Chapter 2:

Thea slowly adjusted to her life in the past. While she felt overwhelmed by the onslaught of people who left her life years ago, she quickly familiarized herself with her old group of friends at school.

Luckily Margo frequently called their friends by their names, and Thea could soon tell them all apart. Besides Margo's drug-induced smirks, Thea re-adjusted to Alisa's cheerful squeals, Zoe's lethargic complaints of every little thing, and Chasity's slut-shaming of all the obese girls at their private school.

All of it irked her. How were these people once her friends?

School went by slowly, and Thea felt torn between making an effort and not caring. Why did Trigonometry matter when Oliver was spending his nights hunting criminals alone? Who cared what the main motif of some Tennyson poem was when her biological father was planning a mass genocide of the Glades? Should she even bother to finish her lab report when the scientists for Tempest were creating earthquake machines? Even art history lost its flavor; each time the class discussed a painting, Thea thought back to the night she discussed the fascinating origins of artwork in her home with Slade Wilson.

The only time Thea relaxed was when she was running and playing the sport of the day in the gym. At least then she could begin to train her younger body to be ready to fight for her home and family. It gave her some time to think about the different options before her.

She considered going to Quentin or A.R.G.U.S. and warn them about Tempest. But Quentin didn't trust Thea right now, if the first night was anything to go by, and A.R.G.U.S was currently run by Amanda Waller instead of Lyla Michaels. While Thea could trust Lyla to have the best interest of humanity, Waller was a different story. She could tell Oliver the truth, and explain her story, but she wanted at least a few weeks where she could pretend to be ignorant of the vigilante lifestyle.

Also, Thea remembered the man he was after those long five years. Oliver was terribly closed-off; he lacked the mental fortitude to trust anyone but a righteous ex-soldier like John Diggle to help him. Not after five years of betrayals, Waller's inhumane ownership and deaths. He would rather push her away and pretend she was imagining the truth than actually let her in.

"Thea, are you going out with us tonight, or what?" Margo ran up to her, breathing heavily. Aliza, Zoe and Chasity lagged far behind them, simply walking, as above the rules as always.

Thea sighed, "No."

Thea didn't want to pretend that partying was fun to her anymore with them. She had a hard enough time dealing with drug withdrawals. She preferred to go home after school and spend the night considering possible paths forward to combat the Undertaking and prepare for when she had to eventually let Oliver in.

"Thea-ah, don't be a spaz," Margo whined. "You've been moping all week. You even got a haircut without me."

"Well, I did just get my brother back from the dead." Just not the brother that Margo was probably thinking about.

"Come on, you can't just stop living because he's now watching your every move and sneaking into your shit." Margo scowled. "It was so out of line when he stole our drugs. You spent good money on that."

Thea sighed, slowing down a little. "It's nothing to do with Oliver. I simply rather watch TV alone tonight."

"But you're the best at getting through bouncers. Plus, Mickey Macityre was asking for you. We might actually get into the VIP section if you're there. You have to come."

Thea snapped. "I can do what I want. If you were really my friend, you would understand that."

Margo just stared. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I don't have time for this." Thea raced forward and sped past a group of tall, athletic boys. She had no time for appeasing teenagers.

After school, Thea returned home to find her mother reprimanding John Diggle. Thea was unsurprised. That was quickly becoming her mother's favorite past-time. He was taking it in with calm acceptance. Thea was unsurprised; she had seen him take on bloodthirsty mercenaries, and self-righteous maniacs without breaking.

While Thea knew Diggle could take this, she decided to step in. There were only so many times that her mother could blame him for Oliver's decisions.

"If Oliver wants to be alone, let him be alone. Don't blame Dig." Thea crossed her arms and leaned against the living room's wall.

Her mother gave her a half-smile. "He's not doing his job, Thea. I'm trying to get through to Mr. Diggle."

"I'm sure you got through to him. Next time, he's going to trick Ollie, sit right next to him, and keep him at his side. Just you wait." Thea grinned at Diggle. "If you like, I can give you a few ideas."

Diggle nodded. "It's alright, Miss Queen. I understand that I have not reached the standards that are expected of me. I will do my utmost best to handle your son better in the future."

"That's all I ask." Her mother sighed. Her phone rang. She frowned after she glanced at her phone. "Now go find my son as I take this call."

Diggle headed out of the room and, sensing her mother's need for privacy, Thea followed. She had a few ideas to give to her future friend.

"I'm sorry about my mom." Thea told Diggle. "She can be intense sometimes. She means well, but sometimes…"

"She's given me only what I deserve."

"No one deserves to be blamed for someone else's actions." Thea countered.

"Is there something I can help you with Miss Queen?" Diggle started walking more quickly. Unluckily for him, Thea was quite fast. "I need to find your brother."

"That you do. I would hate for you to lose this job. You'll be a good friend to Ollie. He needs you by his side."

Diggle blinked, and, for a moment, his blank exterior looked curious, before he returned to bodyguard mode. "I think you misunderstand the role of a bodyguard."

Thea laughed. "I think you misunderstand the role of an employee. The employer's children are always right."

"As much as I enjoyed this chance to talk, I have a job to do, Miss Queen."

"But I still haven't given you my idea to stop Oliver from running from you yet."

"Ok. What is it?"

"Go to the store, buy yourself a hand-cuff, and cuff yourself to him!"

"As much as I like that idea, that is impractical and overreaches my role." Diggle said when they reached a staircase at the end of the hallway.

Thea shrugged and waved him off. "Fine. Find Ollie yourself. Just know that when you lose your job, it's because you didn't listen to me."

For a moment, Thea watched him walk down the stairs. It was tough having him treat her as a stranger.

Thea decided to head back to her mother. She was curious to see if her mother was interested in shopping this afternoon, or if she was planning to meet her caller. If it was the second possibility, this was the perfect time to do one of her plans.

Unsurprisingly, the door to the room was now closed. Thea fished for her gum container from her purse, and clenched it in her hands. After taking a deep breath, Thea knocked on the door. As Thea opened the door, her mother immediately ended her conversation with an "I'll get back to you."

"Hey, mom!" Thea walked towards a table that held her mother's purse. "Are you interested in doing some shopping?"

"I would love to, sweetie." Her mother smiled. "But I have plans to see a friend tonight. Maybe Saturday."

Thea nodded as she opened her mother's purse. "Can I at least borrow some cash?" Thea dropped the gum container inside the purse. She pressed it beneath her mother's knick-knacks; did she really need five brands of lipstick and mascara? "I really need to buy this dress at Nesbary's. It's to die for." Thea pulled out a bundle of twenties.

"Sure." Her mother nodded absently. She was likely thinking about Tempest and whatever her latest phone call was about.

"Are you all right, mom?" Thea hoped her voice didn't come off as shaky as she felt. She needed to trust that her mother wouldn't notice the mini tape recorder inside the gum container.

"Yes. Just getting ready for a busy night. You know how long these dinners with Maribella Oswin and Geraldine Pollard can go."

Thea laughed. "Well, have fun."

Her mother pressed a warm hand on Thea's shoulder. "I really wish I could go with you, but it's important for the Alliance." The Alliance referred to one of her mother's many high society groups; in this case the Alliance of Women Philanthropists."

Her mother then walked out of the room. Thea let out a deep breath that she was holding in. She hoped her mother didn't notice her internal turmoil,

She needed to relax.

Either the tape recorder would provide a useless business conversation or it would be something about Tempest. Thea hoped it was the latter, especially if it was something that showed her mother was acting under duress.

This was the perfect life. Lying on a couch in front of the TV, chomping on popcorn and dark chocolate as she watched some silly rom-com. No worrying about the future or staying out all night at a party with fake friends and sleazy older men.

Thea had easily retrieved the tape recorder earlier that night while her mother was in the bathroom. The recording wasn't perfect; her mother did threaten someone named Peter Lowe, but it did have a moment of her mother muttering to herself that, "This is for the children." She would have to try again later for a recording of Malcolm blackmailing her mother.

Afterwards, Thea spent all of one minute jotting down potential plans to fix the future in her notebook before figuring that she deserved a night off. Both the tape recorder and the notebook were now locked in a safe under her bed. The lock combination was Roy's birthday. Since she was planning to keep him safe from Arrow-related danger this time, it was unlikely anyone would figure out the correct combination.

She was watching the best part of the movie – the montage of the couple falling in love to a happy love song, - when she laughed so hard, the popcorn spilled all over her couch and floor. She paused the movie. She preferred to not have to deal with kernels and chocolate stains later.

When she entered the kitchen, she saw Walter Steele sipping some tea on the counter as he listened to the day's phone messages on the kitchen's landline. When he saw Thea come in, he paused some rambling message of some prissy-sounding woman complaining about some gang from the Glades.

"Hello Thea," Walter smiled. "Are you alright?"

Thea headed towards him and leaned against a countertop. "Just needed a night away from everyone."

Walter nodded. "I'm glad. It's good to see you laying low tonight."

The next few moments were painfully silent. Thea didn't know what to say; she hadn't seen him since her last day at the Queen Mansion. After she returned from Corton Maltese, she discovered that he moved to Liverpool. They talked a few times on the phone, but it had been a long time since she felt close to him. Maybe she should ask him for advice. She couldn't tell any specifics, but she could …

The answering machine picked up a tone and rattled off a number. Thea recognized the area code of Central City- 639. A woman's voice said "Do you remember?" before cutting off.

Thea gasped. Could that be? Was that Samantha? She closed her eyes, trying to get rid of images of trees flying towards Samantha, and a large branch striking into her abdomen.

"Thea?" Walter was saying something to her.

"Huh?" Thea shook her head. She was fine. Samantha was fine. They were far away from the island and the danger it exposed.

But did that call mean that Samantha came back in time with her? Very likely, Samantha was right in Thea's line of sight before the journey through time.

Thea felt both thrilled and worried. If Samantha knew, she would likely be willing to talk to Thea about the strangest of it all. But that also meant she knew the truth about the Undertaking and anyone who knew was in danger of being killed by Malcolm and her mother. In the past two years, multiple enemies had discovered Samantha's location despite how hard she tried to stay hidden. If someone else found out, William would be in danger again. Even if Thea's mother cared about her grandson, she couldn't do anything if Malcolm decided it was too risky to let Samantha live.

"Thea." A warm hand touched her shoulders. "What's wrong?"

Thea stared into Walter's kind brown eyes. He was so innocent. He shouldn't care about someone as immoral as her.

Stop it. This was her true second chance. This was her time to keep her family together. She couldn't be happy if she refused to accept comfort from her stepfather.

Thea hugged her stepfather, and sighed. "I was thinking about that island, Lian Yu. I…"

Walter hugged her back. "I know what you mean. It's hard to imagine what he's been through these past five years all alone."

"It's amazing how five years can make a person completely different," Thea said wistfully. "I keep expecting to wake up and lose everything again. Something strange has happened Walter. I'm …"

"Is there room for three?" Thea turned to find her mother entering the room.

If you don't do what I ask, something unfortunate might have to fall on young James.

Oliver was right. She was exactly like her mother.

Thea abruptly withdrew from Walter's arms. For a moment she forgot about the dangers she and her mother posed to Walter. As much as she enjoyed this, it wasn't right to endanger Walter with anything concrete. Not when her mother could find out, kidnap Walter, and keep him locked up for months. For far too long she was more focused on guaranteeing her mother's freedom than protecting an innocent man.

"Three's a crowd," Thea drawled. "I was just coming by for some paper towels."

Thea ignored her mother's anguished expression. While she loved her mother, and understood her choices, Thea just couldn't stand her mother's current associations. The recording affected her more than she thought. She needed to leave before she blurted everything out.

She grabbed some paper towels and sprinted out of the room.

Once she reached the TV room, Thea started cleaning the kernels from the couch when she found a packet of cocaine lying under the couch cushions. She knew she should throw it away, but she brought it towards her nose and sniffed it. How much her body longed to snort it.

Thea snorted it for a minute before she realized the extent of what she had done. She hadn't taken drugs for years, but this body craved it so much. It was an easy way to forget the pain of Lian Yu and her mother's situation. But Thea needed to be stronger than that. She could survive the withdrawals. She did it before, lying in a private jail cell across from a bunch of strangers who would have loved to beat her up.

She just needed to flush this cocaine with any other drugs she could find in the toilet. Well, after just one more sniff. Gosh, she forgot how good it felt.

Then, Thea would plan her trip to Central City to check on Samantha and William. She needed to make sure they were safe.

After she ate breakfast the next morning, Thea found her mother, Oliver and Walter watching the TV in one of the many lounges, Thea was amused at a familiar video-clip of the Green Arrow attacking some random low-lives and the lawyer who likely hired them.

Oliver was saying something about the Kardashians as her mother turned off the TV.

"More like a menace to society," Her mother muttered angrily.

Her brother briefly scowled before putting on a façade of calm.

"I don't know." Thea joked, in an attempt to relieve the tension. "I find Kim Kardashian quite awesome with all her marvelous shoes.''

"And she's smoking," Tommy joked as he walked into the room.

Her mother smiled. "I was talking about the Hood."

Oliver's glass cracked as it fell to the floor. He started to leave his chair, likely planning to get a broom to sweep it up.

"Don't worry about it." Her mother put a hand on his shoulder. "Raisa will pick it up after we leave for court."

He pushed her hand away, opening his mouth to say something that he would likely regret.

Great. It was up to her to prevent Oliver from breaking a wall as soon as he was in his rudimentary Arrowcave.

Thea said loudly, "I think he's not that bad. It's good to have someone to make sure wealthy criminals don't get away with, well, crime. Especially if the courts continue to keep their heads in the sand."

Tommy and Walter's jaws dropped while Oliver looked at her curiously.

Her mother stared at her in disappointment, and said sternly. "You need to be more careful about who you listen to. Don't let Margot's nativity influence your judgment."

Thea snorted, as if Margot would ever think that way. "You know I'm more than capable of making up my own mind on what is good and bad." Thea stated. "And he's not the type to threaten children. That's got to be going on for him."

Her mother's eyes widened. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was the type of monster that would harm a kid."

Thea closed her eyes; her mother may be a hypocrite, but how could she judge after what she did to Nora Darhk as Speedy. She needed to leave her feelings out of it and act like her mother's words meant nothing. The last thing she needed was for her mother to guess that Thea knew about her previous afternoon activities. "Anyways, that guy the Green Arrow put on the night of Ollie's party was going to get away scot free despite Laurel's efforts. It's good to know that someone can help with the bad guys when the law doesn't work."

"Thea," Her mother said sternly, her eyebrows raised. Here comes a good old Moira Queen Rant. "He's a killer. He's knowingly causing people harm. You are naïve …"

Thea churned her teeth, struggling to stop herself from blurting her mother's secrets; all thoughts of carefully handling the Undertaking be damned.

Thankfully, Diggle came in at that moment to tell them it was time to leave.

Her mother shrieked. "We'll be there when we're ready. Mr. Diggle, wait by the car. Thea…"

Walter cut in, "We are going to be late to court. We can discuss this later."

"Yes." Thea cheered half-heartedly, eager for an out of this conversation. "I'm so ready to see Ollie get reinstated as alive."

"Don't you have school, young lady?" She knew where that came from; her mother just needed to have some form of control over her.

"I got excused from school for the day." Thea explained. She and Walter did that a few days prior. Her stepfather was probably just happy that she asked for permission before skipping school.

"She did. I went with her to get permission from the school," Walter said.

Her mother scowled but nodded. "Let's go. We don't have much time until it starts, and I'm sure the press will be blocking the entrance."

As Thea grabbed her purse, Tommy told her, "Green Arrow, huh? That's a nice name you came up with."

Shit. Thea nodded mutely. She really needed to be more careful.

"No. I think that's a terrible name." Oliver joked.

Tommy grinned. "You're wrong. I can see the headlines, "The Green Arrow, the mightiest killer known to man."

It was surreal to experience Oliver's court appearance this time. Last time she left for school, pretending she could go if she cared enough. She had been happy for an excuse to miss this terrible reminder of her father's death. But now, she wanted to be there for Oliver. Hopefully, he took her words from breakfast to heart and knew that at least one member of his family approved of his crusade.

Tears drenched down Thea's face when Oliver mentioned Robert Queen drowning.

For a moment, Thea saw herself in Corto Maltese as she listened to Oliver telling her the truth about their dad's death. Thea remembered her sadness when Oliver finally told her the truth. It was after more than two years of constant lies. If she continued to pretend to be her former self, she might never have the courage to admit the truth before it was too late.

Thea decided then that she would tell Oliver that she knew about his nighttime activities. As much as she loved the past week of freedom from the crusade, her brother needed her help.

Not today though, she had a noon train reservation to Central City. Hopefully, she would be able to reach Central City by 8 p.m. Besides, it would give her plenty of time to plan. Once she returned, Thea would tell him the truth and warn him of the upcoming dangers.

Tommy, who was sitting next to her, leaned towards her and whispered, "Do you want to get out for a few minutes?"

Thea whipped away tears and shook her head. "Just reminiscing about my father."

He nodded, and they silently watched the Judge make the uncontested verdict on which Queen was alive and which Queen was definitely dead.

After speaking to their mother, Oliver headed towards Thea and Tommy, and the three of them excited the courtroom together.

"Now that you're officially alive," Tommy stated as they walked down the stairs. "Want to celebrate tonight?"

Oliver grinned bashfully. He started to speak when they ran into Laurel Lance, an upbeat dark-skinned woman that was faintly recognizable, and a pale, sad-looking woman with long blond hair. Thea took in Laurel's old appearance; her hair was dyed brown again and her face was free of make-up. She looked so young.

As Laurel shouted at brother, and her brother responded with why they were there, Thea watched the sad-looking blond woman shake uncomfortably.

"Do you want to get out of here for a moment?" Thea asked the blond woman. "Oliver and Laurel might be here awhile."

"Good idea." The dark-skinned woman said for the pale woman. "Come on, Emily, let's continue to the courtroom."

"Stay with Ollie," Thea told Tommy before following Laurel's co-worker and Emily up the stairs. She'll let her brothers deal with the Laurel-related tension.

The three women ended up outside a courtroom on the third floor. "I'm Joanna de la Vega by the way." The dark-skinned woman introduced herself. "And this is our client Emily. How are you so lucky to know a playboy like Oliver Queen?"

Thea laughed. She remembered Joanna now. She came back to CNRI a few weeks before the Undertaking. If Thea remembered correctly, Joanna took a break from work after her brother died. "He's my brother."

"Oh! Thea Queen. Laurel told me about you." Joanna smirked.

"Yes. We used to be close." Thea smiled sadly. Laurel was her rock after Ra's al Ghul and the virus outbreak. But then Laurel was murdered, and Thea didn't know how she could deal with that happening once more. "I hope to be again."

They made small talk for a few minutes. It took Thea back to her days interning on CNRI. Full of amusing stories and understanding the realities of life in the Glades.

"I think it's incredible what CNRI does for the people in the Glades. Giving them a chance to live without constant fears of eviction." Thea was saying when Laurel walked up to them.

"Sorry about that, Emily," Laurel told her client. "I had to deal with some personal business."

"Don't worry about it, Laurel." Emily grimaced. "I don't know what I would do if my ex kept appearing everywhere. Jo told us about how he came to your office last week."

"I already knew." Thea smiled sadly. "I'm sorry you have to deal with him coming back instead of Sara."

Laurel stared blankly at Thea; she looked so tired. "I just didn't want to deal with him, Thea. It's good to see you and all, just don't leave me alone with him next time."

Thea nodded. "I'm sorry. I hope you realize that Oliver has changed. He's better than who he was."

"I don't want to talk about him. It is what it is," Laurel sighed. "But I have a case to do. I can't spend all day thinking about Ollie and what he's done. Do you want to watch?"

Thea shook her head. It was nearing 11:30 am. She needed to get to the train station to catch her ride to Central City. "No. I have plans with friends this afternoon."

Laurel nodded. "Well, if you want to talk again, feel free to contact me. I'm sorry that I haven't come to see you since, well you know."

Thea tried to remember the number of times she saw Laurel during the five years after the tragedy of the Queen's Gambit. There was Tommy's birthday party, various brief encounters at multiple clubs, and when she ran into Laurel at Sara's grave. Laurel could be referring to any of those times.

"That would be great!" Thea shouted as Laurel headed into the courtroom.

It was almost 9 p.m. when Thea's train reached Central City. After an exhausting afternoon of snoring, squealing and crying children, and sitting near passengers with potato chip breath, Thea was ready to call it a night.

But she had to deal with an arms dealer first. She made sure she was still wearing gloves and put on the wig she shoplifted from the Glades. waited in the alley a few blocks from the train station. After several minutes, a tall, muscular man walked towards her.

"Diana." He stared her down and smirked, in all ways the typical thug.

"Yes. Do you have the goods?" Thea asked calmly.

He stood over her, breathing down her neck. "Money first, or I'll be more than happy to bring you to the docks." He just had to remind her that he also sold women to prostitution.

Thea had to stop herself from laughing; he must be so used to intimidating customers.

"Here." She gave him the envelope.

He gave her the weapon in a holster.

"Thanks," she said sweetly. She took it out and fiddled around with the magazine. "How do I check for billets again?"

He pressed a sweaty palm on her shoulder and showed her. Good, there were bullets inside.

"Thanks again." She turned the safety on as he headed away. "But you really shouldn't have."

"Shouldn't have what?" He growled.

She shot him right above the heart. She always did have great aim. "Made a reference to human trafficking." She told the bleeding man. "Maybe someone will come find you and save your life. Who knows?"

"Ug, kill u," he gurgled before going still.

"If you somehow do, you wouldn't be the first." She grabbed money from the envelope and put it back in her purse. She returned the gun to its holster and put it in her jacket.

Thea sprinted to another alley behind a shopping area and threw away her wig and gloves. She then returned to the area outside of the train station. As she followed the ten or so people to the taxi line, Thea took in the familiar bright colors around the station. Central City was always so much livelier than Star City.

Before she knew it, her cab driver reached Samantha's house. She passed the metal gate to the front porch. The teal house shimmered slightly, and she knocked on the front door.

For a few minutes, no one answered, and Thea considered coming back in the morning. But then the door opened, and Samantha stared down at her. The taller woman looked anxious and tired. She snapped, "What are you doing here?"