sure he knew too.The city would be his to do what he pleased with. His to rule, his to control, his to destroy. She didn't want to even imagine what he would do if he was given that type of power. She followed the corridor to a dead end and turned to go back the way she had come, only to find Luke standing in front of her, a false grin on his face.
"What do you want?" She spat at him impatiently. He dropped his smile into an overdramatic expression of shock, his mouth hanging wide open.
"Whats wrong Laurel? Not want to chat?"
"No! I don't. Now, leave me alone so I can find Darkh and stop him from hurting any more people."
"Shame you didn't feel that way before he killed me." He said, his voice snarky. He was starting to push her buttons, to get to her, and they both knew it. She was holding it all in. The pain, the tears, the hurt she had been feeling. She wouldn't let him break her. She exhaled, letting the emotions pass through her and turned to face him.
"You're not real. You're not actually here. You're the after affects of being drugged by Darkh. You're just in my mind." He scoffed at her.
"Exactly, I'm in your head. I'm your thoughts, your feelings, all gathered up together and stuffed into the thing you feel most guilty about. Everything I say is what you think is true. This isn't what I'm saying, it's what you're thinking."
"Well, do me a favour and get out of my head."
"I can't. You're not ready to let me go So, I guess we're in this for the long haul." He smirked as he spoke, relishing in her disappointment. She sighed and walked past him, trying her hardest to focus on the task at hand; putting a stop to Darkh. There had been no sign of him along the service corridors. She activated her comms to check in with Spartan.
"I've got nothing on my end Digg, how about you?"
"Nothing here either. Roof and rear of building are clear. Heading down to the basement now. Get to a vantage point and keep an eye on the main entrance, just in case. I'll let you know if I find anything." When he was in the field, John's mind was focused on one thing and one thing only, completing the mission. He wouldn't let anything distract him. She admired that.
"Copy." She said, cutting the line. She moved along the rear staircase until she reached the top floor, moving her way into a large balcony looking down on the entire reception are and entrance. From here she could see everyone below, all dressed in glamorous gown and stunning suits. Focusing on the crowd, she managed to single out Oliver and Thea, both of whom were standing talking to a broad shouldered man with thick black hair in a charcoal suit accompanied by a woman who's ruby dress trailed behind her and caused several heads to turn as they walked past. He had been one of the early contenders for mayor of Star City but received the lowest number of votes due to some not-so-forward thinking ideas. She must be his arm candy for the night. Poor girl, she thought. Moving quickly and quietly, she stood in the shadows, watching from above as the rich and sophisticated upper class of Star City drank and talked amongst each other, the shimmer of the chandelier glinting in the moonlight cascading down from the glass top roof. If Luke had still been alive, maybe the two of them could have gone together. She could picture them now, walking through the grand entrance, hand in hand. He would be wearing a stunning black tuxedo, his eyes sparking in the light. She would have worn a dress she couldn't afford and planned on bringing back the next day, the tag still attached. They would have talked and laughed and danced. She could have used it as an opportunity to introduce Luke to her father. She wondered whether they would have liked each other. Her dad had never been the most approving of her previous boyfriends, especially not Oliver. Luke would have been a chance to show her dad that she had really changed. That being the A.D.A. and the Black Canary; living a life of fighting for justice, both in the shadows and in the light had been good for her. She had begun to get lost in her thoughts but was quickly snapped back to reality when an ear-piercing shriek came from below. She raced to the balcony, looking down and gasping in shock. The scream, which had been followed by several more, came from the guests below crying out in fear and for help ay that sight of the Ghosts as they stormed the room, aiming their rifles at the innocents. Laurel quickly scanned the scene below, trying to get even a rough count of how many of them there were, but it was hopeless. They were moving too fast and there were too many civilians in the way to tell. She watched as The Ghosts surrounded them, pushing them together like dogs gathering sheep. She saw Oliver and Thea get dragged into the crowd and squashed together. Even if they wanted to fight back against their attackers, they wouldn't have been able to. She knew how agitated Oliver would be, helpless to protect the people who surrounded him, all cowering in fear.
She raced back into the hallway and to the service stairwell, taking them two at a time. Spinning around and around floor by floor, she finally reached the ground floor and burst into the foyer, ready to take on the Ghosts. She saw that Spartan had already arrived and was kicking one of them in the stomach before turning to strike another of them across the face with the butt of his gun, sending his opponent tumbling to the floor. Unholstering her tonfa, she inhaled deeply, letting the air sit in her stomach before unleashing a belt of her cry, the sound waves rippling along her vocal chords and emitting an ear piercing shriek that caused everyone in the room to block their ears for fear of deafness. Champagne spilled onto the floor as the glass bottles erupted into millions of minuscule shards. While they were all taken aback by the power of her scream, Laurel took her opportunity to take some of them down. She brought a hard thud of her tonfa onto the back of one of their heads, sending him into a pit of blackness. Her boot slammed into the chest of another, causing him to stumble into one of the six large granite pillars which lined the room. He banged his head hard against the pillars surface. She grabbed both sides of his head and banged his head again hard against the pillar, before dropping him to the floor.
"Ouch!" She heard look say, turning to see him dramatically wince and cover his eyes with his hands.
Kicks and punches flew furiously and the bodies slowly dropped but Laurel was starting to realise that there were too many of them. She and John wouldn't be able to take on this many. She looked desperately to Oliver for some sort of guidance or help. Seeing the look in her eyes, he nodded to Thea and the two of them began to push their way through the crowd. Laurel was beginning to work up a sweat and get tired. No matter how many of them she seemed to put down, more and more kept coming from every angle. She glanced over and saw Oliver grab on of the Ghosts and swing him into the pillar beside them before he had a chance to attack Spartan from behind. Seeing Oliver fight back spurred on some of the tux-clad onlookers. A few of them threw punches at the Ghosts, hopeful that their heroics would be effective but most of the punches were retuned, stronger, knocking the men to the ground or sending them cowering back to the crowd. An explosion of pain and force spread across the back of Laurel's head and she fell to the ground with a loud thud. She rolled onto her back and looked up to where the pain had come from, seeing a Ghost looking down at her. She could see her own reflection in his dark goggles, looking so small and helpless. He had hit her across the back of the head with the butt of his assault rifle and now turned it back on her, aiming for a direct head shot. His finger teased the trigger, but was stopped by the sound of an echoing clapping coming from the grand, ornate staircase behind her. She craned her neck to see Darkh standing there, donning a black suit and matching shirt. His cunning grim staring directly at her and Oliver, his eyes full of malevolence. On either side of him stood a Ghost, each holding weapons which looked far more lethal and advanced than the guns carried by the rest of them. They looked like compact rocket launchers. Seeing Darkh standing there made Laurel's blood boil. She looked down from him and saw a large machine standing in front of him, a large funnel on top. In his hands he held three glass vials, one green, one red and one yellow.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" He announced, his voice disturbingly cheerful, his grin chilling her to her very core. "Its time for the evenings main event."