If I Could Turn Back Time [11 pt2 of ?15] PG13
Part 2, Chapter 11, If I Could Turn Back Time
link to part 1
"If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace." Thomas Paine
(2002) Oliver had just turned 22 when Ali and his mother were kidnapped.
In May, he'd graduated from Harvard and spent the next two months on a tour of the Pacific and Indian oceans, departing from Star City and traversing down to the Panama canal before crossing over to Australia and making his way north along the Asian continent's waters. In August, 2002 he'd reported to work at Queen Industries. He'd been working there on his summers since he was 15 years old, and was ready for the challenge.
Rather than offer him an executive position right out of college, Robert wanted Oliver to apprentice with several of his high level staff. Research and development, accounting, community development, marketing and communications, human resources, manufacturing, and government liaison. For the following few years Oliver would spend time with each section, learning what they did, what they needed, and hopefully how they could improve. Robert had high hopes and faith in his son. Oliver may have been looked at only as the golden boy, silver spoon, ladies man, but Robert knew better.
Oliver had started at Queen industries in the mail room. Robert smiled at the cliché of it, but it was good for Oliver to meet 'regular' people as he'd called them. Each year he'd moved to a different area of the company, but always a low level position, getting to know the people that made up Queen Industries, and the work that they did.
Oliver was only on his fifth week at the job, working with the accounting department when he'd suddenly been surrounded by security and escorted to his father's office. There he'd found his father looking more worried than Oliver had ever seen. He was huddled in conversation with his head of security and private lawyer across the room from several Star City Police detectives and suited FBI agents. "Dad? What's going on?" Oliver had tried to sound calm, even as he felt a deep foreboding settle over him.
"Oliver…" His father had broken off and Oliver was stunned to see tears in his father's eyes. Their family wasn't afraid to show emotions, but the only time Oliver had ever seen his father cry was when his own mother had died when Oliver was six and in the hospital right after Ali was born. "Oliver, we're still trying to put the pieces together, but it appears that your mother and Ali have disappeared."
"What? When? What happened? Where was their security?" Oliver asked in a panic.
"The disappeared from a store, the store staff were knocked out and left tied up but relatively unharmed. Malcolm and Cesar are dead Reed is in the hospital, his doctors don't think he'll make it," Robert tried to relate the details as unemotionally as possible.
For the first time in a long time Oliver felt completely helpless. His mother and baby sister were missing, their guards were dead or dying. Oliver couldn't think. "We have to find them… Who would do this? How…?"
"I don't know," Robert said gravely, but Oliver frowned as he watched his father fidget with his watch then slide his hand into his pocket. Oliver admired his father. He'd studied him. Knew his quirks, knew his tells. And touching his watch was one of them. His father was lying. Robert Queen knew who had taken his wife and daughter, but he wasn't sharing that information with the police.
CO-CO-CO
(2009) A few nights later the Green Arrow had just finished zip tying a thief he'd caught robbing a closed jewelry store when he is interrupted by the sudden appearance of a man dressed in a black trench coat, jeans and t-shirt.
"What are you doing?" the man questioned imperiously.
"Oh you know, I was out for a stool and thought I'd do my good deed for the day," Oliver said easily, his glasses' night vision easily allowing him to see the man as he moved closer to the burglar to and checked on him. The man was unconscious but otherwise unhurt.
"What'd you do to him?"
"He's fine, he'll wake up in time to get his finger prints taken." Oliver looked at the man more closely, realizing that he recognized him from somewhere.
"Who are you?" Clark questioned the man in green.
Oliver frowned placing the man finally, he had been in several of the pictures he'd seen of Chloe from high school. "I prefer to remain anonymous," he grinned.
"You shouldn't be here," Clark said and Oliver grinned at him.
"No one should be here, this is a closed store. But someone needs to help people, keep them safe. Listen man, I hear you do good work, we don't have a problem here," Oliver placated, realizing that Chloe's friend was the Blur.
Clark opened his mouth to argue but the sound of sirens distract him and when he turned back around the Green Arrow is gone.
CO-CO-CO
The next day, Clark stoped at his mom's Metropolis offices to find her meeting with a tall blonde man.
"Oh Clark, I'm glad you're bit early, I'd like you to meet Oliver Queen, he has some interesting ideas for public-private partnerships here in Kansas. Oliver, my son, Clark," Martha Kent made their official introductions.
"Pleased to meet you Clark. Your mother speaks fondly of you," Oliver said confidently.
Clark shook the man's hand, but frowned recognizing his grin as the same one the that the Green Arrow had given him.
CO-CO-CO
(Sept. 2002) Catching his father in a lie had given Oliver something to focus on, something to think about other than what could be happening to his mother or Ali at that moment. Oliver hoped they were together, that would be some comfort to Ali who was just eleven years old. She was still a little girl. Sweet, innocent, and defenseless against the cruelty in the world. They'd all done their part to protect her, and since moving home from college Oliver had realized that maybe they'd done too good a job.
Ali thought the world was full of kindness. It wasn't.
Oliver had hoped to spend more time with her, expose her to more of reality outside the high white walls that his family's wealth provided for her. Being kidnapped, hurt, held captive was not the way Oliver had wanted her to experience the real world.
Oliver waited until most of the police and private staff had momentarily left his father's office. "Excuse me, Uncle Matt," Oliver said to his father's longtime friend and lawyer. "I'd like to speak to dad alone for a minute if you don't mind."
Once alone, Oliver sat down across from his father and stared at him. He'd seemed to age as the hours wore on. There had still not been any ransom demand, no communication from the kidnappers at all. Robert Queen looked haggard with grief and fear. "Why don't you tell me what's really going on here, Dad."
"Your mother and Ali will be fine Oliver, they're just waiting to make us suffer so we'll be willing to pay more," Robert said, his eyes focused over his son's shoulder, his fingers adjusting the watch on his left wrist.
"You're lying," Oliver said plainly. "Don't you think I know you by now? I'm not a child any more. I know you know who took them, and I know you're not telling the police. Tell me. I'm all grown up now Dad. I can handle it. What I can't handle is not knowing."
Robert stared at his son, reading the calmness there, the edge of anger, the need to do something, anything, the worry. He nodded. "Lionel Luthor has waged a war on our family for over a decade now. I don't have proof yet, but I know he has them."
Oliver was stunned as Robert laid out their hidden family history. The bomb on their private plane in 1989, a car bomb in 1994, and an assignation attempt in Nigeria while Laura and Robert had been there on a tour in 1998 to see what their foundation funds had done for the people there.
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(2009) Chloe was sitting at a bar not far from the Met U campus, being a Thursday night it was busy, but not packed yet. The bar and bar stools were wood, the music provided by a jute box, it was not a slick modern bar, rather it was old, worn, and comfortable. Chloe sat next to Clark on a barstool, smiling happily. She chatted away, telling him about school and work at the DP.
Clark had dropped out of Southern Kansas University after Jonathon Kent had died, but at his mother's urging he had returned to school attending the community college in Granville. Clark had just finished his GE courses and was going to transfer to Met U in the fall. "So I was thinking about joining the paper at Met U when I transfer."
Chloe looked surprised, but happy. "Really? 'Cause I gotta say Clark, you didn't seem to have a very keen interest in it in high school."
"I liked it, but there always seemed to be something more important going on."
Chloe smiled knowingly. "I bet," recalling her own memories of Clark ditching her for Lana or whatever meteor freak was wreaking havoc at the moment. Clark's memories were slightly different, he'd alternated between dating Lana and Chloe in this reality, but Chloe bet that some things were the same.
Clark smiled at his old friend, ex-girlfriend, and cousin to his current girlfriend. "Can you believe we've been friends for almost ten years now?"
"Yeah, sometimes it feels like dog years, sometimes like it was just yesterday that I kissed you in your barn," Chloe laughed.
Clark laughed and smiled along with her and they recalled various stories from their teen years, Chloe somewhat tentatively, unsure of what exactly had stayed the same, but she'd done her research and was able to share remembrances without any faux pas.
Clark was smiling as he recalled the time both Lana and Chloe had been dating Ian and his duplicate. "Oh yeah? What about you and Alicia, or you and Kyla, or you and…"
"OK, enough," Clark laughed, cutting off Chloe's retaliation. Both laughed until Clark's attention focused across the room. His face was suddenly serious, and Chloe twisted on her bar stool to see Lois had entered the bar, followed closely by Oliver. Chloe's smile fell as well, leaving Lois the only one of the four smiling brightly.
"Hey 'cuz. Clark, you do know you own shirts other than plaid, red and blue, right? I know, I bought them for you and put them in your closet," Lois greeted them, letting Clark kiss her cheek, but his gaze remained on Oliver Queen.
"Where I'm sure they are still hanging with their tags on," Chloe teased, trying to act naturally. "Oliver, what an unexpected surprise," Chloe said with an edge. "This is my friend Clark Kent. Clark, Oliver Queen."
"We've met," Clark said shortly, causing both Chloe and Lois to frown and look from one man to the other.
Oliver grinned charmingly, leaning down to kiss Chloe's cheek in greeting, letting his hand ghost over the curve of her back. His grin widened as he say her face tense at his touch. "Yes, we've met."
"What are you doing here Oliver?" Chloe managed to get out through gritted teeth, inching to the side to try to put more space between her body and his.
"I stopped by to see you and your cousin was kind enough to invite me to join you for a night out."Oliver smiled at the group at large, appearing very much at ease and in control of the situation. "I'm still new in town and making friends who have the right motives is always a challenge."
Chloe shook her head at him. "So if I find you some friends, can I hope for a decrease of your presence in my life?"
"Chloe, you wound me." Oliver affected hurt, placing one hand over his heart even as he nodded to get the bartender's attention. "I've got this round, what is everyone having?"
CO-CO-CO
"The trouble with her is that she lacks the power of conversation but not the power of speech."
George Bernard Shaw
Chloe and Lois catch a cab home, leaving the guys to bond. "Dude, cuz, for a guy you're in live with you sure do give him a hard time," Lois launched into conversation without warning.
"I am not in love with him," Chloe sputtered.
"Uh, yeah, right. Not that I'm judging you or anything, so you got in touch with your bitchy teenage princess a few years late, whatever. But I think the saying is that you'll catch more bees with honey than vinegar."
"I'm not trying to catch anything or anyone," Chloe denied, staring out the window.
"Right, cause you're not in love with the handsome, charming, rich guy who stares at you all the time."
"He's suspicious about… something. I don't know what."
"Let me guess. Time travel." Chloe cuts a glare at Lois, glancing at the cab driver who appeared to be engrossed with his cell phone. "Um, buddy, I'm pretty sure texting while driving is against the law in all fifty states so, eyes on the road," Lois said shrilly, causing the man to drop his phone to the floorboards. Cursing in another language he continued to drive while trying to find his phone at his feet.
"Great, that's safe," Chloe grumped. "No, I 'm pretty sure if he knew about that he'd have mentioned it."
"I mean he knows something is up with you and his parents, by the way you two will have incredibly good looking babies based off the genetics you two are carrying around…"
"Lois!" Chloe cried out.
"What? It's inevitable. You two scream UST. I nearly jumped Clark in the bathroom just because of the vibes bouncing off you two. And, oh yeah, you love him."
"I don't love him." Chloe mumbles, paying the taxi and climbing out, grateful to be able to get some distance between her and Lois.
"Right he just looks like your Oliver, led much of the same life, walks the same, talks the same, acts the same... does he smell the same? 'Cause I have to admit, he smells good. Not that salt of the earth scent Clark wears… but delicious."
"Old Spice," Chloe mumbled, earning a funny look from Lois. "Clark's cologne, not Ollie's."
"Oh, Ollie," Lois said with exaggerated amorousness.
"Let it go Lois. He's completely different now, he has a sister and his parents." Chloe said as she went straight to her bedroom and tried to shut Lois out. Lois simply opened the door and laid back on Chloe's bed, clearly not giving up the argument yet.
"How dare he!" Lois said mockingly. "I mean to have a family. What an asshole."
"You know what I mean Lo. He's diff. I don't know this Oliver."
"It seems like you could know him. He seems interested in you. And Chlo... " Lois suddenly sounded serious. "People are who they are. Maybe our circumstances change... maybe some parts of our personalities don't get as developed as they might under different circumstances, but who we are at our core... that doesn't change unless something major happens."
"Like say your parents dying?" Chloe said dryly.
"Sure but tell me again about every life where you and he crossed paths how you two ended up together even if it was just for some bed sport?" Lois asked with a sly smile.
"I knew I'd regret telling you about that," Chloe moaned.
CO-CO-CO
(Sept. 2002) Leaving his father's office after learning the truth, Oliver felt the need to work off some of his pent up energy. He headed home, to the penthouse he'd bought over Star City, not far from QIs corporate offices. He'd hit the gym, pounding a boxing bag until his fists were bloody, then running five miles on the treadmill and lifting weights until his muscles burned. Still it wasn't enough. Stepping out of the shower Oliver tied a towel lightly around his waist and walked out to his balcony. The city sparkled with lights and sounds. Fifty stories below life went on, people lived and laughed and went about their business as if their worlds hadn't just changed completely. Oliver's had.
The good news was Lionel had taken them because he wanted something. He had nothing to gain by killing Laura or Ali. The bad news was that no one knew what Lionel wanted or where he'd taken Ali and Laura to, or how he was treating them while he had them.
Oliver felt an overwhelming need to get out. He needed to walk, to run, to do anything other than stand here and wait. Oliver pulled on a pair of jeans, tennis shoes and a black hoodie, before exiting his building through the service tunnels under the building. He wasn't in the mood for his security, and had years ago perfected the art of ditching them. Today he had finally learned why his parents insisted on their security details. Not that it had kept Ali or Laura Queen safe.
Walking the streets of Star City, Oliver tried to make his mind blank. If he let it wander he started to imagine where his mother and Ali were, what was happening to them. Were they scared? Had they been hurt? Were they even alive?
Oliver wasn't good at keeping his mind blank. He tried but he couldn't keep the horrifying thoughts and images out of his mind, so he turned his focus to Lionel Luthor. His father's business competitor had gone to jail for a year for spying on Queen Industries, but according to Robert it was the least of his sins. Lionel had tried to kill his parents on three separate occasions. He'd failed each time. But now Ali and Laura were missing. If Lionel wanted to bring Robert Queen to his knees, he'd found the perfect way. Oliver felt the deep acid of hate flow through is his mind. He encouraged it. Hate and anger were better than fear. Hating Lionel, imaging his revenge on the man, was a million times better than wondering if Ali was calling out for her brother in fear.
The sound of a fight finally penetrated Oliver's red haze of anger, he followed the sounds until he found himself in an alley where three boys where beating up another one, while a fourth boy held a girl pressed up against the wall. The girl looked terrified, and the boy on the ground had stopped fighting back and was just covering his head.
Without thought Oliver pulled one attacker away from the girl, seeing that her shirt had been ripped open he threw the man against the other wall, where he slumped to the ground. She fell to her knees crying and trying to clutch together the remnants of her shirt. Oliver thought she might run, but she just stayed down, crying piteously.
He moved forward grabbing two of the attackers by the neck and slamming their heads together so hard that they fell to the ground and moaned quietly before trying to crawl away. The final attacker turned to face Oliver. "Who the hell are you?"
"Somebody who's had a really bad day," Oliver said back and lashed out with his leg as the man rushed at him. The man flew backwards and fell to the ground.
"What are you? Some kind of ninja?"
Oliver just smiled and beckoned the guy to try to come at him again, which the man did. Oliver dodged him and grabbed his arm as he flew past, twisting it up behind his back and pinning him painfully against the wall. "I don't need to be a ninja to deal with trash like you."
The sound of the girl's cries drew Oliver's attention, and he slammed the man's head against the wall and let him drop to the ground unceremoniously. He turned to face the girl who had crawled over to the guy on the ground and was trying to wake him up unsuccessfully. Oliver pulled out his phone and called 911.
Done giving their location to the dispatch, he hung up and knelt down. "Don't move him, he could have a back injury," Oliver advised.
"Tha-anks," she stuttered. "They wanted my purse, but I wouldn't give it to them… I should have just given it to them…" she cried.
Oliver slipped away as the police arrived, not wanting any press for this while his mother and sister were missing. But the girl had recognized him anyway, and the next day while the kidnapping was the big headline, the story of Oliver's rescue made national news as well.
CO-CO-CO
(2009) A few days later Oliver called Ali to schedule a lunch. Once she was done with her meal and had run down her week for him, Oliver broached the topic he'd been waiting to get to. "So are you dating any guys I should know about?"
Ali's head popped up to stare at him like a deer in the headlights. "No."
Oliver frowned. "Any guys at all?" Ali shook her head, but reached up a hand to start twirling her hair in a nervous gesture. "Ali, I will find out, either you can tell me or I call Eddie and get a security report."
"Ollie," she complained still avoiding his eyes.
"You know the rules, Eddie's team doesn't tell me or Mom or Dad as long as he's able to run a clean security check on the guy and you're up front with us. But if you're keeping it from me…"
"Ollie, it's college, and I want to be a normal girl. I want to date, and have fun, and sometimes that means I'm hanging out with a guy, not dating him."
"Hanging out?" Oliver questioned, feeling the conversation getting away from him. "What does that mean?"
"Ollie!"
"Look, I'm trying to be cool with this, I know you're growing up, but you gotta cut me some slack here, Ali. I still want you to be my baby sister forever."
"I will always be your sister, Ollie, but I'm not a baby anymore."
"I know," he said with feeling, reaching over to squeeze her hand.
Ali's expression lightened and she looked at him with the deep affection he savored from her. "Thank you, and I know you're trying. If I have anything to tell you, I will," she said very regally, earning a smile from him.
"Fine. As long as you're not having sex," Oliver tossed out, half in teasing, half to see her reaction.
Ali turned bright red. "Ollie!"
He smiled as she looked mortified. "Good. It's not too late for you to join the convent, you know."
"You're ridiculous."
"I'm just looking out for you. Maybe Chloe has some guys she can set you up with. She seems smart."
"Chloe's friends are four years older than me, I think I should stick with guys my age for awhile, but she does have this one friend. God he's hot."
Oliver frowned again, he still wasn't closing in on his goal and this conversation was giving him indigestion.
"Who?"
"Nobody you know," Ali said in a singsong voice.
"Clark?" Ali's mouth fell open in a telltale reaction. "Not sure I get your taste, but hey, I can take comfort in the fact that the guy's got his hands full with Lois."
"You know Clark and Lois? How?" Ali asked suspiciously.
"I ran into them with Chloe, we got to talking." Ali frowned with dissatisfaction, having been hoping for a clear line of distinction between her friends and her brother's friends. "So how is Chloe, anyway? You still hang out with her pretty regularly. And by hanging out I mean spending time in a platonic way. As I'll continue to imagine that you do with all your friends, male or female. And at the point that I learn that is not the case I will be handing out beat downs to your boyfriends, or guys your dating, and especially to any guy you're just hooking up with."
"Ollie, stop." She tried to stare him down but he was completely unintimidated by her. "Fine, changing the topic. Yes, I still see Chloe. She's great, and she gave me an intern spot on the paper, which you know. She lets me shadow her sometimes on her stories, I'm learning a ton. And no, I don't think she'd offer to set me up with any guys unless I asked, she acts like as much of a big sibling as you sometimes. Besides I think she's having enough dating trouble of her own."
"Oh?" Oliver asked with affected casualness. This was what he'd wanted to get to. For some reason the idea of Chloe dating some douche who would leave her to make her own way home, then follow her rankled.
"Yeah, Trish from the paper set her up on a date that was, like, total disaster date potential."
"How so?"
"After they had dinner they went for a walk and he led her back to his place and asked her to come up. When she said no, he just ditched her there on the street. What a dick," Ali said then cringed, expecting a reprimand for her language, but getting none.
Oliver frowned, and Ali continued, tucking into her dessert. "Chloe's so great, why would a guy act like that? He should be so lucky to get her in bed." When that statement jolted Oliver out of wherever his thoughts had taken him she shot him a wide smile and stuffed another bite of her ice cream into her mouth. "Hmmm, good."
"Seriously having a conversation with Eddie," Oliver grumbled.
CO-CO-CO
Later that week Chloe knocked on Ali's door and hearing Ali shout "Come in" entered the door room. Chloe stopped short seeing Oliver sitting comfortably on Ali's desk while the teenager paired her socks. "Chloe, help me out here, how old were you when you firs had sex?" Ali asked out of nowhere.
"What?" Chloe squeaked.
"Yeah, Chloe, weigh in on the conversation," Oliver egged Ali on.
"I don't think…"
"Ollie here seems to think I should wait until marriage. And by marriage I mean to a man of his choosing when I'm 30."
"I…" Chloe looked like a deer in the headlights as both Queens stared at her. Oliver's mocking stare combined with Ali's honest curiosity and hopeful look finally swayed Chloe to just be honest. "Sixteen. Alright? That's a totally normal age. And yes, before anyone asks I did regret it. It was too soon I was in too much of a rush, and I just felt awkward afterwards. We all good now?" Chloe rushed to complete her account of the event.
"Did you love him?" Ali asked innocently.
Oliver took pity seeing the indecisive look on Chloe's face. "Sometimes teenage girls think they're in love when they're really not, and girls, especially inexperienced girls, often mistake attraction and flattery for love."
"Or sex for love," Chloe offered.
"Exactly."
"But how am I supposed to get experience, without… getting experience?" Ali asked with a sly look at her brother whose mouth worked open and closed in shock.
Chloe smiled at Ali, shaking her head at the girl's tactics. "I think what both your brother and I want for you Ali is that you have the best first time experience possible with someone who really cares for you and that you care for in return. I know you feel like you're in a rush right now to do everything and experience everything, but honestly, it's better to take your time and… sorry for the cliché, make sure it's right." Oliver turned an admiring gaze on Chloe, his expression more open and honest than she'd seen from him before. "You're the only one who can decide that for you, and you'll know when it's right - ignore everyone else and trust yourself."
CO-CO-CO
"Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice.
It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved." William Jennings Bryan
(Sept. 2002)
Oliver found himself walking the streets again the next night, the second night that his mother and sister had been missing. He wasn't lost in his thoughts this time, he was looking, listening, for what he wasn't sure, until he found it.
The sounds of a woman's cries drew him into an parking lot beside a rundown bar. With his hood up to protect his identity, he rescued a woman from her drunk boyfriend, then bought a child on the street a meal. The following night he stopped a car jacker, and called in a report of a father beating his child.
CO-CO-CO
"A man must know his destiny… if he does not recognize it, then he is lost.
By this I mean, once, twice, or at the very most, three times, fate will reach out and tap a man on the shoulder… if he has the imagination, he will turn around and fate will point out to him what fork in the road he should take, if he has the guts, he will take it." General George S. Patton
By the time that Ali and Laura Queen were found alive six weeks after being taken, Oliver was hooked on the feeling of control the feeling of being able to help people.
AN- This chapter came quickly, please review if you're enjoying the story…
Words: 7251
link to part 1
"If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace." Thomas Paine
(2002) Oliver had just turned 22 when Ali and his mother were kidnapped.
In May, he'd graduated from Harvard and spent the next two months on a tour of the Pacific and Indian oceans, departing from Star City and traversing down to the Panama canal before crossing over to Australia and making his way north along the Asian continent's waters. In August, 2002 he'd reported to work at Queen Industries. He'd been working there on his summers since he was 15 years old, and was ready for the challenge.
Rather than offer him an executive position right out of college, Robert wanted Oliver to apprentice with several of his high level staff. Research and development, accounting, community development, marketing and communications, human resources, manufacturing, and government liaison. For the following few years Oliver would spend time with each section, learning what they did, what they needed, and hopefully how they could improve. Robert had high hopes and faith in his son. Oliver may have been looked at only as the golden boy, silver spoon, ladies man, but Robert knew better.
Oliver had started at Queen industries in the mail room. Robert smiled at the cliché of it, but it was good for Oliver to meet 'regular' people as he'd called them. Each year he'd moved to a different area of the company, but always a low level position, getting to know the people that made up Queen Industries, and the work that they did.
Oliver was only on his fifth week at the job, working with the accounting department when he'd suddenly been surrounded by security and escorted to his father's office. There he'd found his father looking more worried than Oliver had ever seen. He was huddled in conversation with his head of security and private lawyer across the room from several Star City Police detectives and suited FBI agents. "Dad? What's going on?" Oliver had tried to sound calm, even as he felt a deep foreboding settle over him.
"Oliver…" His father had broken off and Oliver was stunned to see tears in his father's eyes. Their family wasn't afraid to show emotions, but the only time Oliver had ever seen his father cry was when his own mother had died when Oliver was six and in the hospital right after Ali was born. "Oliver, we're still trying to put the pieces together, but it appears that your mother and Ali have disappeared."
"What? When? What happened? Where was their security?" Oliver asked in a panic.
"The disappeared from a store, the store staff were knocked out and left tied up but relatively unharmed. Malcolm and Cesar are dead Reed is in the hospital, his doctors don't think he'll make it," Robert tried to relate the details as unemotionally as possible.
For the first time in a long time Oliver felt completely helpless. His mother and baby sister were missing, their guards were dead or dying. Oliver couldn't think. "We have to find them… Who would do this? How…?"
"I don't know," Robert said gravely, but Oliver frowned as he watched his father fidget with his watch then slide his hand into his pocket. Oliver admired his father. He'd studied him. Knew his quirks, knew his tells. And touching his watch was one of them. His father was lying. Robert Queen knew who had taken his wife and daughter, but he wasn't sharing that information with the police.
CO-CO-CO
(2009) A few nights later the Green Arrow had just finished zip tying a thief he'd caught robbing a closed jewelry store when he is interrupted by the sudden appearance of a man dressed in a black trench coat, jeans and t-shirt.
"What are you doing?" the man questioned imperiously.
"Oh you know, I was out for a stool and thought I'd do my good deed for the day," Oliver said easily, his glasses' night vision easily allowing him to see the man as he moved closer to the burglar to and checked on him. The man was unconscious but otherwise unhurt.
"What'd you do to him?"
"He's fine, he'll wake up in time to get his finger prints taken." Oliver looked at the man more closely, realizing that he recognized him from somewhere.
"Who are you?" Clark questioned the man in green.
Oliver frowned placing the man finally, he had been in several of the pictures he'd seen of Chloe from high school. "I prefer to remain anonymous," he grinned.
"You shouldn't be here," Clark said and Oliver grinned at him.
"No one should be here, this is a closed store. But someone needs to help people, keep them safe. Listen man, I hear you do good work, we don't have a problem here," Oliver placated, realizing that Chloe's friend was the Blur.
Clark opened his mouth to argue but the sound of sirens distract him and when he turned back around the Green Arrow is gone.
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The next day, Clark stoped at his mom's Metropolis offices to find her meeting with a tall blonde man.
"Oh Clark, I'm glad you're bit early, I'd like you to meet Oliver Queen, he has some interesting ideas for public-private partnerships here in Kansas. Oliver, my son, Clark," Martha Kent made their official introductions.
"Pleased to meet you Clark. Your mother speaks fondly of you," Oliver said confidently.
Clark shook the man's hand, but frowned recognizing his grin as the same one the that the Green Arrow had given him.
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(Sept. 2002) Catching his father in a lie had given Oliver something to focus on, something to think about other than what could be happening to his mother or Ali at that moment. Oliver hoped they were together, that would be some comfort to Ali who was just eleven years old. She was still a little girl. Sweet, innocent, and defenseless against the cruelty in the world. They'd all done their part to protect her, and since moving home from college Oliver had realized that maybe they'd done too good a job.
Ali thought the world was full of kindness. It wasn't.
Oliver had hoped to spend more time with her, expose her to more of reality outside the high white walls that his family's wealth provided for her. Being kidnapped, hurt, held captive was not the way Oliver had wanted her to experience the real world.
Oliver waited until most of the police and private staff had momentarily left his father's office. "Excuse me, Uncle Matt," Oliver said to his father's longtime friend and lawyer. "I'd like to speak to dad alone for a minute if you don't mind."
Once alone, Oliver sat down across from his father and stared at him. He'd seemed to age as the hours wore on. There had still not been any ransom demand, no communication from the kidnappers at all. Robert Queen looked haggard with grief and fear. "Why don't you tell me what's really going on here, Dad."
"Your mother and Ali will be fine Oliver, they're just waiting to make us suffer so we'll be willing to pay more," Robert said, his eyes focused over his son's shoulder, his fingers adjusting the watch on his left wrist.
"You're lying," Oliver said plainly. "Don't you think I know you by now? I'm not a child any more. I know you know who took them, and I know you're not telling the police. Tell me. I'm all grown up now Dad. I can handle it. What I can't handle is not knowing."
Robert stared at his son, reading the calmness there, the edge of anger, the need to do something, anything, the worry. He nodded. "Lionel Luthor has waged a war on our family for over a decade now. I don't have proof yet, but I know he has them."
Oliver was stunned as Robert laid out their hidden family history. The bomb on their private plane in 1989, a car bomb in 1994, and an assignation attempt in Nigeria while Laura and Robert had been there on a tour in 1998 to see what their foundation funds had done for the people there.
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(2009) Chloe was sitting at a bar not far from the Met U campus, being a Thursday night it was busy, but not packed yet. The bar and bar stools were wood, the music provided by a jute box, it was not a slick modern bar, rather it was old, worn, and comfortable. Chloe sat next to Clark on a barstool, smiling happily. She chatted away, telling him about school and work at the DP.
Clark had dropped out of Southern Kansas University after Jonathon Kent had died, but at his mother's urging he had returned to school attending the community college in Granville. Clark had just finished his GE courses and was going to transfer to Met U in the fall. "So I was thinking about joining the paper at Met U when I transfer."
Chloe looked surprised, but happy. "Really? 'Cause I gotta say Clark, you didn't seem to have a very keen interest in it in high school."
"I liked it, but there always seemed to be something more important going on."
Chloe smiled knowingly. "I bet," recalling her own memories of Clark ditching her for Lana or whatever meteor freak was wreaking havoc at the moment. Clark's memories were slightly different, he'd alternated between dating Lana and Chloe in this reality, but Chloe bet that some things were the same.
Clark smiled at his old friend, ex-girlfriend, and cousin to his current girlfriend. "Can you believe we've been friends for almost ten years now?"
"Yeah, sometimes it feels like dog years, sometimes like it was just yesterday that I kissed you in your barn," Chloe laughed.
Clark laughed and smiled along with her and they recalled various stories from their teen years, Chloe somewhat tentatively, unsure of what exactly had stayed the same, but she'd done her research and was able to share remembrances without any faux pas.
Clark was smiling as he recalled the time both Lana and Chloe had been dating Ian and his duplicate. "Oh yeah? What about you and Alicia, or you and Kyla, or you and…"
"OK, enough," Clark laughed, cutting off Chloe's retaliation. Both laughed until Clark's attention focused across the room. His face was suddenly serious, and Chloe twisted on her bar stool to see Lois had entered the bar, followed closely by Oliver. Chloe's smile fell as well, leaving Lois the only one of the four smiling brightly.
"Hey 'cuz. Clark, you do know you own shirts other than plaid, red and blue, right? I know, I bought them for you and put them in your closet," Lois greeted them, letting Clark kiss her cheek, but his gaze remained on Oliver Queen.
"Where I'm sure they are still hanging with their tags on," Chloe teased, trying to act naturally. "Oliver, what an unexpected surprise," Chloe said with an edge. "This is my friend Clark Kent. Clark, Oliver Queen."
"We've met," Clark said shortly, causing both Chloe and Lois to frown and look from one man to the other.
Oliver grinned charmingly, leaning down to kiss Chloe's cheek in greeting, letting his hand ghost over the curve of her back. His grin widened as he say her face tense at his touch. "Yes, we've met."
"What are you doing here Oliver?" Chloe managed to get out through gritted teeth, inching to the side to try to put more space between her body and his.
"I stopped by to see you and your cousin was kind enough to invite me to join you for a night out."Oliver smiled at the group at large, appearing very much at ease and in control of the situation. "I'm still new in town and making friends who have the right motives is always a challenge."
Chloe shook her head at him. "So if I find you some friends, can I hope for a decrease of your presence in my life?"
"Chloe, you wound me." Oliver affected hurt, placing one hand over his heart even as he nodded to get the bartender's attention. "I've got this round, what is everyone having?"
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"The trouble with her is that she lacks the power of conversation but not the power of speech."
George Bernard Shaw
Chloe and Lois catch a cab home, leaving the guys to bond. "Dude, cuz, for a guy you're in live with you sure do give him a hard time," Lois launched into conversation without warning.
"I am not in love with him," Chloe sputtered.
"Uh, yeah, right. Not that I'm judging you or anything, so you got in touch with your bitchy teenage princess a few years late, whatever. But I think the saying is that you'll catch more bees with honey than vinegar."
"I'm not trying to catch anything or anyone," Chloe denied, staring out the window.
"Right, cause you're not in love with the handsome, charming, rich guy who stares at you all the time."
"He's suspicious about… something. I don't know what."
"Let me guess. Time travel." Chloe cuts a glare at Lois, glancing at the cab driver who appeared to be engrossed with his cell phone. "Um, buddy, I'm pretty sure texting while driving is against the law in all fifty states so, eyes on the road," Lois said shrilly, causing the man to drop his phone to the floorboards. Cursing in another language he continued to drive while trying to find his phone at his feet.
"Great, that's safe," Chloe grumped. "No, I 'm pretty sure if he knew about that he'd have mentioned it."
"I mean he knows something is up with you and his parents, by the way you two will have incredibly good looking babies based off the genetics you two are carrying around…"
"Lois!" Chloe cried out.
"What? It's inevitable. You two scream UST. I nearly jumped Clark in the bathroom just because of the vibes bouncing off you two. And, oh yeah, you love him."
"I don't love him." Chloe mumbles, paying the taxi and climbing out, grateful to be able to get some distance between her and Lois.
"Right he just looks like your Oliver, led much of the same life, walks the same, talks the same, acts the same... does he smell the same? 'Cause I have to admit, he smells good. Not that salt of the earth scent Clark wears… but delicious."
"Old Spice," Chloe mumbled, earning a funny look from Lois. "Clark's cologne, not Ollie's."
"Oh, Ollie," Lois said with exaggerated amorousness.
"Let it go Lois. He's completely different now, he has a sister and his parents." Chloe said as she went straight to her bedroom and tried to shut Lois out. Lois simply opened the door and laid back on Chloe's bed, clearly not giving up the argument yet.
"How dare he!" Lois said mockingly. "I mean to have a family. What an asshole."
"You know what I mean Lo. He's diff. I don't know this Oliver."
"It seems like you could know him. He seems interested in you. And Chlo... " Lois suddenly sounded serious. "People are who they are. Maybe our circumstances change... maybe some parts of our personalities don't get as developed as they might under different circumstances, but who we are at our core... that doesn't change unless something major happens."
"Like say your parents dying?" Chloe said dryly.
"Sure but tell me again about every life where you and he crossed paths how you two ended up together even if it was just for some bed sport?" Lois asked with a sly smile.
"I knew I'd regret telling you about that," Chloe moaned.
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(Sept. 2002) Leaving his father's office after learning the truth, Oliver felt the need to work off some of his pent up energy. He headed home, to the penthouse he'd bought over Star City, not far from QIs corporate offices. He'd hit the gym, pounding a boxing bag until his fists were bloody, then running five miles on the treadmill and lifting weights until his muscles burned. Still it wasn't enough. Stepping out of the shower Oliver tied a towel lightly around his waist and walked out to his balcony. The city sparkled with lights and sounds. Fifty stories below life went on, people lived and laughed and went about their business as if their worlds hadn't just changed completely. Oliver's had.
The good news was Lionel had taken them because he wanted something. He had nothing to gain by killing Laura or Ali. The bad news was that no one knew what Lionel wanted or where he'd taken Ali and Laura to, or how he was treating them while he had them.
Oliver felt an overwhelming need to get out. He needed to walk, to run, to do anything other than stand here and wait. Oliver pulled on a pair of jeans, tennis shoes and a black hoodie, before exiting his building through the service tunnels under the building. He wasn't in the mood for his security, and had years ago perfected the art of ditching them. Today he had finally learned why his parents insisted on their security details. Not that it had kept Ali or Laura Queen safe.
Walking the streets of Star City, Oliver tried to make his mind blank. If he let it wander he started to imagine where his mother and Ali were, what was happening to them. Were they scared? Had they been hurt? Were they even alive?
Oliver wasn't good at keeping his mind blank. He tried but he couldn't keep the horrifying thoughts and images out of his mind, so he turned his focus to Lionel Luthor. His father's business competitor had gone to jail for a year for spying on Queen Industries, but according to Robert it was the least of his sins. Lionel had tried to kill his parents on three separate occasions. He'd failed each time. But now Ali and Laura were missing. If Lionel wanted to bring Robert Queen to his knees, he'd found the perfect way. Oliver felt the deep acid of hate flow through is his mind. He encouraged it. Hate and anger were better than fear. Hating Lionel, imaging his revenge on the man, was a million times better than wondering if Ali was calling out for her brother in fear.
The sound of a fight finally penetrated Oliver's red haze of anger, he followed the sounds until he found himself in an alley where three boys where beating up another one, while a fourth boy held a girl pressed up against the wall. The girl looked terrified, and the boy on the ground had stopped fighting back and was just covering his head.
Without thought Oliver pulled one attacker away from the girl, seeing that her shirt had been ripped open he threw the man against the other wall, where he slumped to the ground. She fell to her knees crying and trying to clutch together the remnants of her shirt. Oliver thought she might run, but she just stayed down, crying piteously.
He moved forward grabbing two of the attackers by the neck and slamming their heads together so hard that they fell to the ground and moaned quietly before trying to crawl away. The final attacker turned to face Oliver. "Who the hell are you?"
"Somebody who's had a really bad day," Oliver said back and lashed out with his leg as the man rushed at him. The man flew backwards and fell to the ground.
"What are you? Some kind of ninja?"
Oliver just smiled and beckoned the guy to try to come at him again, which the man did. Oliver dodged him and grabbed his arm as he flew past, twisting it up behind his back and pinning him painfully against the wall. "I don't need to be a ninja to deal with trash like you."
The sound of the girl's cries drew Oliver's attention, and he slammed the man's head against the wall and let him drop to the ground unceremoniously. He turned to face the girl who had crawled over to the guy on the ground and was trying to wake him up unsuccessfully. Oliver pulled out his phone and called 911.
Done giving their location to the dispatch, he hung up and knelt down. "Don't move him, he could have a back injury," Oliver advised.
"Tha-anks," she stuttered. "They wanted my purse, but I wouldn't give it to them… I should have just given it to them…" she cried.
Oliver slipped away as the police arrived, not wanting any press for this while his mother and sister were missing. But the girl had recognized him anyway, and the next day while the kidnapping was the big headline, the story of Oliver's rescue made national news as well.
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(2009) A few days later Oliver called Ali to schedule a lunch. Once she was done with her meal and had run down her week for him, Oliver broached the topic he'd been waiting to get to. "So are you dating any guys I should know about?"
Ali's head popped up to stare at him like a deer in the headlights. "No."
Oliver frowned. "Any guys at all?" Ali shook her head, but reached up a hand to start twirling her hair in a nervous gesture. "Ali, I will find out, either you can tell me or I call Eddie and get a security report."
"Ollie," she complained still avoiding his eyes.
"You know the rules, Eddie's team doesn't tell me or Mom or Dad as long as he's able to run a clean security check on the guy and you're up front with us. But if you're keeping it from me…"
"Ollie, it's college, and I want to be a normal girl. I want to date, and have fun, and sometimes that means I'm hanging out with a guy, not dating him."
"Hanging out?" Oliver questioned, feeling the conversation getting away from him. "What does that mean?"
"Ollie!"
"Look, I'm trying to be cool with this, I know you're growing up, but you gotta cut me some slack here, Ali. I still want you to be my baby sister forever."
"I will always be your sister, Ollie, but I'm not a baby anymore."
"I know," he said with feeling, reaching over to squeeze her hand.
Ali's expression lightened and she looked at him with the deep affection he savored from her. "Thank you, and I know you're trying. If I have anything to tell you, I will," she said very regally, earning a smile from him.
"Fine. As long as you're not having sex," Oliver tossed out, half in teasing, half to see her reaction.
Ali turned bright red. "Ollie!"
He smiled as she looked mortified. "Good. It's not too late for you to join the convent, you know."
"You're ridiculous."
"I'm just looking out for you. Maybe Chloe has some guys she can set you up with. She seems smart."
"Chloe's friends are four years older than me, I think I should stick with guys my age for awhile, but she does have this one friend. God he's hot."
Oliver frowned again, he still wasn't closing in on his goal and this conversation was giving him indigestion.
"Who?"
"Nobody you know," Ali said in a singsong voice.
"Clark?" Ali's mouth fell open in a telltale reaction. "Not sure I get your taste, but hey, I can take comfort in the fact that the guy's got his hands full with Lois."
"You know Clark and Lois? How?" Ali asked suspiciously.
"I ran into them with Chloe, we got to talking." Ali frowned with dissatisfaction, having been hoping for a clear line of distinction between her friends and her brother's friends. "So how is Chloe, anyway? You still hang out with her pretty regularly. And by hanging out I mean spending time in a platonic way. As I'll continue to imagine that you do with all your friends, male or female. And at the point that I learn that is not the case I will be handing out beat downs to your boyfriends, or guys your dating, and especially to any guy you're just hooking up with."
"Ollie, stop." She tried to stare him down but he was completely unintimidated by her. "Fine, changing the topic. Yes, I still see Chloe. She's great, and she gave me an intern spot on the paper, which you know. She lets me shadow her sometimes on her stories, I'm learning a ton. And no, I don't think she'd offer to set me up with any guys unless I asked, she acts like as much of a big sibling as you sometimes. Besides I think she's having enough dating trouble of her own."
"Oh?" Oliver asked with affected casualness. This was what he'd wanted to get to. For some reason the idea of Chloe dating some douche who would leave her to make her own way home, then follow her rankled.
"Yeah, Trish from the paper set her up on a date that was, like, total disaster date potential."
"How so?"
"After they had dinner they went for a walk and he led her back to his place and asked her to come up. When she said no, he just ditched her there on the street. What a dick," Ali said then cringed, expecting a reprimand for her language, but getting none.
Oliver frowned, and Ali continued, tucking into her dessert. "Chloe's so great, why would a guy act like that? He should be so lucky to get her in bed." When that statement jolted Oliver out of wherever his thoughts had taken him she shot him a wide smile and stuffed another bite of her ice cream into her mouth. "Hmmm, good."
"Seriously having a conversation with Eddie," Oliver grumbled.
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Later that week Chloe knocked on Ali's door and hearing Ali shout "Come in" entered the door room. Chloe stopped short seeing Oliver sitting comfortably on Ali's desk while the teenager paired her socks. "Chloe, help me out here, how old were you when you firs had sex?" Ali asked out of nowhere.
"What?" Chloe squeaked.
"Yeah, Chloe, weigh in on the conversation," Oliver egged Ali on.
"I don't think…"
"Ollie here seems to think I should wait until marriage. And by marriage I mean to a man of his choosing when I'm 30."
"I…" Chloe looked like a deer in the headlights as both Queens stared at her. Oliver's mocking stare combined with Ali's honest curiosity and hopeful look finally swayed Chloe to just be honest. "Sixteen. Alright? That's a totally normal age. And yes, before anyone asks I did regret it. It was too soon I was in too much of a rush, and I just felt awkward afterwards. We all good now?" Chloe rushed to complete her account of the event.
"Did you love him?" Ali asked innocently.
Oliver took pity seeing the indecisive look on Chloe's face. "Sometimes teenage girls think they're in love when they're really not, and girls, especially inexperienced girls, often mistake attraction and flattery for love."
"Or sex for love," Chloe offered.
"Exactly."
"But how am I supposed to get experience, without… getting experience?" Ali asked with a sly look at her brother whose mouth worked open and closed in shock.
Chloe smiled at Ali, shaking her head at the girl's tactics. "I think what both your brother and I want for you Ali is that you have the best first time experience possible with someone who really cares for you and that you care for in return. I know you feel like you're in a rush right now to do everything and experience everything, but honestly, it's better to take your time and… sorry for the cliché, make sure it's right." Oliver turned an admiring gaze on Chloe, his expression more open and honest than she'd seen from him before. "You're the only one who can decide that for you, and you'll know when it's right - ignore everyone else and trust yourself."
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"Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice.
It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved." William Jennings Bryan
(Sept. 2002)
Oliver found himself walking the streets again the next night, the second night that his mother and sister had been missing. He wasn't lost in his thoughts this time, he was looking, listening, for what he wasn't sure, until he found it.
The sounds of a woman's cries drew him into an parking lot beside a rundown bar. With his hood up to protect his identity, he rescued a woman from her drunk boyfriend, then bought a child on the street a meal. The following night he stopped a car jacker, and called in a report of a father beating his child.
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"A man must know his destiny… if he does not recognize it, then he is lost.
By this I mean, once, twice, or at the very most, three times, fate will reach out and tap a man on the shoulder… if he has the imagination, he will turn around and fate will point out to him what fork in the road he should take, if he has the guts, he will take it." General George S. Patton
By the time that Ali and Laura Queen were found alive six weeks after being taken, Oliver was hooked on the feeling of control the feeling of being able to help people.
AN- This chapter came quickly, please review if you're enjoying the story…
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