The Rise of Athena (An Arrow: Season 1 Fanfiction)

Chapter 4: You Gotta Let Someone In

In the warehouse on the docks...

(Third Person POV) 

'Well, I owe you an apology, Mr. Somers,' Detective Lance said. 'We come all the way down to your docks, and it turns out, you don't need the police after all.' 

'Which is exactly what I've been saying.'

'Yeah. So I guess that 9-1-1 call that we got last night from your stevedore, saying that you were getting attacked by a guy in a green hood and a bow and arrow... I-I guess... I guess that, well... hmm. Was that a practical joke?' 

'These guys like to fool around.' 

'Yeah,' Detective Lance scoffed. 'Well, you know, I'd be very much inclined to believe an honest, upstanding businessman like yourself, except, well, one of my men found this at your docks.' He pulled out a green arrow from an evidence bag, as well as a red dagger from another. 'You see, there's this vigilante running around. He thinks he's some kind of Robin Hood. And apparently he had a helper. He's robbing the rich, trying to teach them a lesson, I guess. I don't know, I don't know. But the point is... the man's a killer. And nothing, and no one, is going to stop me from bringing him down. But like you said...' He stuck the arrow into a slot, and it fit in perfectly. The same with the dagger. He had a look of surprise on his face. 'Hmm! clearly, nothing happened here last night!' 

'Isn't this a conflict of interest, Detective? After all, your daughter is sueing me.' 

'I'm pretty good at keeping my emotions in check.' 

'I'm not,' Somers growled. He stood up and got in Detective Lance's face. 'You and your daughter don't want to find out what I'm capable of when I get emotional,' he snapped. The detective backed away and left with his men, leaving Martin Somers to stare nervously at the arrow and dagger left there by the two mysterious vigilantes. 

                                                                       -Massive time skip- 

Oliver walked out of Queen Consolidated, with Diggle following. He attempted to get into the car, but reporters began to swarm them, continuing to ask questions of him. 

'There he is!' a reporter shouted. 

'Where is Miss Queen?' another asked. Both him and Diggle got into the back of the car. 

'The driver will be here in a minute,' Diggle said. 

'Okay.' 

'You know, I spent the first 27 years of my life in Starling City, and the next five in Afghanistan. You want to know what I learned?' 

'There's no place like home?'

'No, just the opposite. Home is a battlefield. Back home, they're all trying to get you. Get you to open up, be somebody you're not sure you are anymore.' There was silence. 'Or I could be wrong. Maybe after five years alone, you're not as messed up in the head as you have every right to be.' 

Oliver stood in his room, shirtless, watching the television, as the reporter talked about Martin Somers and the case for the justice of Victor Nocenti. 

'... Attorney for shipping magnate, Martin Somers, has confirmed his client has no intention of testifying, maintaining his innocence in the wrongful death of Victor Nocenti. Nocenti's body was found four weeks ago. We'll keep you updated as more information becomes available.' He heard soft footfalls as Thea entered his room. Slowly, deliberately, he put a shirt on, but he knew that she'd seen his scars. 

'Wait... how did you get those?'

'Don't you knock?' he asked with a frustrated look on his face. Thea pulled back his shirt to get a good look at his scars. 

'No, wait... Mom said that there were scars, but... I-I'm... Oliver, what happened to you out there?'

'I don't want to talk about it,' he replied softly, buttoning his shirt up. She scoffed in response. 

'Of course you don't. You never want to talk to me about anything. Except for my social life.' Thea started to walk out. Oliver turned to her. 

'Wait! Where are you going?' 

'Why should I tell you?'

'I'm sorry, Thea. I need to get better at talking about what happened to me there. But I'm not ready yet. Okay?'

'Do you have a second?'

'Yeah.'

'Good. I want to show you something out back.' 

The two walked out to the back of the mansion, where three gravestones stood, grey and proud against the light skyline, with the forest green complementing the blue. 

'Sometimes,' Thea spoke, 'when I felt... Whatever... I'd come here.' The two walked up to the gravestones. The first was labelled with big, engraved letters. ROBERT QUEEN. 1958-2007; A leader, a husband. Thea knelt in front of the gravestone and dusted off the bottom. 'About a month after the funerals,' Thea said, 'Mom stopped going out. Pretty soon, she stopped talking altogether.' It was quiet for a bit. 'The house got so quiet, so I'd come here. To talk to you and Evelyn.' She pointed to the other two gravestones. The second next to Robert's said OLIVER QUEEN. 1985-2007. A loving son and brother, whose light was dimmed far too soon. The next one was Evelyn's. Oliver knelt down and read it. EVELYN QUEEN. 1987-2007. A daughter, a sister. One whose passion for life always outshone the darkest days. Thea started to speak again. 'You know, stupid stuff. Like what I was doing that day, what boy I had a crush on... And then sometimes, I'd ask you, beg you, to find your way home to me. Now, here you are. And the truth is, I felt closer to you when you were dead. Look, I know it was hell where you were. But it was hell here too. You gotta let me in, Ollie. You gotta let someone in.'