Oliver has some advice for Thea, Laurel hears what Diaz has to say, and others arrive to crash the party. It all turns out OK in the end . . . doesn't it?

***

"I don't know, Felicity," Dig sighed later. "Maybe it's a little soon bringing up taking back the mantle from Oliver, but it's been months."

"A hell of a few months, though," Felicity pointed out. "And Oliver's just not ready to step down, not with everything that's going on. It's too much. It's crazy."

Dig nodded, taking her words in . . . not seeing Slade and Malcolm exchange glances from where they were listening from over by the weapons table. "He brought it up again?" Slade asked quietly, turning his back so it was to the two up by the computers.

"He did," Malcolm nodded, sharpening his sword. "While we were in the field, too, with Roy in the hotel opposite us."

"That's neither the time nor the place to do that," Slade scowled.

"Which is exactly why I diverted Oliver's attention to what was more important at the time," Malcolm nodded.

"Good move."

"Thanks," Malcolm sighed, setting his sword down and leaning against the table. "Would you believe there was a time when I honestly would have preferred if Oliver had stopped doing what he was doing?"

"Yes," Slade snorted. "When you were his archenemy."

"OK, point," Malcolm rolled his eyes. "But Slade – "

"I prefer Oliver with the hood, too, but in the end, it's his decision," Slade reminded him. "If Oliver decides to keep it, I'm standing behind him one hundred percent."

"But?" Malcolm prompted.

Slade sighed. "I do wonder what our roles would be if John took it back."

"That's what worries me," Malcolm nodded. "Because I still don't know if he entirely trusts us or not."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't entirely," Slade shook his head. "But we'll cross that bridge if we come to it."

Malcolm sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why do I think that's going to become when we get to it?"

"Because you always jinx it, wizard," Slade smirked.

Malcolm shot him a glare. "Magician."

"There you are," Slade clapped him on the shoulder, chuckling and moving around the table. "Back to your normal self."

Malcolm sighed. "I'll feel more normal when we figure out where Laurel is."

***

"You know, Laurel," Diaz paced in front of her, hands clasped behind his back. "I think Cayden went about his plan for Star City the wrong way."

"What?" Laurel huffed. "You don't think destruction is a good way to break a city?"

"Oh, I don't want to break Star City," Diaz shook his head.

"No," Laurel sneered. "You just want to take it over. Anatoli told me."

"I told him to," Diaz shrugged.

"So you want to take Star City over," Laurel sighed, leaning back. "And what could I possibly offer you? Or what do you think I could offer you, because I'm still waiting for you to tell me why I should even consider this."

"It's quite simple, Laurel," he smiled chillingly. "Laurel Lance, back from the dead. A shining light, their former Black Canary. You were quite the beloved figure back in the day. I think you still are now. What an influence you could be."

"Why would I want to be?" Laurel rolled her eyes. "I was perfectly fine living my life in the shadows where no one knew I existed."

"Where no one knew you existed," Diaz repeated thoughtfully, nodding his head as he paced. "Tell me . . . how many enemies outside of the law do you think Laurel Lance had?" Laurel narrowed her eyes as Diaz raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? I'm guessing many because of how many she put behind bars as a lawyer, how many had friends . . . how many I know through the Scorpions."

"You're threatening me?" Laurel asked in disbelief, barking out a laugh. "That's rich." She leaned forward, narrowing her eyes. "You got the jump on me once. Threatening me right in front of me? You know I'll be prepared now."

"Perhaps," Diaz nodded. "But you see . . . I'm not the type of guy that believes giving a beating is the only way to cause some pain."

"That explains the route to Oliver," Laurel sniffed. "Doesn't explain how you're gonna convince me to join you. You're not being very convincing."

Diaz tilted his head, considering her. Then, out of the blue, he asked, "How's Merlyn?"

Laurel stiffened, giving Diaz a glare. "You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't what?" Diaz asked innocently, spreading his hands as he stopped in front of her. "You asked the question yourself: am I trying to break the rest of you up? Who would I try and break, the Girl of Steel? Cayden had some interesting tricks for her, I'll admit it, but all that would do is make Queen pissed off even more. That might even make him fight back. No, she's not an option. Not too concerned about her little friends, either, there's not much on them anyway. But Merlyn . . . oh, Talia has a lot on him." He stopped in front of Laurel. "What do you think Star City would want the moment they had the knowledge that Malcolm Merlyn is alive and back in their city?"

"You – " Laurel began to speak, eyes alight with fury.

"Or maybe not Merlyn," Diaz continued, turning to pace again. "What about Wilson? There's gotta be people in this city who would bay for his blood after that little siege of his, don't you think? Huh? What do you think about that?"

"Bastard," Laurel finished her previous thought, swallowing hard.

"I'm just being realistic here, Laurel," Diaz held out his hands. "Laurel Lance is a bright light to almost everyone in Star City . . . but Malcolm Merlyn and Slade Wilson are associated with death and destruction. I'd say I took it easy on Queen by bringing you into the spotlight. At least you're not someone who would need to run as far as they could the very second their name is dropped."

"That's your play?" Laurel whispered in disbelief, staring at him angrily. "Either making me paranoid to the point I'd always look over my shoulder, or blackmailing me by exposing Malcolm and Slade?"

"Is it working?" Diaz had the gall to smirk.

Laurel's mouth opened and closed repeatedly, but she couldn't find the words to say what she was really thinking. "You're insane," was all she settled for.

"Am I?" Diaz raised an eyebrow. "That question's moot. The real question is, who do I have to bring the pain to . . . you, or Merlyn or Wilson? It's your choice."

Laurel glared at him, and without answering, she opened her mouth and screamed, catapulting Diaz back and across the platform.

***

Alex was running Roy through another exam as Oliver walked over to where Thea was sitting, her eyes on the other two. "Hey," he said. "How're you doing?"

Thea sighed. "I'm happy he's back," she answered honestly as Alex nodded encouragingly to Roy. "But he's still a fugitive." She lowered her gaze. "I'm gonna have to lose him again."

Oliver shook his head. "I don't think you will, Speedy." Thea gave him a questioning look, and Oliver sat in the chair across from her. "You know, it's been a while since I offered you a little big brother advice. Do you mind?"

"This should be good," Thea sighed, but she nodded anyway.

Oliver nodded. "Roy's here, and you don't want to let him go. I think when he does go . . . I think maybe you should go with him."

Thea looked up at him, eyes wide. "Where?" she asked.

"Wherever he's going," Oliver shrugged. "Whether it's this universe or Earth-38, if that's what he wants to try. I mean, I . . . Thea, I'd miss you like crazy, and I'd bet the seventy million we just got back that Malcolm would hate to see you go, too . . . but I know how you and Roy were, and Alex said you told her that you haven't been the same without him. So, maybe you shouldn't be without him."

Thea swallowed. "You really think I should go?"

"I don't want you to go, obviously," Oliver smiled at her, "but you've seen what having Kara in my life has done for me. You deserve that same kind of happiness, Speedy, wherever it is."

Thea looked at Oliver for a long time before she swallowed and ducked her head. Kara smiled sadly from where she was speaking with Felicity when she suddenly stiffened, her head whipping sharply to the side. "Kara?" Alex asked, making everyone look at her. "You OK?"

Kara just swallowed, turning to look at Oliver. "Laurel," she said. "I heard her scream."

Oliver looked between himself, Dig, and Thea, none of them in their suits, then to where Malcolm and Slade had instantly straightened, both still in their suits. He made a quick decision. "Go get her," he ordered.

Kara sped into her suit quickly as Slade grabbed his mask, Malcolm picking up his bow.

***

"Well, it would be like a crime lord to use a run-down casino as his base," Slade scowled as Kara landed the three of them by the building.

"This is it?" Malcolm asked, looking up and around.

"This is where I heard her," Kara confirmed, the three of them stepping around the corner.

Slade held out a hand, stopping her when he caught sight of movement in front of the doors. "Two guards," he said.

"Only two?" Kara raised an eyebrow.

"Or maybe he hasn't had time to pick up the slack after Siren screamed," Malcolm pointed out.

"Then we have the advantage here," Kara said.

"So in that building is Laurel, and Ricardo Diaz, who we just found out is behind everything bad that's been happening in the city for the past six months," Slade said.

Kara smirked. "So let's get them both."

Malcolm fired two arrows from his bow, knocking out both guards. "I'm guessing you three are there?" Felicity's voice sounded in their comms finally.

"We're here," Kara confirmed, stepping over the guards and heading into the casino, Malcolm and Slade with their weapons drawn. "Anything you can tell us about this place?"

"I'm huffing and puffing and blowing all those firewalls down," Felicity told her. "But if Diaz is an idiot and forgot about your powers – which I don't think he is or did – then this will definitely tip him off that you're there."

Kara looked up and down, scanning the entire building. "I'm trying to find her," she said, straining her hearing.

"I pulled up the blueprints of the casino from the city," Felicity said. "I'll guide you through. Head up the escalator."

Kara nodded, hurrying up the left one with Malcolm, Slade taking the right one.

***

Laurel glared down at Diaz as she stormed up to him. "You can go to hell," she sneered, opening her mouth to scream right in his ear.

Except her scream didn't work, and eyes wide, Laurel reached up to her throat. "You forget earlier, Laurel," Anatoli's thick accent cut through the air, and Laurel stood up and turned to see him walk down the stairs, holding up a buzzing, glowing green object. "Don't forget again."

A sharp whack to her head made Laurel fall to the ground, and she groaned, feeling another headache start to pound. And she had just started getting over the last one, too. "What happened?" Diaz growled.

"Supergirl and two vigilantes," Anatoli answered grimly. "Guess which two."

Diaz gritted his teeth angrily. "It's time for a change of scenery," he finally ground out, gesturing to two of his men, who marched forward and grabbed Laurel by her arms, hauling her to her feet. "You know what to do," he told Anatoli, holding out his hand.

Anatoli passed the sonic dampener to him and gestured to the gunmen he brought with him, four of whom stood in front of the doors, the other two following Diaz and his men as they dragged Laurel away.

***

Kara stopped in front of a set of double doors, then scoffed. "Cute." She turned to the two men with her. "Door or gunmen with full autos?"

"Gunmen," they answered at the same time.

Kara smirked and nodded, using both hands to point to the other doorways. Malcolm and Slade departed to enter another way, and Kara turned back to the doors, using her heat vision to blow them wide open. Bullets immediately sprayed through, and Kara just smiled at the gunmen still firing at her as she walked forward, the bullets bouncing harmlessly off her. "I take it back," she grinned. "This is cute."

Malcolm shot down the two on the her right as Slade fired at the two on her left, all four collapsing at close to the same time. "She's not here," Slade shook his head.

"Overwatch?" Malcolm barked.

"Calm down," Felicity told him. "According to thermals, Diaz has Laurel through the door on the north wall."

Kara flew right to the door and smashed them outwards, watching them clatter to the ground with thuds. She strode through, not caring her steps left prints in the doors as she, Slade, and Malcolm stormed through, heading through the casino. Her ears pricked up as they walked, and she slowed. "Hostiles coming from all sides."

She heard Malcolm grit his teeth, then Slade looked at her. "Find Laurel," he said. "We can hold them off."

"You're sure?" Kara asked.

"Get Laurel," Malcolm told her firmly.

Kara finally nodded, flying off in a blur. Slade and Malcolm exchanged looks, then Slade jumped over the bar in the corner to hide, Malcolm ducking behind the staircase to the next level.

***

Diaz paused when he heard a gust of wind behind him, then sighed. "I was hoping it would be your fiancé," he said, turning around to see Supergirl standing behind him. "But I suppose you'll do, Ms. Danvers."

"Let Laurel go," Kara ordered, narrowing her eyes.

"Or what?" Diaz tilted his head. "You'll kill me? I thought you had a no kill policy, Ms. Danvers."

"I said," Kara began.

"No, I know what you said," Diaz smirked. "Here's the thing you need to know . . . you should never let me talk."

Gunmen burst through on both sides, and Kara took a step back, startled. Diaz took the opportunity to hold up a remote and trigger the speakers, high frequency soundwaves coming from them. Kara yelped and covered her ears, firing randomly with her heat vision and striking one of the gunmen in the leg.

While Kara was efficiently distracted, Diaz turned and nodded to his men, who continued dragging Laurel away.

***

Slade winced when he heard the soundwaves begin, then heard doors crash open in front of them. He pulled a grenade from his bandolier, then tossed it over the bar and out onto the floor.

It went off with a bang, and several stunned cries sounded. He and Malcolm jumped out of their hiding places at the same time, Malcolm firing two arrows into two gunmen as Slade pulled his sword from its holster, swiping one gunman's legs out from under him. The two vigilantes moved through the gunmen quickly, Malcolm alternating between firing shots with his bow and smacking them to the ground with his bow, Slade alternating between stabbing with his sword and firing with his gun.

One of them received one of Malcolm's arrows in the back, and when that didn't bring him down, Slade shot him in the shoulder instead. Another received a sword in the shoulder, and as Slade was approached from behind, he spun and shot the gunman in the knee. He yelped and stumbled, then Malcolm somersaulted and delivered a sharp uppercut with his bow, flipping the gunman end over end. He got to his feet quickly, snap-kicking a gunman away and shooting him in the chest a second later, and the gunman looked down, stunned, before collapsing.

Malcolm fired an arrow at the gunman approaching behind him, then heard an angry snarl behind him. He turned to see Slade grab a pipe aimed at his head and drop to a crouch, using his entire body weight to roll forward. Malcolm's bow was up in an instant as the man who thought swinging a pipe at Slade Wilson of all people was thrown over his brother and thrown to the ground. "Anatoli Knyazev," he narrowed his eyes as Slade tossed the pipe aside carelessly. "What a surprise to see you here."

***

"We have a problem!" Felicity's voice came over the comms. "One of Diaz's cops alerted the legitimate cavalry. The SCPD is headed your way en masse."

Kara punched the last gunman in her way to the ground, then took a deep breath and shot her heat vision at the speakers blasting the frequencies. They crashed to the ground in pieces, and Kara took a few more breaths. "One of these days, I am coming out into the field with some way to hear what I want to hear and not those stupid sounds," she ground out, taking off.

***

Anatoli glared up at Slade as the Australian placed the tip of his sword at his throat. "Since when did you sink so low you became a hired hand?" he growled.

"I used to be Pakhan," Anatoli spat. "Oliver Queen cost me that!"

"So you've thrown your hand into the ring with Diaz," Malcolm scoffed. "And what, you think you're enough to hold us back?"

Anatoli's gaze shifted, and he chuckled. "No."

Malcolm stiffened, and he turned, swinging his bow just in time to knock another black arrow off course. "Don't take it personally, Malcolm," Talia said as she walked up the steps, drawing her sword. "We're simply keeping you here until the police arrive."

"And where have you been?" Malcolm scowled.

"Watching you," Talia smirked. "All of you. How do you think Diaz's men knew where to find Laurel?"

"So you got her jumped," Slade growled.

"I did," Talia smirked. "I'm also the one who alerted the SCPD that arrows were fired. Don't you remember they don't take too kindly to vigilantes anymore?"

***

The two men dragging Laurel suddenly received white-blue beams of pure heat to their backs, and Diaz stopped as they collapsed. A blue blur passed his field of vision a second later, and Diaz shook his head, turning around to see Kara glare at him, holding Laurel behind her. "You know, I really hate it when you visit, Ms. Danvers," he said. "I'll feel much better when you leave."

"You did this," Kara growled. "All of this! What you've done to Oliver, to Cayden, to the city, it's all been you!"

"It has," Diaz nodded, a steely glint in his eyes. "And I can make it much worse."

"No, you won't," Kara scowled, taking a step forward.

"I said make a choice, Laurel," Diaz said loudly. "But if she takes another step, it's already made."

Kara paused, tilting her head, and Laurel growled, holding onto a nearby crate to stay upright. "I said go to hell," she spat.

"So you want to try and call my bluff?" Diaz held out his hands. "Very well. If she takes me, it's a coin toss. One of them gets revealed to the city, and her precious fiancé loses a member of his team." Kara stopped in her tracks, and Diaz smirked widely. "Wilson, the man who's your brother . . . or Merlyn, the man you've fallen in love with." Kara slowly turned to look at Laurel, just in time to see her swallow hard, her face drained of color. "You can still make a choice," Diaz smirked.

Laurel swallowed hard, then took a deep breath, listening to sirens come closer. "Step back, Kara."

"What?" she protested loudly. "But Diaz – !"

"I know what he's done!" Laurel snapped. "But he's insane, and insane people do insane things." She looked past her at Diaz. "And he's not going to reveal Malcolm or Slade are still here."

"Supergirl, we need to go!" Slade's voice rang through the comms.

Kara looked past Diaz as police cars came into view, and she clenched her jaw, stepping away from Diaz towards Laurel. "A wise decision, Ms. Danvers," Diaz smiled in satisfaction. "Enjoy it while you can."

Kara held onto Laurel tightly and shot up into the air, Diaz watching them go as SCPD poured from the cars, heading for the casino.

***

Wind blew through the bunker, and Felicity yelped as her seat was blown around, then she jumped to her feet when she saw Kara finally land. "You found her!"

"Yeah, we did," Kara agreed, Laurel swaying a bit before Alex rushed over to grab her other arm, both sisters helping her sit. "Slade and Malcolm should be coming in soon."

"Are you OK?" Oliver asked, walking over.

"I literally just got over a migraine, and then Diaz gave me another one," Laurel griped, rubbing her temples. "I want to sleep until Diaz, Anatoli, and Talia are gone from this city."

"What?" Dig asked sharply.

"Yeah, Anatoli and Talia have decided Diaz is worth sticking around for," Laurel looked up. "He has some plan to take over the city and thought he could intimidate me into joining him, too."

"He threatened Slade and Malcolm," Kara added. "Well, one of the two of them. If I tried to take him in, he would have revealed one of them to Star City, too."

"He called it my choice," Laurel said glumly. "Tell Kara to stand down, or one of them goes."

"And you believed him?" Dig asked in disbelief.

"I believe he's insane," Laurel gave him a look. "I believe he suggests he can do crazy things. But Cayden's group was watching the bunker from the inside. He probably has plenty of footage of Malcolm and Slade. I may not be your Laurel, but I still care about people, and I love those two like family. Diaz wasn't bluffing about that, and there's no way in hell I want Star City to know they're here, because if they did, they'd be calling for their blood. They're not getting it."

Dig grimaced, then Roy whistled lowly. "You're scarier than our Laurel was."

Laurel blinked, then turned to look at him. "Thank you?" she asked in confusion, looking around.

Oliver chuckled. "Laurel, meet Roy Harper . . . the man Diaz was trying to make the star witness in my case."

"And my boyfriend," Thea added with a smile.

"Oh," Laurel considered Roy. "You didn't give him anything, did you?"

"Not a thing," Roy shook his head as the others looked at him proudly. "Took a bit of a beating, though."

"I can see that," Laurel nodded. "You gonna be OK?"

"He'll be fine," Alex assured her.

"You look like you got off easy, though," Roy tilted his head.

"Well," Laurel tilted her head right back, smiling innocently. "I'm rather charming, don't you think?"

"I'll answer that," Malcolm's voice came from the elevator, and everyone turned to the doors as Malcolm and Slade exited. "I'll take you over Anatoli Knyazev and Talia al Ghul any day."

"You better," Laurel smiled, standing up.

"I will," Malcolm smiled, setting his bow down and walking up to her.

Laurel wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, closing her eyes in relief. "Thank you for coming after me," she whispered.

"Always will," Malcolm vowed, hugging her back.

"You said Anatoli and Talia?" Oliver asked.

"Both of them were there," Slade nodded, hugging Laurel when she and Malcolm finally let go of each other. "Talia at the last minute."

"Turns out she wasn't as gone as we wanted her to be," Malcolm rolled his eyes. "She knew Laurel's route, where to send Diaz's men to."

"She's also the one who called the actual cops on us," Slade added. "Which is why we had to bail when we did."

"Same with Diaz," Kara sighed.

"So we're back to square one," Dig scowled. "Great."

"Hey, you had victories," Alex protested as Kara, Slade, and Malcolm sent the man identical glares of annoyance. "You got Roy away from Diaz and you got Laurel back. Come on, that's good."

"It is," Thea smiled, slipping her hand into Roy's and leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you," Roy looked between Alex, Kara, Malcolm, and Oliver.

"Of course," Kara smiled.

"I'd have done it for any of you guys," Oliver looked around the room, then settled his gaze on Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel. "And I mean it – any of you guys."

Laurel smiled thankfully, nodding as she leaned against Malcolm, Slade's hand on her back supportively.

***

"Good work," Oliver sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he closed the door to the bedroom behind him. "Keep me posted, please. Thank you, to both of you."

He hung up, and quiet footsteps from the bathroom made him look up. "Hey," Kara smiled softly, padding across the floor to him. "Quentin and Dinah?"

"Yeah," Oliver cleared his throat, putting his phone down on the bedside table. "It was an update on the investigation into the SCPD."

"And?" Kara asked hopefully.

"It's going," Oliver shrugged.

Kara deflated a bit, nodding. "It's gonna take a while, isn't it?" she asked quietly.

"Most likely," Oliver confirmed. "There's no telling how long Diaz has had a grip on the department, or how many people he's had a grip on. It's a mess, Kara."

"I know," she stepped up to him and put her hand on his cheek, stroking softly with her thumb. "And I wish I could do something to help."

"You are helping, angel," Oliver told her with a smile, reaching up and brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. "You're here with me whenever you can be. That means more help than anything Supergirl ever does."

Kara smiled brilliantly, arms wrapping loosely around his neck. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

Oliver's smile widened, then he leaned down and kissed her, Kara returning it as he pulled his suit jacket off.

***

"Home sweet home," Thea told Roy with a smile as she turned the lights on and took off her cardigan.

"Nice," Roy complimented, nodding in approval as he looked around. "For the past three years, I've been sleeping with the cockroaches."

Both chuckled as Thea put her cardigan on the bed, then she sighed and looked at him. "I – I feel like I should have been there with you," she confessed. "Is that too presumptuous or confusing?" she quickly descended into babble as Roy stared at her. "I – I know that last time we saw each other, I said that we should probably see other – "

"No," Roy quickly cut her off, stepping forward and kissing her hard.

Thea was quick to kiss him back, falling back onto the bed and reaching up to push Roy's sweater off as she did.

***

Laurel looked up as the door in front of her opened, and she gave a small smile when she saw who opened it. "Hi, daddy."

"Hi," Quentin sighed in relief. "No offense, but what are you doing here?"

"Is that offer of the couch still available?" Laurel asked, holding up the duffel with her. "Unfortunately, Laurel Lance being back kind of comes with everyone wanting to know where I am at the moment."

"Which means no hiding out with supervillains and being one?" Dinah snarked.

"Says the one who wants to murder a teenager and apparently only sees in black and white," Laurel sneered right back.

Dinah rolled her eyes, picking up the files she had on the table. "I'll see you tomorrow," she told Quentin, storming past Laurel, bumping into her as she did.

Laurel seethed and rubbed her shoulder, looking at Quentin. "Guessing she's had a fun night."

"You can say that," Quentin grumbled, gesturing to the couch. "Go ahead and set up, I want to check something with her real quick."

Laurel nodded, watching him go and close the door behind him. She dropped her bag on the couch, sighing and reaching up, rubbing her neck. She heard a quiet hiss behind her from the direction of the kitchen, and she paused, cautiously reaching for the gun she had in the back of her jeans, then paused when she recognized the silent footsteps. "Did you really have to follow me here?" she asked.

"I'm not allowed to be worried?" Malcolm asked from behind her.

Laurel smiled fondly, chuckling a bit as she turned around, taking off her cardigan as she did. "You can be," she told him, walking over as Malcolm shut the window. "But if you keep following me, people may think I have a stalker."

"One who's concerned about you after what Diaz and Talia did," Malcolm reminded her, folding his arms. "That was bad enough, but the cops taking you to Diaz? That's different."

"How?" Laurel raised an eyebrow. "They're still Diaz's men."

"Hidden in plain sight as officers people think they can trust," Malcolm countered. "You're gonna be out there constantly looking over your shoulder now."

"I can handle it, Malcolm," Laurel told him, walking up to the black-clad archer. "And it's better for me to be in open view than you or Slade." Malcolm raised an eyebrow, and she sighed. "Diaz tried to convince me to get in bed with him, like Anatoli and Talia."

"That's a pretty image," Malcolm grimaced.

"Well, I said no, and then he tried another tactic," Laurel told him. "It was either me, or a coin toss between you and Slade. I told him to go to hell, and when Kara was about to take him out, he told me that if Kara took a single step, one of you would be next. It was my choice."

"And you believed him?" Malcolm frowned.

"I don't know," Laurel admitted. "He's crazy and a maniac. But I told Kara to step back anyway because if there was even the slightest chance he was telling the truth, there was no way I was going to be the reason one of you would have to run."

"Laurel," Malcolm began.

"I mean it," she insisted, stepping closer and poking him in the arm. "Diaz asked me who I should bring the pain to . . . myself, or one of the two of you. I will choose myself every time if it means keeping you and Slade safe from Star City."

Malcolm sighed, shaking his head. "We can handle ourselves, Siren," he told her.

"You getting outed to Star City would mean nowhere here would be safe for you," Laurel argued, swallowing hard. "And I don't know what I would do if one of you would have to run."

"There's Earth-38," Malcolm pointed out.

"Not my point!" Laurel exploded, turning around and anxiously walking about. "Malcolm, it doesn't matter to me where you would run – it matters that I would be the reason you'd have to! Your safety – "

"Damn our safety, Laurel!" Malcolm snapped, making her stop and stare at him. "You're the one everyone's gonna be looking at now, who everyone's gonna be examining like you're under a microscope to see if you can give them anything about who Oliver is, and now you'll have Diaz to worry about, too." He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Laurel, do you have any idea how worried that makes me?"

Laurel swallowed hard. "Very."

"A lot more than very, I'll tell you that right now," Malcolm huffed, giving her a look.

"Then you know how I feel about Diaz's threat to you and Slade," Laurel walked up to him. "So let's just agree that we're each more concerned about the other's safety more than our own, OK?"

Malcolm sighed in frustration. "I don't like this, Laurel."

"Neither do I," she shook her head. "But at least we don't like it together."

Malcolm forced out a laugh. "Just like always, right?"

Laurel smiled. "Yeah. Just like always." Malcolm held out his arms, and Laurel moved to hug him tightly. "I'm not going anywhere," she told him. "You know that, right? I'm still here."

"Slade and I aren't going anywhere, either," he squeezed her. "You're stuck with us."

Laurel closed her eyes, burying her face in his chest, even as Diaz's words rang in her head. "That's not so bad."

Wilson, the man who's your brother . . . or Merlyn, the man you've fallen in love with.

God, she didn't want to make that choice ever.

***

Across from Quentin's apartment building, a feminine figure in dark clothes similar to Malcolm's Dark Archer uniform observed quietly, then reached up and removed her hood. She watched her target kiss the top of the blonde woman's head, then reached up and touched her earpiece. "Master," she said with a smirk of satisfaction, "I have located the last former Ra's al Ghul."

***

A little bit different than the ending of the last episode, isn't it? Malcolm's the target this time . . . but the last former Ra's al Ghul? But Oliver wasn't followed, was he?

Guess which episode's next!