I sat with John Diggle, Felicity, and Adler in the hideout, the silence feeling heavy. Oliver was with Helena Bertinelli, the daughter of Frank Bertinelli, who was on the List.

Apparently while I was gone, Oliver had met her before, and he felt compelled to help her. She had escaped prison, and Oliver discovered she was in the area again and went off to investigate. I chose to hide my disgust and dislike of that idea, and instead looked for something else to do.

If Oliver was anything, he was loyal and stubborn and honest and kind to a fault, and I loved him for it more than anything.

However, he was under the delusion that he could change her, and take her mind off of seeking revenge against her father for having her fiancé killed or something like that. I told him people who wanted revenge would not stop until they had it. He elected to ignore my advice.

"Hey, um, can I ask something?" Felicity asks. I paused, looking up from the arrow heads I was sharpening and nodded, shaking the thoughts from my mind.

"What is it?"

"You're both with the League of Assassins, correct?" She asked, pointing between Adler and I.

He perked up at her attention, but immediately became uncomfortable, shifting from foot to foot, then looked at me before saying, "Yes."

"And... we didn't meet a month sooner because Mia was at... Nanda Parbat?"

"Yes," he said, his eyes meeting her's as he sat down on a nearby chair.

"But then you both came back. Why?"

I studied my thumb, picking a bit at a hangnail, leaning against a nearby table. I considered what to tell her before saying, "Malcolm Merlyn. I've shared this with Oliver already. He was at the League at the same time I was. Trained under Ra'as al Ghul, and then later under me. He was ambitious, and hated that I rose above him. So, he abandoned the League."

"And... that's a problem," Felicity said uncertainly.

"It's a death sentence," Adler said pointedly, and glanced over at me. "Maria is the Demon's Second. She only answers to Ra'as al Ghul. Our cousin, Nyssa, and I follow her lead."

"So... you're here to kill Tommy's dad."

A heavy silence settled between us, and I was unsure of what to say to that. I cleared my throat, and said,

"In the name of trust, I will tell you that he deserves it. He is planning something horrible with catastrophic consequences for the City, and is responsible for the kidnapping and potential murder of our father. He also committed many more atrocities that we believe others will target him for as well. He is not a man to feel pity for."

Felicity's jaw clenched, and Diggle said, "What separates him from you two, then? You kill people for money. You're assassins."

Adler stood, and I raised a hand, and he slowly sat back down, his eyes narrowed on Diggle. "Absolutely nothing, John Diggle. Many things happened to make me what I am today. If you have something against it, the door is that way, because if Oliver knew you were questioning me, he wouldn't be too pleased."

The door opened upstairs, and we went silent again. Oliver's footsteps thundered down the stairs, and his eyes scanned the room before falling on me.

He walked over to where I sat, and I stood, moving the chair for him. "How'd your talk go?"

He sighed, sitting down heavily in the chair, and I moved my hands to his shoulders, Diggle's words eating at me. "Not good. I also have some other not good news."

"We're full of bad news already," Adler said, directing a glare at Diggle. "What's some more?"

"Floyd Lawton," Oliver said, pulling up a file on the computer. He didn't seem to notice the tension, and if he did, didn't seem like he was going to comment on it.

"And I'm supposed to know this name?" Adler asked dryly.

Oliver sighed, rubbing at his temples. "No. It's... he's a side quest, I guess."

I tilted my head up at my brother, who had his hands in his jacket pockets again, his eyes trained on Felicity, who sat in a nearby chair with an iPad, busily scrolling through webpages of information, coding, and whatever else it was she had on that thing at once. While I was good at figuring out and knew the basics of hacking, Felicity was on a whole other level. The more I got to know her, the more I discovered why Oliver took her on to begin with.

"It looks like he's got some target planned at a benefit this evening," Oliver said gravely, and looked at me. "He goes by Deadshot."

I nodded slowly. "He's back?"

"Yes. And last time, he was targeting businessmen with curare-laced bullets. It's his unique MO, and we've encountered him before, where he was targeting some businessmen that also happened to line up with my List."

"And mine," Diggle said from where he stood slightly behind us, his arms crossed. "He killed my brother..."

"Ah," Adler said, his eyes still trained on Felicity. "That's certainly some history you all have with him. So what's this bastard up to now?"

Felicity glanced up, noticed him looking at her, and her cheeks burned scarlet. A small, pleased smile graced Adler's lips.

I resisted rolling my eyes and clenched my fists. "Do we know his target?" I asked Oliver.

"Yeah. The person running tonight's benefit," Felicity said, looking at all of us. "And this is awkward... it's Malcolm Merlyn."

"Shit," Adler said.

"Then we need to go, and be ready earlier than anticipated for tonight. And you and I are expected to be there as guests."

He lifted my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles. He glanced at his watch and sighed heavily. "You're right."

"We can't let this Deadshot succeed in his plans tonight," Adler said severely. He moved closer to the screen of the computer, his hand resting on the back of Felicity's chair and her cheeks turned even redder as he leaned over her to glare at the photo of the man.

He looked back at me, as if waiting for some sort of directive, and I supposed that was true. I was the Demon's Second, not him, and he wanted a command. To do something.

"Do you have a suit?" I asked.

He smirked slightly. "Which kind?"

"I know you have that suit- I'm talking a formal suit for a formal occasion."

"Ah, yes. Of course I do."

"Does it fit over your other suit?"

He scoffed. "Perfectly tailored to do so."

"Perfect. Go suit up. We leave in an hour."

Adler turned to Felicity and picked up her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles with dramatic flair. "And what color dress is the lady wearing, so my tie can match?"

"Uh... I-I wasn't gonna... I wasn't gonna go. I was staying here to monitor things..." she stumbled over her words and blushed.

"That's a shame. What is your favorite color, then?"

"Ah... blue."

"Blue it is," he said with a wink, then turned and left.

Oliver bumped his shoulder into mine and said snidely, "I see he took all the flirting genes."

I elbowed him in the ribs and he groaned in pain and I replied, "That's alright. I took the brains."

He chuckled and gave me a gentle push towards the door, and I couldn't stop the giggle from escaping my lips as we raced up the stairs.

******

I stood next to Thea that evening at the benefit party, and I scanned the room as she told me about school and some drama between her and her friends.

"How'd you deal with the high school drama? You seem to have mastered directing it all away from you," she said with a heavy sigh, and swirled her virgin cocktail around in her glass. I knew it wouldn't be virgin if we were anywhere else.

I smiled and said gently, "The best way to avoid drama is to walk away from people who magnetize to it. I ended friendships that had too much, or that always seemed to have a crisis. I had my own life and my own issues to live- same as you. Focus on the people who care about you as a person, and walk away from the people who don't."

"Oh," she said softly. "You make that sound easy."

I shrugged. "I've had twenty-eight years of experience, Thea, and my best friends are Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn, so maybe I'm not the best model for avoiding drama."

She laughed. "Touché."

I nodded and sipped my water and noticed a man in the crowd was staring directly at me.

I took note of him, and turned away. I wore a pantsuit, unable to get my vigilante get-up to work under any dresses, and wore a white leather jacket over it to hide the rest of it. My hair was up in a fancy curled bun, and I wore jewelry and makeup, but I had stopped insisting my scars be covered at this point.

I rolled my shoulders and set my water glass down on the tray of someone passing by, and said to Thea, "Hey, I'm getting pretty hungry. You wanna go check out the buffet table?"

She nodded, grinning. "Oh my god, yes."

I weaved through the crowd, Thea grabbing onto my hand as we stopped at the table. My brother was already there, stuffing his face from a plate piled high with what looked like pizza rolls.

"Maria," he said through a mouthful. "You gotta fucken try this." He said and held one out to me. Thea snorted and I rolled my eyes, but took a bite of the offered snack.

My eyebrows shot up. "These taste like crab rangoons!"

"Yes! But fancy!" Adler exclaimed.

I picked up a plate and used the tongs to put a couple of the delicious puffs onto it, and Thea did the same.

A hand touched my shoulder, and Oliver appeared next to me. He leaned down and kissed my cheek, his hand moving down to my waist to pull me closer to him. I moved my arm around his waist and smiled, offering him a puff.

He graciously accepted it, and he had a similar reaction. "Wait these things are so good."

"What's good?" Tommy asked as he appeared with Laurel on his arm. Oliver's grip tightened on me and I rubbed my hand up and down his back, feeling the bumps of his suit under the jacket.

"These," Adler said, holding out his plate.

Tommy laughed and said, "Right? So good!"

I glanced up and noticed the man from earlier had moved to stand nearby, and was watching us again. He lifted a hand to his earpiece, and glanced out the window... and up.

I sniffed, and pretended to cough. "Oh!"

"What?" Oliver asked, and Adler set his plate down.

"Moira! She hasn't tried these yet, has she?"

"No, I don't think so!" Thea exclaimed. "Tommy let's go bring her some with Walter."

He chuckled and the three of them filled a plate and walked off, giggling about the crab rangoon puffs and how they were the "best things on the planet."

"What?" Adler asked.

"Don't turn around. Man near the door. Looked up and out the window. Make yourself scarce and find him. He's currently standing at your seven o'clock."

Adler smirked. "I take it Malcolm doesn't know I'm here, too."

"Tommy may have told him. So we need to make sure you're not seen by him, just in case."

Adler nodded, his expression changing as he reluctantly set the plate of snacks down, then said, "Alright... just know I'll be eternally vengeful towards Merlyn now for making me have to abandon these things."

"I'll have Tommy order you some," Oliver said. "Go."

He shrugged, then stepped backwards, and disappeared.

Oliver shuddered.

"What?"

"If I didn't know what your brother was..."

I shrugged. "Don't worry, Oliver. With both of us here... Al Sa-Her will not make it out of here without knowing true fear for his actions. We will discover what he is planning, no matter the cost."

Oliver nodded, then tilted my chin up and kissed me. "Be careful," was all he said before he, too, disappeared into the crowd.

I turned and made sure I spotted the Queens, Laurel, Tommy, and Walter, and found they were close to the exit. Good.

My eyes found that man from before, and his eyes were trained outside now, a hand on his earpiece as he nodded subtly, as if taking a cue.

And that cue came shortly after.

Suddenly, everyone was turning towards a stage, as Malcolm Merlyn took it, standing at a podium and raising his hands, taking in the applause as an easy smile crept across his face.

I glared at him, an anger and hatred deep within me that no amount of training could ever hide. I hated this man. And yet, I was called to watch him. To protect him from the renegades. So that he could answer for his crimes back home, at Nanda Parbat.

I had gotten off the island. I was free. I had found family. And then he and Sara decided that I didn't belong in the spotlight, and that they wanted me out. And he especially wanted the attention and the position I was granted. My skills increased and built on top of what I had learned and built on the island, and in only a few short months under rigorous training, I was unstoppable.

I was given a lavish home while Sara was given a prison cell for her betrayal. I was raised up to direct and lead and train legions, taking Merlyn's place.

I was everything they were not. And I would not allow them to stop me from my path, or sabotage my life anymore than they already had.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, a bullet flying past my head and hitting the wall behind Malcolm's head.

I swore and ducked, staying low as the crowd acted like cover for me.

I looked up to see Tommy and Malcolm manage to escape, and in the confusion, I ran towards them, ducking into a hallway, and lifting my hand to my earpiece and clicking it on.

"Guide me through, Felicity," I said into the comm.

"Turn right, then take two lefts. There's no cameras that way, and it leads to the stair well. Be careful. There is a camera facing the stairs and at the stairs."

I did as was told, pulling off my white jacket and flipping it inside out, revealing a black interior I quickly zipped up. I ducked around a corner, finding my stashed weapons in a duffle, and secured my hood, mask, and weapons, ties on the pantsuit pulling it tight against my legs, and I secured my swords to my hips.

I clicked a button on the knife strap on my wrist, the mechanism locking into place as I pulled a small, thin blade from a pocket, and loaded it into the mechanism.

I ducked low, and peered around the corner to see that man from earlier.

I crept forward, and he turned to see me, raising his gun. I ducked, swinging my leg out to kick his legs out from underneath him. He handed heavily on his back, and raised the gun and fired again, the bullet whizzing past my cheek.

I glared at him, raising my hand, and the mechanism fired the razor, and it sliced through his wrist, making him drop the gun.

I kicked it away as he screamed, holding his bleeding wrist. I grabbed ahold of his collar and demanded, "Who are you working for?"

He spit at me, and I glared at him in disgust, a second blade popping into place and pricking him against his neck. "All I have to do is press a button and this blade goes through your brain. I won't ask a second time."

"I work for the man who wants you destroyed, Sparrow," he snarled.

"Very well. See you in hell," I said, and launched the razor blade, watching it shoot up through his jaw and out through his head.

I got up, and scanned the room, before turning for the stairs, Felicity's voice coming through saying, "Cameras are down for three minutes everyone. Get up stairs to the fifteenth floor. That's where they went."

I began to run, taking the stairs several at a time, before stopping on the fourth, lifting my hand, and shooting a blade through the window, sending it splintering as I jumped out, and turned, a grappling hook shooting from the same contraption on my wrist. It hooked on seven stories above me, and with a yank, began to pull me up, fast.

I ran up the side of the building, holding onto the mechanism and keeping my elbow bent to keep my shoulder from being ripped out of socket.

I broke the window on the twelfth floor and swung into it, taking the last three flights at a sprint, and ducking behind a wall as a bullet whizzed past my head.

"It's the Triad. Be careful," Oliver's voice said over the comms.

"I got it," Adler said.

I reached behind me for my bow, and pressed a button as it sprang out to full size, and I drew one of my few arrows from a quiver at my hip with one of my swords.

I knocked it to the strung, waited for the stream of bullets to pause, then spun around the corner and fired, the arrow meeting its mark, and I waited as more bullets pelted the wall.

Then, silence.

Slowly, and carefully, I drew a sword, and used the reflection to look around the corner.

I stood, my brother standing in his suit, his katana red with blood, and the heads of three men were on the floor. He wiped the blade on them, his eyes flicking up to meet mine.

"Are you ready?" He asked. "Oliver's inside already."

I nodded and joined them, clicking my bow to fold back up, and returned it to the hook on my back. I drew my swords. "Ready."

I peered around at the room and saw Oliver kneeling over Malcolm, doing a makeshift blood transfusion... with his hood back. Tommy looked terrified.

Well... this complicated things.

"He's been shot. He needs the cure," Oliver said without looking up, getting to work on applying a paste of leaves from the island. A medicine I knew very well.

"What? Who are you people?" Tommy exclaimed, looking between my brother and I in fear. I glanced to my right to see two guards with arrows in them, and a broken window where Oliver had got in.

"No one important," Adler said darkly, his voice muffled and distorted by the tech in his mask. "Now move. We need him."

He pointed his katana at Malcolm, and Oliver raised a hand. "Let me get him the antidote first, or he's gonna die."

Tommy lifted a gun, his eyes darting between the three of us, his hands shaking uncontrollably. Oliver leaned back, raising his hands.

"Tommy..." he warned.

"G-Get away from us! You can't have him!" Tommy exclaimed.

I moved first, moving closer and stalking towards him, my fists clenched around my swords. "Put that gun down, Tommy Merlyn. We aren't here to kill your father."

"Look- this is all bullshit. The vigilante is my best friend and now you people are here?! You can't have my father! Get out of here, o-or I'll shoot! They can't have him, right, Oliver?"

Oliver didn't reply, knowing he couldn't stop us both, and knowing he didn't have a choice but to let us take him after getting the antidote into his system.

"You don't have a choice," I said, my eyes trained on the gun, but I wasn't prepared for him to actually fire, and he screamed, and the gun went off in my direction with a bang.

The bullet hit somewhere low, just as I launched a sleeping dart at him. I watched it hit his arm as I stumbled back, crying out in pain, and fell to the ground.

I moved my hand to my hip, trying to stop the bleeding as my breathing began to feel ragged. Shit, shit, shit.

I watched Adler knock Tommy out with a swift blow to the head, and Oliver was at my side, pressing his hands to my wound and I cried out in pain.

"Antidote..." I wheezed. "G-Give it to him. He..." I managed and cried out, blood trickling from my lips.

Oliver's eyes filled with tears. "Mia, Mia look at me."

"Get... antidote..." I wheezed, tears streaming down my cheeks.

"Oliver! I'll get her out. You save Merlyn," Adler said, coming to my side.

"No-"

"There isn't time!" Adler shouted angrily. "We can catch him another time, he only saw you. Now go!"

Adler picked me up, and I cried out, clutching my side as I felt my head suddenly feel fuzzy and my vision began to blur.

"Mia. Stay with me," Oliver said urgently, tears in his eyes.

"Always..." I mumbled, then everything went black.