Disciple: Chapter Four (4/?)
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Oliver: "I'm not worried about him. Mia, it's what he said. I think he's right. What if I can't outrun these dark places inside me?"
Mia: "That's why you need me. To keep you in check. There's a dark place inside everyone, Oliver. What we do with it depends not on who our teachers are but what we do with the lessons learned."
Summary: Oliver Queen needs Mia to keep him in check. Companion Piece to Erase- you should really read the two side by side.
Warnings: Violence and spoilers for season 9
A/N: Did you miss me?
Chapter Four
She was worried about Oliver. She didn’t think that it would be possible for him to be more driven than when she found him at the Watchtower the first time, but he had topped it somehow. Every single computer there was busy running search after search.
He downloaded one translator program after another so that language barriers couldn’t stop him. He stopped when he downloaded a Russian one for time purposes, and realized that the programs were flawed.
Mia had hoped that he would stop there, but he didn’t. He started teaching himself languages instead, book after book covering the Watchtower floors. He muttered underneath his breath as he ran searches in order to keep himself in practice.
He showed her his version of a universal translator program, and she watched in amazement as the database recognized the language being used instantly before translating a text.
He started to improve it. He created two, three better versions. She was getting frustrated whenever she walked in on him working on them- he would type and type on those damned keyboards and not even notice her in the building for hours at a time.
He created these programs to help him, but he was still at it with more intensity than ever.
For Mia, Google was all she would ever need. But Oliver had the information of the entire world available to him, and it still wasn’t good enough.
He was Watchtower now, and she wasn’t going to let that title stick. She drove over to the Clock Tower with determination, and pressed the up button forcefully as the elevator doors closed.
She waited for the doors to open again, and was about to give Oliver a piece of her mind when she saw him sitting at his desk with a solemn look on his face. Something happened.
She saw a crumpled piece of paper on the floor, and bent down to grab it before reading.
“I want to let you in on a little secret Clark. I’m not who you think I am. In fact, my disguise is so thin, I’m surprised you haven’t seen right through me.”
Did Chloe write this? It was a typed up letter, and judging by the look of the paper, it had gone through a lot. The print looked a bit worn. Maybe this was an old letter. Mia continued to read.
“I’m the girl of your dreams masquerading as your best friend.”
Oh no. She looked over at Oliver. There was a full glass of scotch in front of him, and he was staring at it.
Mia didn’t read the rest of the letter. She didn’t need to read it to know that Clark broke her heart- Chloe wouldn’t have kept it otherwise.
She didn’t need to read it in order to know what Oliver was feeling. And she wouldn’t blame him if he downed that glass right then and there.
But he didn’t. He just stared at it in silence, and she knew that he probably didn’t know that she was there. She couldn’t blame him this time. All she could do was break the silence.
“Are you going to drink that?” she asked
The silence continued before he made a decision. “I can’t.”
He grabbed the glass and moved to the kitchen. She watched as he slowly emptied the liquid into the drain. She was proud of him- proud that he didn’t let himself slip back into old habits.
“How long ago was it written?” Mia asked when the last drop disappeared
“Seven years ago.”
“A lot changes in seven years”, she told him.
But she knew that didn’t help. The truth was that Chloe felt an incredible amount of emotion for Clark- love. She wouldn’t let herself feel it for Oliver, and that was killing him.
“A little too much changed her.”
“Do you think that she would have left if she was the same?” She asked, knowing the question was on his mind as well
He stared at the sink. “I don’t know”, she heard him whisper.
But there were elements of her past that were here now. Oliver told her about the newspaper she kept running all throughout high school. If Oliver was becoming anything like her now, Mia would guess that Chloe carried that determination into her role at Watchtower.
“I think that her strength is still the same.”
“I think so too”, he agreed.
“And I think”, she continued, “that the raw emotion is still there. Somewhere. You just have to find it. And find a way to bring it out.”
He gave her a confused look. Oh, still blind. Right. He walked out of the kitchen, and sat back down at his desk. He put away the binder and flipped open his laptop.
“What can I help you with?” he asked
What? What just happened here?
He started typing at the laptop, and she realized what was going on here. He didn’t drink the scotch, because that would be something that Oliver Queen would do. Oliver Queen would drown his sorrows in alcohol. He wasn’t using restraint; he was burying himself in his work, compartmentalizing. Just like Watchtower.
“Oliver, that’s not important right now.”
“Well, you obviously came here for some reason or another.”
Okay, that’s enough. She placed her hand on the laptop, and pushed it down slowly until it closed. “Don’t do this.”
“What? What am I doing? What’s the matter?”
“You’re making things strictly business. Nothing personal. Just like she did.”
“You don’t know her”, he told her.
“I haven’t met her, but I know her”, she said. Because she knew Oliver, knew the real him, and could separate what was him from what he was changing into. “Maybe not as well as you do, but I know her”, she clarified.
“Mia.”
He was still looking for a reason. She couldn’t just drop by. And she couldn’t let him lose himself like this.
“Fine”, she answered. “I need you to patrol tonight.”
She was going to have to come up with a reason as to why she couldn’t do it. And she didn’t have one.
So she lied. “I have an exam tomorrow, and I really need to study for it. I’ve been trying to bring it up all week but…”
She trailed off before he could notice that she was lying to him. She hated lying to him, but she couldn’t let him lose himself. Maybe patrolling would help.
“No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m sorry to just spring this on you”, she said guiltily. “I know you haven’t patrolled in a while, and you’re a little out of touch.”
“What am I, old?” he asked
Not old. Identity confused, maybe. But he wouldn’t believe that.
“You haven’t shot an arrow in a while. Your accuracy might be off”, she explained weakly.
“I’m sure it’s just like riding a bike.”
“Except, of course, you’re riding a zip-line. Just humor me, okay? Get out a target, and shoot it.”
She waited until he opened the Arrow room and stepped inside. She watched as he felt his gear, moved his fingers around the leather.
Come on, Oliver. Shoot the target.
She needed him to feel his sense of identity returning. If this didn’t work, then she didn’t know him at all.
He closed his eyes as he unfolded his bow, and smiled as he heard the noise.
She grabbed a target and rolled it a good distance away from him. She stood behind him and watched him. She wanted to see it when it happened- she wanted to see him as himself again.
“Shoot the target.”
She saw him touch the tip of a titanium arrow before swiftly fitting it into the bow, and stretching the bow-string back. He held it for a second before releasing it, and Mia heard the noise of the arrow hitting the target. She recognized the distinctive noise of the arrow striking the center, but glanced down to make sure.
She saw the sparkle in his eyes, and smiled.
“Am I still out of touch?” he asked
She shook his head. No, he wasn’t. Hopefully, she could keep him that way.