#I still appreciate Buddie but my god Tommy is just giving us everything we ever wanted for Buck

[tenebrous-academic]

A moment of appreciation for the fact that this is the first time Buck has felt happy and settled enough in a relationship to not question his emotions or second guess his actions. He doesn’t need to go to Bobby for advice because he already knows how he feels.

Tommy is giving Buck the security to just exist in a relationship and not seek the the validation he needs from Bobby, because he’s already getting that validation and love from Tommy 🥹❤️

[sweetingly]

My Darlin’

A Billy Hargrove Imagine (a short series)

———

Third Person POV:

“Come on Y/N, we have to go! Every single senior is going and we can’t seem like total losers.” Steve, her best friend, whined while tugging on her arm.

Y/N laughed at her friend’s childish behavior, slamming her locker shut. “I wish I could go Steve, but I already told you my family and I have plans for the tonight.”

His brown eyes stare at her pleadingly, and she lets out a low groan. Every time he gave her the same look he was giving now, she couldn’t turn him down. “Alright, alright! You better give me the best damn lie to tell my family though.”

“Oh trust me, I won’t let you down, buddy.” He teases before leaving her alone at locker and heading towards his class.

Taking that as her cue to get to her fifth period, she begins walking the opposite direction. Checking if she had everything she needed for Calculus, her eyes were searching over the book and supplies in her arms. Without a warning, her body collides into another person, their arms wrapping around her waist to keep her from falling.

“Woah there, darlin’.” A deep, husky voice catches Y/N’s attention and she’s met with a new face. A new hot face.

His low chuckle brings her back to reality, and she clings onto her belongings tighter. “For future preferences, you should probably keep your eyes up.” The newbie tells her before letting her go and walking in the other direction.

Y/N can’t help, but watch as he stops to speak to a group of other students. All of them laughing at something real quick then he continued walking down the hallway. Her daydreaming was interrupted once the late bell rang loudly, causing her to race to her class on the second floor.

———

The bell rang signaling the students that the school day was finally over and their Friday festivities could begin. Stuffing her belongings in her backpack, Y/N stalks out of the classroom following the rest of her classmates. She had got everything she needed out of her locker so all she needed to do was meet Steve at his car.

“Hop in dipshit!” Steve pulls up in front Y/N before she could go look for his car in the lot. She rolls her eyes at the new nickname, climbing in the vehicle and throwing her bag into the backseat. “I was thinking we could hang at the mall until the party starts.”

Y/N nods, “Sounds fun, just take me home first. I hope you came up with the best lie ever that you’ll be telling my parents.”

“Oh trust me, it’ll probably be the best one I’ve made up.” Steve smiles happily, and with that they begin to make their way to Y/N’s house.

The radio in Steve’s car plays music on a low volume so the two could hear one another if they were to speak. However, while Y/N sat in the front seat her mind still wondered about the newbie who she had ran into earlier.

“Hey, did you know we had a new kid?” She questions breaking the silence. “I bumped into him before fifth.”

Steve shakes his head while keeping his eyes on the road. “No. You know how it is at our school when we get new people, no one really cares. If they do then that means they must be someone like you.”

“Like me? What’s that suppose to mean?” She lightly chuckles, feeling confused.

“Oh come on, don’t play dumb. As soon as people heard that the mayors daughter would be moving here- literally the whole town wanted to get to know you. Open your eyes, Y/N, we all see you as the most perfect person ever.” He explains and Y/N thought about it for a second, realizing he was actually correct.

Even though the newbie was unexplainably hot, Y/N noticed how no one- not even the troublesomes spoke about him in her classes.

With no more words exchanged on the topic, Steve parked the car once they arrived at her house. They both climb out of the car and Steve locks it behind them as they begin to walk towards the huge house.

“I’m home, Daddy!” Y/N happily announces when they get inside. Before her and Steve got a chance to go speak to her parents, two little children came running towards them.

“Stevie!!” The kids singsonged as they wrapped their arms below his waist. “Are you joining us for family night?” Tony questioned.

Steve sends them a sad frown, “I won’t be tonight, I actually wanted to know if I could steal your sister for the night. What do you guys think?”

Kate happily claps her hands once she lets go of Steve, clinging on to the hem of Y/N’s shirt. “Are you finally going on a date? This is great!”

Steve and Y/N look at each other before laughing, Y/N bending down to her sister‘s level. “Oh no, we’ll just be hanging out with each other as friends- nothing more.”

As Y/N explained that to Kate, Steve wanted to jump and finally admit that he didn’t Y/N see as a friend anymore. He’s liked her every since he first laid eyes on her, but she’d never see him in that type of way. So he kept his mouth shut, her Dad and Stepmom making their way to the front entrance.

“Oh what a surprise!” Winnie’s smiles when she sees the two teens at the door with the youngins. “Steve, will you be joining us tonight?” Larry questions, his hand sinking down into his pockets.

Steve shakes his head, “Not tonight, sir. I was wondering if I could steal Y/N for night? We’ll just be going to the mall and then back to my house, since a few us are getting together for study session.”

Her eyes widen when she hears study session. This really was NOT his best one yet, she thought. But of course, with her parent being airheads half of the time, they believed him and his charming personality.

“I don’t see why we’d say no to that.” Winnie proudly stated, “Y/N, why don’t you go freshen up before you guys head out.”

Y/N nodded in agreement, telling Steve she’d meet him at the car before she ran upstairs to change. Throwing her bag on her bed, she races over to her closet choosing a outfit for a party, but also making sure it was something she’d “study” in. Once she found a simple white tee and a denim skirt she threw it on along with her slightly dirty white converse. Grabbing her purse and shoving her wallet and other personal items into it, she ran back downstairs.

“Love you guys, have a goodnight!” She shouts, and runs out the door before more words could be shared.

Getting into the car, Steve noticed that Y/N was actually dressed in something different aside from her normal jeans and graphic tees. Not that he had a problem with her normal style- it was just nice seeing the girly side of his best friend every now and then.

“You going to drive or just stare at me the whole time, creep?” She teases, breaking him away from his daze.

He shrugs it off by playful rolling his eyes, “Let the fun begin.”

———

Some teens would be super excited to go to parties considering it involved drinking, drugs, sex, and dancing. However, Y/N wasn’t enjoying it one bit. The girl had been left alone about twenty minutes ago when Steve had been invited to play a game in another part of the house. Y/N being her usual self, she decided to stay on the couch alone while drunken laughter and horrible singing surrounded her.

“Oh my gosh, Y/N?” Someone questioned from beside her, and she made eye contact with someone, whom she didn’t exactly recognize.

Her brow raises as she turns to the unfamiliar face. “I’m sorry, I think you’ve got the wrong one, dude.”

The person chuckles, “How could you forget your ole’ buddy from the eighth grade?”

“Oh my god! Logan, what are you doing here?” She happily gives him a friendly hug, pulling away after a second.

“I’m just visiting a friend for the weekend. He told me about this party and I didn’t wanna come at first, but I’m glad I did now.” He winks, causing her to blush a little.

“You must be exhausted from your drive from Chicago. How long did it take you?” Y/N asks, sipping on her drink from the red plastic cup.

Logan shakes his head, “Not long, besides I’d rather drive hours than stay in that hellhole back in Chicago.” He tells her and she sends him a slightly sympathetic expression.

“Damn, I’m sorry to hear you still have to deal with your shitty parents. Just know that you have this school year to get through and then you can finally move out.” She assures him and he agrees.

“Yeah, I can’t wait- hoping to move someplace on the west coast. I need something new.” He explains. “Enough about my sob story though, how does it feel to be known as the Mayor’s daughter? I heard you became popular quick once you moved down here.”

Y/N lets out a light laugh, “I guess you could say that, but it honestly feels pretty normal to me. I really just want everyone to treat me like they treat others so that’s what they do. I do appreciate being here more than Chicago- I feel more welcomed by my Dad and his family.”

Logan knew what she meant by the last part and he felt sympathy for her too. Scooting closer to her he places a hand on her thigh which Y/N doesn’t take too well, causing her to pull away instantly. She sends him an awkward smile before losing eye contact with him.

“Who’s your friend that you’re visiting? I might know them since it’s such a small town.” She changes the subject.

“His name’s Tommy- I’ve heard he’s known as the biggest dick in this town.” He says.

“Oh I’ve heard that too...I’ve never really spoken to him, but I hear lots of rumors and they’re not good ones.” She admits, instantly knowing who his friend was.

Once that was said, silence floats between the both of them. Without saying anything else, Logan felt the need to place his hand on her thigh again. Y/N’s breath hitching, and it wasn’t because she liked it- she actually felt uncomfortable.

“Logan...” Her sentence stops once she turns to him only to realize how close his face was to hers. “Could you-“

“Relax, Y/N.” He whispers and that’s when she smells the beer in his breath.

He was drunk this whole time and she hadn’t even noticed.

Before she got a chance to speak, his lips press to hers. The kiss he wanted to last forever only lasted for less than second, especially since she pushed him away. Her fist instantly colliding with his left eye as soon as she got the chance.

“What the absolute fuck?! You’re such a dickhead!” She shouts, getting up and running upstairs, making sure he didn’t follow.

Running to the first bedroom, she swings the door open making sure to close it and lock it behind her. She had no clue where Steve was, but she was staying in here until it was time to go.

“What’s got you in such a hurry?” A voice says from behind her, almost giving her a heart attack. Spinning around she’s met with the newbie from school, a lit cancerous stick was placed in between his lips.

“Damn,” He chuckled as he took the cig out. “Cat got your tongue again?”

Y/N breaks away from her thoughts, completely forgetting they were the only two in the room and he was obviously talking to her.

“I’m sorry,” She manages to speak up, heavy breaths still escaping from her as she tried to recover from the sprinting she had just did. “Umm, I was just playing around with a friend- a little game of hide and seek.”

“Well it doesn’t seem like a game, considering that your arm is bleeding.” He points the cig to her right arm.

“Huh?” Her eyes then glance down to where he was looking and she finally saw it. Logan must’ve scratched her in the process, but she was too busy worrying about getting him off her to where she didn’t even notice it until now. “It’s fine...I’m fine.”

Newbie chuckles once more, “No you’re not, let me clean it up for you, darlin’.” Without giving her chance to respond, he grabs a hold of her hand, taking her into the bedroom’s bathroom.

Y/N hops on the counter as he opens the top drawer for the first aid kit. She can’t help but feel somewhat shy as she sat there.

“You really don’t talk much, do you?” He breaks the silence, getting out the alcohol and the wrapping bandage.

She shrugs, not really knowing what to say. “I do talk, I just don’t know you...that’s all.”

Not giving a warning he rubs alcohol on the the three scratches and she jumps, hissing at the same time.

“My bad, I meant to give you a heads up.” He apologizes, fanning the area so it’d dry quicker. “Billy.” He simply says after a few minutes, causing her to raise her eyebrow in confusion. “My name’s Billy. See, now you know me so you can talk more.”

Y/N chuckles, “You’re still a complete stranger to me. For all I know, you could be the town’s serial killer.”

“Well I’m not,” He states as he finishes up wrapping up the cuts. “Plus a serial killer wouldn’t help their victims clean up their wounds. If I were then you’d be dead be now.”

“Mm, I guess you’ve got a point.” Y/N begins, swinging her legs back and forth. “Y/N, my name’s Y/N by the way.”

Billy eyes her for a second as he still stood in between her legs, his arms then set themselves on both sides of her. The smell of smoke and cologne filled Y/N’s nostrils, but for some reason she didn’t mind it.

“I remember bumping into you during school, but I didn’t know you were the famous Y/N.” He says after a few seconds of silence, his body still close to hers. “You’re nothing like who I imagined.”

Y/N’s eyebrows furrow, as she crosses her arms over her chest. “What did you imagine me as?”

He shrugs, fixing the position his legs were in. “Bitchy.” He simple says, a small smirk making its way onto his lips.

“Wow I don’t know if I should be offended or not.” She tells him, a teasingly.

Billy lowly laughs, backing off of her. He then digs into his back pocket pulling out another cig and lighting it.

“You know smoking’s bad for you.” Y/N sasses as she watches him blow out a puff of smoke. “Oh yeah? Who would’ve thought that.” He sarcastically answered, walking out of the bathroom.

Following behind him, she watches as he grabs his jacket and car keys off the bed.

“Are you leaving?” She questions, pausing him in his tracks. “Or going back down to the party?”

“There’s no way I’m going back down to that lame ass party.” He tells her, putting the cig into his mouth.

“Take me with you.” She blurts without thinking, Billy raising an eyebrow in her direction. “Please?”

“You thought I was a serial killer earlier and now you want to join me on ditching some party?“ He asks and she happily nods.

“I’d rather not be here anyway and I can’t find my friend- I just wanna get out of here too, especially after what happened.” She explains, referring to the small incident that happened with Logan earlier.

Billy scans over her face, and he notices that she seemed somewhat afraid. He figured that whatever traumatic event occurred then it be on her mind for awhile. Having some sympathy for her, he sighs, letting out a puff of smoke once again.

“Alright.” Billy simple says, “You can join me.”

“Oh thank god.” She smiles, following him out of the room. “Where are we going?”

Billy stares down at her, “Just trust me- it’ll be someplace better than here, darlin’.”

———

My apologies this is just my first imagine so it’s not the best, but I promise the next part will be better! Anyway, I’m a new blog and I’ll be writing imagines for Dacre Montgomery/Billy Hargrove, Joe Keery/Steve Harrington, Tom Holland/Peter Parker, any of the Why Dont We boy, and Dylan O’Brien. So if you have any requests then send them to me and I’ll try my best to get to them soon. Much love!! <3 <3

[raywritesthings]

Wrong Road to the Right Place 18/?

My Writing My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance, John Diggle, Thea Queen, Tommy Merlyn, McKenna Hall, Quentin Lance Pairings: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen Summary: Laurel finds herself curious about the marks Oliver showed her that night in his bedroom - and the tattoo on his left shoulder stands out in particular. When she discovers its meaning, she finds herself questioning everything she knows about the man she doesn’t want to admit she still loves. *Can also be read on my AO3 page*

“Okay, that should be everything I need you for today, Thea,” Laurel said as she logged out of the computer at her desk. They’d gotten through all the case files she’d wanted to today. Still none with Edward Rasmus involved, but she knew it had to be coming. Any day now, and she’d be on the clock as to how to proceed.

She looked up and found Thea still standing there.

“Don’t you need to wait for your ride downstairs?”

“It’s not coming. I’m going over to Roy’s.”

“Roy…? Right, purse thief,” Laurel remembered. She kept meaning to tell Oliver his sister had a new beau, but perhaps it was better that she give Thea and Roy some time first. “Okay then, have fun.”

But as she moved to go around her desk towards the door, Thea stepped in front. “Can we talk?”

“We’re talking right now,” Laurel pointed out.

Thea rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but not really. I mean, for crying out loud, Laurel, you were attacked last month, the guy that hired the hit was one of my dad’s old business partners, your mom came back to town, you moved in and then you and Ollie moved out — but it’s like everyone’s acting like nothing weird is going on.” She threw her arms out to the sides. “I mean, I think that’s plenty of weird stuff, but no one’s talking about it. Or not you’re not talking to me.”

Laurel felt a tug on her heartstrings. Thea, for all her partying and dabbling in substance abuse, was in many ways still an innocent. And she knew Oliver would give everything he had to preserve that, right along with Moira. They were mother and son, after all.

But Thea was a growing woman who wasn’t blind to the things going on around her. And if she had no one to turn to, she’d be in danger of going right back to the drugs.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I have been keeping things to myself.” She took hold of Thea’s shoulders and gave them a squeeze. “That wasn’t fair.”

“Well, I’m kind of used to it. Ever since Ollie got home…”

Laurel nodded. “Right. Well, there are some things I won’t be able to tell you still, Thea, because they’re not just about me. But let’s take this somewhere a little more private.”

She led Thea to the stairwell to the back door. No one really used it except to head out behind the building for smoke breaks, and people were a little more focused on heading home for the day. The stairwell itself was rather ugly, the paint over the concrete steps chipping in several places.

Laurel leaned against the railing and thought over what she could talk about. It wasn’t much. “Okay, so, yes, I was attacked last month. I’m pretty much recovered, and I’ve been taking some classes to stay in shape.”

“Is that what the gym bag’s for?”

She nodded. “And, let’s see, you asked about my mother, right? She came to see me because she wanted help looking for Sara.”

Thea straightened up. “Sara’s alive?”

She shook her head. “Not so far as we can tell. My mom had what she thought was a lead, but it wasn’t her. She, um, also decided to finally tell me that she knew Sara was getting on the boat with Oliver, and she let her,” Laurel admitted, her voice getting lower and softer with the leftover pain.

Thea’s mouth hung open. “Oh my god, Laurel. I’m so sorry.”

She shrugged. “It was years ago. I guess I just would have appreciated her being honest from the start.”

“Are things with you and Ollie…?”

“Yeah, they’re fine. He actually had a talk with my mother about that. He had no idea she’d known, and it didn’t exactly sit well with him. It probably looks crazy to everyone else, but your brother’s really changed, Thea. I can really count on him.”

“Is that why you guys got your own place?”

“Yes and no.” Even if she couldn’t tell Thea everything, she didn’t like the idea of leaving the girl completely in the dark as to the danger they were in. “Because of Mr. Chen’s involvement in the attack at the award ceremony, Ollie’s a little...worried about security.”

“Because Mr. Chen was mom’s friend?” Thea snorted. “Never thought I’d see him agreeing with the Hood about something.”

Laurel bit back a laugh of her own. “Had to happen at some point. But the point is, because of his experiences on the island, he wants to be sure he knows exactly what is going on in his own space and who’s allowed there. Does that make sense?”

Thea sobered, nodding along. “Yeah. Just — am I allowed to be there?”

Laurel bit her lip. Thea couldn’t come down to the base without learning everything else. “That’s something I would have to talk to him about first. I promise I will,” she added when Thea’s shoulders drooped.

“No, it’s okay. He’s probably right about the Manor not being safe if that guy could get in anyway.”

Laurel froze. “What guy?”

Thea perked up, clearly excited to be telling her story. “Okay, you have to promise not to tell Ollie, cause mom doesn’t want him to worry or something.”

She raised an eyebrow at that. More likely, Moira didn’t want Oliver interfering. “Alright.”

“So, I was at home alone with Raisa, and I was heading for the kitchen when I noticed the light was on in mom’s office. So I opened the door, and there was this guy there at her computer.”

“Did he see you?”

“Yeah, but he just ran for it. I didn’t get a look at his face. He was wearing something that kind of made it hard to make out. Only he was dressed in like a normal business suit and one of those old-fashioned hats, you know? So I couldn’t see what color his hair was either.”

Laurel’s mind raced, trying to process this newest bit of information. If someone was looking at files from Moira’s home office, what were they after? And why?

“Do you know what he was looking for?”

Thea shrugged. “Mom wouldn’t even call the police, so there’s no way she’d talk to me about it. Like I said, she doesn’t even want Ollie to know.”

Her phone buzzed in her bag, so Laurel fished it out. “Speaking of,” she muttered upon seeing Oliver’s name on the caller I.D. She accepted the call. “Hey, I’ll be out in a minute.”

“I’m not actually there, uh, because your dad’s here. At the club,” Oliver said. “He’s pretty upset about a case, and Vertigo’s involved.”

“Great,” Laurel bit out. It would’ve been too much to hope that the Count’s incarceration in a mental hospital would’ve totally stopped the drug, but she knew it was a hot-button issue with both her father and boyfriend. “I’ll be right over to run interference. Don’t talk to him.”

“I love you,” Oliver said earnestly.

Laurel smiled to herself. “Love you, too.”

She turned back to Thea as she hung up the phone.

“Your brother and my father are getting into it again, so I am gonna have to head out if that’s okay.”

“He’s not arresting Ollie, is he?”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” She mustered up a smile for Thea. “It’ll be fine. You shouldn’t keep Roy waiting.”

“Okay,” Thea agreed reluctantly.

“How are things going with him, anyway?” Laurel asked as they went down the front steps together.

“Interesting. He makes me think about things, you know? And I feel like he’s really decided to turn his life around since the Hood saved him from that crazy Savior guy.”

Laurel nodded. “Well, I’m always here for advice.”

“Thanks, but I think my brother needs it more than me right now,” Thea remarked with a grin.

They went their separate ways and soon enough Laurel was letting herself into the Verdant. She found Oliver waiting by the bar with Digg only a few feet to the side while her father paced the open space.

“Okay, let’s wrap this up so you can open,” Laurel directed to Oliver before spinning on her heels with her arms crossed to face her dad. “What is the problem?”

“A young woman turned up dead after leaving his club the other night. She OD’d on Vertigo,” her dad answered.

“And is there any evidence she obtained the Vertigo on this premises by a patron or employee of the club?”

“No.”

“Then my client — sorry, boyfriend,” she amended as Oliver smirked at her, “has no reason to be under suspicion in this case.”

“Her last text messages were to your good buddy, Merlyn,” her father said. “Asking for the drug.”

“Tommy doesn’t work for the club anymore,” Oliver pointed out. “He told me himself that I should be ready for soliciting by patrons for things the club doesn’t provide. This woman probably got ahold of his number without realizing he was no longer the manager.”

“Yeah, well let’s not forget you were seen attempting to purchase Vertigo only a couple months ago.”

“I already explained my actions to you and Detective Hall, since you seem to have forgotten, and there were no charges,” Oliver said heatedly.

“Oliver, stop talking,” Laurel said, stepping between the two of them. “Dad, I know you feel like you’re just following the evidence, but if you want to even turn over a chair in this place to look underneath it, you will have to come back with a warrant.”

He eyed her for a moment but seemed to realize she wasn’t backing down. “Fine. Shouldn’t take too long.” He squared his shoulders and left the building.

Oliver walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle. “Have I mentioned you’re a life-saver lately?”

“Don’t thank me just yet.” She turned in his embrace. “You’re going to need to give me all of your papers for the club.”

Oliver frowned. “What for?”

“If there is anything illicit going on with this building, I have to find it before he does so I can do something about it.” She tilted her head meaningfully towards the floor. “Considering what’s in your basement storage…”

“Right. I’ll get it to you.”

“There’s one more thing,” she said, gripping onto his shirt to keep him from pulling away completely. “Thea just told me about a break-in at the Manor.”

“What?”

“Nothing on the news about that,” John mentioned.

“Moira’s not letting it get out. But Thea saw the intruder. He had some kind of way to mask his face and was looking at your mother’s files. She doesn’t know which ones specifically.”

“Just what we need,” Oliver grumbled.

“Ollie, you can’t act like you know, or Thea will be in trouble.”

“Alright. We’ll keep our focus on Vertigo for now. If we hear anything new about this intruder, then we’ll act,” he decided. She followed him into the office where he pulled up the relevant information about the club. “Is this good to start with?”

“Yeah.”

Oliver left her alone after, no doubt needing to get to work on tracking down Vertigo’s new distributor. Laurel wouldn’t be much for talking at the moment anyway, since she was hoping to get through all of these papers before her session with Ted that night. So long as there wasn’t anything too odd that stuck out for her father to use as grounds for suspicion or probable cause, they would be in the clear and could focus on more important things like finding the evidence to conclude once and for all what Malcolm Merlyn was up to in the Glades.

Then, of course, she found the bribe Tommy had paid a building inspector not to look at the basement area. Ollie doesn’t let anybody down there, was the note her friend had scribbled in the margins.

Laurel groaned and placed her face in her hands. They were both idiots.

—-

McKenna wasn’t completely sure what she was looking at here, but she knew it wasn’t good.

Whoever the mysterious guy with all the questions who’d sent her that phone was, his intel had unearthed a strange curiosity. Real estate in the Glades, just like he’d said. She’d taken a look, skeptical at first, only to find something she couldn’t explain.

Through a series of shell companies and hidden accounts, it appeared that one single entity owned almost the entirety of property within the impoverished neighborhood. The closest she had been able to come to a name was the company Sagittarius.

There were some other curiosities. A number of property purchases had been made by Robert Queen the last couple of weeks before his untimely death. Odd, considering the only property he’d owned in the Glades before — the foundry that now served as Oliver’s club — had already been shut down. Slowly, these properties had either been auctioned off or sold to the various accounts that funneled back to Sagittarius. The only thing McKenna couldn’t quite understand was, what for?

The Glades properties had largely been left to depreciate and rot. Landlords that leased the properties from Sagittarius were seemingly under no supervision and could get away with murder. Sometimes literally.

“It’s like whoever owns Sagittarius wants the neighborhood to go down in value,” she told Lance over a pot of coffee in the break room. “But that would be against their interest, wouldn’t it?”

“No way to tell if you don’t know who owns the company,” said Lance. He was only half-paying attention, his head stuck in some papers pertaining to the Verdant. “Could just be some kind of speculative investment type stuff those big wigs do.”

“The only property left in the Glades that isn’t owned by Sagittarius is the Verdant,” McKenna told him, hoping to entice him. He did look up, so she counted it moderately successful. “The Rebecca Merlyn Clinic was sold off at the start of the new year, which makes no sense because it wasn’t doing any worse than before.”

“Merlyn shut down his wife’s free clinic and we still gave him Humanitarian of the Year?” Lance shook his head.

“And look at these property buys by Robert Queen before his death. None of them had anything to do with his business. Some apartments, a grocer’s, two empty storefronts — it’s like he was grabbing whatever he could that was available.” McKenna looked up from her notes. “I think he knew something about this.”

Lance’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”

“He was going on a business trip when he died, right?”

He grimaced, and she felt slightly guilty for bringing up his own daughter’s death, however indirectly. “Yeah. Yeah, Laurel said, they were supposed to stop off in China for a week or so before coming back. Actually...wonder if that had anything to do with that Frank Chen.”

“The Chen that ordered the hit at the Humanitarian Award ceremony?” She jotted that down in the margins of her notes. “Well, since I can’t talk to him or Robert Queen, I’ll have to do the next best thing. How much do you think their friends or family might know?”

He shrugged. “Could be anything, could be nothing. But listen, Hall—” Lance snagged her arm before she could make to leave the break room. “Be careful about how close you get to all this stuff, alright? Especially if you’re planning to ask Merlyn any questions.”

“Why Merlyn?”

He hesitated. “A guy I know said something, that’s all.”

A guy he knew, huh?

“Alright, I’ll be careful.” McKenna returned to her desk, staring at her notes for a while. She was missing a big piece, the why of it all, and it was driving her crazy.

She glanced at the phone sitting on the corner of her desk. It hadn’t rang yet, and she hadn’t touched it beyond getting it dusted for prints that came back negative. The techs hadn’t been able to trace the purchase of it either.

With a furtive glance around the bullpen, she stood with the phone in her hand and went around to the back. This time when she dialed the pre-programmed number, it rang several times before being picked up.

“Detective Hall?” The altered voice almost sounded surprised, if she could even pick up tone from it.

“Listen, I looked into the Glades and the properties and I think I found what you wanted me to. Sagittarius. But what am I supposed to do about it?”

“Not sure yet. I’m still working on it.”

“Do you have more information? Because you need to give it to me. This is not a game.”

“I’m well aware of that, Detective. It’s why I can’t give you everything just yet. People’s lives are at stake.” There was a brief pause. “I have a number of files. Once I’ve figured out what’s safe to share, you’ll hear from me.”

“That is not how this — works,” she finished on a grumble as the line cut off. She had a feeling if she tried calling back she would be sent straight to voicemail. If the guy even had one set up.

This was ridiculous. Having to rely on vigilantes for intel wasn’t anywhere in the police academy training. If she’d wanted to deal with Deep Throat, she’d have become a journalist.

But someone — and she was betting her badge it was the Hood — had warned Lance off of tangling with Malcolm Merlyn. What did the Hood know about a shell company named for a symbol of archery?

Since she wouldn’t be likely to get in touch with him any time soon, she could start with Merlyn and his ilk. It was her best and only lead, since her contact wasn’t giving her anything better.

—-

Tommy had hit a wall. He’d have thought obtaining the files would be the tricky part, but Mrs. Queen had one more trick up her sleeve.

He couldn’t read any of them. They were all encrypted. Tommy wouldn’t even dream of being the expert on that. And he was loath to try and become self-taught.

For one thing, this information was too valuable to lose from a botched attempt at deciphering it. For another, his laptop was company-issued from Merlyn Global itself, and even someone of fairly average intelligence such as himself knew that would be as good as declaring his intentions to his father of dismantling his criminal enterprises.

He wasn’t willing to hire somebody to look over this information, and he couldn’t turn it over to the police without being cut off from learning the answers he was seeking. McKenna already seemed ready to bite his head off soon as look at him, not that she knew who to look for. He needed a way around the encryption that he could access.

If anybody had some kind of decryption programs on their computers, it would be Ollie. The Hood was always getting into this or that place or finding dirt on corrupt CEOs that was otherwise hidden from the general public. If he could get in and out without Oliver asking any questions — better yet, Oliver even knowing, all the better.

Night would be no good. Mr. Diggle or Laurel would be down there to keep in contact with Oliver while he was out there beating up and potentially killing people. Though admittedly it had been some time since he’d heard about that happening.

Middle of the day was usually when his old friend was down there training. But evening, perhaps, when they all needed to get something to eat. That would be his best bet.

Tommy left his office in Merlyn Global and went back to his apartment, putting on the suit he’d worn as his disguise to Queen Manor. He didn’t put it past Oliver to have cameras in his own base, and Tommy knew there were ones outside the Verdant.

He drove to the Glades, parking in an abandoned lot two plots down from the Verdant and out of range of its surveillance. Then, with a grimace, he pulled the pantyhose back over his face and jammed the hat on his head.

Tommy walked with his shoulders hunched and head down. It seemed most anyone in the area was already in the club, so he didn’t run into anyone going around the back of the club to the basement door. He let himself in with the keys he hadn’t quite gotten around to returning to Oliver yet and slipped down the stairs.

To his confusion, he didn’t immediately spot the computer that had sat near the middle of the floor of Oliver’s base. In fact, there didn’t seem to be much of anything down here of what he remembered. No arrows, no trunk holding the Hood suit. It looked more like an open-concept apartment.

As he passed the refrigerator that definitely hadn’t been there last time, he was caught in the stomach with a wooden stick. He staggered back as the air whooshed out of him, totally unprepared for the right hook that followed.

His attacker whirled him around and delivered a jab to the back of his knees that sent him crashing into a table. But not before he caught sight of her brown hair and green eyes.

Laurel.

He scrambled onto his feet, heart racing. She didn’t know it was him. She was going to hurt him, and he had no way to stop her.

“Wait. Wait!”

Laurel froze, the stick raised as her eyes went wide. “Tommy?”

He’d lost his hat at some point, so it was easy enough to pull off the rudimentary mask. “Oh, God, I thought I was gonna die. Oliver been teaching you some things?”

“What do you think you’re doing?” She demanded rather than reply. “I thought the base was under attack, I would have injured you.”

“Pretty sure you did injure my ribs.” He rubbed at them, wincing. “And what exactly happened to said base?”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s temporary, at least until my father arrives with his warrant to search the place. Now stop dodging, Tommy. What were you doing down here?”

“I…” Now that he was stood here, with someone in his life knowing, he found himself incredibly embarrassed.

“Thea told me about the break-in, so you may as well answer that, too, while you’re at it.”

“The files I got from Mrs. Queen’s computer,” Tommy admitted. “I needed to borrow Oliver’s tech to decrypt them.”

Laurel kept her arms crossed, but she looked less pissed when she asked, “What files?”

“I don’t know specifically what’s on them yet, but I know they’re about something called the Undertaking. And they have to do with the Glades.”

“And how did you know to look for them, Tommy? How did you decide to be a vigilante when you made it pretty clear you disapproved of what Oliver was doing?”

“That’s not what I — I’m not interested in being part of this, okay?” He said, waving an arm around to encompass what would’ve been the base on any other evening. “I just want to know what my father is up to. And Mrs. Queen, because she- she—” He couldn’t bring himself to say it. He still didn’t want to believe it.

Laurel finished for him. “She was in on the hit.”

Tommy stared at her. “You know? Oliver knows?” He didn’t know how Queen Manor could still be standing.

“Yes. And he’s not quite ready to address that with her. But that still doesn’t explain why you’ve been going around in a cheap-looking suit and...are those pantyhose?”

He shoved them into his pocket. “I made do.”

Laurel rolled her eyes. “I hope you washed them.”

“What am I, sixteen?”

The corner of her mouth quirked up, threatening a yes, but instead she said, “I don’t know why you thought you needed to sneak in here to use Oliver’s computers when you could’ve just asked him.”

“Because,” Tommy said. He looked down at the ground, knowing Laurel wasn’t going to like this. “Whatever information is on here probably isn’t gonna put his mom or my dad in a good light. And I was worried about — he could go all crazy murderer on them, Laurel. And how could any of us stop him?”

It was so quiet, he wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d simply vanished into thin air. When at last she spoke, her tone was clipped. “Ollie isn’t crazy, Tommy.”

“You know what I mean.”

“No, I really don’t. Has he done bad things? Things that go against legality, against your and my sense of morals? Yes. But for so long he has had only himself to rely on in order to survive out on that island. That changes a person.”

“But he’s not on the island, Laurel! He’s in civilization.”

“And it’s not just a switch he can turn on and off! That is not remotely how trauma works.”

He squeezed his eyes shut, breathing in and out for a few moments. “How do you live with it, though? You know it’s wrong.”

When he looked up, her expression was completely sincere. Gone was the bitter, hardened woman of the last five years. “Because the only way he’s going to move past all of that is if we can help him, Tommy. If we help him see how.”

Somehow, impossibly, because a killer had come to their city, Laurel had found her hope again.

“He’s stopped since you joined up with the two of them, hasn’t he?” Tommy didn’t wait for her answer before asking, “What happens when you being there isn’t enough to keep him from resorting to his old methods?”

“It could happen. It probably will happen. But he won’t be alone.”

His eyes widened. “Don’t tell me you’re going out there.”

“Can you really judge, Tommy? Or what should I call your masked persona?”

“It’s not a — look, as soon as this thing with my father is settled, I’m hanging it up, alright? But you’re not gonna do that.”

She shook her head. “There’s a lot more wrong with this city than just Malcolm Merlyn.”

“And a lot more wrong with the world, I’ll bet.” Once she got going, Laurel never just quit, after all. He sighed. “Well, we can at least get started on saving it from this Undertaking.” Tommy withdrew the flash drive and held it out. “Where does this get plugged in?”

“Actually, if it’s encrypted, that’s going to need to go to someone else. A friend of sorts Oliver made at his family’s company.”

Tommy looked at her flatly. “You want a Queen Consolidated employee to look over some files I stole from their CEO.”

Laurel shrugged. “Well, she hasn’t turned Oliver in yet.”

Maybe he should’ve just turned the damn thing over to McKenna. As soon as he thought that, he dismissed it. He still wanted to know what was on here, and this was his only way of making sure that happened.

Tommy placed the flash drive in Laurel’s palm. “I guess I’ll let you get back to your redecorating.”

“Oliver should be back soon. He only went to check on a lead for the Vertigo case,” Laurel told him. “I think you two should really talk.”

“No, I...I still have a lot to think about before I do that.” He hesitated before making his next request. “Actually — can you not tell Ollie this came from me? At least not yet.”

She frowned. “Why not?”

“I just want things to go back to normal once all of this is over, Laurel. If Oliver knows I’m getting involved in all this, he might think I want to be down here strategizing how to do a B&E on the next corporate mogul. That’s just not me.” He managed a grin, a little more wobbly than roguish. “I’m just Tommy Merlyn, the trust fund brat and childhood buddy. You know?”

“I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit,” she told him. “But if I can’t say this flash drive came from Tommy, what can I say?”

“I don’t know. I told McKenna I was just a guy with a lot of questions. Feel free to use that.”

He turned and started walking towards the back door. Laurel’s voice gave him pause.

“You should really invest in some self defense classes, you know. I’m not even an official vigilante, and I can already kick your ass.”

“Only if this became my night job.” And he doubted that would happen.

—-

Oliver felt sick to his stomach yet couldn’t be happier. He’d been saved by a hero tonight. A hero in a motorcycle helmet.

Not exactly the mask they’d discussed, but it was a start. He was sure the three of them could make some kind of compromise out of this, one that allowed Digg his anonymity while letting him feel comfortable and safe at the same time.

Without his timely interference, Oliver would have surely been killed by Dr. Webb and his orderly cohort. As it was, the pair of them were no more, and their supply of Vertigo would be off the streets.

Laurel rushed to his side the minute they got down to the base. “What happened?”

“They tried to force an overdose on him, but he got the antidote in time,” John explained for him, as Oliver was rather content to simply rest his forehead on Laurel’s shoulder.

“They?”

“It’s not a problem anymore,” Oliver groaned. He felt Laurel’s hand skimming his back pause for just the slightest second and winced. “I- I wasn’t trying to.”

“They saw his face after they got the drop on him,” Digg added quietly.

“Then next time we don’t send you out alone. Buddy system the whole time.”

He felt himself being moved and had to shut his eyes to keep the world from spinning violently. Then it tipped over as he was placed onto the bed in the base.

“—not sure how they spotted him.”

“Probably all the green. The new suits will be black, okay, Ollie?”

“I’m keeping my hood,” he protested. He couldn’t imagine giving up Shado and Yao Fei’s hood after everything they’d taught him.

A cool hand pressed to his forehead before combing through his hair in a very soothing gesture. “Alright. You can be the target to draw out all the criminals. But John and I want black.”

“Yes, dear,” he mumbled, already halfway to sleep.

“—there’s something...tell him tomorrow,” someone was saying, and then it was tomorrow and Oliver was blinking himself awake.

His stomach had mostly settled though his throat still felt raw from when he’d had to expel the Vertigo from his system.

The sounds of fists hitting the punching bag had him rising and pushing back the curtain Laurel had hung up around their bed. He found John taking a turn at the mat which had miraculously returned to its proper place overnight. His friend looked up.

“Morning.”

“Morning. Laurel go to work?”

John nodded. “You had a visitor last night.”

“I did?”

“Her father with the warrant. He bought that you’ve been using this space as a secret apartment, though he’s not exactly happy about his daughter living in the Glades.”

Oliver absorbed this quietly for a few minutes. It didn’t used to be considered shameful to live in this neighborhood. It had been a place to raise a family same as anywhere else. Why had that changed?

“He didn’t think it was strange I was passed out during his inspection?”

“We told him you’d had a bit too much to drink and Laurel had sent you to bed,” John admitted. Oliver grimaced. He really was going to get nowhere as far as his reputation went with Lance. But he’d known that was a lost cause ages ago.

“John, I don’t remember if I said last night, but thank you.”

His friend looked rather pleased with himself, though Oliver doubted he would admit it out loud, and then schooled his features again. “We gotta pay the IT Department at Queen Consolidated another visit.”

Oliver raised both eyebrows. “Oh?”

John left the mat and picked up a flash drive Oliver hadn’t noticed before sitting by the computer. “Laurel was given this yesterday while we were out.”

“By who?”

“Laurel said he didn’t want to be identified. But he’s the same guy who stole what’s on here from your mother.”

Oliver’s gaze zeroed in on the drive. If that was true, they could have all the answers they’d been looking for sitting right in their laps.

“It’s encrypted?”

Digg nodded.

“Give me five minutes to get ready.”

In three, they were in the car and on their way to Queen Consolidated. Oliver’s leg kept bouncing as he sat watching the scenery go by. This was it. His father’s mission. The whole reason his life and the lives of everyone he cared about had changed so drastically five years ago.

They found Felicity at her desk the same as usual, though she gave a visible start when she caught sight of them. “Oh! Sorry, it’s been a while, and after I told your girlfriend I knew I wasn’t sure if—”

“I need your help,” Oliver said, cutting right to the chase. It was rude, but time was of the essence. “Can you decrypt what’s on this flash drive?”

She looked at it. “Should be simple enough. What did you need it for? Or should I not know? Plausible deniability and all that — although if I read the files after decrypting them then I’ll probably know so that’s kind of not an option.”

“The truth is we’re not entirely sure what’s on there,” John answered. “But it’s important.”

“Okay,” Felicity said, drawing out the word. “I will get right on that.”

“Not on a company computer,” Oliver cautioned, as it looked like she was about to plug it right in. “Just trust me.”

“Right. Then I will have it for you by tonight.”

“Great. Thank you, Felicity.”

They left the office, and Oliver spent the next several hours training. He couldn’t think about much of anything, so the routine of muscle memory was all he could follow.

Somehow a part of him just didn’t feel ready. After being in the dark for so long it was startling to know the answer was within his reach.

“And this guy wants to know what’s on the drive, too?” Oliver asked Digg not for the first time. “Why? What does he stand to gain?”

John shrugged. “All Laurel told me was he said he had questions.”

“Well, this guy can keep his questions as long as he stays anonymous.” Something about it was bugging him, like he should know who this was — but one question at a time.

“Laurel told me some more about that talk she had with Thea the other day,” John said, probably in an effort to distract him while they waited. “Your sister misses you, Oliver.”

He frowned, having no real comeback. His estrangement from his mother was unfairly punishing Thea as well, he knew that. But he knew maintaining an act for his sister would be harder than before. She’d have to realize something was wrong, and a part of him didn’t want to do that to her. She’d already had so much taken away at such a young age.

Then again, depending on what was found on their mother’s files, was he only delaying the inevitable?

He was startled early in the afternoon when his phone rang, and even more startled by the caller ID.

“Felicity?” Had something happened to the flash drive? Had someone found out?

“Oliver, hi. And sorry. It was just really bothering me, so I peeked. On my tablet, at lunch across the street, so don’t worry.”

“Felicity, just tell me what you found on it.”

“Okay, it’s just — it’s a lot,” she said before drawing a shaky breath. “And I think it’s why Walter was abducted.”

—-

Taylor wasn’t sure why he was here. Usually if his parents really had to go somewhere together, they hired him a babysitter so he could stay home. But there hadn’t been a babysitter in a while.

He could tell his mom and dad were upset about something. His dad spent a lot of time at their kitchen table looking over papers with lots of lines and numbers, and his mom didn’t let him have as many treats when they went out to the stores anymore. They always told him things were going to be fine, but Taylor didn’t know whether to believe them.

Today, they got off a bus and walked up the steps of a red brick building Taylor had never seen before. There were lots of people moving around desks piled high with papers, and his mom and dad led him back to a desk where a pretty lady with brown hair sat.

“Miss Lance?” His dad asked.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“We phoned you earlier about meeting to discuss our case?” His mom had her hands on his shoulders, so Taylor couldn’t hide behind her. The lady seemed nice, though.

But there was something sad in the corners of her smile. “Against Edward Rasmus, yes.” She looked at him, then, her eyes softening. “Are you Taylor?”

He nodded shyly.

The lady got up and shook hands with both his parents and bent down to shake Taylor’s hand, too. “I’m Laurel, and I will be very happy to represent your family.”

Taylor didn’t know whether to believe her either.

[jphbk1982]

Open Window Chapter 20: Reflection

Reflection "Did it work?" Zack looked at Alpha as he posed the question. Alpha looked around at the darkness and back at Zack. "I don't know." Alpha answered honestly. "Why is nothing happening?" Jason asked. "I don't know that either." Alpha responded. "It didn't work did it Billy?" Trini turned to him as she asked. Billy held his cell phone up for light and saw the expression Trini was giving him. "I... uh.. I'm not sure." Billy responded. "Where is he?" Trini questioned. "He um.." Billy began to respond. Before he could finish a blinding light appeared to his right. The Rangers all shielded their eyes as it got brighter before the room went completely dark again. "Tommy?" Jason asked as he used his own cell phone to shine light in the direction the flash came from. "Yeah... it's me." Tommy responded as he got up. Trini immediately raced over and enveloped him in a tight hug. "How.. did you.." "Billy man.. he found a way in Zedd's dimension." Jason responded as he walked over and put his hand on Tommy's shoulder as Trini let him go. "Alpha helped too." Billy quickly shifted the credit. Tommy walked over and gave Billy a quick hug. "Thanks man." Tommy said. Billy nodded his head and smiled appreciatively. Tommy looked at the group and realized everything was being illuminated by various cell phones. "Why is this place so dark?" "We um.. we had to use all of the ship's power to reach you." Billy responded. "Oh... so.. what does that mean?" Tommy inquired. Billy turned to Alpha. "It means the ship will take awhile to power back up... and we just have to wait." Alpha responded. "It's good to have you back Tommy." "Thanks buddy." Tommy responded. "So where were you.. and how did you find our beam?" Kim asked as the group gathered around Tommy. "I'm not sure you guys will believe me." Tommy responded. "I um.. was hanging over a volcano." "Wow... hanging from what?" Jason questioned. "That's the unbelievable part." Tommy replied. "It was Rita... she was using her magic to help me cross it." "You're right, I don't believe you." Zack chimed in. Tommy turned to him and shrugged. "It's true.. that place was awful..." Tommy paused. "We had to work together to survive." "I can't imagine.." Trini said as she moved to stand next to Tommy. "Yeah.. if not for her.. I'd.." Tommy stopped. The team understood what he was implying. "She died.. um... helping me." "I don't... I mean it's Rita." Jason said as he struggled with how to take this information. "I know man.. I couldn't hardly believe it either." Tommy replied. "But I saw her with my own eyes die... while trying to help me out of there." "How did she die?" Zack asked. "These um.. I guess you'd call them creatures.. they were chasing us and when we got to the volcano she helped me to cross and stayed behind, but they got to her before I could cross." Tommy answered. "If not for you guys though I'd have been gone too, I was heading straight for the lava and then boom I ended up here." "Leave it to Zedd to put a volcano over the entrance to his hell." Zack stated. "Yeah.." Tommy said and then he stood upright a bit more and looked around the group. "Speaking of Zedd.." "He's gone.. for now." Jason said. "You beat him?" Tommy asked. "I am not sure if I'd use that terminology.. I think we held him off." Jason answered. "He's bad news.. not like Rita." Tommy declared. "Yeah we've seen that." Trini reacted. Tommy looked up at the wall where Zordon would normally be. "Zordon.. is he..?" Tommy asked as he glanced behind his back to Alpha. "We don't know.." Billy responded. "I installed a backup generator specifically for the wall and Zordon.. it was designed to keep him alive if the power ever failed." Alpha explained. "It had never been tested so I am hopeful it worked." "Me too." Jason replied. "He.. why would he sacrifice himself for me.." Tommy said as he tried to deal with his feelings on the matter. "We are all a team Tommy.. we look out for each other." Alpha answered. Tommy shook his head but even in the dim light the sadness was evident on his face. "You guys should get home it's getting really late and you're parents will get worried." Alpha said to the group. "We want to stay in case.." Kim answered as she pointed up to the wall. "It could take several hours.." Alpha began. "You're communicators.. I can contact you on them, I connected them to my own circuitry, just in case." "The second you find anything out.." Jason began. "You got it." Alpha responded. Jason nodded and the group made their way towards the exit. (****) "Jason.. can I talk to you?" Tommy asked as the group walked down the mine entrance. "Sure man." Jason replied as he moved to where Tommy was and the two stopped their pace. "What's up?" "Jason.. what happened in that dimension.." Tommy began. It was clear from his tone that he was clearly troubled. "What Zedd did.. just sent us there to die and then Rita.. it's um.. it's a lot." "I understand." Jason said. "When I was taken by Rita.. it messed with my head a bit, and I've never told anyone that... but what you went through man, it sounds so much worse." "How did you deal with it?" Tommy asked. Jason looked ahead at the group of teen's approaching that were several steps ahead of them now. Tommy followed his eyes and nodded. "They got me through it.. just.. you know.. their friendship." Jason replied. "The thing you got to always remember is that even when we fight alone.. we are all still in this together." "Thanks man.. I.. we got to stop Zedd." Tommy said his tone determined and serious. "Yeah we do." Jason agreed. "He's.. if he.." Tommy began but stopped at a loss for words. "I know." Jason responded, understanding the sentiment Tommy was going for. The two teens began walking again, still several paces behind their friends. Tommy looked over at Jason. "I don't get why Rita would do that..." Tommy said, half to himself and half to Jason. "I mean.. I wasn't there, but from what I know of Rita it was probably just self preservation." Jason suggested. "She kept telling me that but.." Tommy paused. "I don't know, it felt like there was more to it than that." "I can't say man.. but.. I'm not unhappy she's gone." Jason replied. "Also though.. in a weird way, I'm happy she went out doing something good." "Redemption." Tommy stated simply. "Yeah.. she was a Ranger after all." Jason stated. "Zordon said it was the constant battles.. they took their toll on her and she had a break I guess and never recovered." "I can understand that." Tommy said. "Me too." Jason agreed. "Maybe deep down she.." Tommy turned to Jason. "Maybe so." Jason said, once again knowing what Tommy was suggesting. The two quickened their pace to join the rest of the group. (****) "What did Tommy want?" Kimberly asked as she sat down on her porch steps and Jason sat down next to her. "He um.. just.. you know what happened there.. got him to thinking I guess." Jason answered. "Wanted to talk about it." "Oh." Kim replied. "Messed with his head a bit?" "Something like that." Jason answered. "Kind of like it did yours when Rita took you?" Kim questioned. Jason turned to her and raised his eyebrow. "What.. how.." Jason searched for the question he wanted to ask. "I could tell it was bothering you.. even if you stubbornly would not talk about it." Kim replied with a smile. "Oh.. well.. I didn't really need to." Jason stated. "Just being around the team.. and you.. it was enough." "Do you think that will be enough for Tommy?" Kimberly asked. "I hope so.. but he knows he can talk to us." Jason answered. There was a moment of silence between them before Jason reached up to lightly touch the bandage on Kim's shoulder. "How is it?" "It's a little sore, but honestly I think it's mostly healed." Kim asked. She reached up and lowered her jacket and lifted the bandage to confirm her suspicions. She saw it was mostly healed just a pink scar now. Jason saw that too and his eyes moved to her chest. He reached up and traced a spot on it. "The scar is gone." Jason said as he referenced the scar she had taken on his behalf. "Yeah.. it um.. left a couple of days ago." Kim answered as she watched his fingers lightly trace the spot. "I'm glad.." Jason said as he removed his hands and looked up and into her eyes. "I don't know.. I was getting used to it." Kim responded with a smile. Jason leaned over and kissed her softly. Their kiss was interrupted by the sound of the front door behind them creaking open. Both turned to see Kimberly's mom sticking her head out of the door. She smiled at them. "I thought I heard someone out here." Mrs. Hart said. "Yeah it's just us mom." Kim responded. "It's getting late, I was getting a little worried." Mrs. Hart said, only half-heartedly scolding her. "I'm sorry mom, we just kind of lost track of time." Kim said apologetically. "Well I wouldn't have worried so much if I'd had have known you were with Jason." Mrs. Hart said as she flashed him a wide smile. "But you better come in soon before you're dad throws a fit." "Okay mom." Kim responded with a smile for her. She turned to Jason as the door shut softly behind her. He was grinning. "You're mom is cool." Jason stated. "You only say that cause she likes you." Kim responded with a laugh. "Possibly." Jason agreed. "God knows why she does." "For real." Kim teased. Jason gave her a look and they both laughed. Jason stood up and offered his hand for Kim to take and she got to her feet too. She interlocked their fingers and leaned in for another kiss. "I'd better let you get inside... your dad.. well he does not like me." Jason said after the kiss broke. Kim laughed at his words and nodded. "I can't disagree with that." Kim said. She started to move towards her front door keeping their hands together as long as possible. "Kim?" Jason said as they finally broke contact. "Yeah?" Kim responded. "I love you." Jason said. "I love you too." Kim replied. "Text me when you get home?" "Always." Jason responded as he winked at her and descended her steps. (****) "I should have expected to find you here." Trini said as she approached a train car on top of a hill. "Same." Zack responded from the top of the car as he turned to her as she approached. He watched as she walked over to the side of the car and easily scaled it. She walked over to sit down next to him. "Couldn't sleep?" Trini asked. "Nah." Zack responded. "You?" "Not a wink." Trini replied. "How's Tommy?" Zack inquired. "He um.. he said he was going to bed and I haven't heard from him since." Trini answered. "I think what happened bothered him a lot." "Yeah I think it would any of us." Zack replied. "I am not sure what he and Jason talked about, but it seemed to help." Trini stated. "Well Jason.. he's good like that." Zack said. "Yeah he is." Trini agreed with a fond smile. "Doughnut?" Zack asked as he held up a box of them to Trini. "Of course." Trini answered as she picked one out and took a bite. "I was hoping we would have heard something from Alpha by now." Zack said as he took a drink of a cup of coffee he had next to him. "I thought about stopping in there but figured he'd just scold me." "Probably." Trini replied as the two shared a quick laugh. "But yeah, that's the big reason I couldn't sleep." "He has to come back you know.." Zack said. "If not.. what will we do?" "I don't know.. it won't be right without him." Trini said with a slight frown before she retrieved a water bottle from her backpack and took a drink. "Yeah.." Zack agreed. He turned to Trini. "So how are you.. any lasting battle wounds?" "Um.. I got a gash here." Trini said as she pointed to her inner thigh to a part that was covered by her shorts. "Ouch." Zack replied. "Yeah it sucks." Trini said. "But you know, we heal." "Yeah.. we do." Zack said as he nodded. "What about you?" Trini asked. "I think I dislocated my elbow, but I popped it back in while we were fighting and it's chill now." Zack said as he flexed his arm a bit. "It's crazy how we can heal." Trini said as she watched him. "Yeah.. at first it kind of made me feel invincible." Zack said before he chuckled a little. "I'm learning that that's not exactly true." "Yeah.. we heal but we are not invincible." Trini replied as she lied back on the train car and looked up at the stars. Soon Zack had followed suit and they were both star gazing. "I'll tell you what's crazy." Zack said. "Less than a year ago.. I didn't know you.. you were just a crazy girl who stood over there and practiced martial arts and I watched through binoculars." "Yep.." Trini agreed. "Which.. by the way when I say it out loud it sounds creepier than it was." Zack said prompting Trini to burst out laughing. "I was hoping you noticed that too." She said between bouts of laughter. He laughed along with her, finding her laughter to be contagious. After the laughter died down he turned his head towards her. "What's crazy is now... I love you, you know.. I can't imagine not having you in my life." Zack said sincerely. His words prompted Trini to turn to him and she saw the sincerity on his face and felt her eyes welling up a bit. "I know what you mean.. I feel the same." Trini said as she smiled at him. They held each other's gaze for a moment before both simultaneously returned to star gazing. (****) Tommy sat up in his bed and immediately felt the coolness of the movement against the sweat he was covered in. He sighed and reached up to rub his eyes. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and walked over to his window and opened it. He picked a spot in the sky and began to stare at it. He had feared he would have nightmares if he fell asleep and sure enough his fears were confirmed for him just now. Tommy clinched his fists and cursed under his breath before he glanced over at his cell phone on his nightstand. He walked over and picked it up. His grimace turned to a smile as he noticed he had multiple text messages. A lot of them from Trini but he had at least one from each of the Rangers. He sat down on the bed and went to responding to each one of them. (****) Billy walked down the steps to his basement workshop. He flicked the light on and immediately regretted the intrusion of light on his newly awoken eyes. He made his way over to a work bench and plopped down on a stool. He let out a big yawn and then glanced down at the cell phone in his hands as it buzzed. He saw it was from Tommy and read the thanks from him for checking up on him. Billy smiled and then laid the phone down and sat back on the stool. He had been having a terrible time sleeping, despite being exhausted so he decided to come down to his basement and find something to tinker on in hopes that it would help relax him enough to sleep. He looked around and finally settled on something that would do the trick and went to work. (****) Trini opened her eyes and tried to focus them. At first she was very confused as to why she was seeing stars but then she remembered where she was and glanced over at Zack who was sitting up and doing something on his cell phone. She felt slightly embarrassed she had just fallen asleep but there was something comforting about his presence that relaxed her enough to give in to her tired body. "How long as I out?" Trini asked as she sat up and stretched a bit. Zack turned to her with a smile. "Just a couple of hours." Zack answered as he sat his cell phone down. "Sorry about that." Trini said. "Nothing to be sorry for." Zack responded. "You needed the rest." "Yeah.." Trini agreed as she looked over to see the slightest hint of the sun starting to come over the horizon. "Wow.. it's going to be morning soon." "Yep." Zack agreed as he turned to see what she was looking at. "Got a message from Tommy a little while ago... he seems to be in good spirits." "Really?" Trini asked before she fumbled around to check her phone to see if she had any. She smiled when she saw she had several from him. She read them all with a smile on her face for each one. She glanced up to see Zack looking at her. "You see what I mean?" He said with a little laugh. "Yeah.. he seems okay." Trini said as she laid her phone down next to his. They fell into a comfortable silence as the sunrise became more prominent in the distance. It was illuminating them and their surrounds and bathing them a soft warm glow. "That's not a bad view at all." Zack commented, as he turned to Trini. "It's beautiful." Trini agreed. Zack nodded, before lowering his head and turning back to the sunlight. He was about to respond when both of their communicators went off. "Rangers.. come to command center." Alpha's voice rung out as they both looked at each other before leaping off of the train car at practically the same time and heading towards the entrance to the ship. (****) "You guys got here fast, how did you do that with no teleportation?" Alpha asked as Zack and Trini walked into the command center. "We uh.. were close by." Trini answered. "So what's going on Alpha?" Zack asked. "The ship has almost powered back up fully, I am about to attempt a scan for Zordon to see.." Alpha paused and then turned to the controls behind him. "Please let him still be there." Trini said quietly as she turned to Zack, who took her by the hand and smiled as reassuringly at her as he could through his own fears. They were both startled by the footsteps behind them and they turned to see Tommy running in. "Hey.." Tommy said as he glanced at them and then at Alpha. "What's going on?" "Alpha is scanning for Zordon." Zack answered. Trini moved over to Tommy and gave him a quick hug in greeting. "You got here fast." Trini said. "I was out for a morning drive when I got the word." Tommy answered. "You guys beat me here." "Yeah we were out at the train car talking.. couldn't sleep." Trini replied. Tommy nodded and glanced at Zack. "Yeah." Zack agreed. "So how long will this take?" Tommy asked as he walked over to Alpha. "Not much longer now." Alpha responded as they heard footsteps once more and turned to see the other three Rangers approaching. "Alpha are you scanning for him now?" Billy asked as he made his way over to help him. "Yes Billy.. scan is about ninety percent complete." Alpha responded. Jason and Kim wordlessly made their way over to the group as all of them focused their attention on Alpha and Billy. "That's a hundred percent, now what?" Billy asked as he turned to Alpha. Alpha turned to the wall behind them. "Now we find out if my back up worked." Alpha replied. The rest of the group turned to the wall. After a few seconds there was a crackle of red energy that flowed across it. Jason turned to Alpha who was still intently focused on the wall. Jason turned back towards it and took a couple of steps towards it. "Zordon?" Jason spoke as a faint outline of a face formed in the wall but kept going in and out. Jason turned to Alpha. "What's going on?" "He is weak... and the connection is not stable." Alpha replied. "What can we do?" Jason questioned. "Your coins." Alpha responded. Each Ranger retrieved their coins without a further question and extended them to Alpha. "Hold them towards the wall." Alpha replied. He then turned towards the panel behind him and pressed a couple of buttons. Soon a beam shot out of the ceiling and hit each one of the Rangers coins and then reflected onto the wall were Zordon's image was flickering. Several seemingly fruitless moments passed. Zack turned to Alpha. "It's not working!" Zack said in frustration. "Patience." Alpha responded as he took a couple of steps towards the wall. As if on cue the beam disappeared and Zordon came fully into view. "Zordon!" "Alpha.. Rangers!" Zordon exclaimed as he saw them gathered in front of them. "It's good to have you back." Kim said. "It's good to see all of you too." Zordon said as he looked at each one of them with a smile. "We were afraid we'd lost you." Trini said. "I was afraid too." Zordon confessed. "But I knew you would not give up on me." "Never." Jason spoke up. (****) "I would totally turn this into a basement arcade." Zack said as he looked around at Billy's spacious work shop. "But where would I do my work?" Billy asked as he gestured to his work stations. Zack just laughed and glanced at Jason who was smiling as well. "So what did you wanna show us?" Kimberly asked as she walked over to pick up an object that she had no clue as to what it was. Billy walked over and gently took it out of her hands. "Be careful with that.. it uh... well it's not safe." Billy replied. Kimberly's eyes widened and she backed away to stand behind Jason and Tommy. They both laughed in response. Billy turned to the group. "I couldn't sleep last night right." "Join the crowd." Trini chimed in. "Yeah so.. I came down and tinkered." Billy continued. "As you do." Zack joked prompting the group to smile but Billy to look at him confusedly. Zack gestured to Billy. "Continue." "Right.. so I was thinking about our battle with Zedd." Billy continued. "Zordon told us that one reason Zedd had been so powerful was because of the zeo crystal right.." "Right." Jason agreed. "So.. it's wearing off and that's why he is here right?" Billy questioned the group. "Right." Jason once again responded. "So that got me to thinking..." Billy continued as he walked over to an object in the corner with a tarp over it. He turned to the group. "What if we give him what he wants?" "Huh?" Trini asked. Billy pulled the tarp off and the group all were shocked with what they saw. They turned to each other. "Billy.. is that what I think it is?" Jason asked. "Yup." Billy responded with pride. "Explain please." Jason said as he walked over to get a better look at the object. "Wait a minute.. is this really the zeo crystal?" Tommy asked as he moved to stand beside of Billy. "No.. not the actual one, this is one is made from rocks I have retrieved from the mine, but it looks like it right?" Billy asked. "Well.. without the glow.." Zack stated. "Right.." Billy said as he walked over and retrieved a remote control off the desk and pushed a button and the crystal illuminated the room. "Okay.. now it looks exactly like the crystal." Kim said. "Billy.. please explain." Jason said. "I got to thinking.. if we let Zedd think he has us beat and offer him the crystal... this crystal.." Billy began. "Won't he know it's phony?" Jason asked. "Can you tell?" Billy countered. "No." Jason responded. "I don't think he will either." Billy responded. "So what will this do.. I mean once he determines it's not the real thing." Kim chimed in. "Well.. see when Tommy returned from Zedd's dimension there was a backwash of negative energy from that dimension that filled the command center.. I noticed the ship absorbed a large portion of it." Billy answered. "And?" Tommy asked. "And.. at the time I didn't think nothing of it, you know the ship will eventually purge itself of that energy." Billy answered. "Billy.. I love you but can you please just.." Trini said as she looked at him with a confused look on her face. "The point is this." Billy began. "We fill this crystal with that negative energy, once it is in Zedd's possession I push this button on this control.. and boom it will release the negative energy.." "Will it kill Zedd?" Jason asked. "I don't think it will." Billy responded. "BUT.. it will counteract the power he absorbed from the original crystal." "And what will that do?" Zack questioned. "It will even the playing field." Billy responded. Jason nodded as he started to understand Billy's plan. "So he won't be so powerful." Jason surmised. "Exactly." Billy agreed. The group looked at each other as they began to put the plan together in their own minds. They all began to nod as each was satisfied it was a good plan and would most likely work. "So... you thought of all of this in the middle of the night while you couldn't sleep.." Zack finally spoke up. He shook his head and walked over to put an arm around Billy. "Your mind scares me." The group all laughed as they each turned to the crystal. They stood gazing at it for a for more moments before Billy broke the silence. "Who is up for breakfast?" Billy asked. "You don't even have to ask." Zack responded as he followed Billy up the stairs. The rest of the group laughed once more before following behind them.