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“Shoot!”
Mia knew that she wasn’t supposed to be practicing archery in the house, yet she had done so anyway.
She went over to examine her arrow where it had imbedded in the photo of her parents holding her as a baby.
“um… okay…”
She reached out to touch the arrow, when suddenly there was a mechanical whirring noise, and a door opened into a secret room.
“What the frack?”
Mia stepped inside, looking at the two giant computer screens. The one on the left displayed a picture of her dad in his Green Arrow gear, while the one on the right had an image of her mom with some teenage boy.
Mia started the system, trying to figure out what was going on.
Alarms began to sound, and an automated voice monotoned.
“Intruder. Access denied. Initiating self-destruct protocol.”
“Frack.” Mia cursed, looking helplessly at the monitors.
“Mia!” Felicity called out, rushing into the room and over to the computer, “What are you doing?”
“What am I doing?” Mia asked incredulously, “What are you doing with all this?”
“I’ll explain; just one second.”
Felicity deactivated the alarms and turned to face her daughter.
“This is just a little something that I’ve been working on on the side.”
“For Smoak tech?” Mia tested.
“No, not exactly, um,” Felicity stumbled to explain, “there is a corrupt company in the glades that I am this close to exposing.”
“You’re hacking again. Like Overwatch.” Mia accused.
“No, Overwatch was part of a team. Right? Team arrow?” Felicity tried desperately to rationalize, “and this is solo so no team, no complications.”
“You’re a vigilante.”
“No, not exactly. Technically. Yes, I, by definition…”
Mia interrupted angrily.
“How long have you been hiding this from me?”
“Mia.”
“How long?”
“Mia, I can explain.” Felicity tried to calm her down, but Mia had reached her boiling point.
“You realize I haven’t left this town; ever?” Mia poured out her hurt and frustration. “I didn’t get to go to school like a normal kid, I haven’t even been to a real city!
“I know.”
“You told me that we had to hide here because Dad was the Green Arrow.”
“That’s true!”
“And now I find out that you’ve been doing the exact same thing the entire time.”
“No,” Felicity corrected, a smile still crossing her face as it always did whenever she spoke of Oliver, “your father and I promised each other that we would keep fighting for this city, to make the city better for you, and for—for our family. I can’t sit back and do nothing, Mia.”
“And yet that’s exactly what you’re telling me to do.”
“No, I’m not.” Felicity protested, “Mia this is different!”
“Is it?!”
“Yes!”
“Because I’m starting to believe what everyone else says. That… vigilantes are the opposite of heroes.”
“That is just propaganda.” Felicity stressed, unable to let her daughter believe ill of what had brought her family together all those years ago.
“Oh, says you.” Mia shot back, “and why should I believe anything you say again? You claim to be doing this for our family—what family? Dad’s dead. There is no one but the two of us, and maybe we could be in the real world if you weren’t trying to be a vigilante! Or is there something you want to tell me about that picture I saw.”
“What picture?” Felicity asked, confused by the sudden change in conversation.
“On the computer screen. There was a picture of Dad, and of you and some kid.”
Felicity was suddenly sporting a deer-in-the-headlights look.
“Don’t you dare lie to me, Mom.”
Felicity turned around and pulled up the image back up. She took a deep breath and turned to face Mia.
“Mia, this is your brother William.”
Mia stared at her mom, suddenly speechless.
“William Clayton, though he goes by William Harris now, for safety reasons.”
“I have a brother?!” Mia burst out. “Why don’t I know about him?”
“He chose to go live with his grandparents before we found out that we were having you, and he hasn’t responded to any contact since; not even when your Dad was still alive.”
“So you were never going to tell us about each other? You let one kid live a normal life while you hid the other one away from the world? So much for it not being safe for the Green Arrow’s kid to go to the city.”
“Mia—"
“You’ve been lying to me my whole life. I don’t even know who you are.”
<< << << << <<
Mia looked up at the skyscrapers of Hub City in awe.
Of course she had seen countless pictures, movies, and holograms of city skylines, but she had never seen one in real life until today.
After discovering Felicity’s secret bunker Mia had packed a knapsack and stormed out of the house.
A quick google search revealed that William Clayton was indeed the son of Oliver Queen, stepson of Felicity Smoak, and that one William Harris was founder and CEO of Harris Consolidated, located in Hub city.
So now Mia was here, in Hub city, at Harris Consolidated, possibly about to meet her brother for the first time.
Squaring her shoulders, Mia strode over to the reception desk in the lobby of the building.
“Hello. I’d like to see William Harris please.”
The receptionist looked up from the laptop in front of him.
“Name?”
“Mia... Mia Raatko.”
She wanted to talk to William before she told him who she was. She didn’t want her name to precede her, and her aunt Nyssa’s favourite alias was the first one to come to mind.
“Do you have an appointment miss?”
“Um…” Mia hadn’t thought of that. “No sorry, I don’t.”
“I’m afraid that you need an appointment to see Mr. Harris. He is a very busy man.”
“Really? I came a long way to see him and—”
“Ma’am. If you would like to make an appointment, I can connect you with his personal assistant.”
Mia sighed.
“Fine.”
She accepted the business card handed to her, then asked, “are there washrooms here?”
The receptionist pointed them out and Mia nodded her thanks.
As soon as his attention was back on the computer screen Mia slipped into the elevator.
She hadn’t trained most of her life with the former Ras al Ghul for nothing.
Guessing that the top floor was the most likely place for a CEO’s office to be, Mia pushed the highest button that she could.
Darn it, she was too old to be excited that she was riding in an elevator with more than 3 floors for the first time!
The doors slid open with a ding.
Mia stepped out of the elevator and took in her surroundings.
Two elevators. Emergency stairs to the left. Windows too high to use for an exit. One person in sight, at a desk in front of what seemed to be an office.
Mia strode over to the woman, assuming an air of confidence.
“Mia Raatko, here to see Mr. Harris.”
The woman quickly typed something on her keyboard.
“I’m sorry Ms. Raatko, I’m afraid I don’t have your appointment in the system. What is this meeting regarding?”
“Oh, uh, it’s about the… Emerald Arrow project.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t have record of Mr. Harris being involved in any such project.”
Mia decided it was time to stand firm.
“Well, he was personally involved in the past, and I have been sent to inform Mr. Harris of crucial new information that has just been discovered related to his part in the project.”
The assistant looked flustered at not knowing about this seemingly important venture.
“Yes ma’am, I’m sorry,” she apologized, “Mr. Harris is just finishing a conference call. I will let him know that you are here as soon as it ends. Would you like to have a seat?”
“That will be fine, thanks.” Mia agreed.
She perched on the edge of a chair in the small waiting area outside the office.
Mia focused on controlling her breathing. She was both excited and anxious to meet her brother in just a few minutes. Would he listen to her? Believe her? Would he even want anything to do with her?
It felt like only a moment before the woman came over to Mia.
“Mr. Harris will see you now.”
Mia got up and stepped into the office.
Her eyes immediately landed on the man behind the large desk. Dark hair, brown eyes, clean-shaven. Her brother.
“Hello, Ms. Raatko,” he greeted her, standing to shake her hand, “welcome. My assistant informs me that you are here to discuss an Emerald Arrow project?”
“Yes, that’s true.” Mia confirmed, sitting down on the other side of the desk.
“I’m afraid that I am not familiar with any project by that name.”
“Maybe not by that name, but you certainly are aware of the project. Your parents founded it years ago.”
Mia watched panic cross his face for an instant, before it was hidden away so quickly that an ordinary person would never have noticed.
“You must be mistaken. I don’t know my parents; I was orphaned at a very young age, so my grandparents were the ones who raised me. I built this company, and I know all of its projects. There is nothing here about an Emerald Arrow.”
“Is this room secure?” Mia asked seriously. “No bugs or listening devices?”
“Of course not.” William responded, affronted. “Why does that matter?”
“Because I know that you aren’t who you say you are, and neither am I.”
Mia stood up and paced a few feet away before turning to look right into William’s eyes.
“William Clayton-Queen-Harris? Hi, I’m Mia Smoak. I’m Felicity’s daughter—and your sister.”
<< << << << <<
William stared at Mia with an open mouth.
“My sister?” he repeated in shock, “no, no it’s not possible.”
“So you would think, but here I am.”
“No, I mean it’s not possible.” William insisted. “I lived with them. There was no baby. Dad went to prison, he came back, he disappeared, and then he died. No daughter.”
“Think William,” Mia commanded, “how long was it between when you left and when dad died? Mom says you chose to go live with your grandparents before they found out that they were having me. Dad died when I was only a few months old. Think.”
William stood lost in thought for minute, before he turned to Mia with a new light in his eyes.
“Can you prove it?” He demanded. “Can you prove that your parents are Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak?”
“You got a lab and someone to run bloodwork? Though given how much effort you went through to change your name, maybe you don’t want anyone else to know right now. I could tell you that Mom first met Dad when he brought her a laptop full of bullet holes and told her that he spilt a latte on it. I could confirm that Mom is still addicted to mint chip ice cream. Or I could just take down all of your security guards like I’ve been trained to do since I was 4 years old. What did you have in mind?”
“I have a sister.” William breathed in awe.
Suddenly his face broke into the biggest smile Mia had ever seen. “I have a sister!”
William rushed around the desk and smothered Mia in his arms.
“I’ve always wanted a little sibling.”
Mia grunted, surprised by the sudden affection.
“I’m not little.”
William laughed, squeezing her tighter before letting go.
“Come on, we’re going to my place. My couch is much more comfortable for meeting long-lost relatives than these office chairs.”
<< << << << <<
“So,” William looked across the couch to Mia, “tell me about yourself. What do you like? Where are you from?”
Mia sunk back into the cushions.
“There’s not much to tell, I guess. I grew up in a bubble. Mom raised me in a tiny cabin in the middle of nowhere with almost no contact to the outside world. Aunt Nyssa has been training me since I was 4. I never went to a public school. Today is the first time that I’ve ever been in a city.”
“Then why are you here? Why now?” William asked. “Don’t get me wrong—you showing up is the best thing that has happened to me in almost 20 years, just, why now? What changed?”
“I didn’t know about you until 2 days ago.”
William looked startled.
“What?”
“Yeah, turns out Mom is a big liar. I found a secret room in the house with huge computer monitors. She always told me that we had to stay hidden because dad was a vigilante, but it turns out she kept on doing the exact same thing. Her hacking was more important than me having a normal life. There was a picture of you and her on the computer. I asked her about it, and she told me I had a brother. So I left, and here I am. Here to meet the lucky child of the Green Arrow who actually got to live in the city and have a normal life.”
William shook his head.
“Mia, you’re the lucky one.”
Mia scoffed.
“No, really, you are.” William insisted. “Do you know my story? My mom raised me as a single parent. I met dad, and promptly got kidnapped. My mom and I left everything and moved across the country. We got kidnapped again, and my mom died. I had to move in with Dad, who was a stranger to me, in a city I didn’t know. Felicity was a stranger too, and she moved in with us as well. I soon loved them, but I was always scared that they were going to die. Then dad went to jail and I had to leave my life again, and then again when Felicity shipped me off to boarding school. When I finally got home after dad got out of prison, we were promptly attacked by a serial killer. I didn’t want to be afraid of dying all the time, so I went to go live with my grandparents. But I never heard from Dad or Felicity again. They abandoned me, and dad died.”
A tear rolled down William’s face.
“Mia, trying to be normal was the worst thing I ever did. It cost me my family. I would give anything to trade my childhood for yours.”
“Really?” Mia pulled her legs up and hugged them to her chest.
“To know that you and your family are safe? To have grown up with a parent who never left? Yes, Mia, I would give anything.”
“I’d trade with you too.” Mia told him seriously. “Even if people left you, at least you got to spend time with them before they went. You actually remember Dad.”
Mia was crying now too.
“I don’t know Dad. All I know is what mom and the media tell me. I don’t know what his hugs feel like. I never got to have him teach me how to shoot a bow or throw a punch. At least you got to hear him say he loved you.”
William stood up and opened his arms.
“Come here Mia.”
Mia stood up hesitantly, but when William pulled her close she buried her face in his chest and held on tight.
“I love you Mia.” William murmured. “I know I’m not Dad, but I am your big brother, and I’m here. From now on, you’re going to know me.”
“I’m not going to leave you William.” Mia promised. “I found you and I won’t let you go.”
They both wanted to change many things about their lives, but one thing that they would never trade was each other.