The End Of All Things (An Arrow: Season 8 Fanfiction)

Chapter 12: A Serious Talking To

Later... 

'It's a good thing we were tracking the victim, or you would have been in worse shape than that drive,' Laurel said to William as he carried the hard drive up to the computers. 

'At least it's still in one piece,' William replied. 'Maybe I can recover the data.' Oliver pushed himself off the wall. 

'Maybe you can explain to all of us what you were doing there with no backup,' Oliver said, loudly. 

'We can take care of ourselves,' Mia retorted. 

'That's not the question your father asked you, Mia,' I bit back. 'What were you looking for?' 

'In the future, that building is the Deathstroke home base,' Connor said. 'The leader's Grant Wilson.' 

'Slade's other son. Surprise, surprise,' Oliver muttered begrudgingly. 

'Were you ever planning on sharing that information with the rest of the class?' Laurel asked. 

'No,' Mia snapped. 

'Definitely your daughter,' she replied, turning to Oliver. He gave her a look.

'So if you knew it was Grant, why did you call him JJ?' Dinah asked. 'I heard you yell his name.' 

'What's going on here?' John asked, taking a defensive position. 

'She doesn't know what she's talking about,' Connor replied. 

'Then you tell me, Connor!' John shouted. William and Mia looked a Connor. He sighed and began to explain. 

'We came back, so we thought maybe JJ did, too. That's why we didn't tell you about the Deathstrokes.' 

'Connor, I don't understand what you're talking about,' John said. 

'In the future, Grant trains a new leader, someone who eventually takes over the Deathstrokes. It's JJ.' 

'You told me JJ was fine!' John yelled. 

'Dad, I'm sorry.' 

'There's more,' William said. 

'William!' Mia hissed. 

'Look, they have a right to know, and I'm done holding onto this.' He turned to the team. 'Future Star City is a terrible place. Gangs run it, the cops are corrupt, politicians, too.' Rene gestured to himself. 

'Does that include me?' he asked. William nodded sadly. 

'We were trying to save it,' William said. 'But that meant stopping JJ, and that's what we were doing right before we came here. We - we thought we could, but - Zoe was with Mia, and...' 

'And what?' Rene snapped. 

'JJ killed her. I'm so sorry, Rene,' William replied. I stepped forward. 

'So does that mean, Mia, that everything you told me about me in the future is a lie?' I asked. She didn't answer. I slammed my fist into the pole next to me and screamed, 'Answer me!' 

'Yes!' Mia screamed back. 'You killed yourself because you couldn't live anymore!' I stood up straight. 

'Thank you for being honest with me, young lady,' I replied, my tone full of ice. I turned to the team. 'I need some air,' I said, and walked out. 

A few hours later... 

I walked outside, attempting to calm down as I dug my hands through my hair. Finally, I sat on some stone steps. The information was running through my mind a million miles a minute. After a while, I heard footsteps and then someone sat next to me. 

'I'm sorry, Evelyn.' I looked up at John. I ran a hand through my hair. 

'I'm sorry too. About Connor... and JJ. I spoke to the Monitor just now about my... um, death.' 

'What did he say?' 

'He said that my life is like Oliver's, destined to die in the grand scheme of the universe. My fate is sealed, and it cannot be undone or changed.' 

'So your life is...' 

'On a crash course for inevitable destruction? Yes. No matter what I get right, I'm fated to die by my own hands.' 

'I'm sorry,' he finally said. 

'Don't be. I take it you spoke with Rene about his daughter.' 

'Yeah. I did.' 

'Give him time. He'll come around. Did you talk to Connor about it?' 

'Yes. He explained everything.' 

'I'm gonna talk to Mia soon about it, and Oliver... I just need time to process this.' He stood, placing his hand on my shoulder. 

'Take all the time you need, Evelyn. I'm here if you need me.' I heard his footsteps retreat slowly. 

Inside the bunker... 

'Zoe was fighting to help fix what her dad caused. That's why she was a Canary like the both of you. You guys had a whole network of them in the city.' 

'And that's what Connor was talking about earlier,' Dinah replied. 

'And yet we still couldn't save the city,' Laurel mused. 

'After Rene walled off the Glades, the scope was just too big, and ever since the wall came down, we've been fighting the Deathstrokes, trying to make things better, but -' 

'I just still don't understand,' Dinah said. 'I mean, JJ adores Zoe. How could he do something like this?' 

'Seemed pretty easy for him,' Mia retorted, 'so how about we stop mourning poor, innocent JJ and accept who he actually is?' 

'Where does Evelyn fit into all of this?' Oliver asked. 

'Dinah and Zoe took her in shortly after you - you know, died,' William replied. 'She was broken, and in pain. Dinah told us -  in the future, I mean - that she'd been taking pills to help her sleep. They stopped working not long after you died, and she became depressive and suicidal. Dinah and Zoe helped her be okay... for a bit. Her alter ego, Athena, became more of a second personality, and she would attack us in the field. Multiple personality disorder, they called it. She wasn't able to distinguish friend from foe. A couple of months before we came, she attacked Mia while we were in a skirmish. A couple of hours later, she left a video for the team and took her life.' Oliver's face fell. 

'She couldn't live anymore, knowing she'd done that,' Oliver said aloud. 

Look. All that matters right now is stopping Grant Wilson,' Mia spoke up, 'before he screws up everyone's future.' 

'What else can you tell me about him?' Oliver asked. 

'Jus the broad strokes. Grant made a name fr himself doing pretty much exactly what he's doing now, targeting the rich, and appealing to the disenfranchised. They became cult heroes, which is how he decided JJ.' 

'Any more specifics?" Oliver asked. 

'Grant's home base just got blown up. That - that never happened before. We're in new territory now.' 

'How long to access the drive?' 

'Uh, more than a few, less than a year,' William replied. Dinah sighed. 

'I'm gonna go check on Rene,' she said and walked away. So did William. 

'WE should be out there doing something,' Mia said. 

'We will be,' Oliver reassured her, 'once we know Grant Wilson's plan.' Just then a set of shoes echoed as I walked back into the bunker. Oliver and Laurel walked away, Oliver shooting me a sympathetic smile. 

'Mia? Can I talk to you alone?' I asked. 

'Yeah. Sure.'