First two weeks of the second semester are done, and here's how I unwind . . . or maybe I wound myself up more, because man, I forgot how heavy this episode could be, especially when I write my parts into it.

A huge thank you to everyone for your patience with this book. I'm absolutely looking forward to finishing these seasons and pushing to get all the way to "Crisis on Infinite Earths" . . . which was just incredible, by the way. You'll be sticking with me for a while, if the pace I update/have burnouts is anything to go by, but if you do stay with me, I promise I will give you the best version of Crisis that I can write. I know exactly what I'm shooting for and I have a pretty good idea about how to get there, but it's getting there that I'll need to do. Think y'all can do that with me?

Never mind that, though. You're here for the second part of Oliver's trial! The defense takes the stand, J'onn wins Best Actor of the Year again, there's Super Cousins fluff, and Oliver and Kara come to an understanding.

Enjoy!

***

"Well," Oliver cleared his throat as he and Jean met in the courthouse. "That went . . . far better than I expected."

"Indeed," Jean nodded, tapping her chin as she leaned against one of the chairs. "From what you told me of Diaz, I expected him to turn up and put pressure on Rene."

"I thought that was what happened," Oliver admitted. He hadn't been able to see anyone privately when he and Jean took a recess, but he had noticed Winn had looked absolutely gleeful when he left. The D.E.O. agent had to have seen something he hadn't. "So where do we go from here?"

"It's our turn," Jean answered, checking her notes. "There are three witnesses I have who can argue definitively for you: Felicity Smoak, Kara Danvers, and yourself."

Oliver took a deep breath. "Do we have a chance at winning this?"

"If we were dealing with a completely fair judge and a completely fair jury?" Jean tilted her head. "I think absolutely, we would. But knowing what we do with the corrupt influence we have in the system . . . we need to be prepared for anything."

"We will be," Oliver nodded. "I know it."

Jean nodded back.

***

Oliver winced as the handcuffs were taken off him back in the courtroom, and he turned to look at Kara as she moved to the outer edge of her benches. "You don't have to testify," he murmured. "Jean doesn't have to call you."

"Yes, she does," Kara nodded. "And I want to testify."

"I don't want you in a position where you perjure yourself because of me," Oliver hissed.

"I perjure myself every day when I say I'm not an alien," Kara retorted, making Oliver wince. "Besides, the best witness to say where you've been at night is me."

Oliver conceded with a nod. "Look, I know our teams have a plan," he said quietly. "I can't see J'onn anywhere in this courtroom, that's got to say something. You don't have to take any chances for me."

"I will take any chance if it keeps you from being taken away from me and William," Kara's eyes flared.

Oliver swallowed hard, wanting nothing more than to kiss her, when the clerk up from called, "Court is back in session!"

Oliver turned back around to sit with Jean, and Kara dropped gracefully onto her bench. Felicity leaned forward and whispered, "Did he try and tell you 'no?'"

"Yes, he did," Kara nodded.

"And did you basically tell him go to hell?"

"Yes, I did."

Felicity patted her shoulder. "Good job."

"You don't have to testify, either," Kara pointed out.

Felicity snorted. "Let's just add this to the long list of felonies I've already committed for him."

Kara bit back a laugh as she leaned back forward, ready for the defense to start.

***

"I graduated summa cum laude from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Master's Degrees in Cyber Security and Computer Sciences," Felicity said as she cleaned her glasses on the witness's stand. "From 2015-2016, I served as the CEO of Palmer Tech, Inc."

"Thank you," Jean nodded, standing from her table. "The defense moves to have Ms. Smoak accepted as an expert witness."

"I don't see the point of this, Ms. Loring," McGarvey frowned.

"I want the witness to testify to the validity of this photograph," Jean answered, dropping her file in front of the judge.

"Fine," he frowned. "But make it quick."

Jean nodded, taking her file back and walking to Felicity. "Ms. Smoak, this appears to be a photograph of your ex-fiancé, Oliver Queen, dressed as the Green Arrow," she held it up.

"Yes," Felicity nodded. "The keywords being appears to be. This photo has been doctored." She pointed to the picture as she spoke. "A pixel level analysis will show almost undetectable light shifts and resolution inconsistencies that would not be present in a natural photo."

"Objection, Your Honor," Alexa stood. "What is the point of showing us an allegedly doctored photograph at all?"

"The better question would be who, and why, would they doctor a photo to make Oliver Queen look like the Green Arrow if he were the Green Arrow? I mean, which he's not. He was my boyfriend, then fiancé, when the Green Arrow first became active. I would know if it were him."

Oliver smiled thankfully at Felicity as Jean walked back to her table. "No further questions."

Alexa walked around her table, tilting her head thoughtfully. "Your father is Noah Kuttler, the alleged Calculator."

"Objection," Jean raised.

"Overruled," McGarvey countered.

"He's reformed," Felicity said.

"But before he was, did you know that he was a notorious computer hacker and cyber criminal?" Alexa asked.

"No," Felicity admitted. "I had no idea."

Alexa snorted. "Doesn't say much about your ability to see criminality in people close to you, does it?"

"I w – !" Felicity began.

"And under the heading 'apples falling from trees,'" Alexa cut across her, "have you yourself ever engaged in cyber crime?"

"No, I haven't," Felicity said firmly. "Good luck proving otherwise, Ms. Van Owen."

James had to elbow Winn to stop his friend from snickering loud enough to draw Alexa's attention.

***

"I first met Oliver Queen on November 29, 2016 through our good friend, Barry Allen," Kara explained as she took the witness's stand. "We didn't have much contact after that until May 24, 2017. After that, we kept in close contact for about three months, when we started dating in August. After Samantha Clayton was killed in a car accident and William moved in with Oliver, I stayed over almost every night. We have been engaged as of November 28, 2017."

"Thank you," Jean nodded, walking up to her. "Based on the timeline you have given, you have been the defendant's girlfriend and fiancée during the time he has been accused of being the Green Arrow, is that correct?"

"Yes," Kara confirmed.

"So you have had clear occasions to determine if Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow?"

"I have had multiple," Kara nodded. "My fiancé is not the Green Arrow. I have been with him and his son at his loft on nights the Green Arrow was active. My fiancé cannot be in two places at the same time."

Jean nodded. "No further questions."

Alexa clicked her tongue, checking her paperwork. "Repeat for the court when you and Mr. Queen were engaged?"

"November 28, 2017," Kara answered promptly.

"And when was Mr. Queen arrested?"

"November 21."

"I'm surprised you weren't married," Alexa said bluntly, leaning on her table. "You could have claimed spousal privilege just in case you had to testify against Mr. Queen."

Alex's jaw dropped, but before Jean could say a word, Kara narrowed her eyes. "It ultimately wouldn't have mattered," she said. "I would be up here if I was Oliver's wife or not because I would want to be up here regardless of a privilege."

Alexa nodded slowly. "It has been brought to my attention, Ms. Danvers, that you closely resemble another vigilante that has operated in Star City this past year," she said, holding up an image and making Oliver tense. "Can you identify this individual for me?"

"Supergirl," Kara answered.

"You do look quite alike, don't you?" Alexa tilted her head.

Kara bit her tongue and lied through her teeth. "Maybe. I don't think so."

"You don't?" Alexa smirked. "Let's try something. Take off your glasses and let your hair down."

William's eyes widened and Clark's eyes narrowed to slits. "Excuse me?" Kara scowled.

"It's quite simple, Ms. Danvers," Alexa folded her arms. "I would like to see you with your hair down and without your glasses to see just how similar to Supergirl you look."

"Objection!" Jean snapped, standing up. "Relevance?"

"Well, how credible would Ms. Danvers' testimony be if she appeared to be a carbon copy of the Girl of Steel?" Alexa tilted her head.

"You have a problem there, Ms. Van Owen," Kara said suddenly.

"Oh, do I?" Alexa raised an eyebrow. "Enlighten me, Ms. Danvers."

"Because FBI Agent Samandra Watson has already seen myself and Supergirl together at the same time," Kara answered, making Alexa stiffen. "So unless you want to doubt the word of the FBI agent who is so completely sent on seeing my fiancé in prison, by all means, doubt me." She leaned forward, eyes narrowed, and Alex was almost afraid she would try and heat vision Alexa where she stood. "I am not Supergirl," she declared. "And Oliver Queen is not the Green Arrow."

Alexa narrowed her eyes, not seeing that behind her, Barry and Sara were fistbumping and Oliver was holding back a wide grin. "No further questions."

***

"There's an idea," Malcolm pointed at the television, turning away to look at Slade, Evelyn, and J'onn.

"What is?" J'onn tilted his head. "Send Supergirl in to testify?"

"No," Malcolm shook his head. "Put the Green Arrow on the stand to say Oliver isn't the Green Arrow."

"J'onn can pretend to be someone else in the Green Arrow suit," Evelyn made the connection.

Malcolm nodded. "There's a problem, wizard," Slade warned. "It can't be a nobody in the suit. It has to make a statement, someone whose word that Oliver isn't the Green Arrow will have enough weight."

"I don't think Roy could be that person," J'onn frowned thoughtfully.

"No, I agree," Malcolm shook his head, pacing as he thought. "Someone whose word would be more than enough weight . . . "

He stopped in his tracks, and Evelyn leaned forward, seeing his face drain of color. "Malcolm?" she prompted.

"I have an idea," he swallowed hard.

***

"Roy Harper is not a vigilante," Oliver said on the stand next. "He sacrificed himself to protect the identity of a man that the city at the time referred to as the Hood or the Arrow. I've since come to learn that the Green Arrow is the same person."

"But that's not you," Jean said.

"It's absolutely not me," Oliver nodded.

"And do you know who it is?" Jean asked.

"Yes, I do," Oliver confirmed. "But I will not reveal his identity, not even if it sends me to prison."

Jean nodded, turning around. "Pass the witness."

"Well, that's convenient," Alexa remarked as she stood up. "You're not the Green Arrow, you know who is the Green Arrow, but you're not saying."

Oliver smiled innocently, deciding to use a line by one of his friends. "Well, I keep my promises, Ms. Van Owen."

He saw Sara quickly stifle a laugh and Kara bite her lip, and he could almost hear Slade's snort in his head. "When did you meet this mystery man?" Alexa questioned.

"Shortly after I returned to Star City," Oliver answered, and Alexa nodded, heading over to her table to get something from her assistant. "As you know, I was marooned for five years on an island named Lian Yu."

"This photograph was taken during that five year period," Alexa said, walking back over. "I'm just curious . . . why does Lian Yu look a lot like Russia?"

"Objection!" Jean called.

"Overruled," McGarvey shook his head.

Alexa flipped the photograph around, showing it to Oliver. "We obtained this photograph from a reporter by the name of Susan Williams."

Oliver gritted his teeth, recognizing the picture from his time in Russia. "I have not been . . . entirely forthcoming about that period of time in my life. Parts of it were spent in Hong Kong, and yes, parts of it were spent in Russia."

"So you lied," Alexa smirked. "Repeatedly and publicly. You lied about being on Lian Yu, and you lied about five years of your life, which begs the question, Mr. Queen . . . what else have you lied about?"

Before Oliver could think of an answer, the skylight shattered, and as Oliver leapt from his seat to back away before glass rained down on him, a figure in green leather dropped down into the courtroom, landing in a perfect crouch between the two lawyers' tables. All of Oliver's friends and family looked in shock at the duplicate Green Arrow that had crashed the trial, but only Oliver could identify the face behind the mask, and he couldn't help but stare in utter shock . . .

Because J'onn had chosen the face of Tommy Merlyn to use as the Green Arrow.

***

The already startled chatter became louder as the Green Arrow removed his hood, and McGarvey glared around as Tommy settled into the witness's chair. "Quiet!" he shouted, Oliver still staring in stunned silence, hoping his surprise wasn't too obvious. He had said he knew who the Green Arrow was, after all. "Quiet, or I'll clear the courtroom!"

Jean waited for McGarvey to pound his gavel and for the courtroom to quiet down, then looked at Tommy. "Please state your name for the record."

"Thomas Merlyn," he answered. "Tommy's fine, if you want."

"He has his manner down really well," Barry murmured, remembering part of the newsreels he'd seen of Tommy before his death.

"J'onn has Tommy's father to help him," Sara reminded him just as quietly.

"Mr. Merlyn, you were declared dead May 15, 2013," Jean said.

"That night, my father destroyed a large portion of the city," Tommy told her. "With the heightened scrutiny on my family, I took the opportunity to fake my own death to protect my identity as the Hood."

"Three years ago, Roy Harper confessed to being the Hood," Jean pointed out.

"To protect me," Tommy countered. "And then he was attacked in prison. I have lived with that guilt for three years. I am not about to let Oliver take the blame for me the same way that Roy did. And that's why I'm here – to set the record straight."

"Thank you," Jean nodded, turning to Alexa. "Your witness."

Alexa leaned forward, the look on her face saying she was enjoying this challenge. "If you're the Green Arrow, how come, when this case was first brought to my attention, Rene Ramirez testified that Oliver Queen is?"

Rene froze, Dinah placing a hand on his shoulder, both of them hoping that Rene's previous betrayal wouldn't be brought up. "Well, I would suspect that he was being pressured to," Tommy mused.

"Are you saying he perjured himself?" Alexa raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I don't know," Tommy shrugged, a coy smirk on his face. "I'm not a lawyer. I'm just the Green Arrow. And I am telling you, I am the only man that has ever worn this hood."

"Mr. Merlyn, you're under arrest on suspicion of murder, assault, and violation of the Anti-Vigilante Act of 2017," McGarvey leaned forward, and Tommy sighed in mock exasperation before nodding. "The bailiff will remand Mr. Merlyn into custody."

"Objection, Your Honor," Alexa scowled as Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's the people's contention that Mr. Merlyn here is not the Green Arrow!"

"Be that as it may, I can't just let him walk out of my courtroom!" McGarvey shook his head.

"You know," Tommy said as he stood up to let security take him away, "if it's any consolation, my team is going to extract me before I ever get to prison, so . . . "

The shrug and charming grin he sent Alexa made McGarvey all but snarl "Get him out of here!" as the lawyer herself rolled her eyes in pent-up frustration.

"Your Honor, the defense moves for a dismissal," Jean announced.

"Nice try," McGarvey shook his head, "but it's the jury's job to sort out this kind of mess, and that's what I'm gonna let them do."

As Tommy was led past the defense's side of the courtroom, he caught Oliver's eye and gave him an infinitesimal nod. Oliver took a deep breath, leaning back in his chair. Out of every face J'onn could have chosen, he certainly chose a very convincing one to use.

***

"Guys, on the way to Iron Heights, you think we could stop at a drive-through?" Tommy asked as he was led by officers to the parking garage. "I am starving."

"We're not going to Iron Heights," the officer with a hand tight on his elbow growled. "Mr. Diaz really wants to meet you."

"All right," Tommy nodded. "So, where did we land on the drive-through? It's my treat." The officer shoved him forward, and Tommy laughed, not letting it faze him. "You know, six against one? That's not really a fair fight. You should've brought backup. I did!"

Two bows smacked against officer heads in unison, and as the officer who had seized Tommy turned around, Tommy grabbed his gun and kicked his leg out from underneath him. As Malcolm and Evelyn turned to knock out the remaining two guards, Tommy shot the last one down. Tommy considered the men on the ground, then looked at Malcolm and Evelyn. "You cut it a little close there, Malcolm. Are you slipping?"

"Very funny," Malcolm scoffed.

"There's our exit," Evelyn pointed to the police van.

Tommy took a look, then nodded and headed for it. "Let's go."

***

"That was ridiculously clever," Curtis grinned widely as they gathered during deliberation.

"Yeah, no kidding," Dig nodded, looking at Rene. "I think a perjury charge might have been implied there, Rene."

"Hey, if J'onn can help me clear my conscience a little bit, that's a small price to pay," Rene shrugged.

"Here's the big question," Felicity looked around. "Did it work?"

"At the very least, there's some very serious reasonable doubt," Dinah answered.

"Let's hope so," Rene took a deep breath.

***

While Alex took Ruby and William to find the vending machine again, Kara found an empty room in the courthouse and shut the door behind her, taking deep breaths and leaning against the door behind her. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing down, but each time, they got shorter and shorter.

She jumped when there was a quiet knock on the door. "Kara?" a soft voice said. "Can I come in?"

Kara swallowed hard, then opened the door behind her. Clark stepped into the room and shut it behind him, then opened his arms. Kara gave him a huge hug, letting out the tears she had tried to hold in so she could be strong for William. Clark leaned against the wall, letting the building support him as he held his cousin in his arms, letting her cry everything out.

When Kara's crying reduced to small sniffs, she finally spoke. "J'onn had to use the face of Oliver's dead best friend to raise doubt, Kal," she said. "That's how serious this case is."

"We all knew coming into this that we would have to fight hard, and even dirty, to help Oliver," Clark told her.

"But this dirty?" Kara whispered, leaning her head on her cousin's chest as his thumb stroked her arm. "Kal, if the jury is corrupted by Diaz, too, Oliver could still be convicted."

"That's not going to happen, Kara," Clark shook his head, looking down at her. "He's going to get out of this, I know it."

Kara closed her eyes. "I really hope he does."

"He will," Clark kissed the top of her head. "Just keep believing he will."

Kara took a deep breath and nodded, readjusting her glasses. "Rao, I hope he does."

***

Oliver looked up when the door to the side room opened, and he saw Kara hurry in. Clark gave him a small nod before closing the door behind her, and the second the door was closed, Kara ran for him. Oliver hugged her tightly, closing his eyes and burying his face in her shoulder, feeling Kara squeeze him tightly as she exhaled shakily. "You were amazing up there," he praised.

"I wanted to use my heat vision on her so badly," Kara complained.

Oliver couldn't help but laugh. "That wouldn't have helped your testimony any."

"Truth, justice, and the American way, am I right?" Kara giggled, pulling back to look up at him. Oliver made a face in response, and Kara's smile widened before it saddened. "I had no idea J'onn was going to use Tommy's face."

"I wasn't expecting that at all," Oliver admitted. "It threw me through a complete loop."

"I'm sorry," Kara whispered.

"If his performance affected me like that, I can only imagine what happened when Malcolm saw it," Oliver took a deep breath. "But it was a good suggestion. Who better than my dead best friend to come to my rescue?"

Kara stroked his cheek softly, then tensed when the door to the room opened. "Excuse me," Quentin cleared his throat as he entered. "Mr. Mayor, we've got a problem."

Kara's heart dropped into her stomach. "Does this have to do with J'onn showing up and helping us?"

"Kind of," Quentin winced. "Laurel just told me about it. She also told me that Diaz is making her testify as a rebuttal witness. He's going to send her in there with Christopher Chance's entire CIA file."

Kara frowned in confusion when Oliver tensed. "Christopher Chance?"

"An ally of the team," Oliver answered while seething. "He can wear the faces of others and take on their mannerisms, voices, everything. And since J'onn doesn't exist on this Earth and there's no way to explain a Green Martian to the jury, Chance can be explained."

"She's not actually going to do it, though, right?" Kara gulped.

"Diaz has evidence that Malcolm and Slade are alive and sent it to her to show her he's not playing games anymore," Quentin shrugged helplessly. "She sounded furious, but I don't know what she's going to do. She doesn't want Diaz to win, and she doesn't want to lose Malcolm or Slade."

"Understandable," Oliver nodded tiredly.

Without much left to say, Quentin left the room, and Kara broke away from Oliver to keep pacing. "OK," she tapped her hands together. "What are the chances that if we tried to find this Christopher Chance, he's not able to respond where he is?"

"Because that was a play John was thinking of doing," Oliver turned to her. "And Chance is currently captured in Kasnia." Kara closed her eyes and hung her head, and Oliver sighed. "There's something Jean ran by me before you came in here," he said. "She suggested that I just admit I'm the Green Arrow and we go for some sort of jury nullification – "

"No." Kara's voice was both full of fury and full of emotion as she turned to him. "No, Oliver, you are getting out of this."

"I told her no as well," Oliver hastened to assure her. "I told her that I would like to have a life after being the Green Arrow but, more importantly, I cannot – will not – put a target on you and William."

"That target would be nonexistent on Earth-38," Kara reminded him, walking up to him and holding up her hands. "Let me worry about me and William. I can take that off your plate, at least."

"Kara," Oliver began.

"Shut up," Kara shook her head, and Oliver closed his mouth with a click. "I have been committed to you and William long before you asked me to marry you. The only thing that could make William more of a son to me is if he shared my blood. The two of you are my family, Oliver. That means everything to a Kryptonian. It means I will fight for the both of you, I will protect the both of you, and I will save the both of you." She took a deep breath. "And if we were married, I would be telling you the exact same thing."

"That goes both ways, angel," Oliver whispered, taking her hands. "I have fought for both of you, protected both of you, saved both of you, but I can't save anyone from behind bars."

"Then we'll get you out," Kara said simply.

"I could break out of prison," Oliver agreed. "But then what?"

"National City," Kara told him. "None of us are fugitives there."

"We would be here," Oliver reminded her. "How safe would it be for us here?"

"Malcolm and Slade get by," Kara pointed out.

"The world thinks Malcolm is dead and Slade is in prison," Oliver countered.

Kara swallowed hard. "Good point."

Oliver nodded, then made up his mind. "Earth-38 it is, then." When Kara looked up at him, he gently held her chin so she couldn't look away. "I can handle losing my freedom. I can handle not setting foot on this world again. I cannot handle losing you and William."

Kara's eyes widened, and she swallowed hard. "We can't handle losing you, either."

Oliver nodded in agreement, then bent down and kissed her hard, as if sealing his promise with it. Kara kissed him back, then had to break away when she started to cry. Oliver drew her into his arms, holding her tightly to him, closing his eyes as she shook in his embrace.

No, he thought grimly, pressing his lips to the top of her head. I can't lose my family.

***

Ugh, why did it have to be such an emotionally heavy chapter that I came back to? I get the feeling this would have been much easier to push out if I had been in the middle of "The Fanatical," for instance.

But I hope all of you enjoyed this! I'm aiming to hopefully finish this episode tomorrow, and if not then, hopefully by next weekend!

Also, if anyone has prompts for my Emerald Steel/Scarlet Canary collection after having seen "Crisis on Infinite Earths," or any prompts in general, drop them off in the book! I'm still collecting!