Chapter Text
“Iskandar,” said Laurel. “That should have been the clue.”
“How so?” asked Thea. “These bone-pills are astonishing, Daisy. Does Agent May have any more?”
“’Fraid not. I get through them quickly.”
“Some people go further than the old story that Alexander the Great dreamed of new worlds to conquer,” Laurel continued. “They say that, once he ran out of people worth fighting, he would have fought himself. Thanks to the League prophecy about Daisy, that’s exactly what Shiva managed to do.”
“She hitched a ride out of her own reality for a fight,” said Daisy. “Guess that’s why she’s the Shiva. Was I right to think that that bracelet was probably from the place you call S.T.A.R. Labs?”
“Uh-huh. My guess is that the recent break-in wasn’t Zoom this time. It was Shiva. She needed an.... anchor, I suppose. Cisco hasn’t had much luck in finding a way to open new breaches that doesn’t involve someone who can vibe or mainline the Speed Force, but I suppose he built something that could snap you back to your own universe if you were wearing it when you left. Shiva stole that, and trashed the place to cover what she had taken. It was her way home.” Laurel looked over to where May was talking (a little) and listening (a lot) to her smartphone, keeping her distance from the two planar refugees to maintain the line. “Speaking of going home… who’s this guy that just rang Agent May?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” said Daisy. “According to May, about three people in the whole world are meant to know that number.”
May looked up from her ’phone. “Says he’s a representative of the Kamar-Taj. The Master of the New York Sanctum, whatever that is. His people have a professional interest in dimensional incursion, apparently; Daisy’s belly-flop back into this world caught their attention. Our former Director left instructions about cooperating with them in his Toolbox.” She listened to the ’phone again. “I'm told that this will need a hair from one of you two, but ‘not the zombie’. That mean anything to you?”
Thea glared. “Honestly, you take a dip in one Lazarus Pit…”
Laurel reached under her wig, and yanked out a hair, which she handed to May.
“Thanks.” May walked away, and picked up her ’phone again. Laurel shifted uneasily.
“Daisy…”
“Yes, Laurel?”
Laurel tried to look innocent. “Who’s that?”
“Oh for God’s sake, Laurel.” Daisy rolled her eyes. “I spent the best part of a week in Star City; there was Internet; and I’m kind of like Overwatch - Felicity - when it comes to computers. How many athletic five seven-and-a-half female attorneys with a family background in law enforcement do you think there are in your town? And the Green Arrow is former millionaire playboy Oliver Queen, whose sister is currently chugging my bone-pills like there’s no tomorrow.”
“Sorry,” said Thea.
“Just leave me a couple, OK?”
“Fair enough,” said Laurel. “You’ve made your point. But what do you think of what Shiva said? That two souls can’t abide in one body?”
“Shiva wouldn’t be my first pick for a life coach.”
“Still… do you think she could be right? I’m not sure anymore - I haven't been for a while- that I can go on being a lawyer and a vigilante.”
“The intellect of man is forced to choose/ perfection of the life, or of the work.”
“Who said that?”
“Beats me.”
“She probably read it on Twitter,” said May, who seemed to be depositing Laurel’s hair at the exact centre of the displaced ground. “Daisy’s deep moments tend to max out at 140 characters.”
“Sorry if I’m speaking out of turn,” whispered Thea, “but Not-So-Evil-Yet-Still-Scary-Shiva is totally your mom.”
Daisy scowled. “Tweeted or not, I don’t believe it’s right. There’s room for more than one person in all of us. I knew a boy…”
“We’re gal-pals now?”
“I knew a boy, when I was about ten. His name was Matty. Matty wanted to be a ninja. Except on alternate days, when he wanted to be a lawyer. Eventually he decided that he wanted to be a ninja lawyer. I never did find out what happened to him. But - and this is just my opinion - I think that ‘ninja lawyer’ has a lot going for it.”
“Maybe.” Laurel continued to watch May, who had moved to the far side of the lot. “What does that mean for Quake?”
Daisy flushed. “That’s different. I… I’ve done a lot of harm, here. Being something other than Quake would just hurt more people.”
“Perhaps. But, from what Agent May told us, she and someone she calls ‘Coulson’ staked this place out for days after you vanished and they worked out what had happened. Once the vigil paid off, she took on the Up To Eleven version of herself without a second thought, to save you. Just my opinion, but I don’t think that being alone is your choice to make.”
“Our guests need to be in the centre of the lot,” May announced. “It’s time.”
“Is our caller in New York sure that this will work?” Daisy asked, as Thea and Laurel moved into position.
“He says so. Ordinarily, it would be very hard to repatriate a chunk of land this size; one of the Kamar-Taj would have to be here in person to manage it. But your repeated ram-raiding of local reality has made things a lot easier. He’s going to ’phone it in.”
“How does that work?”
“Like this.” May held her smartphone aloft. A sigil leapt from its screen, to hang lucent against the sky.
“Flatpack sorcery,” breathed Thea. “Living in the future.”
“Guess this is goodbye,” said Daisy. “Thank you. Both of you. And give my regards to the big guy.”
“Au revoir, you mean,” said Laurel. The air around began to crackle like a walk through autumn leaves. “Don’t forget that you still owe me a rematch.”
Daisy smiled, and seemed about to reply. But then the sigil erupted in waxing light, and Earth-Whatever was swept away. A thousand Earths unfurled before Laurel and Thea. One was home.
FINIS