Barry smiled at Oliver and I as Oliver shot the arrow up. Oliver wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me up with him. He tends to do that for some reason. I think it's because of our relationship. We have a brotherly-sisterly relationship. I guess we just feel the need to protect each other. I saw two streaks speed past us as we rode Oliver's motorcycle back to the hideout where Felicity and Diggle were. We finally stopped and got off, putting down the kickstand. I sprinted to Clarity and wrapped her in a hug. "There are two of you," Diggle said, staring at us with his mouth open.
"What's wrong with him?" I asked. Clarity giggled.
"He's in shock from Barry and I. He didn't believe them about our speed," Clarity explained. I nodded. "So what are you guys doing here?" she chirped. Felicity grabbed her purse.
"We are here on a lead." A lead I wasn't aware of.
"Come again?" I asked this time. They all exchanged glances before I glared at Oliver. "Why didn't you tell me this? Is it that I'm not ready?" I asked. Oliver cleared his throat, looking me in the eyes.
"Not now, Kat," he whispered. I scowled.
"No. We're talking about this right now! Why wasn't I informed of this?" I yelled. Clarity and Barry stared at us.
"Are they dating?" I heard Barry whisper to Clarity. She shrugged and I saw Felicity and Diggle shake their heads. Barry nodded.
"It's not that big of a deal, Kat. I don't see why you're upset. You're dealing with your brother and I didn't want to put more work on your shoulders," he defended. More like lied. I went to punch him but he grabbed my fist. When I went to punch him with my left hand he grabbed that fist, too. I struggled to get out of grasp.
"Let me go!" I whined. I was angry, yes. But I don't understand why he didn't inform me.
"Drop it," he whispered in my ear before letting my hands go. I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest like a five year old. Clarity giggled and I sent her a death glare, instantly shutting her up. While Barry babbled on about Australia, kangaroos, and boomerangs, I kept glaring at Ollie. Correction: Oliver. When I finally listened back to the conversation Felicity and Barry were gone and a red streak zipped down the road.
"Why wasn't I informed?" Oliver groaned.
"Kat, please just drop it," he begged. I was getting on his nerves. Good.
"Oliver, you don't know how much this bugs me. I want to know why I wasn't informed of this lead. I can handle this job, my actual job, and my brother. Nick isn't that much work," I explained. Clarity looked at Oliver with pleading eyes. He shook his head.
"She needs to know sooner or later," Clarity whispered. Oliver muttered something in her ear. "Ollie, tell her." What was this about?
"Clarity, no," he hissed. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. When that didn't work she gave him the famous puppy dog eyes. "No," he said sternly. She scowled.
"Damn you. It always works on Barry," she grumbled. Diggle chuckled. Clarity zipped away, probably to S.T.A.R. Labs.
"Oliver," I whined and stomped my foot. He rolled his eyes and walked away, leaving me standing there. "This isn't over!" I called out after him. What could he possibly be hiding from me? I sighed and turned to Diggle.
"Don't know, don't care. Don't question it, Kat," Diggle said before eating a fry. Clarity zipped back before grabbing my arm and zipping away again, dragging me along. I screamed the whole time until we stopped in front of S.T.A.R. Labs a minute or two later.
"They don't know who I am!" I hissed. She shrugged as continued to pull me in the building. As we walked to the cortex I could see the damage from the Particle Accelerator. There was a cage that was broken with a license plate that said Grodd. I stared at it in confusion before running forward to catch up with Clarity. I had my bow in my hand and my hood and mask up and on. The only thing that could give me away was the hair and/or eyes.
"Hey, Clar!" Barry called out as we walked in. He pointed to me in confusion and I shook my head, as if telling him not to say anything about my identity. He nodded and pulled Clarity aside.
"No way!" a male voice yelled. I spun around and saw Cisco Ramon. I remember meeting him when visiting Clarity while she was comatose. "Purple Arrow?" Cisco asked. I nodded and turned on my voice modulator.
"The one and only," I replied with a sly smirk. He squealed like a little girl and started jumping up and down.
"Can I get a picture with you?" he questioned. I raised an eyebrow and looked to Clarity. She giggled and shook her head. "Wait. You both use purple and have blonde with green eyes. I know you," Cisco said. I shook my head.
"You don't know me. I just...have one of those faces," I lied. Barry and Felicity doubled over in laughter. "But Felicity knows me. I'm fun to work with, right?" She nodded.
"Yeah. You're always flirting with Arsenal and The Arrow," she said. My face went bright red and my eyes widened. Barry raised an eyebrow at me.
"Excuse me, but you're the one who flirts with The Arrow. Future Mrs. Arrow." Felicity turned bright red and went back to the boomerang with Cisco. I smirked to myself as Barry patted me on the back.
"How's Nick?" he whispered so no one else but Clarity and I could hear. I shrugged.
"Nick. How's Iris and Joe doing? Haven't seen them in awhile," I replied. Barry shrugged.
"Joe and Iris. So any guys in your life? Or girls. I accept either one," he asked, putting his hands up in defense. I laughed, but it came out weird with the voice modulator.
"No guys. Or girls. No girls. Never. I support it, but not for me. But no. No guys," I told him. He smirked. "What?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Who?"
"Is it Oliver?" My eyes widened and I cringed. "Oh come on, Kat! We all know you like him," he yell-whispered. I shook my head.
"I see him as just a friend/brother, Barry," I lied. I think I do have some type of crush on him. He snorted at the same time as Clarity. They both crossed their arms over their chest. I crossed my arm over my chest and smirked. "What about you two? Is Clarity pregnant yet?" Their faces went bright red.
"Yet?" they chorused. My phone buzzed and I looked down to see that it was Oliver. I answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Meet me at Jitters in 10 minutes." And with that he hung up on me. I stared at the phone in shock. What was that about? I ran out, leaving Clarity and Barry behind. In a few minutes from running I was at Jitters, bag in hand that holds my Purple Arrow outfit. I was wearing a strapless white top, red leather jacket, blue jeans, knee high high heeled boots, and had blood red lipstick on. I pushed open the door, surprised that they were still open, and looked around. Oliver was the only one in here other than one other customer and an employee.
"Hi," I said with a small smile, walking over to him.
"You're probably gonna hate me for this." I tilted my head to the side in confusion.
"For wha-" I was cut off by Oliver planting his lips on mine. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and found myself kissing him back. My right leg lifted up in the air like in the movies. Our lips moved in perfect sync. Wow. He's a good kisser.
When he pulled away he said, "I've been wanting to do that since I laid eyes on you." My jaw dropped.
"What?" I whispered. He nodded and smiled slightly. "But I thought-" He shook his head.
"It's always been you, Katherine." I opened my mouth to reply when my phone rang. I rolled my eyes and answered it, wondering who it was. It was a blocked number. I turned away and walked a few feet away from Oliver before putting it up to my ear.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Katerina," a male voice said. My eyes widened. I turned around and saw Oliver looking at me with a confused expression. "How are you these days? And your mother? How's she?" I scowled.
"She's dead if you must know. Now what do you want?" I sneered. He laughed.
"Come join me here in Nanda Parbat, Katerina."
"No."
"Let me rephrase that. Join, or I will kill Nicolas." My face went pale. "I will send my people tomorrow. They will either kill him, or you can go with him. Your choice," he told me. I gulped. Fear was clearly in my eyes.
"Leave him alone. I will go with you, just don't hurt him." My voice was stern and a bit scary. Oliver's eyes widened.
"Very well then, Katerina. Have a nice last night." And he hung up on me.
"Who was that?"
"No o-"
"And do not say no one," he interrupted. He lifted my chin up to look at him. His expression was soft. "Who was that? Did they threaten you and Nick?" I stayed silent. "Kat, you have to tell me. I can help," he added. I shook my head and averted my gaze to the ground and a tear ran down my cheek.
"You can't help me. I got myself into this mess." I turned to walk out when he grabbed my arm and yanked me back.
"Katherine, at least tell me who it was. I need to know," he said, his voice now stern. We were the last ones in Jitters besides the waitress. But she was in the back room waiting for us to leave. "Please," he added. I took in a deep breath and sighed.
"I have to leave Starling. Tomorrow."
"Why? When you will be back?" I shook my head. "Kat," he warned. I shook my head again.
"I won't be back, Ollie. I'm leaving for good. Without Nick. I can't get him involved. They don't know he exists." I planted a kiss on his cheek. "Goodbye, Oliver," I whispered before walking out of Jitters to where we were staying and hiding out.
"Kat, I need you to-" Diggle didn't finish when he saws the tears in my eyes. I had walked right past him and to the little room. I plopped down on the cot and curled up in a ball, not bothering to change, and fell asleep.
I arrived at the specified meeting place that was sent in a text from a burner phone that morning. I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked around, waiting. I had a duffle bag that had my bow and arrows in it. "Kat?" I turned around and saw Oliver running towards me. He took my face in my hands. "Where are you going?" he whispered. I felt the wind from a helicopter whip my hair around. I spun around when I heard footsteps and saw a bunch of men dressed in black.
"Katerina Al Ghul."