⊱ ──────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ──────── ⊰
𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘
CHAPTER NINETEEN
jules & ollie
⊱ ──────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ──────── ⊰
THEY HAD RETURNED to the Arrow Cave, bringing the encrypted phone to Felicity. She sat with Caitlin at the desk, typing away at the computer. Cisco and Diggle stood behind them just watching. Meanwhile, Lyla and Oliver were having a quiet conversation.
Juliet ignored everyone else. She sat on the steps of the Arrow Cave, resting her elbows on her knees. Staring down at her hands, she absentmindedly let red energy travel between her fingers. To be quite honest, Juliet's mind was spinning and the feeling that she just got punched in the stomach wouldn't go away. Barry sat next to her, also staring straight ahead. The two of them weren't saying anything, but Juliet knew that he was thinking the same thing that she was. How could Oliver do that?
"You okay?" Barry asked softly.
She didn't look at him and continued to follow her eyes with the red energy. "I held Markos in place so Oliver could just shoot him."
"It's not your fault, J. You had no idea he was going to do that."
"Maybe, but if I hadn't held him in place . . . things could've been way different." Juliet let out a sigh and extinguished the energy. "I get it, Starling is meaner, and Markos is basically giving out weapons to kill, but . . . he didn't deserve to be tortured."
"I got him," Felicity then announced, making Juliet look up. "He's in a warehouse at the corner of Infantino and Adams."
Lyla looked at the screen. "Is that—"
"A.R.G.U.S. spy satellite?" Felicity finished, looking up at Lyla innocently. "Yeah, maybe. Thermographic imaging shows ten bodies inside."
"Harkness knows we're coming," Diggle voiced.
"I can track his cell phone's position with this," Cisco said, holding up another device.
"Cisco, you're with Diggle and Roy," Oliver instructed.
Barry looked up at Juliet and offered his hand to her. "You ready?"
She took his hand with a small smile. "Yeah."
Barry stood up from the stairs and pulled her with him. They rounded around a case of weapons and stopped Oliver in his path to the stairs. Oliver's eyes quickly flickered down to their interlocked hands. Juliet let go and looked up at Oliver's face.
"We'll race you there," Barry stated.
Oliver nodded, said nothing, and walked away. Juliet and Barry allowed Oliver to leave on his motorcycle and Roy, Cisco, and Diggle to leave in a van, since they could be there within seconds.
Once they gave them enough time, Juliet and Barry left. She teleported right into the warehouse behind a wall. Juliet peeked around the corner, only to see multiple guys sitting around on couches surrounded by neon signs and beer. She held up her hand, and with red energy surrounding all of the guys, she held them in place. Barry's flash of yellow lightning then ran around and tied all of them up and punching them, making them groan.
Juliet came out of the shadows. As she did so, Oliver came through the door, his bow and arrow ready.
"You're late," Barry commented.
Juliet's eyes then widened upon noticing another guy who Barry hadn't caught coming up behind him. Before she could even react, Oliver notched an arrow and shot it at the guy. The arrow embedded into his chest. Juliet winced as the guy cried out in pain and fell to the floor.
Barry pointed at him with his thumb. "I knew he was there."
"Uh-huh," Juliet replied. She looked up at Oliver. "Please tell me he's not dead."
"Tranq arrow," Oliver explained as Diggle and Roy came into the room. "Same thing I used on Flash in Central City."
"Cisco has the van running," Diggle replied. "I see you met Harkness' hired muscle."
"Harkness isn't here," Oliver revealed. He looked down at one of the guys. "Hey! Where's Digger Harkness?"
"Never met him," the guy responded. "But he paid us ten G's to give you this."
He held up a phone. Juliet felt her entire body freeze as Oliver took the phone from the guy.
"Ten'll get you twenty this belongs to Harkness," Diggle voiced.
"What does that mean?" Roy questioned.
"That Harkness played you," Barry told Oliver.
Juliet's eyes widened. "Lyla."
Before any of them could react, Juliet teleported on the spot. She went right back to the arrow cave. However, when she entered, she walked straight into chaos. Boomerangs were flying everywhere. Felicity and Caitlin were hidden behind a pole while Lyla was throwing knives at Harkness. Juliet ran in front of Lyla, shielding her as Harkness hid behind a desk.
"Guns!" Lyla shouted.
"Cabinet, third drawer!" Felicity answered.
Lyla backed up and grabbed a gun from the cabinet. Juliet stayed in her place, summoning two red balls of energy in her hands. Harkness stayed behind the desk but kept low. From over Juliet's shoulder, Lyla started to fire the gun. Harkness moved closer and slid on the floor, still hiding behind the cabinet. Juliet kept her eyes on him.
"You know what I like most about boomerangs, Lyla?" Harkness called. "They're proof that things can come back to haunt you."
Harkness threw two boomerangs. Juliet lifted her hand and concentrated on them. Surrounding them in red energy, she thrust her hand forward and caused the boomerangs to fly back at Harkness. Harkness ducked back behind a cabinet.
"You had a bomb for the back of my head. I have a little something special for the back of yours."
He then stood up and threw two boomerangs straight at Lyla.
"No!" Juliet yelled.
She pushed her hand at Lyla, making the woman fall down onto the floor to be out of the aim. However, because she was saving Lyla, there was no time to save herself. Juliet had no time to react, or dodge, or anything. The boomerang flew straight at her and embedded itself right into the top right part of her chest. Juliet cried out in pain as it impaled her and fell to the ground. She landed on her back, her gaze turning foggy as she stared up at the fluorescent lights on the ceiling.
"Scarlet!" Felicity screamed. "No!"
She threw a bomb at Harkness, making him run away. Juliet groaned, feeling her skin become wet and sticky with blood. She blinked a couple of times, only to see the worried gazes of Felicity and Lyla over her.
"Caitlin!" Felicity shouted. "Caitlin!"
"I can heal myself," Juliet let out, seeing black spots enter her vision. "You just . . . you just need to get the boomerang out."
"Stop the bleeding," Caitlin ordered. "I — I need lidocaine."
Felicity placed her hand on Juliet's wound, making her groan in pain. "I only have epinephrine!"
"That'll work."
Felicity looked down at her worryingly. "Hey, hey, stay with me!"
"You took that for me," Lyla added. "Why?"
"I'm a superhero," Juliet said, trying her best to say awake. "I'll . . . I'll take the fall any day."
Caitlin then ran over and jabbed something in Juliet's arm. "Come on, stay awake, Juliet. Just a little longer until we can get the boomerang out and you can heal yourself, okay?"
"I'm — I'm tired, Caitlin."
"I know, but you have to stay awake, okay?" Caitlin looked at Felicity and Lyla. "We have to get her on a table."
Together, through Juliet's gaze that was hazy with pain, Caitlin, Felicity, and Lyla picked up Juliet gently. They lifted her over to a table in the Arrow Cave and set her down gingerly. Caitlin then removed Juliet's red coat from around her, leaving her just in the red corset top. Juliet winced in pain as Caitlin moved her arm.
Through her pain, Juliet heard footsteps run down the stairs. She kept her gaze on the ceiling, but the worried faces of Barry Allen and Oliver Queen appeared on either side of her.
Barry put his gloved hands on her either side of her face. "Juliet, oh my God."
"Her vitals are crashing," Felicity said worryingly. "We have to pull it out so she can heal herself."
Caitlin nodded and stood next to Juliet, placing her hand on the boomerang and one on the table. "This is going to hurt, okay?"
Barry took her hand. "I'll be right here, J. I'll always be right here."
Juliet let out a small nod, bracing herself for the impact. Caitlin then pulled out the boomerang, making more black spots enter Juliet's vision. She cried out in pain and was sure she was about to pass out, but she lifted up her hand. Once she touched the spot where she was impaled, her skin glowed red before the whole cut and the blood went away. However, it did nothing for the blood loss, because her mind was still dizzy.
"Can I sleep now?" Juliet inquired tiredly.
"Jules," Oliver's voice insisted, sounding just a little bit panicked. "Juliet, no . . ."
However, she doesn't listen to him and his voice faded away. Because finally, she let the blackness consume her vision, and she passed out.
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JULIET AWOKE, AND her eyes fluttered open. She was still staring at the ceiling, but the sharp pain was no longer there, meaning that her powers had worked and she was completely healed. Juliet pushed herself up so she was no longer laying down. Her head started to spin and it started to pound. She let out a groan and pressed her hand to her head.
"Easy," Barry encouraged, walking over to her and placing a hand on her back comfortingly. "You did just get impaled, be careful."
"I'm fine," Juliet reassured him. "Just a little dizzy."
She lowered her hand and looked around the room. Her, Barry, and Oliver were the only ones down in the Arrow Cave. She wasn't sure where the others were, but her main focus wasn't really on that. Juliet's head tilted as she stared at Oliver, who was looking at a wall. His muscles were tense and he just kept his gaze ahead.
Concern filled Juliet. Juliet turned and locked eyes with Barry, and he gave her a small nod. She swung her legs over the side of the table and stood up slowly. Her mind only spun for a second before it stabilized, and she blinked a couple of times to regain her senses. Juliet then walked over to Oliver, but Barry stayed behind, so it was just her. She crossed her arms and leaned against a pole.
"This is all my fault," Oliver stated, noticing her presence.
"No it's not," Juliet replied.
"I tortured Markos to give up that phone. None of this would have happened if it wasn't for me."
"You can't blame yourself, Ollie." The nickname was enough to make Oliver turn around and look at her. "I took that boomerang for Lyla. That was me, not you."
"And yet somebody still got hurt," Oliver argued. "It's definitely on me."
Juliet raised an eyebrow. "Why am I getting the feeling that you don't say that very often?"
"To do what I do, Jules, it takes . . . conviction. But . . . more often than not, it's the will to do what's ugly. Every time I do that, I'm . . . I'm trading away little . . . pieces of myself. So, you asked why I was acting like this, that's — that's why I'm acting like this. Because the part that I'm trading away is Oliver Queen." Juliet frowned at him before Oliver continued. "And lately I've been feeling like there is . . . nothing left except the Arrow."
"Would the Arrow have joked that I'm a wizard?" Juliet countered, smiling slightly at the way the corners of Oliver's mouth twitched upwards. She pushed herself off of the pole and approached him. "Listen, Oliver. You believe that your humanity was taken away after everything you've been through. But that's not the case. You made it through because of your humanity. I know you think you're overcome by darkness, but there's a light inside of you. I've seen it. You wouldn't have survived, or come out as a hero to do good, if you didn't have that light."
Oliver didn't say anything. He just continued to stare down at her, his expression unreadable. Juliet kept her eyes on him, not daring to look away. She felt her heart race against her chest. However, she only looked away when she heard footsteps. Juliet glanced over to see Felicity approaching them, Barry trailing behind her.
"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting," Felicity voiced. "I ran a facial recognition on Harkness. I have a match."
Oliver looked back at Juliet. She gave him a small, reassuring nod.
"Where is he?" Oliver asked.
Felicity then revealed that he was at a train station. Juliet nodded and went to go get the red coat of her suit that was still by the table. However, Oliver placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. Even though he was wearing gloves, his touch still managed to ignite her bare skin. Juliet turned to face him.
"Juliet, I don't want you going back out there," Oliver told her quietly.
"Why not?" she questioned. "I can handle myself."
"I know that, but it . . ." he paused for a second. "It was scary seeing you like that."
Juliet's eyes softened and she faced him more, looking up at him reassuringly. "I'll be okay. Promise."
Oliver begrudgingly nodded. Juliet offered him a small smile. She then put her coat and mask back on. Barry went first so he could get all of the people out. Juliet offered her hand out to Oliver, and he took it. She closed her eyes and imagined the train station. When she opened her eyes, they were there. Barry had sped all of the people out, leaving just Harkness. He joined Juliet and Oliver.
"Get on the ground," Oliver ordered, an arrow notched in his bow.
Harkness laughed. "Now why would I want to do that?"
"You tried to hurt a friend of mine, and in turn, you hurt her." Oliver nodded his head to Juliet. "You really think there's anywhere in the world you could run where we won't find you?"
"Hmm, probably not. Which is why I have a contingency in place." Harkness pulled a bomb detonator out of his pocket and pressed it, and Juliet straightened up. "Five bombs planted throughout Starling. Now, you can stop me, or you can stop the bombs. But you can't do both. Bombs are armed. In ninety seconds, this city will be on fire."
"Go," Oliver told Barry and Juliet.
Barry picked up Juliet in his arms and began to run them, pressing on his earpiece. "Guys! Harkness just triggered five bombs throughout the city. We don't know where."
"To blanket the entire city, he'd have to use—" Felicity began.
"Radio controlled IEDs," Cisco replied. "But if we key into the detonator's frequency . . ."
"We can pinpoint the location of the bombs."
"We need a — okay, actually, we need five locations!" Juliet exclaimed, also pressing onto her earpiece.
"The five receivers," Felicity voiced.
"Nearest one is behind a restaurant at Faith and Flower," Cisco told them.
Barry stopped and set Juliet down. She instantly opened up the trash can, but there was nothing in there. Juliet let out a frustrated breath and looked over at all of the happy people eating at the restaurant. She then opened the next garbage can and saw the bomb.
"Okay, hey, guys, we found it," Barry stated. "I'm going to run it out of the city."
"Barry, wait!" Felicity insisted.
"That's not an option."
"We think the bombs might be linked," Cisco admitted.
"What?" Barry inquired.
"Press the emblem on your suit. I installed a mini-cam there last week." Barry did as he was told and pressed his lightning bolt symbol. "Okay, you see the secondary trigger? It's not just a receiver . . ."
Juliet stared down at the bomb. "It's a transmitter."
"Barry, Juliet, if you try to defuse the bomb, the secondary trigger's going to transmit a signal and the rest of the bombs are going to explode," Felicity revealed.
"We're running out of time," Roy added.
"You have to defuse all the bombs at the same time," Cisco voiced.
"You're thinking of Multiplex," Barry insisted. "Neither Jules or I can't be in five places at once." He then straightened up and looked down at Juliet. "But we don't have to be."
Juliet blinked. "Huh?"
"Stay here. I'll get the others and put them at the other locations."
Barry then sped off. Juliet stayed in the same spot, looking down at the bomb. He came back for a quick second and handed her a pair of scissors before leaving again.
"Okay," Cisco's voice began. "Everyone has to cut their wires exactly on three." Juliet opened up her scissors and put it on the blue wire. "One, two, three!"
Right as he said three, Juliet cut the wire. She closed her eyes and braced for impact, but nothing happened. Juliet opened them and let out a breath of relief.
"Screw you, Captain Boomerang."
Juliet shook her head. "Still lame."
She then remembered that Oliver was still at the train station with Harkness. Juliet quickly teleported back there. Barry sped next to her as well. She saw Oliver standing in front of Harkness, who was backed up against a wall with a collar around his neck, securing him on the wall. An arrow was also embedded into the wall next to her shoulder.
Oliver glanced back at Juliet for a moment. "It means I have some humanity left."
He turned his back and started to walk away. However, Harkness got one of his boomerangs and went to throw it. Oliver was faster, though. He notched an arrow and shot it at Harkness' hand. His hand was then pinned to the wall by the arrow going through it, and Harkness cried out in pain.
"You just couldn't resist, could you?" Barry asked.
Oliver grinned at him before walking off. Juliet, smiling softly while shaking her head, trailed after him. Oliver then announced that they would be taking Harkness to Lian Yu. Juliet teleported Oliver there while Barry ran Harkness. They put them in his cell before they all returned back to Starling. The three of them changed into their normal clothes before descending down into the Arrow Cave, where Felicity, Caitlin, Cisco, and Roy were gathered.
"Oh, did you guys take care of business?" Cisco questioned.
"Digger Harkness is now cell mates with one Slade Wilson," Oliver answered.
"We've got a pipeline, he's got a gorgeous tropical island," Barry responded.
Felicity leaned back in her chair. "With the landmines." Juliet blinked, and Felicity picked her head back up. "It's a long story."
Juliet's eyebrows then knit in confusion, and she walked up to two empty cases with mannequins in them. "What are these?"
"Oliver helped me put those in while you guys weren't looking."
Barry turned around excitedly. "Wait, these are for us?"
"For the next time you're both in town," Oliver stated.
Juliet smiled. "Next time, Ollie?"
"I'm still calling the shots, Jules."
"Debatable."
"No it's not."
"We got a gift for you too, Oliver," Cisco revealed, lifting off the top of a box to reveal Oliver's new suit. "Early Christmas present. Turns out S.T.A.R. Labs' industrial fabricator was based out of Starling, so . . ."
"Woah," Oliver commented, reaching out to pick it up.
"Polymer Kevlar weave. It's twenty-five percent lighter and can carry fifteen-percent more gear. I've got designs I'm working up that I'm really excited by."
"It's, uh, it's subtle."
"I wanted to replace the hood, but, uh, Felicity said it had sentimental value," Cisco voiced.
Oliver looked at him with a soft smile. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me, thank Juliet. It was her idea."
Juliet shrugged, a small blush on her face as Oliver looked towards her. "You're welcome."
"You guys headed back?" Roy inquired.
"It's possible that Dr. Wells didn't sign off on us leaving town," Caitlin announced.
Roy looked at Barry and Juliet. "Hey, do you still, like, take the train?"
"Yeah, sure, if I feel like taking a nap," Barry responded. "But Oliver and I have some unfinished business to take care of first."
"You guys aren't going to punch each other, are you?" Caitlin asked.
Juliet shook her head. "Thank goodness I'm not coming, because I would win in two second."
Oliver raised his eyebrows at her. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah."
He then stared at her for a moment. "Can I talk to you really quick?"
Juliet offered him a small smile. "Sure."
Oliver led her over to a more secluded area of the Arrow Cave. Juliet slowed down, staring up at him curiously as she placed her hands in the back pockets of her jeans.
"So you're not coming to Barry and I's fight?" Oliver began.
She shook her head, letting out a small laugh. "Nah. I promised Iris that when I would come back I would have a girls night with her, so . . ."
"I understand." Oliver looked down at her. "I just wanted to catch you before you left to go back home."
"Well, if worse comes to worse and you miss me too much, I can just teleport over here."
Oliver chuckled at that. "It was really nice seeing you again, Juliet. And thank you . . . for making me realize I still have my humanity."
"Any time." Juliet felt a rush of courage flow through her veins, and she placed her hand on Oliver's shoulder, pressing up onto her toes and kissing his cheek softly. She lowered back onto her feet, her lips tingling from being on his skin. "Bye, Ollie."
Oliver smiled softly down at her. "Bye, Jules."
Juliet then began to walk away, her face flushed red and her heart racing. However, another thought popped into her head.
"Oh, by the way," Juliet said, stopping and looking at Oliver over her shoulder. "My money's on Barry."
She winked at him before walking off, leaving a dumbfounded Oliver Queen behind.
〖 ϟ 〗
we love juliet taking a boomerang for lyla!!! go bestie!!!