Making A Better Future

Chapter 33

The following day the team was training in the bunker and they were all about to go on patrol when Emiko walked in and she looked like something was bother her and the rest of the team picked up on that as soon as they saw her walk in.

"Hey Emiko, is everything ok?" Thea asked.

"I am not sure. I think we might have a big problem." Emiko said.

"And what would that be?" Oliver asked.

"I saw some member of the Ninth Circle in town, including their leader, Dante. That can't mean anything good. They don't show up unless something big is about to happen." Emiko said.

"In your opinion, what is it that you think they might have planned?" Oliver asked.

"I can't be sure, but probably something to do with a chemical attack. It is what I would do. I was being groomed to take over so that is what they taught me, so if I have to bet on it, that is what I think it would be." Emiko said.

"Ok, that is a good place to start looking." Laurel said.

"Barbara and Felicity keep an eye on any reported chemicals being stolen. That way we might find ourselves ahead of the game here." Oliver said and the two tech experts nodded.

"So, what do we do now?" Diggle asked.

"We go out on patrol like usual and if we see anything, we alert the rest of the team. We don't need to go in without backup here. We know from Emiko that the Ninth Circle is a very dangerous organization." Oliver said and everyone nodded as they changed and got ready to go out on patrol.

As it turned out there was not much going on out in the city because most people were scared of being caught by the vigilantes. Once they got back to the bunker, they all changed and decided to go home.

"I can't help but think that this might be the calm before the storm as they say." Oliver said.

"It might be, but we will be ready. We just need to stay together, and everything will work out." Laurel said.

"She is right Ollie. As long as we are all there when it counts no one can beat us. We might lose some of the battles, but we will always win the war, and as long as we do that, we will be good." Sara said.

"I am glad that we have you two around. The pep talks that the both of you give are like what Captain America give in the Avengers. He always makes his team ready to do anything because of his optimism." Tommy said.

"What can I say. I have a way with words." Laurel said.

"No wonder you are such a good lawyer. The city should be happy to have you as both the DA and as a hero." Oliver said.

"So, I was thinking about going to Big Belly Burger to get something to eat. Anyone want to join me?" Thea asked.

"Laurel, Conner, and I will join you Speedy. What about Roy?" Oliver asked.

"He is going to be there. What about you Tommy and Sara?" Thea asked.

"Sounds good to me. What do you think?" Tommy asked Sara.

"I think we should go. I am about to starve." Sara said.

"Well, I guess that means we are both in as well." Tommy said.

"What about Emiko, Diggle, Barbara, and Felicity?" Sara asked.

"Felicity said she needed a break from fast food. Diggle is going on a date with Lyla. Emiko and Nyssa are going to hang around the club for a while. Barbara said that her dad has come into town, so she needs to go and be with him for a while." Thea said.

"Ok, those are good explanations. So, let's get out of here and get some food." Sara said.

When they got to Big Belly Burger, they all went to order their meal and then went to sit down and wait for the waitress to bring them their food. The team was very relaxed tonight. They knew that they better take advantage of it while they could, because once the Ninth Circle got to work, they wouldn't be able to take a break until they finally stopped the Ninth Circle.

"We need to do this more often. It is just like the old days. Except for now Conner is taking Thea's place since she has grown up." Tommy said.

"Yeah, I guess you are right. I just wanted to be part of the group even though I was so young. I guess that is why when I got to high school, I started to do everything that you all did, except for Laurel." Thea said.

"Oh, don't let her fool you Speedy. Laurel did plenty of things back in the day that you wouldn't think she would do." Sara said.

"Like what? I need to know this kind of stuff since she never seemed like the type to get into trouble." Thea said.

"You are right. She didn't get into trouble, and you want to know why. She thought things through before she ever did anything wrong so that no one could catch her." Oliver said.

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about. I was the perfect little angel back in the day." Laurel said.

"So, I want to hear one story about Laurel doing something bad back in the day." Thea said.

"Well, there was this one time that Laurel decided that she wanted this dress that she was going to wear to a party that we were all going to the next night. She knew that she couldn't afford it, so she tried to talk Ollie into buying it for her. He said no, so then she tried to talk Tommy into buying it and he also said no. She didn't know what to do because she really wanted this dress." Sara said.

"So, what did she do, steal it?" Thea asked.

"Pretty much. It was very smart what she did. She walked up to the lady at checkout and told her that she was returning the dress and that she couldn't find the receipt. Well, you know most stores won't take returns if you don't have a receipt, and this was one of those stores. So, Laurel walked out with a new dress and didn't pay a cent for it." Sara said.

"Wow, never thought you had it in you Laurel." Thea said and the whole group laughed.

"Well, we all know that I have the money for stuff like that now, so I don't need to do that anymore." Laurel said.

"So, you did marry me for my money? I knew it." Oliver said and everyone busted out laughing again.

The team stayed there for a while having fun which each other like they hadn't done in forever. They were going to take advantage of times like these because they didn't know how often they would be able to do it in the future so they knew that they needed to do it while they still could.

A/N: I got the idea of Laurel stealing something in the way that she did from Sandra Bullock's character in Ocean's Eight. I hope you like the chapter. Let me know what you thought of it by reviewing and leaving comments. Thanks for reading.