Chapter Text
We arrived in Metropolis after what was a pretty long run for Don. “You need a second to catch your breath?”
“Nah, I’m good. I’m just going to need a nap once we get back to Star City.”
“Fair enough.”
We snuck around to the back of the building, and I hacked us through the back door. Numeric keypads were just too easy. According to my tablet, Lex was in his office in meetings all day today. It was just a matter of catching him off-guard. His office was on the top floor with the other executives. Luckily, there was a service elevator by the back exit. Once I convinced it I had key card access, we were able to take it to the top floor.
When we arrived at the top floor, we started looking for Lex’s office. Unfortunately, security met us as we were going.
“Where are you two going?”
“We have business with Mr. Luthor,” Don explained.
“Then where are your visitor badges?”
“Right here.” I held up my fist, and quickly swung it at him. He staggered back and hit his head against the wall, falling unconscious.
“Ryder! You can’t just-”
“Why not? He’ll be fine.” I waved him down the hall, where I found the office of “Alexander Luthor, Executive Vice President.” I guess the title of “Executive Vice Jerk” was already taken. I tried the door. Unlocked. I nodded to Don, opened the door, and we bust our way inside.
“Lex Luthor, I know what you’re up to!” I was met by the blank stares of an extremely youthful, yet still bald, Lex Luthor, and a truly confused looking Indian woman.
“I’m sorry, but what are you doing in my office? Security!”
“We took care of the security on this floor, Luthor.” He hit a red button on his phone, probably some kind of panic button. “Don't bother, Luthor, we’re onto you.”
“Ms. Patel, please feel free to leave as I deal with these lunatics.” The woman walked out and we let her. “What are you kids on about? What do you think you have on me?”
“The chemical, Luthor. Recognize this?” I held up my tablet with the chemical structure displayed on it. “It’s what you hired those Russians to dump into the water and how you're planning on poisoning the country.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Two large men with tasers stepped into the office behind us. Don knew better than to use his speed, so that left me to face them alone. I dispatched of them quickly, with Don helping out with a kick here and there. Luthor looked on in confusion. “Are you guys terrorists? What is going on?”
“I’m discussing your plan, for whatever reason, to put a chemical into the water that will kill people in a couple of decades. That’s why the LuthorCorp has been lobbying the government to have it introduced to the public.”
“Are you talking about our attempt to put vitamins in the drinking water? That’s my father’s project, not mine. And it’s not poison, it’s going to increase public health.” I studied him carefully. He was serious. This is really what he thought was happening. Still, I couldn’t let him go just like this.
“You better watch your back, Luthor. I don’t suffer fools.” I ran out of the office, with Don following. It was only a matter of time before there were more security after us, so I grabbed Don’s hand and squeezed it. In a matter of seconds, we were back in the Bunker. Don collapsed. Metropolis was truly far away. We wouldn't be going back there anytime soon. Plus we were probably blacklisted and assigned a shoot on sight order. I helped Don back to a cot and made sure he was situated before kissing him on the forehead and returning to talk to Mom.
“How did it go with Luthor?”
“Not great. He denied knowing anything.”
“And you believe him?”
“I kind of do. He seemed sincere. And he’s usually pretty up-front with me.” My tablet started beeping. I was getting a call. “Hello?”
“Hey, Anna, this is Iris. I got some information on water additives.”
“Oh, great! What do you got for me?”
“There are several organizations that have been lobbying the government to add substances to the public drinking water. The most recent is LuthorCorp, and-”
“Could you tell me more about LuthorCorp’s efforts?”
“Sure. They have a proprietary vitamin mix that they think could save lives in areas where fresh food is hard to come by.”
“Is anyone helping them out?”
“There are a ton of groups that have publicly supported them: Metron Pharmaceuticals, Hardwick Enterprises, Wickman Industries, NuCorp, I mean the list goes on.” Those names sounded familiar. I rifled through the papers I had been looking at earlier.
“Those are all LuthorCorp subsidiaries, or groups that Luthor has the majority stake.”
“That’s weird. None of that came up when I was researching them.”
“I’ll look into it. Was there anyone going against LuthorCorp’s efforts?”
“Only one group spoke out against them: Mercury Labs. They thought more testing was necessary.”
“Okay. Thanks, Iris.”
“Sure. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“I will.” I disconnected the call. Mrs. West-Allen had given me a lot to think about. Luthor was apparently buying up companies in order to have them support him in his effort to introduce LP into the water. And Mercury Labs was the only one to see anything wrong with that. I’d have to go talk to Tina McGee the next time we sped to Central City. In the meantime, maybe Mom had found something.
“Hey, Mom?” Mom spun around in her chair so fast I was worried she’d hurt herself. Then she stared at me as her eyes became shiny behind her glasses. “What?”
“That’s the first time you’ve called me Mom.” Oh .
“We’re not exactly keeping secrets anymore, so I figured it would be fine. It doesn’t freak you out, does it?”
“No, it’s actually pretty amazing.” She hesitated, and then asked what was on her mind. “Am I going to be a good mom?”
How could she ask something like that? “Of course you will!”
“You know there was a time when Oliver and I considered getting a dog, but then decided it was too much to handle on top of Team Arrow responsibilities.”
“You never told me that.”
“I can’t imagine that we’re going to have a kid. Our lives are far from normal.”
“Well, there’s an argument that I’m not exactly the most normal person, either. It’s going to be fine, Mom.” She looked a little less stressed. “Anyway, what have you found on Luthor?”
“Lex and Lionel are both clean. I don’t know what else to tell you. They haven’t so much as misplaced a tax filing. Either they’re innocent or the most dastardly minds on the planet.”
I was inclined to believe the latter, but without proof, it was hard to say anything. I felt like we were hitting a dead end. Until I could go talk to Mercury Labs about their research, I had nothing. After checking with Dad that there was nothing new at the plant they were monitoring, I started going through new Luthor files Mom had pulled up. That didn’t take very long, and soon I found myself pulled back into another memory of all the Event had taken from me.
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Mom had just been released from another extended hospital stay. Dad insisted we go out and celebrate. I knew we were technically celebrating Mom’s health, but it felt like so much more than that. To me, it was a celebration of the return to normalcy in my family. Dad was so much easier to reach when Mom wasn’t being treated, and Tommy was a lot brighter, even if he didn’t know everything that was going on. It was supposed to be a family dinner, but before we knew it, John, Dig, and Aunt Lyla had been invited, too.
We were being loud and obnoxious and probably driving the wait staff insane with our joyous laughter. We didn’t care. We were all back together again. Just before our food came, John pulled out his phone. I was the only one who noticed, and no one seemed bothered by the look on his face or the fact that he excused himself from the table. Something was off, though, so I followed him outside, into a thunderstorm.
“No, they don’t know,” he said into his phone. He nodded a few times and then said, “I’ll make sure of it.” He turned and saw me standing there, starting to get soaked.
“What was that about?”
“It was nothing, Ryder.”
“It was something, John. What don’t we know?” I had assumed he was talking about us, his family.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Don’t say that, not to me. I’m supposed to be your best friend.”
“You’re just a kid, and-”
“I’m sixteen! And I might as well be thirty-six with the things I’ve seen!”
John’s face dropped. “You’re not ready for this.” He brushed past me to walk back into the restaurant. But he wasn’t careful enough.
I swiped his phone, which he had left unlocked. I scrolled to the most recent contact, and found out it was a blocked number. I called it back.
“What is it, kid?” I didn’t recognize the voice. “Look, I’m busy. If you have a problem with our arrangement, I’ll let the press know all about Connor Hawke. Your call.” I hung up.
Was John being blackmailed? What did they have on him that they could use as leverage? Did someone know his identity? All questions I never got answers to. That’s how the world worked now.
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“Overwatch, do you copy?” Dad was trying to contact us.
“I copy, Green Arrow.”
“There are some people entering the water treatment plant. They look like maintenance workers, but I can’t be sure.”
Mom turned to me. I leaned into the comm. “Go investigate. Keep a low profile, but don’t let them touch the water.”
“Copy.”
I turned to Mom with a worried look. They were in Central, so there was no way I could join their stake-out even if I wanted to. And man, did I want to. But if there were two people going to check something out, I’d want them to be Dad and Dig. There was no one I trusted more.
A few minutes later, Dad came back on the comms. “I don’t think these guys are maintenance workers. I’m going in.” A few grunts and punches, then Dig shouting, then static over the comms.
Mom was worried. “Green Arrow? Spartan?” Nothing. “Dig? Oliver? Answer me!”
Silence.