17 Into The Belly of The Beast

**Note: David is now Oliver.

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[Star City, January 8, 2008, 9:42 PM] - One day after the trio departed from Lian Yu.

In the environs of the Queen mansion, David hid in the darkness and gazed at what would be his new home, thinking of something other than the house before him.

After about fourteen hours of flying, Slade dropped him on American soil, marking today as his first in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Being a foreigner in a well…foreign land, he wanted to adjust to the abrupt cultural, national, and racial shift.

And so instead of going straight "home," he spent the next few hours exploring the city, taking in the sights and the people. His only means of navigation were the original Oliver's memories, and though they didn't make him an expert on the city, they allowed him to not get lost.

Thus, the few hours he had before nightfall were spent roaming and getting used to the abundance of white people. This proved to be an easy endeavor, as his awkward and long stares moved from their vast numbers to the various shops and eye-catching landmarks in just a few minutes after he arrived.

The fact that he'd met and interacted with a handful of them in his past life helped in this regard. He observed one or two ways in which they behaved and did things differently, but it wasn't to the level where it seemed like he walked among another species.

In fact, their individual and collective behaviors were eerily similar to those of his home people. It was just like walking on the streets near his old home. Most people outright ignored him, others stared for a bit and moved on, leaving the few scarce and weird ones who stared too long.

The amount of people with dogs, and those being nice and friendly however, surpassed what he originally knew. This friendliness didn't have to do with just numbers. The concern some people displayed to be exact, was elevated to levels that made him a bit uneasy but appreciative of the overall atmosphere.

All in all, America was a nice place to be, and a far cry from what he saw on social media and news outlets in his past life.

Though that could be attributed to the state and time period he found himself in.

Most foreigners like himself were aware that the country had fifty states, with a few even knowing information such as the names and capitals of some. As such a person, Oliver could list about ten of them. That changed to all of them when he received the original Oliver's memories, but that's besides the point.

Due to his former status as a foreigner, he knew of a few states, not because he ever cared or suddenly gained interest in another country, but because he'd heard of their reputations and seen some memes and weird news reports associated with them.

Take Texas for example. Oliver could bet that everyone alive who had heard of or knows some stuff about America knew about this state. For those who had seen it in movies, most would remember it for the legendary cowboy culture. Those who had a bit more information would know its denizens were famous for their "southern hospitality" and "gun friendliness."

When it came to news reports, Florida took the cake, at least, as far as he was concerned. The sheer number of inconceivable reports and occurrences in that state had earned it a funny reputation for some, and a bad one for others.

There was even a gag where one could google "Florida man" along with their birth date to see the news of what strange thing occurred that day. For a state that had been called "America's stinky butthole" and "Alligator state," Oliver understood (if only just a little) why some Americans considered their own country the Florida of the world.

'I definitely have to see it,' he thought, adding it to his list of places to visit. 'New York, California, Florida, Las Vegas, Alabama….'

While he reviewed the mental list, he also maintained his gaze on the mansion and started to think about something else. He might've become Oliver Queen, but going into the house to the strangers there made him hesitate. It made him wish he had a way to change his face and identity.

Drama for him was like talking with strangers: he would avoid it at all costs if he could. Assuming the role of Oliver Queen came with responsibilities and a foreseeable bulk of drama that made him consider just running away to start a new life elsewhere. It wouldn't be difficult with his powers.

Let's look at the people he'd have to deal with: A "mother" with questionable morals and terrible parenting skills, a "best friend" with a lifestyle he detested, and last but definitely not least, an ex-girlfriend who was in fact the sister of the girl that he (the original Oliver) cheated on her with, leading to her dying at sea.

Forget having to deal with the girl's family. Out there right now, there was a young woman carrying his two month old child. 'What the fucking, fuck, fuck is this?' he thought in an outburst. 'What have I gotten myself into?'

Taking a few deep breaths, he calmed himself. "I survived the island, I can survive this too," he muttered with a heavy sigh and moved on.

On the plane, he spoke to Yao Fei and Slade regarding certain issues that needed their attention. For the former, they discussed an investigation into the name they obtained from the fake delivery guy. He didn't care much about it since he knew the true mastermind of the island operation.

He had his own plans to go after her, however, he still asked Slade to keep him updated and ask for help should he need it. With regards to the disgraced Chinese general, he didn't forget to tell him the truth about his daughter and her search for him.

In the original story, Fyers had his men kidnap Shado and bring her to the island so that they could force her father into being a scapegoat for the plane bombing operation. Now that Fyers had died, that would not be happening anytime soon.

But, knowing not to tempt fate and assume anything, he didn't withhold the information and told the man everything he knew, framing it as information he obtained from torturing the mercenary.

Having been given asylum by the Australian government, Yao Fei could not leave to track down his daughter, much to his chagrin. Slade had to convince him not to run off, reminding him of Fyers' employer still gunning for him. To placate the worried father, he promised to investigate her whereabouts and successfully convinced the general to stay.

'Yeah…. they should be fine,' Oliver thought and refocused on the mansion. He had waited long enough. Even though he hated this, he had to do it. And he would handle it like he did with every uncomfortable situation he had experienced so far, power through it as fast as possible.

'Into the belly of the beast.'

He dashed towards the 8 feet tall boundary around the mansion and leapt over it, encompassing the whole residence in [Eagle Pulse] as he landed. Before he could zip straight to the mansion itself, something unexpected gave him pause. There were red individuals on the grounds, positioned at where the security should be at this time.

His surprise didn't last even a second as he recalled some comics he'd read. Some time after the Queen's Gambit sank, Moira went in search of it…or at least, what remained of it. She only managed to recover the pieces of the boat and from there on discovered it'd been sabotaged.

Malcolm Merlyn, the architect behind the "accident," had an informant among her security detail. The mole tried to relay the news of the implicating evidence to his boss, but before he could do so, one of the bodyguards loyal to Moira apprehended and later killed him under her orders.

Thinking they had stopped the information from leaking, they relaxed, having no idea that the helmsman of the ship was also on Malcolm's payroll. This and everything Oliver knew from the TV show, went into detail regarding the man they were dealing with. An extremely meticulous and vicious man.

'That's two bodyguards working for him. I bet there's more...' he speculated and advanced on the mansion, using his speed and the darkness to remain hidden. Recalling that he hadn't tried [Master Tracker II] ever since he got it, he used it on the two moles to see how long it'd last.

'Whatever it is, I'll have to leave them be until I deal with Malcolm,' he thought and stopped thinking about them.

Upon arrival at the foot of the building suspiciously similar to the Luthor mansion in Smallville, he obviously avoided the front door and used his knowledge of the layout to scale it. With his speed and parkour skills, he practically flew to the window on the second floor.

Using his favorite combat knife, he jimmied the lock open and climbed in, exercising the stealth knowledge he got from Connor's template. However, his work to remain silent and undetected earned him a rather disappointing result.

Right as he shut the window, the lights in the room came on, and the world slowed to a crawl. As though time were frozen, he spun around to see Moira, sitting upright in her bed, her eyes red and swollen and her hair a mess from staying in bed all day.

With her hand reaching for the phone and her mouth wide open, he acted immediately. He forwent his plan to reveal his powers at a later time and zipped to her side to cover her mouth, preventing any sound from escaping it.

This unnatural show of course earned him a severe shock from her, one that worsened when he took off the black baseball cap and sunglasses he wore. Watching her eyes widen and water, he took his hand off her slack jawed mouth and said with faltering but hidden reluctance, "Hey… mom."

It took her a few seconds to recover.

"O-Oliver?"

"Yeah…it's me," he responded, his voice tinged with a heavy and confusing emotion. Why did this make him warm inside? This woman wasn't his mother. So why did her tears make him feel this way?

Unable to believe the sight before her nor hold back tears, Moira reached for his face and caressed it to confirm this wasn't a dream. Uncomfortable yet feeling the warmth of such intimate contact, Oliver held her wrists and stopped himself from pulling her hands away with every ounce of self-control.

"Ohh Oliver, my baby…" she cried and hugged him, making his own eyes water a bit. This situation was not going at all how he expected. He didn't foresee this reunion/first meeting to be so…. heartwarming. Moreover, this was the first hug he'd received in well… forever, and more so it came from someone immensely happy to see him.

Of course he'd shed a few tears.

Where he came from, hugs weren't a thing. He had never hugged his parents, sisters, or even cousins. If you removed the time he was an infant, the number of hugs he'd received in his lifetime wouldn't exceed twenty, these few coming from close friends.

Even though he'd run this scenario in his mind dozens of times and dreaded it happening, the tenderness he felt right now and the sobbing woman hugging him for dear life made him rethink his stance. Perhaps, he'd exaggerated having to deal with his new reality. This feeling… wasn't so bad.

Patting the back of the trembling woman to reassure her, he thought to himself, 'I can get used to this.'