Arrow ~ Irreconcilable Differences ~ Part Three

***

"Why?" Kara demanded angrily as Winn and James hastily backed up, Lena and Felicity cautiously doing the same as Slade, Malcolm, J'onn, and Alex fanned out, ready to back Oliver up if needed. "Why would you do that?"

"Agent Watson came to me," Rene winced, rubbing his red cheek. "She said she had proof that I was Wild Dog and that she was gonna use it against me to make sure that I never saw Zoe again." He looked from Kara to Oliver, whose green eyes were icy. "She said she had a solid case against you and that she was gonna arrest you either way. You were going down. I just couldn't make the trip with you."

"You should have told us, Rene," Dig scowled. "We could have figured something out."

"There was nothing to figure out, Hoss!" Rene protested. "Right?"

"Right," Malcolm scoffed. "Like no one in this room could . . . oh, I don't know, to be you and go out as Wild Dog while you were in Watson's clear sight? No offense, J'onn."

"None taken," the Martian shook his head. "I would have been willing to do it."

"Would you?" Rene scowled.

"Yes," J'onn nodded. "Especially if it was your daughter on the line."

"And that's an obvious solution," Slade glared at Rene. "There could have been more."

"Now we'll never know," Felicity sighed.

"Kara," Oliver said quietly, his voice colder than ice. "Come here." Kara glared at Rene, walking backwards until she was at Oliver's side. He put his arm around her, then looked back the man who sold him out. "Rene . . . get out." He opened his mouth to say something, but Oliver growled. or I let Kara, Slade, and Malcolm race to see who throws you out the quickest."

Rene's mouth clicked shut, and he clenched his jaw before turning and leaving.

***

Laurel woke up with an extremely sore throat, and she spent a few seconds coughing and hacking, groaning. "Oh, good," a sarcastic voice said, and Laurel glared at the dark-haired girl sitting on the table in front of her. "You're awake. Little Team Prometheus reunion, huh?"

"I didn't do anything to you on Lian Yu," Laurel glared.

"You turned your back on Chase," Evelyn narrowed her eyes. "He rescued you!"

"Yeah, and what did he ever do for you?" Laurel sneered. "Except promise revenge. Well, look how that turned out. You and your little group, locked up on Lian Yu. Of course, not any more, it looks like."

"Yeah, thanks to Cayden James," Evelyn folded her arms. "He sent someone for Talia and me."

"What, no use for a raging psychopath?" Laurel quirked an eyebrow. "I'd have loved to see Chase bite the bullet."

"Well, at least it wasn't me," Evelyn shrugged, though she seemed a bit uncomfortable talking about it.

Laurel gave her a long, lingering look, then noticed a device in the corner of the room. "Sonic dampener?" she guessed. When Evelyn smirked, Laurel groaned. "Of course."

"Had to keep you quiet somehow," Evelyn shrugged. "Couldn't have you choke to death."

"Thanks," Laurel grumbled, looking her over. "I have to say, though . . . I did wonder why someone as young as you were working with Chase. There's even a little part of me that's happy you're OK."

"Pardon me if the feeling isn't mutual."

"You really like being a smartass, don't you?"

"Takes one to know one."

Laurel huffed, rolling her eyes. She looked off to the side, then looked back at Evelyn. "I heard you took the Black Canary suit for a while after my doppelgänger died."

"I did," she acknowledged.

"When you look at me, do you see her?"

Evelyn narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"I just wondered," Laurel shrugged. "Oliver and Dad always saw a bit of her in me. Couldn't say the same for them, though. The Oliver I knew died eleven years ago. And my dad . . . " She sighed. "My dad here was surprised when I told him what happened to him."

Evelyn frowned, then examined her fingernails, acting disinterested. "What happened to him?"

"It was my thirteenth birthday," Laurel answered. "He left to go get my birthday cake, like he did every year. And then the phone rang. There was an accident." She took a deep breath. "A drunk driver ran through a red light. Head-on collision."

"What surprised him?" Evelyn looked up.

"It wasn't the accident," Laurel shook her head. "No . . . it was that he knew my favorite cake was yellow with chocolate frosting, and that my favorite bakery was Carly's." She looked up at Evelyn. "I guess my doppelgänger and I are more alike than I originally thought."

Evelyn pursed her lips, but before she could say anything, the elevator doors opened. "OK, it's time," Cayden said, walking out. "Remember, if the Green Arrow reneges on our deal, you kill her."

Evelyn looked down at Laurel, who slowly shook her head as Cayden walked back out.

***

Curtis and Dinah stared in disbelief as Rene got his huge burger from the food truck. "How can you eat this?"

"You ask me that every time," Rene huffed, heading for a table.

"He means at a time like this," Dinah told him.

"Stress makes me hungry," Rene answered. "So does guilt. I just . . . " He sat down and rubbed at his still stinging cheek. Damn, Kara had one hell of a slap. Then again . . . super strength. "I screwed up. You know, Oliver was right to kick me off the team."

"You were in an impossible situation," Dinah shook her head.

"Yeah, and when you're in an impossible position, that's why there's a team, D," Rene countered. "Just like Dig said." He looked at Curtis, who appeared to be looking elsewhere. "You're uncharacteristically quiet, Hoss."

"Just hungover," Curtis told him. "Doing some processing . . . I'm actually doing a of processing."

"Oliver spying on us, you mean?" Dinah asked bitterly.

"Not gonna pretend there's not a difference between the three of us and the three of them – you know, the original three, I'm not counting Wilson or Merlyn – but – "

on us?" Dinah prompted. "And getting Kara's team to help? And Kara to it? I mean, come on, it crosses a line."

"Yeah," Curtis nodded. "And I just don't like the way that it makes me feel." He sighed, then grumbled, "Now stressed." Rene's jaw dropped as Curtis reached over, grabbed his burger, and took a huge bite out of it. "Wow," he blinked. "It's good." He turned to Dinah, who looked at him incredulously. "It's good."